I swiped this picture from Mary Doig's Facebook page. The deer are so hungry they're eating bird seed. Mary is handing out carrots. All two and four legged creatures have all had a rough winter.
When I was driving to work this morning I was stuck by how dirty the town looks. Like we’re burning coal on the outskirts and the dust is settling on the piles of snow. The positive part is that the dark crust will melt it faster, being that the sun is absorbed more, but in the meantime its grunge city around here.
And holes....the streets are like Swiss Cheese. There are areas with potholes almost a foot deep and the car wheel all but disappears if you’re unlucky enough to hit one. Trying to avoid them is like driving through a mine field. The holes fill with water so you can’t judge if it’s a shallow dip or a gateway to China until it’s too late.
Falling into one of them is enough to cause whiplash. Why the town can’t fill the holes temporarily with crush gravel to avoid damaging our cars is a mystery but maybe there’s a conspiracy here. The body shops are giving the maintenance crew kickbacks to drum up business. I hear talk of broken and bent axles, nothing that sounds cheap to fix. Fenders are being crunched and in need of hammering out. Shane’s had to have his front and back bumper fixed. It’s been a rough winter on our bodies and our vehicles.
Other winter related troubles have landed on our doorstep. From all the shoveling, Shane worked himself into a hernia and needs surgery. He’s big, tall and strong but after shifting tons of snow something decided to give. After surgery, while he recuperates, I’ll be on dyeing duty to help drain the heavy pots. Maybe we’ll find some softer work for him like teaching a few dye workshops.
Robins are out but I haven’t seen any deer. The snow is still too deep behind the house for them to come down the hill. I hear they’re starving. Mary has them in her backyard eating out of the bird feeders. If they come around I’ll throw some carrots and apples their way. Right now I’m doing my part to feed the birds. There is very little ground exposed for the robins to peck for worms and the song birds are singing their little hearts out for a handful of seeds.
I wonder what life cycles will be affected by the relentless winter and slow spring. Today, someone said that ticks have a long life cycle and will fall short starting late. Having four pups to protect, half of me did a high five but the other half knows any shift in the balance of nature causes collateral damage somewhere. We don’t want to lose any of our bird populations and other critters that feed on the tiny arachnids. We all have a purpose in the food chain and a break in a link can wreak havoc on a particular species. Luckily we’ve crawled our way to the top. Short of dinosaurs being replicated in a real life Jurassic Park nightmare, cannibalism becomes a new fad or aliens from a distant galaxy view the earth and man as a food source, we’re relatively safe.
And holes....the streets are like Swiss Cheese. There are areas with potholes almost a foot deep and the car wheel all but disappears if you’re unlucky enough to hit one. Trying to avoid them is like driving through a mine field. The holes fill with water so you can’t judge if it’s a shallow dip or a gateway to China until it’s too late.
Falling into one of them is enough to cause whiplash. Why the town can’t fill the holes temporarily with crush gravel to avoid damaging our cars is a mystery but maybe there’s a conspiracy here. The body shops are giving the maintenance crew kickbacks to drum up business. I hear talk of broken and bent axles, nothing that sounds cheap to fix. Fenders are being crunched and in need of hammering out. Shane’s had to have his front and back bumper fixed. It’s been a rough winter on our bodies and our vehicles.
Other winter related troubles have landed on our doorstep. From all the shoveling, Shane worked himself into a hernia and needs surgery. He’s big, tall and strong but after shifting tons of snow something decided to give. After surgery, while he recuperates, I’ll be on dyeing duty to help drain the heavy pots. Maybe we’ll find some softer work for him like teaching a few dye workshops.
Robins are out but I haven’t seen any deer. The snow is still too deep behind the house for them to come down the hill. I hear they’re starving. Mary has them in her backyard eating out of the bird feeders. If they come around I’ll throw some carrots and apples their way. Right now I’m doing my part to feed the birds. There is very little ground exposed for the robins to peck for worms and the song birds are singing their little hearts out for a handful of seeds.
I wonder what life cycles will be affected by the relentless winter and slow spring. Today, someone said that ticks have a long life cycle and will fall short starting late. Having four pups to protect, half of me did a high five but the other half knows any shift in the balance of nature causes collateral damage somewhere. We don’t want to lose any of our bird populations and other critters that feed on the tiny arachnids. We all have a purpose in the food chain and a break in a link can wreak havoc on a particular species. Luckily we’ve crawled our way to the top. Short of dinosaurs being replicated in a real life Jurassic Park nightmare, cannibalism becomes a new fad or aliens from a distant galaxy view the earth and man as a food source, we’re relatively safe.
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