The Meeting of the Minds

This morning, we kind of waited around for the trapper, but we couldn't wait all day. We had a new chimney built for the house by the Amish, and Tim is anxious to get that up in the 'Golden Hours', defined in this instance as the warmest part of the day: afternoon but before it started to get dark

After waiting until nearly 10, we had to go. We needed to get to the gym. 

When we came home, I was delighted to see the  truck parked in front of the old house. "Drop me off," I said. "I will grab the mail while I am down here."

I made good use of my time while I waited. When I walked to the mailbox, I saw a bit of plastic flapping in the wind. I did a little digging and discovered a package that had been delivered who knows when. The snowplow going by on the road had effectively buried it.

So I dug our package out and rifled through the mail, and my patience was rewarded. After 15 minutes or so, he came walking around the corner of the old house.

The first thing I noticed is that he wasn't a kid. I would guess he was in his 60s. He greeted me cheerfully. I said, "I wanted to talk to you about your exchange with my husband yesterday." 

I could tell that he knew exactly what I was talking about but he said, "I didn't mean anything by it."

I said, "Maybe you didn't but let me be really clear. You are here because you were given permission to be here." I pointed to the two white trucks back at the gas well. "You are not the only one. The well tenders will be here. We have a seed collector who will be back there from time to time. We have grandchildren too, and let me tell you , the first time you say anything like that to one of them, you and I will go toe to toe."

He got mad then. "I would never talk like that to a kid!"

"You have no reason to be talking to anybody like that." 

"Well, he scared the shit out of me!"

"For ex-military, you don't seem to be very aware of your surroundings. The man did not sneak up on you. He walked right along the stream bank."

He snapped, "I know he wasn't sneaking up on me..." and glared.

I continued, "and as far as the ex-miltary stuff, that doesn't impress me much. That log cabin three doors down? That's my brother in law. He's ex-military. Two driveways down this way? That's my nephew. Injured in Iraq. Up on the hill there? That's another nephew. He did two tours in Afghanistan. Me, myself? I am ex-military too. So don't be pulling that card here."

He changed tactics then. "Listen, I am just a simple trapper..."

"Who needs to have some respect. If that kind of talk is ever repeated, you will not be permitted back."

He did apologize but he also said, "I thought this was S---------'s property!"

Mr ex-military not only has no awareness of his surroundings. Poor bastard can't read a plat map either.

"No," I said. "His property is behind ours."

He said, "well. I apologize. It won't happen again."

I said "I expect it won't," and headed up the hill with the mail. 

So...that's done.

Differences

 Today, when we got back from the Y, there was a strange truck parked in front of the old house. Tim was not alarmed. Either 'the seed collector' had gotten a new vehicle or it was a trapper we had previously allowed to trap. 

I know that some will consider that controversial. I do not have the stomach for trapping. Neither does Tim. That being said, probably between 1/4 to 1/3 of our property had been underwater when we bought it due to beaver activity.

Some folks believe that we have encroached on their territory. The truth is quite the opposite. There is a very large dam way back in woods at the back of an elderly couple's property. The thing is as tall as I am and as the water levels have risen and covered more and more of the property, the beaver have expanded the length of the dam. At this point it would be dangerous to remove in the normal way. As a person chipped away at the dam, the water would begin to rush through. The sheer volume would make it a hazardous endeavor, with a danger of being swept away and pulled under.

Because the beaver have lived an unbothered life, the colony has grown to the point that they had begun to migrate down stream. They set up housekeeping across the road at my sister and brother-in-law's where new dams were torn out again and again, because they were flooding the pasture. 

No doubt irritated by the constant interference, the beaver pulled up stakes and crossed under the bridge to our side of the road. We tore out their dams. It is not an easy job, and sometimes they rebuilt over night.

So. We permitted trapping. 

Anyway, Tim walked down to the creek to see who it was. I came in to make the coffee that I hadn't had time to make before the trip to the gym. 

Before long, Tim was back. "Yeah, it was the trapper." He hung up his coat. "I followed his tracks right in. He didn't hear me. I scared him." He pulled off his boots and set them in the boot tray. "He told me that was a good way to get myself shot..." 

I turned from the coffee pot. "Was he trying to be funny???!"

Tim said, "No. He was serious. Said he was ex-military..."

I was shocked. "He said that while he was standing on our property???!!!!"

Tim stared at me a little surprised. His mind works differently than mine. In his mind, the man was all bluff and bluster, and he did not take him seriously.

In my mind, when you have been granted a courtesy from a land owner you have a bit of respect. In my mind, I am sick of people pulling this ''I am ex-military" as if this training makes them something to handle carefully or as if they warrant extra respect. In my mind, it doesn't matter one whit if I think he would actually follow through or not. Do not try to bully or intimidate me or mine on my own place.

I said. "I am going down there to have a word. I am ex-military too if he wants to play that card."

Tim said, "He has gone."

I have been stewing over this all afternoon. It is probably good I had time to think. When I am mad, I have a tendency to run 'hot'. I may say things that I think better of later. Maybe that is what happened here. Maybe Tim did actually startle him. Maybe he just blurted something unfortunate. It happens. I understand that as well as anyone. 

Tim and I talked when he got back from some errand running.

"I am still upset about this morning and it is not something I am willing to overlook. What if he had said something like that to a grandson? We need to go to the gym early and get back early, because I am going to be waiting for that young man to check his line. I will give him a chance to explain himself, but if there is any bluff and bluster from him, I am telling him to pull his traps and get off this property." 

Tim looked at me mildly. "That's fine," he said.

Weekend's End

It is snowing outside. That is not a surprise, because the weather predicted it. However the weather also predicted that it was going to stop by 9 am. It was not supposed to be a 'snow event'. However, it did not stop snowing. It hasn't stopped snowing yet.

Tim was going to drop me off at the gym on his way to church. We had gone only a couple miles before we decided that this was not the best idea we ever had. There was sliding involved. 

So we came back home.

Our company decided to "keep his feet at home" as the Amish would say. He had let his woodstove go out and needed to be home to baby it back to life. 

So it was a quiet day in. The snow has not stopped, the wind has picked up. I fed the crows this morning. 3 stale snickerdoodles left from Christmas a scoop of corn, and the pan of dried catfood that had been rained on and frozen into a solid mess. 

The crows watched, and before long, they were swooping in from all directions. A large hawk came in and for awhile the crows carried on loudly from the trees. When he did not leave, they surprisingly flew back down and resumed eating along side him.

The interesting thing is that hawks do not eat corn. I am not sure that snickerdoodles are any more enticing. I suppose he could have been there for the lump of frozen catfood. I don't know. After they left, the bald eagle came to sit in a tree for for quite a while. I think he was probably waiting for a squirrel or rodent to try to nab a piece of corn.

 I read The Charmed Wife, which was a divorce retold as a fairy tale. An interesting approach, but 2/3 of the way in, I had to have a break. 

The protest yesterday was a good one, 50 people. What I notice is that the support is good. What I also notice is that the people are getting bolder. Two people in particular stand out, a truck driving aggressively as close as he could get to the curb we were standing on. Another young man standing with his upper body through a car's moonroof, throwing handfuls of wrapped candy like missiles and yelling. 

My hands and feet were freezing by the end of it all, but in the warmth of the car, we both agreed that it was good to be with like minded souls, and that the bad behavior we saw underscored the importance of standing fast. We will be there next week.

I stayed cold for the rest of the day though. I just could not get warm.

Does anyone live close to a Meijer? My youngest daughter saw this picture and remembered how she loved the mechanical horse at the store entrance. If anyone can find me one of those little toys at their Meijer, I would reimburse you for the price and postage.

Trump is not a mom, but he is a mother

In today's episode of 'As the Stomach Turns' (not original, thank Carol Burnett) we have this irony.

 trump threatens to hit Iran hard if protesters are attacked

*editorial note the 15 week training that was reduced to eight weeks has now been reduced to six weeks.

Yesterday, Christmas was moved to the attic, packed away for another year. My ornaments get packed away into an old steamer trunk, so the first order of business was getting that trunk into the attic. I was doubtful that this was possible. Tim was certain it could happen.

 I went for a tape measure. The trunk was 19 inches, and Tim triumphantly crowed "We have 19 1/2 inches clearance!" Guess he showed me alright.

Maneuvering that trunk up the fold down ladder was a nightmare. After three attempts we finally managed it. It will be up there for the rest of our natural lives, because I am not hauling it back down. I made multiple trips up the ladder carrying the tree and boxes of things to be packed in the trunk.

While I was doing this I was surprised to see a young man walking across the yard. Tim had noticed that traffic was slowing down and walked down the driveway to take a look. He had a flat tire. Tim told him to pull into the driveway. His spare tire was down to the cords and not safe. Tim pondered it and checked his garage. He had a rim and tire that would fit and got the fellow on his way, telling him to return the rim when he was able to get a replacement. It will be interesting to see if that happens. 

But that was yesterday and today is today. It has been  a quiet day. Raining, temps in the 60s.  Most of our snow is gone. Fear not: we have more on the way although I have not heard any reports of it being a snow event. 

I went to my first exercise class today, and then walked the track after it was done.  I really see that I am so very lucky.  I intend to keep it that way. Sun, Tues, Thurs, I do my 5 miles. Mon, Wed, and Fri I do the class and full body workout.

Thelma left a comment with her 'battle song' yesterday. Here is another for your collection. Happy birthday. 

Saturday we protest.

Join Ice

Videos are all over Facebook. An ice agent kicking over things at the Renee Good memorial. An ice agent walking down a line and macing people in the face. Clergy tear gassed. Nothing more than a blatant display of power. 

They want to show who is boss.

MAGA is okay with this.

 

Not the most cheerful post

 I think our little blogging circle has a lot of blogs in common, but for anyone who doesn't know, please stop over at Oddball Observations and leave a kind word for Bruce. The link is in my side bar.

Went to the gym today. It is a bit surreal watching gray heads bobbing along with Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love." Don't know why it should. I am one of those gray heads. I mean, we grocery shop to that music these days. Anyways, they were very friendly and several of them tried to get us to join them. Maybe I will. 

There are a lot of little stories to be seen at the gym. The old man who shuffled determinedly across the gym with his water bottle and his cane. I thought it was sweet that people set up his place for him. Bring the weights and resistance bands and the steps, etc.

The woman who worked quietly alone doing her stretches. 

The obese woman who had to stop several times to lean against the wall. 

The man in the weight room who looked so done in that i actually stopped to make sure he eas okay. He assured me he was and eventually headed to the treadmill. 

We were all there for the same reason, I suppose. A refusal to go gentle into that good night, but the first time that Blue Oyster Cult's 'Don't Fear the Reaper' comes blasting out of those speakers, I will have to go lean against the wall and have a good laugh.

I cannot even begin to say one thing about today's events. Just awful. And still their are Americans who thing it is all justified. Other people who don't believe it has anything to do with them. 

I will say this one thing: Family Life Radio is the Fox News of the radio airwaves, churning out pure propaganda.  

Also: Christian Nationalism has nothing to do with Christianty.

That's it. That's all I got.

Deep doodoo

 PS: 

The White House has  opened a website blaming police for January 6th. 

I don't even want to talk about Venezuela.

Blog note: from now on, if you come to my blog to challenge me, but don't have the guts to use your name, your comment will simply be deleted. I think you are a coward.

Tim and I got Y memberships. When we lived in town, there were a lot of places to walk. Here, not so much. The highway has very heavy semi truck traffic and I don't feel comfortable. 

Tim does not own sneakers. He wears boots. Working boots, hiking boots, muck boots, dress boots. Boots are not good for the gym. A bit of shopping was required for him. But we got him a comfortable pair of sneakers.

This morning. I got up and headed out. I did a solid hour work out. Tim did not go with me today. He decided his comfortable sneakers would be more comfortable if they were a half size larger.

Sounded suspicious to me too.

But I am glad to be exercising again. Something that I have noticed is that I am seeing a lot of obituaries of people younger than I am, which is a little sobering. I have also begun to notice that a lot of people my age are looking pretty rough. 

Use it or lose it. 

My weight loss was a good start. But I need to stay the course and I need to keep active. I walked the track today, and watched people playing pickleball. I don't know that my knee would take that lunging and twisting, but we will see. Everything feels possible.

I had a couple errands to run. I did them as quickly as I could, because they were calling for freezing rain. I decided to use the restroom before I left. I nearly collided with an elderly woman struggling to open the door while managing her walker. 

I held the door for her and she left quickly saying her daughter had left her in the car and would be concerned if she had finished her shopping and returned to the car only to find her mother gone. 

I felt that little fear as i watched her struggle: use it or lose it. 

I turned to enter the bathroom and it was literally covered in excrement. The toilet seat, the tp holder, the floor. Even the sink. I turned right around and left. 

A young mother was approaching with her toddler. I said, "Listen, you do not want to go in that bathroom. It needs attention." 

Her daughter was potty training. I said, "There is a family restroom at the back of the store, but you seriously do not want to use this one."

I let them know at the service desk, and felt very sorry for whoever got assigned to that. I checked out and headed to the car. I figured that my bladder could stand the 20 minute drive home. 

Off I went. About half way home, a little car suddenly jerked out into my lane to pass one of those semitrucks that I was telling you about earlier. On a curve. In a clearly marked no passing zone. 

It was a close one, but my bladder held.

It is raining like crazy here, but the good news is that it is too warm to freeze.