Ticked Off

Ugh! Woods and hairy dogs and bug queasiness do not mix. This year has been a record for dog ticks up here in the woods and I cannot have one itch without quickly looking or scurrying to the bathroom to make sure that there isn't yet another tick on me! I've pulled about 20 off my dogs in about a month (no easy task with healthy-coated Newfies) and their tried and true flea and tick topical treatment isn't even working. Ticks are the absolute worst insect I have encountered (almost impossible to kill because of their hard outer exoskeleton) and the only one I enjoy watching die a slow, painful death. Nice thing for an animal lover to say.....

Gross, huh? And what a way to begin posting again after 4 months.

I may be seeing more ticks in my life because I have been hiking at my favorite spot, Raven Trail every weekend. I have loved this little piece of heaven since I discovered it when I first came up here about 8 years ago. Tourists have not really discovered it yet, although there is a "forest art"exhibition going on there from now until mid-June, so I guess it won't be long, I suppose. Right now, though, I can still walk one of the 4 trails there without seeing a soul and the dogs absolutely love it there, and find it even more peaceful than my neck of the woods.

Pave Paradise and put up a parking lot

Although I do love being able to look from my hotel room on the 20th floor to the cityscape outside my window, I have to admit that it takes coming into the city for a few days to appreciate life in the woods. The driving is the first thing that got me. Minneapolis has never really had enough roads for its population - even when I lived here nearly 8 years ago!I feel extremely lucky that I still have my set of "Twin Cities driving cujones" so I felt no remorse whipping over two lanes to get off at my exit downtown and was able to avoid the fender bender that always seems imminent when driving on I-94 in the city. The second thing that got me is the light. Now, I really wanted to sleep with my curtains pulled all the way open so I could enjoy the night lights, but of course, I couldnt sleep because of the, well, night lights! Third of all is the $5 cup of coffee I am drinking right now. I make my own cafe breve at home with good coffee (that I get from the ahem- city-ahem), an italian espresso maker, and a handy dandy spinning milk foamer. I know it does not cost $5 a cup, nor do I need to grunt small talk at someone who has been up since 5 a.m. Fourth is the people. I swear, I saw more deer in the Northwoods in the past week than people I saw on my way down to get my $5 cup of coffee. It is good to see people, after all, we are social animals. But when you are used to the solitude of the woods, it just takes getting used to.

It is times like these that I don't know whether I could survive living full-time in the city again, although I still have fantasies when I am at home. Well, I will enjoy the things that the city offers while I'm here, including the conference that I have the good fortune to be attending.

Okay,was just on our two hour lunch break and I decided to visit my old stomping grounds - mainly Midwest Federal, where I spent 7 years working at a small outfit called TV Guide,and the IDS Center, where I was a bank teller. Not a bank, as I had previously written. (thanks, Renee!). As I was looking for a place to have lunch, I figured out two more things I don't miss about the city:
1, and this is tricky to say, but living in the city you can no longer ignore homeless people. Walking down Nicollet Mall, I remember years ago walking those same streets on the way to work and feeling bad/avoiding eye contact with people looking for a handout. So easy to avoid even thinking about homeless people when you live in an area where, if there are any, they are hidden away.
2, being aware of my purse/cash at all times. It is so funny (not ha-ha funny, either) that I immediately found myself with my hand on my wallet on one side and hugging the buildings on the other. It was so automatic: you can take the girl out of the city....

When the moon is in the seventh house....

I took this photo from my deck about a month ago and fooled around with editing it. I really like the way it turned out. I certainly have my father's artist eye.

Hmmm. Today I edited a draft of a neighbor's book and really enjoyed doing it. That took a lot of my day, though, so the rest was pretty boring. No strange noises emanating from the woods on my walk with Baci today.

Oh well, enjoy the photo!

Rushes in the sky

It is an in and out sunshiny winter day. One of those days when you bundle up extra tight as you step outside because you are in the shade and it's a little windy. Then, when you step out into the bright winter sun, closer to the earth than in the summer, it is actually hot enough to yank the scarf off your neck and put your gloves back in your pocket - that is, until you reach a shady area again....

The street I walk on with my pooches is easy to navigate now - it's no longer an Olympic skating rink. And like it always is, it is silent with the sounds of nature unless an occasional car drives by. A strange phenomenon happened today, though. I was just about in the middle of my walk, at the place I call "straight pines," which are rows and rows of six-story pines lined up as straight as a New York City boulevard.

Anyway, the wind just seemed to be blowing a little, but I kept hearing this rushing noise, very loud, almost like a train. This noise was tempered by a squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek of the trees bending, which either sounded like a very large barn door opening, or Mrs Bates' rocking chair in the movie "Psycho". I couldn't decide. Any way, it was very strange and got me thinking of "Psycho," which family rumor has it, I was taken to inadvertently as a toddler at a drive in. This is probably why I have always been freaked out, yet fascinated, by serial killers.

Now, ironically, I live about 100 miles straight north of where Ed Gein (the man who Psycho is based upon) did his dirty deeds like making lampshades out of his neighbors and doing other nasty things to corpses. That was in Plainfield, WI, and at least once a week I hear a radio commercial promoting the exciting activities and restaurants that the Plainfield Truck Stop has to offer. I have to put my brain in shut-down mode in order to keep driving......