Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Limping Butterfly, Creeping Deer

Yes, my life is like a Chinese art film sometimes. Without all the cool martial arts and flying through the air.... Or the beautiful clothes.... Or the Oscar nominations...

There's been a wounded, monarch butterfly clinging to a dried wreath we have hanging up on the side entrance door for a few days now. It hasn't moved in a while and I kept checking to see if it's dead, but it always moves a bit if I get too close. My husband noticed it first and saw that its wings had gotten wet and one was damaged, probably during all the heavy rain we got on Saturday. Anyway, it hasn't budged in a while and I was feeling badly for it and thought perhaps I should try and feed it. I got a 1/2 teaspoon and filled the reservoir with a pinch of sugar and some water and picked up the butterfly with its face pointed toward the sugar-water mixture. It was one of the coolest things I'd ever seen. It moved its little head downward and its long probiscus uncurled, then dipped into the water, drinking with gusto. Yes, I could see it drinking with gusto. The thing must have been starving and that really seemed to help him bounce back. After a while of feeding him I kept trying to place him back on the wreath but he wouldn't get off of my finger. Ironic since I spent so many hours as a child trying to get these things to land on my finger. I was finally able to send him off and he flew as far as the garbage/recycling shed. Guess I'll have to go check on him later and see if there's anything else I can do...

Later this morning I spotted a grazing deer up on the hill. I had the video camera on the kitchen counter, right near the window but remembered that the battery needed recharging and I tried to plug it in and almost got it in time when David hit the window with his hand, scaring the deer back up the path. One of these days I'll get it on film. Then I will tell my story...

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Nothing Says Good Morning Like Mice Parts!

That's right...David discovered it on the deck just outside the slider this morning. I was in the middle of preparing oatmeal for the kids when I heard, "Oh, it's a mouse mommy! I found a mouse!" Nothing stops me in my tracks quicker than my children hovering over small, dead animals.

David was only half right. Because it was only half a mouse. The bottom half. Interesting, because we found the top half a few days ago. That was an even less pleasant discovery. It was on the dining room floor and Sofia was pointing at it, trying to get my attention. I didn't have my contacts in yet and was about to pick it up then recoiled as the object came into focus, just inches from my face. Should I be more horrified by the severed mouse head or my poor, poor vision??

Apparently since we began letting her go outside, little Gritty is becoming quite the mouser. This isn't the first time she's left a little treat for us to find. Okay, for me to find. Seems like I'm the one always getting stung, discovering dead woodland creatures or trying to drown the fruit flies in a cup of wine. Perhaps I should drown myself in a wee bit of the stuff.

Actually what's weird is this kind of stuff isn't really bothering me anymore. It just becomes part of the daily routine; pick up kids' toys, put away some dishes, throw out bits of mouse, make the beds, make lunch, play "Candyland" with the kids, kill a dozen yellow jackets. Then clean up after lunch, play soccer outside for a bit, put kids down for nap, chase away meandering black bear from yard...

You know, just the usual, everyday kind of stuff.