Out here, we have more critters than neighbors.
Island raccoons are not like Denver raccoons. The urban ones are friendly, happy, and eat everything they see. Island raccoons are bad tempered, have an attitude, and eat everything they see. I’m pretty sure this one would have tried to force his way inside the door if I left it open for a minute longer.
We saw this strange orange thing up in the sky this morning. Not sure what it was. It was really bright and hard to look at. I think it was a spaceship, or some kind of weird fireball that inexplicably appeared for a few moments. Going to contact NASA and see if they know anything about this.
We were on the ferry when we saw it. The winged sea-rats (depicted on right) did not seem terribly alarmed. I think they use the orange light to help them scavenge for food. They’re always staring at me like I have popcorn in my pockets or something.
Once we got off the ferry, it turned into a really foggy day. The highways were downright eerie, and flanked by the gray silhouettes of gnarled, leafless trees. Not to mention the california drivers shooting by at speed limit +20, oblivious to the fact that they can’t see more than 30 yards ahead of them at a time. Maybe they were just watching their GPS to make sure they were following the road okay.
The weather on the way back was nice. Clear skies with little banks of fog socked into the lowlands. Like hordes of zombies moving slowly from suburb to suburb to prey upon the living. Seriously, fog like that is really creepy. Got a neat view of Mt. Baker with the moon right behind it. More winged rats were scavenging the beaches for anything they could wrap their beak around. They’re in league with the zombies, I’m sure of it.
While on the beach, we found a bird feather that we brought home for Inky. She went absolutely ballistic. It smelled like bird, real authentic Bird! She was completely nuts over it. I mean, Cuckoo-for-Cocoa Puffs nuts.
Well, we got back from the mainland with a carload of goods from Target and Walgreens and other various luxuries we don’t often find on the island. It’s a balancing act. Not only does it cost around $50 just to get the car on the ferry, but we’re talking 12 hours of Life that goes by between the time we have to get up and the time we get back. So $50 + (cost of gas) + (whatever you think your free time is worth per hour × 12 hours) is the base cost of dragging yourself to the mainland for a shopping excursion. Naturally, we save a bit of money at the big box stores stocking up on paper towels and napkins and stuff, but if your net savings isn’t greater than what you came up with in the equation above, you lost money. Not monopoly money. Real, live, legal tender for all debts public and private. In this case, I think we broke even.
We bought a cord of firewood a while back, so when we got home we had plenty of fuel to make this house nice and toasty. So we could unfurl our retail store prizes in the comfort of a warm home. I must say, that is well worth the price of admission.
I think some people have this internal Critter List where they mentally keep track of all the critters they have seen. I know I do. These are critters we’ve seen in their own natural habitat, their home, the places they actually live. When we see them in a zoo or at a circus, while cool, it’s not the same thing. The guy down the road has llamas and geese on his farm, and it’s neat. But it’s not like a wild critter sighting.
We’ve all seen the usual ones, the squirrels and birds and pigeons and stuff. Bats and foxes and raccoons are not uncommon. If you’re from Florida, I’m sure you can cross alligators off your list. Most people have seen snakes and frogs and turtles in their travels. Hawks, sure. Rats? Hey, they’re critters. Starfish? Got ’em. Wild turkeys? Yup. Owl? Haven’t seen them but I’ve heard one. River otters? Yup. Never seen a bear or a mountain cat myself but I know plenty of people who have.
Well, now I can finally add this little critter family to my list. Orca whales, headed east across the sea, right outside my front door. Not in a zoo, not at sea world, not on the farm up the road or in some guy’s backyard swimming pool, but right here. How cool is that?
They don’t surface for very long so you have to be quick with a camera. I’m very happy to have been able to see these guys.
Okay, so I know what you’re supposed to do when you meet the Buddha on the road. Not sure about turkeys.
It’s a family of six. Four of them were newborns earlier this year. They always hang out in the same area, usually along the road or in peoples’ front yards. Sometimes they fly up onto someone’s roof. Yes, they can fly, though not far. I’ve seen them fly up about 20 feet and take roost in a tree.
They all survived thanksgiving, which was a bit surprising but we’re glad they did. They’re fun to have around. They’re not the brightest things on the road, and in a way they remind me of tourists. You pull your truck up to them and it takes them a minute to figure out that they need to move or they’ll get run over. Kind of like people crossing the street in Denver.
Only user/inky or an administrator can unlock this computer. And I’m not so sure about the administrator.
It’s been crazy here but I’ll be posting some more pics soon.
It starts. We broke ground on the garage. They dug a nice trench and set up an area for drainage. Found some big landscaping boulders down there too (not like we don’t have about 4,216 boulders already, but I’ll take a few more).
It’s going to be a while before we even think about landscaping. But when we do, I like to have a bunch of rocks to work with. I remember in Denver we paid like $900 for a landscaping boulder. Out here, I got more than I know what to do with.
The excavation went really well, and quick. Didn’t encounter anything they couldn’t dig up with the backhoe. Next comes the forms for the concrete. Once the forms are constructed, the concrete is poured. Once that’s dry, the framing is put up. And the roof. And the sheathing. Electrical. Roof. Before you know it we’ll have a garage.
With a garage comes my tools, and a shop. And inside the house we’ll have the floors installed and we’ll get some furniture here. We’ll have furniture, shop, real floors, a garage. It’ll start to feel a little less like camping.
Well, it’s the only thing the deer won’t eat so we planted a bunch of them. No point planting petunias and hydrangea; that’s just deer food. But potted cats are pretty hardy and if you time it just right you can take them in for the winter and they’ll live year round. Next I think we’ll get a bouquet of kittens for a hanging basket.
…
(It’s our neighbor’s cat)
(no, we didn’t get Inky another cat)
(she’d kill us)
I cannot overstate the excitement, the enthusiasm, the sheer passion Inky has in hunting the Bedmonster. Daily she demands our assistance in finding the elusive beast. It slithers under the blankets, crawls in the shadows, and darts just out of reach of her dagger-like claws. When she hunts the Bedmonster, she becomes a Mayan jaguar god, a cunning and ruthless hunter that finds her prey even under the deep cover of blankets. And when she finds it, the mouse-shaped furball with leather strings attached to it, she pounces and bites and claws and kicks and twists, until it moves no more.
But then, it moves again. Tries to retreat under the blanket. Dig deeper into the comforter. And Inky is quick to dart after it. Claw! Bite! Kick! Clutch! Her hunter’s eyes become wide as saucers. She digs it out from under the blankets, until it struggles no more.
As far as we’re concerned, the only Bedmonster in the bed is black and furry and is named Inky.