Where'd This Week Go?

Time is so fluid, one moment it rushes like an overflowing river and without any warning what-so-ever it seems to still like a placid lake.  I don't know any placid lakes, I'm not sure that I ever did, but these past couple of weeks have gone by as if I were busy-which I am not.

I have been doing a lot of writing, and liking what I've written.  The bear has made some reappearances, and I am happily looking out for him while keeping my trash indoors.  I did some online research and discovered that my bear isn't dangerous as long as I never feed him, that's easy...just as I'm getting used to this whole bear idea along came...the snakes.  Yes, you read that right, snakes, plural. 

At some point during the Waldo Canyon Fire, which was just a couple of miles away and mercifully progressing further away, I noticed the wood among the leaves on the far side of the house.  The wood was not so much piled as collected there after each of the storms knocked them off my trees and my neighbors.  One of the disadvantages of living at the end of a street, or just my street in particular, is that the wind carries all of the debris right to the top of my driveway.

As a last resort, I began pitching them over the fence and wishing I had a fireplace...or wishing that I'd assemble the fire pit Aunt Joan/Jean gave me that last Christmas...or figuring that I'd deal with it eventually.   As the heat and smoke persisted, and the news ran updates minute by minute for days on end, there was no avoiding it, the wood had to go! 

The next day laborer to knock on my door, as they do around here, looking for work was hired.  He stacked and tied the branches to be carted away and then went out to turn the leaves and spread them around the yard to avoid spontaneous combustion.  He came to the door carrying a young snake which he had accidentally whacked and wanted to know if I wanted to try to save it.  He was very sorry.  I did not scream but I surely wanted to.

As it turns out, these too are harmless-which is a very good thing because he saw several of them darting away when he happened upon the other.   I also learned that the snakes are excellent for keeping field mice and such out of your house and that they mean that my ground is very healthy...okay, I guess...though I don't know why it would matter because I am never going out in that yard again.