We Met Some of Our Neighbors

Do you remember this video? I think we saw it way back in our Utah days. The man in the video is Lynn Chestnut. He and his wife stopped by yesterday to check the progress on the house. They saw it get moved and were curious how it turned out. I always love showing the house off. How shocked was I to discover that Lynn was the man in the infamous deer fighting video? His wife is the one filming and as I understand it, she was told to keep filming and not run to the rescue. The Chestnuts have a herd of elk and have "owned" bears in the past. They live in Toledo, not Winlock. Toledo is also the birthplace of Bigfoot. Not sure what is in the water over there.

Bad Weather Mojo

The thermometer here is through the roof. Yesterday our temp climbed above 105 degrees! This is not normal Washington weather. I think the heat is breading bad mojo.

At the post office I learned that one of my customers was in an accident on the same road where one of the carriers crashed. It doesn't look good for her and I am sad. She is always really friendly and I like taking packages to her house. There have been other deaths on that road and I am starting to feel kind of spooked there.

Then out on the route, a heat addled bird flew in front of my car and I am pretty sure I hit it. Usually the birds get out of the way but not this one.

Later I saw a peacock in a shady patch on the side of the road. I looked closer and saw there were two. I drove by slowly so as not to spook them from their cool spot and realized that the male peacock was not resting but actually dead and the female was keeping a frenzied vigil. I understand that peacocks mate for life and I felt sick in my heart for her. I asked at the nearest house if the peacocks lived there but the owner's didn't know whose birds they were.

But the bad bird day wasn't over. Towards the end of the route I came upon a Canadian goose wandering down the middle of the road. Something was wrong with his wing and was breathing heavily through his open mouth. Like a fool I tried to chase him down. To what end? To squirt water on him? To grab him and stuff him in the mail wagon with all the mail? I don't know what I was thinking. The best I came up with was to chase him off the road into a shady glen and hope for the best.

His Mother's Child

Just like his Mom, Dar, Matt likes to photograph bugs. She is very professional about it her husband even had a book of her work printed (we have a copy if anyone wants to have a look). Matt is still at the point and shoot stage of bug photography. These are my favorite recent pictures.

We don't know what sort of bug is shown in the last 5 of the 6 shots but w like to call it the "pug bug".

The Kittens

Norah and Audrey got another rabbit. Only this time we didn't save it. We heard the ruckus outside but all the flashlights were dead and we couldn't(wouldn't?) find the murderers in the forest in the dark. The next day Matt found an explosion of bloody rabbit fur outside and then he found the front half of the rabbit just inside the cat door and kindly disposed of it before I stumbled upon it. He is a good husband.

Kathy Saves a Fawn

The other day I got a call from Kathy. "Bring your camera, there is a fawn by the side of the road that is less than a day old", she said. The mother was nowhere around and the fawn was so new and delicate that when it tried to stand the wind from passing cars blew it over. When I got there it had made its way from the edge of the road into some grasses. Wildlife services had not arrived by the time I left so we never found out what happened to it. Hopefully the mother returned and guided it to safety. That is the story I am sticking to.

Little Bunny Foo Foo

Drew and I went to Longview this evening to buy some stuff from Lowe's. When we got back we were talking with Matt in "the Room" (as I have taken to calling our little living space. It must be spoken out loud in dark and ominous tones), when we heard a loud squealing coming from the bay (the unheated garage portion of the pole building currently a maze of boxes and stuff waiting to move into the house). Drew and I are all, "what the . . ?" and Matt is all, "I know! I just heard that 10 minutes ago. There is murder going on in the bay. Norah and Audrey have something out there but I can't find what they have." The three of us went out to investigate but came up empty. Drew went home and I was futzing around on the computer when Matt came in from the bay with a stricken look. "It is a RABBIT!!!" he said. I was all, "OMG, OMG, OMG! Where is it? Is it still alive? What do we do?!!" Matt put on a pair of gloves and I got a towel and he eventually cornered it in our recently emptied kitchen sink box. We wrapped it in the towel, took a couple of pics, briefly succumed to its utter cuteness, almost kicked all the cats to the curb and kept the bunny, came to our senses and took it outside into the forest. Hopefully it had a chance to find a hiding place before Norah and Audrey discovered it was gone from the building. When we came back in they were stalking around the bay like a couple of lionesses on the veldt.

Now it was a small rabbit to be sure but we must give mad props to Norah for this catch. Remember Norah is our tiny dancer, she isn't much bigger than a kitten. It won't be long now before she drags in a freaking raccoon.

On the Mail Route

Nanny Goat here was really, really vocal. Perhaps that is why she was tied to a tree out by the road. Far, far away from the house.

Let's Open the Mailbag, Shall We?

I have taken these pictures on the mail route over the last few months:

We have a goat farm in Winlock (The Blue Rose Dairy) that produces delicious goat cheese. The goats are not always in the field by the road so I don't get to see them every time I do this route.

In the spirit of past posts highlighting the homemade signs so prevalent around here, I present a warning against human waste. No, I have not visited the website. This sign is an upgrade. For months there was a small stenciled sign tacked to a fence. One day it was gone. The next week it was replaced by this giant sign. Well, giant might be taking it too far. It is maybe 6 or 7 feet wide.

Geese. Mean and Funny rolled into one.

Whatcha doin?

I shot this one rainy day a few weeks back. I was going to put it to music but I decided to leave the background noise. That way you can enjoy a little slice of rural mail route life. I am listening to "The Sound of Young America" on XM133. I know this world is different strokes for different folks but believe me when I tell you there are many moments in a rural mail carriers daily grind that are very nearly perfect.

With Love to My Friends and Family

This has absolutely nothing to do with life here in Eggtown. But believe me when I tell you that I WISH this took place in my backyard! Thx to Jezebel for directing me to this post over at LiveLeak.

Sheep, Sheep, Elk

The mail route was kind of beastly today. That is a joke. See, the mail truck was late and the mail volume was heavy and that made the day, how shall we say? Beastly! So to keep my spirits up while I was delivering I made a special effort to enjoy the "beasts" I met along the way. I must be out of my depression. A depressed person could not laugh at that joke. And yet, here I am chuckling as I write. Anyhoo, today I found these sheep particularly charming. Sometimes when I go past this property the owners have sheep dogs in training so naturally the sheep are running to and fro. Today they had some leisure time.

A little farther along on the route I came upon the neighborhood elk herd. They hang around on South Military and Roth road. We see them pretty regularly. Today they were right up near the road which is unusual and, although they spooked a bit when I stopped the car and aimed my camera, they didn't run, also unusual.On the next road I saw 2 bald (that's for you Drew) eagles circling over a field. Seeing bald eagles will never get old. I don't have a telephoto lens so there was no point in taking a picture. I have tried that before and only end up with smudges on a watery blue background. So, come to WA to visit and maybe you can see one too.

Good Riddance 2008

I am going to go on record as saying that 2008 was not the best year for me. Sure wonderful, new, interesting experiences were had but, as the year draws to a close, I feel worn out and thin. As I write this Matt is in Utah with his dad who was overtaken with an incredibly fast moving pancreatic cancer. It was discovered the week after Thanksgiving and we are all fearful that he doesn't have much time left. And by not much time I am speaking mere days. So, between Grandpa's passing, Doug's failing health and some other things I don't feel like sharing, the last quarter of 2008 blows. I guess it is coloring my mental review of the whole year. I should go back and read the blog from earlier days to remember that there were jollier times. I plan to fly to Utah in the next day or two, weather permitting.

Here is a video that makes me laugh. I am going to be reciting the following over and over: I am the penguin. I am the penguin.

Yes We Clam!

Freshly rinsed clams trying desperately to escape the bucket.

Clams in my net. I am personally responsible for their untimely deaths.

The mighty huntress. In my left hand I hold the clam gun. Action shot to follow.

Tom shows how it is done. First you must find a little hole in the sand indicating a clam lurks beneath the surface. Then you plunge the clam gun down over the hole as far as you can and pull up a column of sand using suction. Hopefully the clam is in the column of sand. If it is you put it in your net and go after another one. If the clam is not in the sand you go back in the hole and dig down further. If you still don't get it you move to a new location.

Saturday, after the mail route, I went to the beach house with Tom. It was a clam tide weekend and so we loaded up dig supplies (clam gun, nets, lanterns) and drove up the beach to the spot that he swears offers up the best digging. I don't think I am allowed to reveal the location. Ever since we moved up here its been "clam this, clam tide that". As a vegetarian I poo pooed all the clam talk. I wonder if I must surrender my veggie credentials after this weekend. Why did I agree to participate in such a barbaric activity? Peer pressure. Plain and simple. I mean, everyone is doing it. Matt has already been initiated. I was beginning to feel left out.

Before going digging I said if I caught one I would eat a clam. I am backpedaling now. See, I didn't realize that when we dug them up parts of the clams would be wiggling outside of the shell. I thought everything would be all hidden inside the clam, no fuss, no muss. But that is not how it works. This fleshy, squirming thing-a-ma-bob hangs out the end all, "help me! help me!, the Horror!, the Horror!". I am sooo not down with that (tiny screams are ringing in my ears).

We bagged our limit of 15 clams each and clams are on the menu tonight. I will probably take a bite. If I do, it won't be because I am holding to my word. It will be peer pressure all over again.

Update: I put a bite of clam in my mouth and was chewing the rubbery awfulness when Matt said, "ha ha. you are no longer a vegetarian". So I pulled the partially chewed gelatinous mass out of my mouth and put it on his plate. Verdict: I don't like clams. It is not a sacrifice to keep them out of my mouth.

On the Mail Route - Autumn Edition

More reasons why I love my job:

That is Mt. Rainier in the background.

Can you Tell What This Is?

A poor little bat got flushed from the Sister House, flew into the garage and got stuck to flypaper. He was long dead before we found him. I can tell you that we are now anti-flypaper. I mean how many bugs do you think a bat eats in one night? Probably a bunch more than were stuck to that strip before the bat got nabbed.

Returning to the Blogosphere Gradually

Hat tip to Popbitch for this video.

The Puyallup Fair - Mish Mash of Animals

Drew's favorite dog in the canine pavilion.

This guinea pig wants no part of the fair proceedings. That or there is a tasty tidbit in the bottom of the oatmeal container.

Llama

Alpaca

Drew and I have a semi-friendly debate over which is better: alpacas or llamas. I vote llama, Drew votes alpaca. Matt, by the way, votes independant on this, or rather, he prefers niether. That is a fine position for now but what will he do when I come home witha llama someday? It is GOING to happen. No use fighting it. Here is a link to my last alpaca post and a link to my post about Precious, the first llama I ever met.

Maybe this will change my mind:

The Puyallup Fair - Goats (and a Sheep)

Did you know that there is a breed of goat that doesn't have ears? I mean they don't have ear flaps, just holes. They are called La Mancha goats. Finding out things like this is why fairs are da bomb.

See the growths on this guys neck? They are called waddles. They are a defense mechanism. In the days when goats roamed free if a wolf or other predator tried to grab a goat of this sort by the neck they would be disappointed. The waddle is designed to tear off so all the predator would get is a half a mouthful of waddle hopefully giving the goat time to run away. This seems like a better plan than that of the fainting goats.

The Puyallup Fair - Rabbits

I didn't have the greatest time in the 4-H rabbit pavilion. First off I held my finger up to a cage so a bunny could get a sniff. I am not stupid. I did not stick my finger in the cage. But no sooner had I raised my hand than a uppity little eleven year old drunk on 4-H power barked, "Don't put your fingers in the cage." I looked at her and moved along. She sneered after me, "There are, like, signs everywhere, duh." Reeling from shame I continued down the next aisle where, I swear, an APB had been sent out on me. Every little girl with a 4-H badge gave me the stink eye.

Then a rabbit peed on me. We had moved from the regular sized rabbits to the giant rabbits. As we stood gazing in wonder a big beast of a thing hopped in a half circle with his butt to the crowd and sprayed. There was an unfortunate family standing directly in front of his cage and they got kind of soaked with urine. On a hot summer day. With lines a mile long for the restrooms! Matt and I got a few drops on our feet. It could have been worse. In fact I get worse at home on a regular basis. Just ask Russell.

This is the happy sprayer. After he doused everybody I went in for a pic and backed away just as he shot again!

The Southwest Washington Fair - Horses

There was a sort of theme in the horse barn. See if you can tell what it is: