Hello, Lyn Messersmith here with your letter from the line camp, and a reminder to stop in and greet your neighbors down there on the corner of highways two and eighty three. Sandhill Oil is the go to place for all things automotive, as well as services like trenching and tire repair in the field. They also have fresh made food to tide you over till supper, and all manner of stuff to wet your whistle. Tell them hi for me while you’re there.
I admit it. Bruce and I are easily amused. It doesn’t take a lot to catch our interest and cause us to speculate and comment. When we were in Cody, Wyoming a couple of weeks back, we chuckled at the rabbits that play on everyone’s lawn and pay no mind to human activity. Magpies flew down by my feet to snack on crumbs in a parking lot and didn’t mind that I chattered back at them. Deer chomped on cherries growing in a yard a few doors down from my daughter’s place, then crossed the street to investigate the offerings in another location.
Bruce saw a rattlesnake stretched out on a dock where he and the grandkids fished. Said the park employee must have been a newbie because when Bruce reported the visitor the guy hit it with the flat side of his shovel rather than chopping it. That made the snake snarly and it turned into quite a spectacle before the reptile lost his head.
But probably the wildlife that has Cody residents most concerned is the tendency of tourist groups to wander into the street at any place they choose, disregardful of designated crossings and traffic lights. I guess some of us two leggeds lose our heads when we are on vacation.
We’ve enjoyed the wildlife at home this summer too. Swans nested on our lake for a while before pelicans moved in. A red tailed hawk hangs out along the fence line over the hill, and now and then I see him dive for his supper in the tall grass. Saw an eagle carrying a snake the other day, and we have baby toads by the dozen.
Often, when I mow I’m accompanied by a bevy of barn swallows swooping to catch the grasshoppers and mosquitos that fly ahead of me. A baby bunny likes to pretend he’s invisible until I get close enough to cause him concern.
Fireflies were thick for the first half of summer; then dragonflies took over. Afternoons, they’re thick on the north side of the house, and lately they’ve taken over for the swallows, ahead of the lawn mower. One evening after moonrise, we saw hundreds of dragonflies out after mosquitos. I hadn’t known they will fly at night.
Earlier in summer, we had one mid-sized toad that hung out in the flowerbeds. Tara, our younger dog, likes to nose him out of the way but knows it will bring a reprimand, so mostly doesn’t. He summered well, and is nearly as big as my fist now. He lives on the deck catching bugs that congregate on the screen doors, and can jump surprisingly high when motivated to do so. One evening, as Bruce went out, a huge dragonfly came in. After capturing it to turn loose outside he regretted doing so, because the toad had eaten it.
“That huge thing?” I asked. “They were almost the same size.”
“Yep. Took him quite awhile.”
As I said, we are easily entertained.
Meet me here next week and meanwhile do your best. Somebody might like it.