Skip to main content

Furry squatters

Greetings from Colorado, the forest green Subaru capital of the world. I'm here, rattling around in my cabin with only a small table, two chairs and a futon mattress for furniture. Still, it's good to be back in my old stomping grounds. The spring wind is trying hard to suck the rain forest moisture from my every pore. Too late. California already did that. It's been good to spend time with my BFFs in CA. They've all been great support.
The weather's actually borderline balmy here in Gunnison. It was a brutal winter for folks here. I think I'm glad I missed that, although I guess the powder on the mountain was epic. Now that the snow is melting and the mercury is rising, people act a little like they've just been let out of prison after a long sentence. The cabin is a little worse for the wear. The snow bent the iron railing that frames the front porch and the north fence is sagging in the moisture laden pasture. Otherwise, it's all good. I managed to light the pilot on the hot water heater last night when I got in. The plates that cover the hole where you stick the lighter-gun were a bear to remove for some reason. It's a good thing nobody was in the house to listen to me swear.
I also removed the insulation I'd placed at the base of the garage doors, only to discover the cozy sleeping quarters of about a dozen meadow voles. They scurried about, frantically discombobulated, trying to find their way out. So I helped them out a little by opening the door. Luckily, none had made their way into the house. Where's Abby the tabby when you need him? Oh yeah. He's in Hawaii, lounging on the lanai.
I'm off to the hardware store now. That's were I spend most of my time when in Gunnison, bonding with the guys at True Value. I opened a window in one of the bedrooms to air the place out. The fixture that usually enables me to crank it open pulled right out of the wood. So I need wood putty and new screws. It's always something with an old house.
With no Hilo humidity to give it bounce, my hair's gone straight. While I'm missing my natural curls, I am enjoying the sunshine.

A hui hou. Aloha!

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mom

This is my beautiful mom. She died last Sunday. For those who knew her, my heart breaks with you. For those who did not, here's an introduction to the best confidante, role model and mother a girl could hope for in life. This is the obituary I'd planned to submit to the local paper, but have opted instead to publish here. Obituary: Beverly Todd Bev -- my mom -- was a longtime caregiver, advocate, and dear friend to countless elderly in South Salem. Hers was a kind and generous spirit. She devoted much of her life to the welfare of others, giving wholly of herself and doing so always with great affection and humor. She was born Beverly Marie Steinberger in Silverton, July 23, 1938, the first child and only daughter of Art and Marie Steinberger. Her brothers called her Bevvy Buns, a nickname she grew fond of and wore proudly within the family circle as an adult. Bev attended St. Paul’s Elementary School in Silverton, Silverton High School and Marylhurst Co...
2 comments
Read more

Back at it

It's been some time since I've written. My mom died in February, and I haven't had the gumption to write much, other than a couple of feature stories for the paper and the occasional pithy email to a friend. Tonight, sitting in my favorite burger joint with a pile of fries in front of me, I dunk them into a deep pool of ketchup mixed with a hot sauce. That's how Mom liked 'em. My burger? The Spicy Hawaiian, a nod to my 808 connections. It's a brilliant combination of peppers and pineapple, a favorite on the Power Stop menu. I'm sure she'd have loved it, too. There's a bubbly beer with a lime in it. That's not a homage to anything. I just like beer. These past months, I've done little but work, search and apply for jobs. Two rejection letters have landed in my email this week. Search-and-apply has become a futile obsession. It's time for a break, at least until I hear back from all those applications still floating around out there. I am...
Post a Comment
Read more

Goodbye Dan Fogelberg

Saturday started out as just another day to clean the house. Within a short time, however, I found myself on a mission; a mission of arachnid eradication. The spiders, for all their great bug-eating prowess, have a tendency to get a bit out of control in a place where there's no real winter. They're not only everywhere outside, but inside, too. I found webs with giant eight-leggers in corners, on the ceiling, hiding under window shades....everywhere! They were in places I vacuumed just two days before. Since the invasion of the beetles, the spiders have grown enormously fat and happy. So I sucked 'em all up. EEEEEEEEWWWWWW! I was none too keen on removing the vacuum bag. In addition to spider sucking, there was fun with fungi. What did the girl mushroom say to the boy mushroom? Gee your a fun-gi! Unfortunately, the prevailing fungus amongus was not shitakes or portabellos, but mold and mildew. Again.... eeeeeeeeewwwwww! I cleaned the top of the fridge, which was home to a n...
4 comments
Read more