act naturally

living out in the country as we do, we are not provided with city-provided electricity. rather, we are members of a local electrical co-operative. as luck would have it, most of the board of directors are under investigation for stealing profits, but that is a story for a different day.

as members of a coo-op we receive a magazine every month called "texas co-operative monthly" or something equally creative. it is often filled with stories about small towns across the state, "cutesy" pictures of grandpa taking a nap with the dog, and articles concerning energy saving/ environmental ideas.

one of the more recent articles i enjoyed concerned creating "wild" areas on one's property. through landscaping flowering and nut-and-berry producing plants one would attract wildlife to the area. they can help keep down insects and some rodents. mostly the author simply lauded the pleasures of watching nature exist on one's own property.

jackson and i have done a little bit of work trying to create an environment friendly to the "wild." we have running water and other water receptacles around the yard. we've hung several bird feeders. squirrel feeders are about. we are in the process of finishing our first owl house. we have quite a few plants that naturally produce foods which will attract the critters.

our first hope was that ours would be an inviting home for birds. they are everywhere. i wish i cared enough to look in an ornithology book to discover all of the various species that frequent our feeders and baths, but for now i am quite content in watching and listening to them while i sit on my porch.

of course the squirrels and deer are incorrigible. after a few weeks of running around like an idiot with a bb-gun, i decided i looked like too much of a wanker and was going to lose the war anyway. i have made my peace with the fact that they will do as they please, and that fact will not be altered.

the coolest part of the whole project has been the arrival of the creatures i wasn't really expecting. there are rabbits about. i have seen an owl a couple of times. we really need to finish his house. we've acquired a foursome of guinea hens. i have no idea where they came from or where they go when the leave; but most mornings around 8, they are pecking around in the grass. we also have got 2 raccoons creeping up onto our porch every night after the sun goes down. they don't seem to bother frosty at all, but they are very interested in his cat food. i guess they are just too darn cute to chase off, so we put out a little food for them and feed frosty in the house now.

now, if i see or smell a skunk anywhere around all bets are off and we are getting rid of everything.

the rude falls not far from the tree

a few days ago, jackson and ava and i were down at the river. the temperature was a little too cold for ava to get in so she and i were sitting on the sidewalk watching jackson as he jumped and swam. i brought a small basketball to throw to him as he jumped into the water.

the whole while, there were two other boys -they looked and acted like brothers- swimming near us. eventually the older boy left for a little while and the younger boy approached jackson looking for someone with whom to play. jackson had just jumped in the water and was holding onto the wall. the boy was standing up on the sidewalk and asked jackson if he liked to dive. true to his father's precedent, jackson acted as if he hadn't heard the question and did not reply. the boy asked again," do you know how to dive?"

jackson looked the other way, released his grip on the sidewalk and slowly floated down the river without any noticeable response to the query.

while i was disappointed in jackson's rudeness to this little boy who was just looking for a friend; i knew exactly where he was coming from and it brought a smile to my face.

it would appear that he is in for a lifetime of anti-social behavior modeled after my own and that saddens me a bit. sometimes it can be chore to avoid and ignore others with the required amount of steadfastness.

converseley, i still can't find it in my realm of patience to be bothered by others. and i'm nearly 40...what chance does he have at 8?

avoid running at all times

i have not enjoyed running in a long while.

when i was in middle and high school i loved to run. mostly i think it was because i was pretty good at it. though i enjoyed doing it, i didn't really run track. i preferred to jump. through high school i was a long jumper and a high jumper. i didn't participate in any running events other than at the spur of the moment because there might be a spot free in the "no-chance" heat of the 400.

during practice, i trained about as hard as the rest of the team. intervals were every bit as much a part of my daily routine. the only difference was that after they were done, i worked on jumping technique instead of running technique.

the real decision maker for me involved meets. the field events were held first thing in the morning. by the time the sun had really gotten high, i was finished with my events and cooling out under the parachute. while the rest of the team were still preparing for - and worrying about - their races, i was taking it easy trying to meet girls from other schools.

while on my mission, i ran for a few months. stewart marriott was a very fit companion who was intent on retaining his modeling career after his mission was over. we ran and lifted or stretched 6 days a week. i don't know what happened to me, but he went home to make a lot of money in modeling. for a long time there i would see him in major publications promoting huge companies.

a couple of weeks ago, i decided to go down to the barton creek green belt before work. i do this pretty often when i don't have to be at work early. i was listening to mozart on my ipod while hiking off through the woods. for some unknown reason, i just felt like running. it actually felt pretty good. i think all told, i ran/walked about 3 1/2 miles. the rest of the day i felt great. so the next morning i decided to go again, mostly to try and keep the soreness down. another great day.

something about the trail must be the deciding factor. there is hardly anyone else there. i usually see about 3 people in 40 minutes. rather than pounding away on some street that looks just like it did 5 minutes ago, the trail changes constantly. i even had to dodge a rattlesnake last week.

although i've been 7 times in the last two weeks, i don't know how long this current infatuation will last. i hope for a good while. maybe i just needed the right circumstance to make it work. i certainly could stand to be a little more fit.

now, if i could only learn to jangle a bit when i walk.