Toad Lake Blotter

News from the Wierd and Wonderful World of Big Toad Lake

The baby birdies outside my window are coming along nicely. Of course, I haven't been able to open the curtains on that window since they were born, because the momma won't fly to the nest when there's a big gaping window with dark shapes moving around behind it. Can't say I blame her. But you can see the little ones now, three of them, with fuzzy gray heads. They like to prop their heads on the edge of the nest, and sometimes when I go out there, all I can see is three little yellow beaks poking over the edge of the moss.

The other night, a porcupine tried very hard to gain access to our home. I was up late, late, reading, and around three a.m. I started hearing these noises, sort of rhythmic bumping and scraping. I didn't really think twice about it until I realized that I no longer live in a crappy apartment in Aspen, and it wasn't just one of the surrounding neighbors getting lucky after the bars closed. So I walked around the house and tried to pinpoint the noise, but couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Eventually it stopped, and so I chalked it up to the dog having wierd dreams (she runs often in her sleep), or some mousy type activity going on down in the basement (yeah, I love living in an old house). The next day, when I woke up, J took me outside and showed me what was causing the noise. He hadn't heard it, but was perceptive enough to notice that something had gnawed quite a dent into the trim around our mudroom door. Honestly, that critter was working. I can't imagine what he was after, I don't think we have any porcupine-type foodstuffs in the mudroom. Oh, yeah, we know it was a porcupine because as we were standing in awe of the havoc wreaked by one critter, we noticed that we were standing, barefoot, among a scattering of porcupine quills. We collected what we could and then tiptoed back inside. Massive potential for ouchiness. Some days nature just smacks you in the face, reminding you just who is on whose turf.

Third and final notice: J planted some lovely little cauliflower plants, and some strawberries too. Zoe ate them. Cauliflower seedlings. Who knew her palate was so refined? They were potted, and out on the deck for sun, and she just plucked them right out of the pots. The only trace that remained of the poor brave seedlings were the little rectangular indentations from the flats he popped the plants and dirt out of. Luckily, the strawberry plants were out of reach on the railing. But she was definitely checking them out, trying not to look suspicious as she stretched her nose up to sniff them. Sneaky bitch.

Final news: I'm getting ready to head to Iowa on Sunday for a week-long writing workshop. Pretty excited about that. Knowing me, I'll probably be more excited when I get back. And hopefully full of new ideas!