Once In A Blue Moon

I'm having a great day! That's all I can say at this point. In the words of Van Morrison...

Once every once in a while
Something comes along that feels just right
Once every once in a while
Just like switching on an electric light
And sometimes you try till you're blue in the face
But when you get that feeling
Nothing's going to take its place

Tuesday Night

Last night the big rain fell. The big wind came and the trees creaked and the branches broke.

Today I watched a French film, I had lunch at Dairy Queen, I played guitar until my fingers hurt, I picked up the debris in my yard, and I watched Black Vultures spinning in the wind. Pretty good day.

Back To Normal

Yesterday morning I got off my last graveyard shift. Came home and cleaned out the gutters, went out and bought some CDs, had dinner at Bennigan's...didn't get to bed until late in the evening. By then I could hardly keep my eyes open.

I awoke in the dark this morning with the thunder booming and the rain pounding on the roof. I could hear the thunder and rain off and on until I finally got up to survey the damage. Water had pooled against the front door. Fortunately I had cleaned the leaves out of the gutters the day before. Good planning or serendipity.

...Or you could be the one who takes the long way home
Roll down your window, turn off your phone
See your life as a gift from the great unknown
And your task is to receive it
Tell your kid a story, hold your lover tight
Make a joyful noise, swim naked at night
Read a poem a day, call in well sometimes
And laugh when they believe it - Mary Chapin-Carpenter

News? No News.

I am sitting here looking at a couple of pictures of my heart. The lady who took the pictures seemed to think my heart was particularly photogenic, and was very pleased with the ultrasound images she got. No problems discovered by the ultrasound, and I appear to be OK. It was cool to see my heart in action!

I recently watched a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers in a tree across the road, awkwardly hanging onto narrow branches and plucking fruit like huge finches. A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker flitted between them like a puny flycatcher. Lately there has been a Great Egret hanging out down at the pond. The other day it got tangled in fishing line, and when it finally flew off it still had the line trailing behind it.

That's it for now.

Six Days Off!

First, the big news. I'm working in Port Arthur, about 30 minutes from home. This is good news. I'm working all graveyard shifts, which is also good news. And my new work schedule will be eight days on, six days off. This is the best news. It means I put in some long hours, but then I'll have a lot more free time. Yee-haw!

The weather has definitely turned cool, time to turn on the heater and get out the jackets and long sleeves. The last couple of days have been dismally overcast, but no rain. Leaves are falling fast and it actually feels like autumn. Neotropical migrants have departed, and no hummingbirds are at my feeder. I recently added Sharp-shinned Hawk to my yard list - one had my neighbor's bird feeders staked out. Yellow-rumped Warblers have finally returned, but generally the bird world is pretty quiet these days. Carolina Wrens still sing occasionally, and every now and then I see the vultures and crows circling.

Interesting bits and pieces...coming off a graveyard shift I went into the Dairy Queen in Lumberton (the girls that work there are cute, and I guess the food's OK). Molly - who I knew from the Walgreens in Lumberton - was in there eating lunch. She came over to my table and tried to save my soul. I told her that was very sweet of her (it's been a long time since anyone offerred me salvation). She invited me to come to her church on Sunday, and made it sound more like a rave than a church service. Apparently it's one of those Pentacostal deals, you gotta enjoy singing I guess. I explained to her that I was a pray-alone-type-guy, not into the crowd scene. I'm afraid I disappointed her. Alas, another lost sheep.

Went to Bennigan's last night...too much beer on an empty stomach, couldn't concentrate on the trivia game and didn't even try. It's like Cheers there, everybody knows your name...and also what you want to drink before you even ask. Shauna, my favorite bartender, told me she's leaving, gonna work at a steakhouse in Port Neches from now on.

That's all for now. I'm enjoying my first six days off, and don't start working again until Tuesday night.