The Squirrel and the Crow

As I was walking in the park yesterday I saw a squirrel burying something by a tree. He had already finished filling in his hole and was in the process of tamping down the earth, little paws flying, patting and grabbing bits of leaf and stick to cover over his work. All during his furious flurry of activity a large crow sat and observed at very close range. This crow was definitely in the squirrel's personal space, I'd say, with its beak low to the ground and its beady eye watching the squirrel's every move.

The squirrel seemed to pay no mind to the crow, despite its hovering. He quickly finished the job and hustled off to gather more nuts. The instant he left, the crow jammed its beak into the squirrel's tidy work to retrieve whatever prize the squirrel had been attempting to save for a rainy day.

My first thought was that the squirrel was getting seriously ripped off by this annoying bird. Here he was, trying to plan ahead, start his IRA and rainy day fund and all that, and the lazy-ass crow was going to wreck it all by gorging himself on the squirrel's stash. After thinking about it for a while, though, I decided that the squirrel and the crow both had good plans. It's easy to feel like the squirrel in my life -- work, work, work, try to invest in my future only to have my efforts undone by some looming crow. But the beauty of the scene in the park was that the squirrel was unperturbed by the crow. He looked pleased with himself, if that is possible, and didn't linger and glare at the crow's greedy behavior. And the crow, well, he was just being smart, and conserving his strength. It takes a lot of effort to get that last salt-and-vinegar potato chip out of the bag in the trash can, so why not just follow this guy around and see what he's making for dinner?

So, in the new year, I am thinking I might try to be a little bit more like both the players in that little scene: continue to work hard to lay the groundwork for my future, but also try to live in the moment and take advantage of the riches around me.

Since we've no place to go

By the way, this video was NOT created with Flip4Mac trial, because it sucks, but of course they embed that irritating ad which only becomes visible long after I've jumped through hoops to get sound in my video. Great camera, lousy software. So ignore the product placement and enjoy the show!

Streetless in Seattle

It has continued to snow this week, with snow on Thursday all day, and Saturday afternoon and night. This morning there were about 6 inches piled up with a thin ice crust over the top. We set out to attempt to clear the walk (not owning a snow shovel, we had to use the hoe, garden shovel and broom for our tools) and ended up spending more than 2 hours out working and playing with the snow. After a warm-up and a little lunch, Adelaide is headed out with her dad for some sledding at the park in the snow that is falling again now.It's a relief today that the weather has warmed up enough to have a young child outside. The adults have been fine walking long distances to get out and lessen the cabin fever, but the 20 degree weather combined with icy roads has been very restrictive for our little one. I am a bit concerned about the next few days, especially given our need to get to the airport to pick up Grandma tomorrow. But I'm going to work hard to let my worries go and live in the moment. I certainly was able to do so for a while this morning, when igloo construction took priority over everything else. At least now we have more than one house in which to be housebound!

100th Post

There has been much speculation about what I would accomplish in my first 100 posts here on Blogger. Many felt that my promises were too ambitious; surely humor, politics, video and photo documentation, and cooking could not all fit into so few posts?

Today, America, I say to you, I bring you this, and more. As we work together to provide more and more ways to waste time on the internet, this is my promise to you: I will fritter away your time as if it were my own. I will leave no link un-hyperlinked. No photo un-uploaded. No random meal I ate undocumented. For America, I am nothing without your wasted time.

Thank you, Good Night, and God Bless Blogspot.

Mushroom/cutlet pie

Despite the fact that it actually warmed up quite a bit today, come sunset (aka 4:00 p.m. = total darkness) I felt inspired to have something warm and heavy from the oven for dinner. Given a lack of interest in a trip to the store, I had to make do with what was on hand: an onion, shiitakes, some quorn cutlet and a somewhat sketchy whole wheat frozen pie crust. So, add a little stock and an olive oil rue, a little milk, garlic and dill, and the mushroom pie is born. Just cooked up the veggies in the skillet, made the gravy, threw the crust on top and put the whole thing in the oven. 20 minutes later, dinner is served.

Didn't manage to take a photo before we had put a major dent in it (the smell was so good it made me dig right in) but here's the idea.

sNOw Day

School Superintendent's Checklist for School Closure due to Inclement Weather

Schools Shall be Closed in the Event of the Following:

* Snow accumulation of 1 - 2 inches, visible on bumper of Superintendent's SUV parked in driveway.

Exception: School shall not be closed if lots of parents have called and complained last year about too many school closures. Must keep parent satisfaction numbers high enough to have levy passed.

* Ice on front steps of Superintendent's home, noted when Superintendent checks for the newspaper at 4:00 a.m., only to be disappointed that it has not yet been delivered.

Exception: In the event that the paper is early, Superintendent shall declare schools open and on time, as sufficient reading time is available.

* Road conditions too dangerous for school busses, including black ice, fallen trees, and unplowed snow.

Exception: In the event of a birthday among administrative offices staff, school will have a 1.5 hour late start to allow for pick-up of the Costco cake and on-time party.

* Weather Forecast includes the possibility of snow. Or sun. Or anything sort of unusual or interesting.

Exception: Superintendent doesn't feel like getting up at 4:00 to start calling people about closing school. She can just call in sick later.

* Other districts are closing.

Exception: Superintendent laid out her "I am a rebel" pantsuit the night before, and doesn't feel like picking out a different outfit.

First Snow

One advantage to having a child who is a morning person is that there are days when it is nice to be the first ones up. This morning a very excited four year old rushed into my room to announce: "There is snow outside, and it is covering everything!"

Our street did look very magical in the pre-dawn light, so we quickly threw on some warm layers and boots and headed out. Adelaide started with some snow snacks.
I tried to capture the Seattleite's view of snow. The fact that we get out the camera and rush outside to document in is telling in itself, but it is rare enough here that it feels very exciting.
We didn't see much activity in the neighborhood with the exception of a few running fanatics (Shorts, really? As you tromp through icy puddles?) and over-confident drivers (note to self, no car trips today). Adelaide did some tracking of what she decided was a deer, and I headed to some of my favorite trees in the neighborhood to see them decorated with snow.Next we found a spot in the park to build our snowman. The snow was not very cooperative, so we kept the figure simple and got creative with the adornments. We were lucky to have a hawk circling above us as we worked.
After about an hour in the snow, we were cold and ready to come home for cocoa and Christmas cookies.

I'm grateful to the snow for bringing us out in the early morning. Being under the trees while the light changes to day, breathing cold clean air and hearing only the crunch of snow and ice under our boots and the delight of a child in fresh snow will serve as my most magical gift this holiday season.

Wish I could take credit for this one!

I wonder what would happen if I showed this to Iris and Petunia.

Rosa Sat

If you haven't already heard it, check out this quote from an NPR story during the campaign (it's at 6:56 if you don't want to listen to the whole story).

If you don't want to listen at all, the quote is wonderful, so you can read it below:

Rosa Sat, so Martin could walk. Martin walked, so Obama could run. Obama ran, so our children can fly.

Swim Lessons