Into the Wild Wood and Home Again

In 1854, Thoreau published Walden , and in it there is a part of chapter 12 that is often read as a sort of stand-alone essay titled " The Battle of the Ants ." In this section, he explores what happens when two opposing factions have a territorial dispute, and he warns that without cooperation, such battles do not end well for any party involved. So be it.  Except. This. Week.  We have a plethora of small "sugar ants," those tiny brown, very industrious and invasive ones. It's been hot, then rainy, and the ant hills in the front walk are humongous. They have begun to occupy the house, as well. At first, I was relatively patient; they usually go away quickly, and I just smoosh the rogue ants as I see them. I'm losing the battle, though. Yesterday, I put out ant bait in the kitchen behind the trash can. This morning, there are so many more, all coming and going through a crack along the base of the wall. Now, I know the house is old, and the additions were no...

Yesterday was pretty good, all told. The homily at church was spot-on; Fr. Rory did a bangin' job of putting out a call to action, I think. He talked about the commissioning of the apostles, that they were to go heal the sick, drive out demons, etc. He reminded us that in the Creed, we profess that we believe in an "apostolic church." And that the original twelve were all just regular guys, some even a little suspect (tax collector Matthew, for example), but they accepted the mission given them. Fr. Rory ended his homily with this: "They all had names. And so do you." Oof. Great ending. (Well, it was the penultimate sentence, but you know what I mean.) We have a job to do, if we truly believe what we profess every time we go to Mass. Fr. Rory enjoined us to understand that we are "born for this" time in history-- as difficult, messy, and scary as it is-- because we have been called to action by our beliefs. No more sitting back wringing hands and offer...

Hey, how about that? The Red Sox won two in a row. The Knicks did their job and all of NYC is excited and pleased. It's good to see a couple of good things in the news feed.  This morning, there were two huge spiders in the bathroom. I did not save them. Squished and flushed, they will not be stalking the toothbrushes or the shower any more. And as the old wives' tale goes, it'll likely rain. Which, truth be told, would be okay, if it washed off the pollen that has coated everything solid. I'm not necessarily allergic to flower pollen (it's probably my roses anyhow), but it does make everything yellow, gritty, and a little itchy. It's tree pollen that gets me going in the spring.  Today, with a little help, we'll get the pool up (I hope it's still okay), and move the damaged glider off the deck. A huge ice chunk fell on it this winter, and it's dented pretty badly. It's also seen better days in the general sense, so it'll be moved down by the...

I'm taking the morning a little slower today-- it's Saturday, the robins are warbling, the cardinals are speaking up ( chit chit chit ), and it's going to be a hot/humid day. But right now, the air is cool, the coffee is hot, and I'm not thinking about school at all. Well, one thing, but that is settled: I negotiated a more convenient start time for when the traveling theatre troupe is coming to our school to do a production of Much Ado About Nothing in September. I put that project to bed for now, and yes...it's summer break. I won't say vacation, because for me, it's a shift in responsibilities and must-do lists. But it's mostly MY lists, not one externally mandated, so that's the "break" part of things.  Today is a long day that stretches before me, and it's primarily populated with checking on my garden boxes and going to the grocery store. I'll likely putter about, but yeah-- flexible time. It's also Pollyanna Day in Little...

 We've hit summer temps-- 66 when I got up at 5am, and foggy/humid. I don't really mind all that much, since the A/C units are in. This 1890 house stays pretty cool downstairs until about noon, but then it gets sauna-like rather quickly. And the upstairs is wretched without A/C. We tried window fans when we first moved in, and that was iffy at best. And ceiling fans just blow dust around, which brings up other issues like dry eyes and throat. So, A/C it is.  I have to go to work today to help clean things up and turn in my paperwork. I'll see if my colleague in the English Dept needs any help counting books. Mine are done. In fact, my everything is all done. That's the blessing/curse of having seniors graduate a week before school is out-- I have had ample time to do the chores.  That all said, I hope you stay as cool as you wish to be. Heaven willing, we'll put up the pool on Sunday, and yes, temps are expected to moderate, but it'll be there for the hot days. ...

So, I called the ophthalmologist from work yesterday morning, right after students left. I had started with eye floaters right before bed the night before, didn't think a lot about it (dust? pollen? eye strain?), but at 3:30 am, the bright light flashes when I got up to use the potty. O damn. And my eyes were super dry. Have been for days. (Again, dust, pollen, dirt, computer screens, grading exams...) So I, of course, went to a reputable medical site (Mayo Clinic), looked up the what it could be, and panicked. I mean, full heart-racing panic. Possible retinal detachment or tear. Get help immediately.  So, I called. I got squeezed in at noon, and after an hour, it was determined that I did, in fact, have a condition.  I'm old.  What the actual hell.   Who knew that as one ages, starting around age 60, the vitreous of the eye starts getting all liquidy, and send out occasional protein strands like freaking New Year's eve streamers. And the flashes are also attributed ...