Coming Up Close

Leo caught a chipmunk yesterday which is pretty good for a cat who sits outside on the doorstep tethered to the plant stand by a four-foot leash.

I did manage to get her to drop it without having it dropped in my kitchen, it scampered off past the garage, none the worse for wear and a little wiser, I hope.
Wildlife, no matter how hard we try, we're still, with the best of intentions, hurting it.
While biking to school we saw a dead mouse on the bike path. Really? A biker out saving the world by not driving their gas guzzling and polluting car, had the misfortune of hitting a rodent? More misfortunate for the rodent obviously. An avid biker friend told me her husband once hit (and killed) a chipmunk. It just seems like dumb luck, like tying up your cat and having it still catch a chipmunk.
Other times it's just us who are dumb.
Someone threw their noodle lunch thingy out the window of their car on Quaker Road last week and it attracted one of our resident foxes (there's a family in the neighborhood), and he (I'm assuming it was the dad) stood in the middle of the street eating said noodles while cars thankfully slowed and went around him (one woman leaned out and took a photo with her cell phone) until I spoiled the fun by clearing the feast to the side of the road so the fox wouldn't ultimately get hit. Come on people - if you're going to throw your leftovers out the window at least make it the passenger window so wildlife doesn't have to stand in the middle of the street to eat it...

song: Coming Up Close • artist: 'Til Tuesday

Parenting is...

thinking it's clever that your five-year-old twins are choosing to express their individuality by wearing two differently pattered socks until you realize that really what it means is that they are just creating dirty laundry twice as fast.

Pocket Full of Kryptonite

To the manufactures and designers of clothing for preschool-aged children: think pockets!
And it's not enough to just put pockets in their pants.
The twins have a closet full of shirts but they will only wear the four that have pockets.
Ditto for sweatshirts.
Ditto for sweaters.
Must have pockets.

song: Pocket Full of Kryptonite • artist: Spin Doctors

Round Here

This week was for the birds. On Monday I joined up with a Cape Cod Bird Club hike in town as part of a story I'm writing - and because I really like bird watching. In four hours I had more new birds to add to my life list than I'd managed to find in the past four years: scarlet tanager, orchard oriole, savannah sparrow, great crested flycatcher, indigo bunting, grasshopper sparrow. It was great. I was on a new-bird high. Then, on Wednesday, I'm upstairs in the bedroom and I look out the window and there's a great crested flycatcher on a tree outside the window, all of five feet away.
What gives?
I've never seen this bird before in my life until Monday - now I'm seeing it outside my own bedroom window? It was as if it was mocking me. But that would have made it a different bird all together wouldn't it?
Then, a day later, S asked me if birds could read. I think he meant specifically if they could read street signs. "No," I said. But how interesting is it to think that a child might assume an animal could read. Must be all those talking animals in picture books. If they can talk - why not read?
Today I myself wondered if I put frosting in our compost if the crows would get a sugar rush.

song: Round Here • artist: Counting Crows

When the Music's Over

I'm sorry about Ray Manzarek and all but I gotta say I'm really enjoying all the back-to-back Doors songs being played on the radio in tribute.

song: When the Music's Over • artist: The Doors

The Devil Went Down to Georgia

The Devil gets to go down the Georgia.
Mommy is lucky if she gets to walk around the block.

song: The Devil Went Down to Georgia • artist: The Charlie Daniels Band

Maggie's Farm II

So there's this 5K race off Cape next weekend to benefit the National Farmers Market Association, an organization with headquarters in Washington,DC. 

The entry cost is $50, which, if you're a racing regular you'll agree is a steep entry fee for a 5K.

How steep? For example K and C ran a 5K race in Onset today with a $20 entry fee. The upcoming Falmouth Flag Day 5K is $25. Register online for the Paul White Memorial Road Race and it will only cost you $15.

"It's a benefit" we were informed when the high cost of the race was questioned. 

The majority of road races are benefits.

Again to today's race. It was benefit for the local YMCA's support fund which provides financial assistance to families who might not be able to otherwise afford to purchase memberships or participate in programs and camps. A worthy cause right?. The Flag Day race supports the town's education foundation, and the Paul White is a major fundraiser for the North Falmouth Village Association.

Now - if you know me at all you know I'm a ginormous fan of farms, farmers markets and all things local food related but I can't help but wonder how much this race is benefitting family farmers and local farmers markets.

Touted as family friendly - if two members of my family wanted to run the race it would cost us $100 - which doesn't seem family friendly to me. H has been known just the occasional 5K too - that would run us $150.

Granted there is a post race party with music, food and an expo - but other (cheaper) races also do up their post race events the right way.

The race is being promoted by a professional management company and it's chip timed which may account for some of the extra expense and you know what? People will probably come out and run it and feel good about supporting local farms though whether they are or not remains to be seen.

Want to support your local farm? Forget running 5Ks for $50 - for an extra $10 you can purchase a membership at Coonamessett Farm which will cover you for an entire season of visiting the farm and being able to go onto the property and pick and purchase your own fresh veggies. 

And if you still want to get in some exercise, a few trips up and back to visit the alpacas will certainly cover you for a distance of 5K.

song: Maggie's Farm • artist: Bob Dylan

Come to My Window

I don't know why we keep a running tab on a chalkboard in S & N's bedroom of whose turn it is to sleep on the outside of their bed when by the end of the night they are usually both in our bed anyway.
S said he doesn't like to sleep on the inside of the bed because he's afraid fingers are going to come in the window and grab him.
Where does a freaky idea like that come from? Too many Pixar movies? Too much of Dr. Suess's story of the spooky green pants with nobody inside them? Admittedly that story did freak out my sister when she was little.
I assured S that the window was locked and that he had N in the room to keep him from being scared plus me, daddy, C & H right down the hall. 
He said okay but added that he still thought about the fingers.
Now I can't stop thinking about them either!

song: Come to My Window • artist: Melissa Etheridge

Gone, Gone, Gone

Today the twins ate an entire bag of SeaSnax dried seaweed in the car on the way home from the health food store.
My tuna casserole they snub, but a big bag of kelp? Bring it on.

ps. In case you've never eaten seaweed and you're wondering, it's not as if seaweed tastes like chicken. Seaweed tastes like seaweed.

song: Gone, Gone, Gone • artist: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Mother

Some Mother's Day love from H, who, as it turns out, knows me pretty well. 

The drawing's good too, though I rarely wear red and blue.

My Mom has : brown hair and blue eyes

Outside, my Mom loves to: watch us do stuff

Inside, my Mom loves to: cook

My Mom's favorite thing to eat is: my mom likes a lot of things

My Mom's favorite television show is: my mom don't watch television

My Mom loves to go to: Betsy's Diner.

My Mom likes when I: clean any room in the house

song: Mother • artist: John Lennon

Wheel in the Sky

The old adage says that the squeaky wheel always gets the grease, but when it comes to mouse cages in our house, the squeaky wheel gets tossed out and replaced with a much quieter one.
Put that in your unpc pipe and smoke it.

song: Wheel in the Sky • artist: Journey

Walk This Way

Walk-to-School Day is my favorite day in the school calendar. But it should really be called Walk-to-School-and-Pick-Up-All-the-Litter-You-can-Comfortably-Collect-without-Falling-into-the-Ravine-by-the-Side-of-the-Road-or-Risking-a-Bad-Case-of-Poison-Ivy-and-then-have-your-Husband-Drop-off-your-Bike-at-the-School-so-you-Won't-Have-to-Walk-Home Day.
Too long?
Surely they could shorten it to WTSAPUATLYCCCWFITRBTSOTRORABCOPIATHYHDOYBATSSYWHTWH Day.

song: Walk this Way • artist: Aerosmith