paisleypiper's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- inside-out Quinn and I have had busy, vactiony days. We went to a few natural attractions -- Johnsons' Shut-Inns which is a place where a river runs through a bunch of tall rocks and then pools into a swimming hole. People climb all over the rocks and explore the holes between the rocks. The water is clear and cool, like some sort of mountain cliche. We also went to Elephant Rocks, a place with giant, giant granite boulders. We climbed around on those, in the heat and the glaring sun. It was a bit surreal as there were not many people out on the rocks on such a hot, sunny day. And the group we did encounter were talking, in all seriousness, about markings on the rocks which may have been formed by some sort of extraterrestrial encounter. They seemed like bikers who have been watching too many pseudo-mentaries. But, I liked them for a brief encounter, on their way investigating possible sitings across the country. They had a hand-made handbook that described the collected wisdom regarding how to detect extraterrestrial handiwork. The tallest waterfall was dormant because there has not been enough water. Which is hard to believe because we have had quantities of rain both Tuesday and Wednesday. House- and pet-sitting adventures abound in a house with so many four-leggeds, as my family calls them. Counting ourselves, there are 32 legs in this house. Imagine the likelihood for disaster per square foot. I am confident that there is a mathematical equation for this, but I do not know it. What I anticipate is a ratio that compares number of legs to square footage, number of windows, number of appliances and staircases. And here are our inputs: Meme the large calico cat, jumped behind the refrigerator and could not get back out. We managed to scoot the fridge out far enough that she could jump on the counter. Because she was unharmed, we felt uncertain about whether or not Meme would attempt this again in her clamor for meme-centric activity. Meme has spent a good deal of time on top of furniture, rearranging the items on top... pushing them off. Mischievous Meme. The power went out on Tuesday. And it rained so all animals were inside. At once. It was hot, stuffy and humid with so many damp, furry bodies. I began to itch. And even got a bit grumpy. I went into a bedroom and rewrote folk songs to approximate my experience. When I decided to keep making up verses to "Where has all the Power Gone," inserting hythpothesis for each animal's involvement, the universe stepped in after six verses and restored power. Or rather, the crew who had been working on it did. Quinn went on a fact-finding mission because she knows how to speak small-town. With so many trees around (being in the middle of a national forest as we are) power is a variable. In the city, it is a time for action. Get someone on the phone, determine the extent of the outage, etc. Down here, there are people who are "on it" and fast. Then yesterday, after our trek to the Laura Ingalls Wilder home, Quinn and I returned to a crisis. Sleepy, a bit carsick from the hilly drive, worn out from so much sun, we walked in the door and were greeted by Devi. One of the dogs who should have been outside. But the dogs are afraid of the rain. They get spooked and the spooking drives away any good sense they possess. Devi, we think, pushed in the basement window and jumped down to the basement, when there was an afternoon rain shower. Tseji, the 18-year-old, geriatric dog with arthritis, followed suit. Dropping to the concrete floor and stopping in a pile of screen, glass and water. We found her, in this spot. And became immediately terrified. Third dog, Cody, was standing outside at the window, upset. Quinn went to get her inside. I checked out Tsegi, who fortunately, had no broken bones. I carried her upstairs, never mind that she is huge, I didn't notice it. Because I was afraid she was going to leave this world. And her people were not here to be with her. I called. One of the friends came over, leaving a ritual of some sort. I could hear it in the background on the phone. And this is the type of situation where people live inside-out for a while. And it is possible to encounter all sorts of quick reactions that ordinarily I would never see. Quinn and I were so scared for Tsegi, because we cannot help but become attached to the brave way Tsegi takes on each day and her unique version of canine kindness. She is a bit like an elder leader dog. With the friends for 18 years. And she does this under our watch. But our friend, when she got here, was concerned and proactive. No horrible looks or uncomfortable remarks. We focused on the problem, accessed the situation, and she came up with a safety-net incase it rained again while we were away on a local exploration. I admire her ability to deal with this unfortunate occurrence. This is the sort of accident that no one can anticipate. The sort of thing, that possibly, even the equation I mentioned above could not have predicted. 10:30 a.m. - 2002-07-11 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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