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Vicky was surfing the Internet and telling me about her day when a shot rang out.
"Just what we need right now, more gunplay in the street," I said.
This is getting to be a routine in our household, conversations interrupted by gunfire.
We went outside and found that spring had arrived. A neighbor was helping a young boy, likely his grandson, aim a BB gun from their porch. I kept an eye on them, making sure the grandpa saw where Vicky and I were at and that the barrel aimed somewhere else. A robin was in the tree beside them and I was also keeping tabs on its safety. People should not be celebrating the season's arrival by blasting our spring robins.
Meanwhile, down South Main Street firecrackers popped.
People have been out in force since the weather broke, celebrating our good fortune with leaf fires. The only troubles have been the 40 mph wind gusts. The firefighters celebrated spring over the weekend with parades of fire engines and brush trucks screaming across the county to douse the next out of control leaf fire.
Another sign of spring as sure as the sprouting daffodils is the annual press release from the U.S. Forest Service announcing the closing of LaRue Road No. 345, also known as the Snake Road, in Union County. Between March 15 and May 15 snakes embark on their annual migration across the road from their winter hibernation cliffs of Pine Hills to the warm and abundant LaRue Swamp.
I intend on attending the snake migration every year, but haven't made it yet. Maybe this is the year to go party with the slithering snakes.
News is coming in at a rapid rate this week. Last night's thunderstorm quietened down the fire engines, but there are new problems. Harrisburg Animal Control Officer Mike Sullivan reports he has picked up 11 raccoons in town in the last two weeks infected with distemper.
The signs of the disease involve raccoons walking around during the daytime with a wobbly gait. Some people, bafflingly, have been drawn to the sick, slow, exhausted raccoons and have tried to pet them. Sullivan says if they are bit, which is the raccoon's normal response to petting, the animal must then be beheaded as it's brain needs tested for rabies.
Because dogs and cats can catch potentially fatal distemper from raccoons, he encourages everybody to keep their pets from running amuck, which they are supposed to be doing anyway, otherwise we would not need animal control officers.
Vicky was surfing the Internet and telling me about her day when a shot rang out.
"Just what we need right now, more gunplay in the street," I said.
This is getting to be a routine in our household, conversations interrupted by gunfire.
We went outside and found that spring had arrived. A neighbor was helping a young boy, likely his grandson, aim a BB gun from their porch. I kept an eye on them, making sure the grandpa saw where Vicky and I were at and that the barrel aimed somewhere else. A robin was in the tree beside them and I was also keeping tabs on its safety. People should not be celebrating the season's arrival by blasting our spring robins.
Meanwhile, down South Main Street firecrackers popped.
People have been out in force since the weather broke, celebrating our good fortune with leaf fires. The only troubles have been the 40 mph wind gusts. The firefighters celebrated spring over the weekend with parades of fire engines and brush trucks screaming across the county to douse the next out of control leaf fire.
Another sign of spring as sure as the sprouting daffodils is the annual press release from the U.S. Forest Service announcing the closing of LaRue Road No. 345, also known as the Snake Road, in Union County. Between March 15 and May 15 snakes embark on their annual migration across the road from their winter hibernation cliffs of Pine Hills to the warm and abundant LaRue Swamp.
I intend on attending the snake migration every year, but haven't made it yet. Maybe this is the year to go party with the slithering snakes.
News is coming in at a rapid rate this week. Last night's thunderstorm quietened down the fire engines, but there are new problems. Harrisburg Animal Control Officer Mike Sullivan reports he has picked up 11 raccoons in town in the last two weeks infected with distemper.
The signs of the disease involve raccoons walking around during the daytime with a wobbly gait. Some people, bafflingly, have been drawn to the sick, slow, exhausted raccoons and have tried to pet them. Sullivan says if they are bit, which is the raccoon's normal response to petting, the animal must then be beheaded as it's brain needs tested for rabies.
Because dogs and cats can catch potentially fatal distemper from raccoons, he encourages everybody to keep their pets from running amuck, which they are supposed to be doing anyway, otherwise we would not need animal control officers.
The unfortunate news arrived the other night that two of our recent house guests have learned they are suffering infestations of head lice, news that sent my fingernails clawing at my scalp.
Vicky threw their bedding out on the front porch and the UPS delivery man had to step on the lice infested bed sheets. So, sorry UPS delivery man, but I didn't know you were coming up the porch or I would have warned you.
So now we go into disinfection mode and check each other's heads for eggs. Just what we needed, gunplay in the streets and lice.
But it is nice outside. The cats come out to play until they realize all three of them are out. Then one or two show disgusted expressions and slink back in the garage.
Our new little kitten that produces such consternation among the other cats is apparently growing up.
There were faint drips of what appeared to be dried blood in the bathtub the other night. I was puzzled until Vicky explained the mystery.
"Puma is using the bathtub as her toilet," she said.
"And she's on her period."
It's not a terrible situation because we can just turn the shower on and rinse the urine down the drain. But it still grosses me out. I think a little behavior modification is in order.
Sure enough, before I could shut the bathroom door before my shower the little black cat ran into the room, hopped in the tub, squatted and hopped out again, as though to say, "Before you tie up the bathroom with your shower, I gotta go."
I think one spray with the shower head should take care of the problem.
Just because life was apparently humming along a little too smoothly, I handed my debit card to the clerk to make my purchase, she ran it, then said there came up a message there was a hold on the card and she was supposed to make a phone call about it.
"Oh, no. They've frozen my assets. I've got to get a lawyer," I thought, though I couldn't immediately think of any recent wrongdoing.
It turns out the company that operates the debit cards had some information to go missing and -- instead of taking any chances on identity theft -- sent notices that new debit cards were being issued and I should have received it. Well, not only did I not receive notice, I didn't receive a new card, either.
At least I know my money is safe, even from me.
-- DeNeal is a staff writer for the Daily Register of Harrisburg, Ill., and Daily Journal of Eldorado, Ill. He receives e-mail at bdeneal@yourclearwave.com.
