The Raven's Roost

The last couple of weeks, I have not been able to get my ass in gear very much. I'm almost constantly tired and it's hard to motivate myself to run, work on art, etc. It feels like this has been going on for a while but it's just gotten worse recently. I don't actually feel too bad this week but I'm not going to get my hopes up.

My calf has mostly healed, with just some lingering tightness in the morning, pre-yoga, and sometimes after a longer run. But there's no pain anymore and I'm not needing to favor that leg when I walk. Since I didn't have anything else injured, I stabbed myself in the finger. That is to say, I was pruning some brambles out of my lemon tree (why they like growing up around that tree I have no idea, they don't grow around the calamondin) and while reaching in to snip some near the trunk I drive one of the lemon tree's spines right into my right forefinger. Through the leather glove I was wearing. It's not infected, but I sometimes seem to have a mild reaction to citrus "bites," and for about a day or so that finger hurt like hell. It's fine today and I'm back to drawing but I'm way behind on Inktober now.

Not sure why I'm having such a hard time getting myself together. I've had depressive episodes before - my depression has mostly cleared up for now but it used to be really bad, especially in combination with anxiety. So this doesn't feel like a "real" depression, but like a bad case of the blues. And as I say, I have no idea why. Maybe it's just being stuck in the house all fucking summer, and it's STILL hot outside. God I hate summer.

Fox is going into town today to get some cement and shit. The bear came around last night while I was awake and knocked down the fence to get at the garbage cans. I went to check, and since it didn't sound like dogs, I started clapping my hands and shouting, then got the living hell scared out of me when I saw her broad ass vanish into the woods. She came BACK again, and knocked over the fence AGAIN, and so now Fox is going to help me build a wooden shed for the garbage, with a latching door. It'll also be a convenient shelter for the generator, since it will be next to the utility pole. Anyway, Feisal is all freaked out because of it, so he's been tip-toeing around and peering out the windows all morning, you know how cats get when they're on high alert. I tried giving him some catnip because it seems to help him. I know often cats get energetic from it, but I've also had cats that seemed to mellow out with some 'nip.

Oh, and the lawn mower is in the shop because it's developed an oil leak somewhere that we can't locate, and it's making the engine smoke really badly. It's under warranty, so we decided to drop it off at the dealer and let it be John Deere's problem. But I did get my neighbor's yard mowed for her. And I got to finally pet her cat!

So I'm going to let Fox go to Home Despot on his own, since I still have to run grocery errands tomorrow, and I need to do a long run today. I'm just procrastinating until he heads out.

 When we get back from Tokyo my plan is to make a trash can shed or a storage unit to keep animals out. Normally it's raccoons doing the dirty deed but sometimes assholes let their dogs run loose and they go up and down the road perusing the garbage. I even have some plans downloaded but it shouldn't be too difficult to knock one out in an afternoon.

So a couple of times in the last few weeks my cans have been hit, but like I said, since I'm planning to build a shed I'm not getting too bent out of shape about it, and I try to remember to use a deterrent spray on them. 

I was sitting around this evening reading and heard some activity outside - namely the sound of something moving in the trees. Nana-cat and Feisal both went on the alert, staring out the window into the dark. I got up and switched the living room light off so I could see, thinking maybe I had some late deer visitors. The garage lights were on so I could get a good look, too. Of course, it could be something minor, 'coons, maybe a clumsy squirrel. So I was more than a little surprised to see lumbering out of the forest a motherfucking BEAR. An honest-to-goodness Florida Black Bear. 

Doing what anyone else in my situation would do, I flipped out and ran to tell Fox to come see the bear. Of course it was gone, having headed off around the old dog run and to the rear of the property, possibly to travel along an animal trail that meanders across several human properties just inside the treeline. 

I think I've been blaming raccoons for some bear browsing. All the more reason to get that shed built when I get home. No one else seems to bother securing their trash but I really don't want to be the cause of a bear getting shot. According to the FWC this is an area with a fairly dense bear population, and there are some "bear crossing" signs on the highways but I had never really expected to see one in the flesh. When I was running outdoors last spring some neighbors told me they'd seen a mother bear with two cubs around, so I changed my schedule to get outside after sunup, since I do NOT want to suddenly come upon Mama and her babies. So I knew there were bears around but it was sort of like living in Manhattan and knowing Woody Allen lives there, too, but it's not like you expect to actually SEE him.

I was winding down in hope of sleeping a little tonight - I'm all excited and nervous about the trip. And now this added excitement has me all worked up again. By this time Tuesday I should be in Tokyo - or maybe not? Time zones make my brain hurt. 

THIS IS A LOT MORE EXCITEMENT THAN I BARGAINED FOR