Monday, June 29, 2020

You Can Run But You Can’t Hide

It has been said by wise men through the ages that you can run but you can’t hide, a wise reminder that although we might change our exterior circumstances, what plagues us on the inside survives all of our schemes of self improvement. I was reminded of this truth at 6:00 am when I was confronted with THIS:


Behold, the bane of my existence. I plan and scheme. I plot my escape. I drive 800 miles away. And yet...within 24 hours of filling and hanging our old bird feeder we brought along for the Maine birds...this guy...flaunts his renewed presence in my life. No, this is not the common grey squirrel of Virginia, but make no mistake, this is a squirrel, the Maine variety, smaller, quicker, browner, looking more like a chipmunk than a squirrel, but every bit the diabolical fiend of his Virginia cousin. This one has designs on the delicacies inside the bird feeder. Meanwhile, I am without my trusty Daisy Powerline 35. However, I can look forward to watching him fail in his efforts to steal nuts, and he will...no squirrel has ever solved the riddle. The difference with this bird feeder is that failure for the squirrel will result in not your ordinary fall, since this thing hangs from the upstairs deck of the cabin, 30 feet above the ground. I will try my best to get that blessed event on video.

Last night it started to rain after we went to bed. The sound it makes on the roof of our upstairs bedroom is magical. Looks like today will be rainy as well. This will mean a more relaxing day for us. The first two days or so are usually filled with chores, yesterday was our initial grocery run along with my continued efforts to make the outside of the property more efficient for our needs. So, now that all the heavy lifting is over, today we will slow down, do some reading. I might write a chapter or two of my latest book. If the rain lets up, Pam will probably take out her new SUP out for another trip around the lake. 

Special Note:

I have a friend in Nashville I met years ago when Patrick was an undergraduate at Belmont University, one of his professors...Deen Entsminger. He’s a really cool guy and we hit it off from the first day. Anyway, Deen is one of those friends who, because of circumstances and geography, I don’t get to see very often. But, like all good friends, that never seems to matter much. Several years ago I got a cell phone call at literally 5:30 in the morning from him where he gleefully began telling me about this amazing woman he had met and was going to marry! It was so random a thing to do, and exactly the sort of thing I would expect from Deen. He did marry her, for what it’s worth, and we would both agree that Kim Daus was the best thing that’s ever happened to him. Anyway, for some reason that I can’t explain, while I was kayaking around the lake taking in the grandeur of Crawford Pond, the thought came to me that I should return the favor. So, out of the blue, I FaceTimed him. This time it was my turn to tell him about something amazing that I had found that had made me terribly happy. Deen, being Deen, totally got it. It’s nice to have people like him in your life, isn’t it?


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