November 30, 2006
Well Update: All systems are functioning with no apparent cracks or long-term damage, we are no longer snow/iced in, the roads are clear, and water systems are online and almost fully operational (to borrow a Star Wars phrase). Reservoir tanks are at 3/4 capacity and should be full in a few hours. Yay, I can do laundry, dish washes and mopping again. Oh, the glamorous life. Admit it, you envy me.
Ok, I'm being totally facetious. But hot showers do have a way of making you feel human again. Ahh...I feel WeFweshed.
Ironically, my sister and brother-in-law had a burst pipe and a foot of water in their garage. After all the tsuris we had with our water system, we just needed to facilitate and subsequently wait out The Big Thaw on our end. Their home is spiffy-new, and on Seattle public utilities. It's also at a lower elevation so it doesn't get as cold and they don't get as much snow and ice as we do in the
Yet somehow they managed to handle their emergency with aplomb and a sense of humor. In contrast, we handle such episodes like the Keystone Cops. Something tells me that they're more emotionally equipped to handle La Revolución (or other large-scale public disaster here).
This cold weather reminds me of odd annual happenings at this Left-Coast Walden. In April, we generally have a short run of flying wasps that accidentally find their way under our eaves and congregate in our master bathroom skylight. Why our bathroom skylight (and not the others), I have no idea. But this invariably becomes a slapstick routine. I'm equipped with a broom and a glass, and GDN at my side, trying to 'help' the process. My intent is to herd the wasp with the broom to a level where I can catch it under the glass and set it free outside. Bengal Aid aside, I'm generally successful, but not without their share of YouTube-worthy moments.
In late August, the flying termites swarm. They're not in the house; they're all over the neighborhood for about a week. They're woodland inhabitants; they're not damaging the house, you just learn to expect it every year and deal with it. Just do your best to avoid inhaling or stepping on them as you walk around the block. Still, they kind of freak me out. But it's only a week.
Worse still are the crane flies. Completely harmless, they look and act like Mosquitoes of the Damned (Super-sized). Plus they have a manic, erratic flying style which means they generally come after your face through sheer stupidity. And I don't care how much you claim to love them; when these things fly into your face, you freak out right quick. You're like the Frosted Mini-Wheat of Entomophobics. The logical side in you knows they're harmless. But the lizard-brain sees these ominous monsters on your wall, ready to spring to action, and any rational tendencies go out the window.
Unfortunately, I happen to be blessed with a spouse who doesn't understand the concept of Not Letting Them In.
But anyway. I'm leading up to something; I really am.
Caterpillar Winter
When the weather turns cold, I find an odd species of hairless caterpillar in the house, always on certain specific floors, or in the bathtub. Don't ask me why...they're caterpillars. They probably don't know why either. I suspect they worm their way under the eaves (pun intended) because it's protected and they fall through the ceiling light cans.
Last year, I found a few, thought of it as an anomaly, and...well...I thoughtlessly flushed a couple. I know; bad otter juju. It occurred to me that I had NO idea whether this was a larval moth or a butterfly, and whether the species was endangered or indigenous. Extensive web research wasn't helpful in my Quest for Proper Identification. And I was not about to call a pest control company for several reasons. They're not destructive, they're not pervasive, and it could be a butterfly and Lepidopterae need all the help they can get.
So I decided to care for any more I found. Right now, I have four in a cheesecloth-covered jar, recuperating. I refresh their organic greens every other day. They were found emaciated, and my plan is to fatten them up and set them free as soon as the weather gets mild. I'm just not That Person; in milder weather I'd set them outside, but now that it's freezing outside, I won't subject them to immediate death by cryogenics.
This has all just been a long segue to my next post: Neo and the Moth. Coming Soon.
