Cute, but potentially deadly

No, not me. I've never had the cutting edge it takes to be called deadly. This guy who wandered into the garden center yesterday afternoon qualifies, however.

He parked himself under a cart full of potting soil, the soil I was using to move Black Pearl Peppers and Dragon Wing Begonias into larger containers. He was acting funny, very subdued. He was moving slowly and once he found his shady spot under the cart he decided to camp there. And, of course, raccoons are nocturnal and he was out strolling in the middle of the afternoon! That alone was enough to make us all cautious.

I moved all my supplies to another potting bench and even got a new bale of soil to work from. We warned customers who wanted to check out annuals displayed near his spot, and we workers were all wary and watchful when we were in his vicinity. I didn't even clean up my mess, and I never leave the potting bench a mess when I'm done working for the day.

Raccoons are definitely cute, with their little handlike feet and distinctive masks. We all went around trying to remember the lyrics to the Beatles' "Rocky Raccoon." Everyone who works there found a reason to wander over to check on him, several times, and it was hard for me to concentrate on work that takes almost no concentration at all.

I left around 4 p.m. and he was still in his spot. Three hours later I got a text message from the owner: Rocky had bitten my co-worker. She was walking out of a greenhouse and didn't notice that he'd moved out from under the soil cart. He attacked her swiftly, biting her shin. At the hospital, she was given eight injections containing the most up-to-date rabies treatment available. I got a call later with more details.

The E.R. doctor decided to be safe and go ahead and treat my co-worker for rabies. Our tiny local hospital just happened to have the treatment on hand; most hospitals don't stock it because it's rarely needed and is very expensive. But there have been a few cases of rabies in southern West Virginia this year, including one death in the county just south of us, so the medicine was readily available.

The raccoon was destroyed and will be tested for rabies today. As much as I like animals, I can't say I'm sorry he won't be there when I go to work today.

We spend a lot of time enjoying nature around here. What southern West Virginia lacks in Starbucks, multiplexes and Target stores we make up for in rivers, ponds and woods. But nature can be deadly, or at the least, scary. I see a snake almost every day, and pull a tick off myself or my dog at least once a week. I even saw a bobcat once, a long time ago, and we've had black bear sightings on our road.

This incident, along with all the crazy weather-related crises the world has experienced recently, reminds me that when it's Man vs. Nature, Nature has the upper hand.

And what does all this have to do with knitting, running, reaping or eating? Not a damned thing. Heh.

Random thoughts

• As a progressive, liberal, left-leaning officer of my county's Democratic women's club, I'm truly honored that @GOPWatch is now following me on Twitter. Heh.

• To eat or not to eat? That is the question. Russ and Jeff suggest adopting the lifestyle (including a meal plan) of the person you want to be (weight-wise, of course, because who isn't already the person they really want to be? HAH!) My weight-reduction method has always been to reduce calories to a starvation level. Lately I haven't been choosing either path consciously, but have been eating reasonable portions of healthful food (how many times have you read that?). And slowly, ever so slowly, I continue to gain weight. I'm baffled.

• Am I the last person in America to read The Help? I'm listening to it on my iPod, actually, and can't wait for the next chapter, and the next, and the next. I'm too young (I hardly ever get to say that!) to really remember the civil rights disturbances of the early '60s. I graduated high school in 1969 and was much more aware of Vietnam later in the '60s than of Jackson, Mississippi when I was 12. My husband's family (he's eight years older than I) had "help." My how times have changed.

• It's a beautiful morning here in southern West Virginia. I have to get milk from the Amish farm at 9 and work at the garden center from noon-ish to three- or four-ish. That leaves enough time to get a five-miler in this morning or to weed part of the garden. Decisions, decisions. Yes, I guess I could go weed the garden now. But I'd rather write random thoughts this early in the morning.

• Every once in a while it hits me hard that my father will never be calling, that I can't send him pictures of my garden, that he isn't here any more to ask about family history. His death last September was sudden and unexpected. I'm so glad he knew how much I loved him.

And the winner is ...

me!

Well, I am at least one winner, there will be more.

Anna and Mark are giving away Egyptian onions. Today's the last day to leave a comment on this post to be entered in the first drawing.

A couple days ago they added an additional opportunity to win a box of onions and I was the lucky winner! I've never grown Egyptian onions, but I've already harvested my garlic and those empty beds are waiting for something to be planted in them.

So go on over and try to win some onions, if you're the gardening type. (U.S. only.)

They've inspired me to come up with some kind of giveaway. It's difficult choosing a single item that would appeal to knitters, runners, reapers and eaters, so I might have to have multiple contests. In order to get the ball rolling, I'll announce the initial prize next Tuesday, July 5. (I work better when I'm on deadline.)

I walked four miles early this morning, and am so glad I got it done first thing. It's in the low 90s now, and it's hard to even stick my nose outdoors, let alone expend any energy. Severe storms will be rolling through in the next hour or so, kicking the temperature back down into the 70s.

Hope you're having a good week, wherever you are.

Quickly …

I'd like to get out and walk this morning, before it gets too hot. It's supposed to rain, rain, rain later (it's Tuesday, so it's going to rain), which is another reason to walk now. (As for the Tuesday-rain connection, I volunteer at Alderson Federal Prison on Tuesday evenings, and three out of the past five have been rainy/stormy enough to close the compound.)

Didn't walk yesterday, even though I'd planned to. I ended up with three consecutive rest days. Not three slacker days, mind you. Rest days. Heh.

I did laundry and a little gardening yesterday, picking enough lettuce, cabbage leaves, basil, peas and onions for a nice salad topped with grilled chicken and feta. There was even one tomato to share between the two salad bowls. I love free food, especially when I grow it!

I have more to say, and will try to post again later. A teaser: I'm a winner!

Wow, it's quiet around here

The triplets and their dad were supposed to come Friday evening, but threatening weather delayed their departure until early Saturday morning. They were here about 30 hours altogether, and all I could say – silently and aloud – was how does their mother manage?

Their dad (my husband's son) is amazing with them, very calm and level and no-nonsense. I hope their mom had a nice weekend with just one child (their year-old daughter). Having just one to look after doesn't happen for her very often.

My intent after they left was to take my fifth five-mile walk of the week, but that definitely didn't happen. I was down for the count for most of the remainder of the day. It wasn't just a physical tiredness, either, it was mental, emotional. Keeping a constant vigil on three active boys wears you out! Also, with three three-year-old guests, you're moving around a lot and you don't even think about it.

Each of them caught a fish, with one of us helping, so those goals were met. I'm sure I fished when I was a child, but I don't remember doing so. My partner and I pulled in a three-pound-ish catfish, much to my surprise.

Guess I can cross that off my bucket list.

Friday Quote Day

It's never too late

to be who you might have been.

~ George Eliot

Unless, of course, you've been eating potatoes all your life.

Did y'all read about the latest reason why people are fat? Those fluffy, innocent, fat-free (sans toppings) spuds are now to blame. (I'm sure the potato and snack-food lobbyists will be coming out with a statement refuting the study soon.) Chips and fries are worse than bakers, of course. But you knew that, and you haven't eaten a chip in years, right? Yeah, me, either.

The study associated different foods with rates of weight gain (or loss). Yogurt was found to be the best food for not gaining:

The data also showed that eating specific high-quality foods was linked with less weight gain over time. In fact, the more daily servings people ate of fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains and yogurt, the less weight they gained. The yogurt finding — each extra daily serving prevented 0.82 lbs. of weight gain — was unexpected, Mozaffarian says: "This clearly deserves further attention to determine if this is cause-and-effect and, if so, why."

I'm beyond middle-aged, and have little hope of ever getting back to my high-school weight. (Also? I thought I was enormous in high school. 135 pounds. Enormous.) My meals are home-cooked and healthfully prepared now, for the most part. I already don't eat potatoes more than once a week. My grain-based foods are whole, not refined.

But there's always room for improvement. And making yogurt is on today's to-do list.

Over the hump

Every day I feel a little more energetic, a little more together, not quite so fractured.

In addition to a couple naps on Monday, I also got my walking program back in gear. I've walked 15 miles this week already, and today will be a rest-from-walking day. I need to get the oil changed in my car this morning and my husband and I are meeting another couple for breakfast. The skies look threatening; I might end up doing some heavy cleaning if it rains.

Our weekend guests won't arrive until late Friday evening, so I'll have today and tomorrow to prepare. I'm stocked up on sippy cups and apple juice, fruit and Goldfish crackers. What else do three-year-old boys need? Heh. It will be my husband's job to buy the worms. He's hoping the triplets will catch their first fish in our pond.

My grandson caught a couple whoppers when he was here. Not as whopping as the record-breaking catfish snagged last week in North Carolina, but pretty darned big for a farm pond. Two were four- or five-pound bass and one was a five-pound catfish. We believe in catch-and-release around here, mostly because no one wants to clean them!

My walking plan is to do 25 miles a week, five miles for five days, with two rest days thrown in. (Saturday will be my second rest day this week.) So far this activity and monitoring my intake hasn't resulted in any weight loss, but it's pretty early and my metabolism is pretty slow. At any rate, I think the walking has contributed to my improved mood, and I'll keep on keepin' on. After all, what's the alternative?