Rattler Wrangler

Wow it’s been three whole weeks since the last post; apologies to all of the Faithful Readership. (Ulli, special thanks to you for writing to ask where i was!)

Partly i’ve been busier than usual, and lately i’ve been a little down, mostly due i think to spending too much time in my head, and not enough time just being in my body. i haven’t been doing any yoga or formal meditation, and i realized how disconnected from my body’s needs i was this morning, following a 3-hour bagwa (a kind of tai-chi) session: more exercise i’ve had at one time since i don’t know when, and it felt great! Although i have rug burns above my knees and elbows.

i was also a little bit bummed not to get all the way up to Portland during the four days i had off beginning Aug. 15 (story below), let alone back to Rochester to see my sister Eileen (who had the exact same vacation time), and chill with our sister-in-law Kathy at her newly refurbished cottage on the shores of Lake Ontario.

But i don’t want to focus too much on either what’s past or what’s negative. On with the update, big news first!

Boyz n girlz, i’m a rattlesnake wrangler! Yup, on the first day since my arrival here that i actually saw a rattlesnake, i also ended up catching it, and putting it in a bucket (with a lid)!

i was in the dishwashing room last Saturday 8/20 getting ready to start my shift (about 3 pm) when this snake appeared on the stones outside! It was obviously a rattlesnake, both from its skin and from the shape of its head, so i had my co-worker Heather (WHAT an angel! and with brand-new wings tattooed on her back!) keep an eye on it while i went to find the guy from Maintenance who was on-duty and who would deal with its removal.

LSS, i went to get the snake-catching pole, and captured the critter myself before the Maintenance dude showed up. It wasn’t too difficult, as i went very slowly and carefully so as to keep things mellow. Probably took about 4 minutes until we had it in the bucket. I’d say it was about two-and-a-half feet (75 cm) long. Two much larger rattlesnakes in the act of mating were captured the following day, and a fourth the day after. All captures are taken up to the airstrip above Heartwood (now in disuse) and released. Jim, the maintenance guy, had a camera in his cell-phone and took a picture of me holding the bucket with the snake in it, which i’ll post after he emails it to me. Fun stuff!

As mentioned, i had four days off from both school and work, 8/15 – 18. A trip home was out of the question, so i’d resolved to hitchhike up to Portland to see my German friend Kerstin Binczyk before she returned to the ‘dam from Portland on the 18^th. But i got kind of a late start, and by 6 pm had only made it as far as Arcata, about 2 hours away. After waiting for a lift for two hours on an entrance ramp to 101 north, i finally called it quits for the day about 6 (it was chilly and overcast so near the coast!) and checked in to the Fairview motel right next door, where i watched The Simpsons and back-to-back episodes of one of my all-time fave programs, The West Wing. Spent the next day in Arcata bookstores, buying some books and magazines before deciding to turn back to Heartwood. And what luck! Even though i arrived in Garberville at like 11 of a Tuesday night (deadsville, almost no traffic, esp. going up the road toward Heartwood), one of my co-workers, a gal named Brenna who’s in charge of the kitchen (and who turned 28 today!) was returning with a friend from Eureka. So i arrived back in my room very contented and ready to crash at 12:15 am, and didn't have to sleep under a bush after all.

Wednesday afternoon i biked to work at Mike’s farm and to spend time with Sandy for a couple of days. Had some good QT with the pooch, and also had the opportunity to get in about 8 hours’ work, trimming the undergrowth of the plants and pulling off “water leaves” and dead growth. They’re looking great, although found some fungus on one, and a small infestation of spider-mites on another. My friend from Heartwood Jerry has been brought into the operation as well, which is a win-win-win situation: Jerry finds good-paying steady work, Mike gets a damn-good worker with lots of carpentry experience, and i get the satisfaction of having brought together two really great guys.

Biked back to Heartwood in time for the arrival of new students 8/19, to greet them and show many of them down to their new rooms in the Lower Dorms. (Btw, i shattered – sh’doobie – the previous return-by-bike record by about a half-hour, to 2 hrs, 2 minutes. Part of the faster time is due to my being in better shape, but a lot of it is due simply to knowing the road a lot better: where to watch out for bumps, when an uphill is coming, etc.)

ON THE NIGHTSTAND

Just finished reading two Chomsky titles: Media Control: the spectacular achievements of propaganda, and 9-11. Slim volumes (58 and 118 pp.) but well worth reading, esp. the first.

Jim Ruggles, a new friend who works in Maintenance (not the same Jim who came to take the snake away) insisted on buying any book i wanted from the Heartwood store as a way to say thanks for watching over his pooch Tele during the 3-day weekend he spent at the Reggae on the River concert, first week in August. My selection: the enchanting Long life, honey in the heart: a story of initiation and eloquence from the shores of a Mayan lake. A young American-Indian guy builds a life for himself among traditional Guatemalan villagers. i'm only up to chapter four, but strongly recommend it.

Abdulkarim, thank you for the surprise phone call from Abqaiq! It was such a pleasure to hear your voice again, and for an entire half-hour! Shokran jazilan, yaa habibi! Ashoufak badi shwayuh, insh'alla.

And with that i bid you good night, my friends. It's almost 2 in the morning, and i really must lay by body down to rest. So much more to tell, but maybe some bits to save for the next update. i'd love to hear what's going on in your life, so drop me a line if you can.

peace!