Tails of Four Skunks

As told to me by my HC.

I was driving along, going from one campsite to another and saw two little baby raccoons in the road. I got out to make sure they were okay to to make sure they got across all right. I got close enough to see that they were healthy little babies. I leaned over them and got hissed at. They started to get a murderous gleam in their eyes and eyeballing me like I would make a good snack, so I backed off some and watched them get across the road.





I went on a little farther and saw a Mama skunk and four little baby skunks crossing the road. They were so tiny, they could have fit in my hand. I stopped the truck and stayed in it (did you really think I was going to get out?) and watched them. The Mama skunk went off somewhere and it was just the baby skunks sitting there. I sat there watching. They were so cute. Then they all put their noses together and stuck their tails all up straight in the air. They looked like the points on a compass. Evidently, they were willing to spray EVERYthing in all directions. I guess they didn't like my truck. I backed up a little and stopped again. Then they all ran towards me, and immediately stuck their 4 little noses together, stuck their tails up and waited. I backed up again and they chased after me and assumed the position. I don't know where the Mama skunk was during all this, probably right outside my truck door with HER tail up.
I've never been chased by baby skunks before; I've never even heard of them doing that. And I don't know that I would have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself.
But it worked; I picked another road.

*I would like to add that my HC didn't take any pictures, he was too busy backing up in his truck. I got these off Google Image for illustration. ;)

Dripping

Yesterday it was over 100 degrees here. Everything was dripping. It was the day that we had decided to put off the inevitable and drive to the recycling plant to deliver our cargo of soda cans that we've been saving since last winter. It was 30-something cents per pound. We got about $15 for the lot, so we were pretty happy. We went to Sonic and got some lunch. We had set the bug bomb off at home to rid ourselves of the pesky black ants that had become too much of a nuisance to ignore or spray any longer. So we couldn't go home for another hour and a half, so we decided to drive over to the nearby State Park, since we'd never been. Having spent all our money at Sonic, we had to scrabble for change in the car for the $3 entrance fee. It was so hot outside, we weren't interested in the playground, which we could see rippling in the heat. What to do? Oh, Dripping Springs on a hiking trail with natural falls, which at 77' was the highest waterfall in the area. It was next to the park's 'formal gardens' so we started there. You can see from the red faces that we were keen to get in the shade. We went to the overlook and saw the falls, and the suspension bridge (eek). It was supposedly 88 steps down to the base of the waterfall and was recommended to wear hiking shoes (Ian was wearing flip flops). We weren't going to go down there, but Ian's pleading won out. Everyone grabbed a hand and we walked down. It was a bit steep, but it was all paved steps with rails, so it wasn't bad at all. The falls were gorgeous. The boardwalk was railed off with lots of benches, so you couldn't actually touch the water, but the cool spray from
the falls was enticing enough so that we stayed there long enough to cool off some. On the way back up, my HC and I remarked simultaneously: "That was worth the $3."
Then we went home and got in the pool.

Turtle Trouble

Besides this being the last full week of the library program, I was also holding onto the last threads of sanity when my HC told me that he had found us a new pet at work one night. "Excuse me?" I said into the phone. "I think there's some static. Did I just hear you say something about a puppy?"
"No," he said. "It's not really a puppy. It's a kitten."
"!!!" I said (My HC is allergic, hello! And we have two large dogs. I am not one who believes that cats should be allowed inside... In college, my roomie had a cat and the large, solid, smell of the litter box actually made me contemplate sleeping in my car a few times. No thanks!)
"No, it's not really a cat."
"????"
"It's really a turtle. A little baby turtle."
"And?" Clearly there was a catch.
"It's a little snapping turtle. I found it in a puddle."
"What about our fish? It will eat them! We've had them for years."
"It's tiny. We can get it minnows or something."
I haven't even seen minnows since I was a girl in Florida. It is hard to see how we will supply a growing turtle who would probably like small fingers to eat even more.
So the turtle came home.

Then chaos erupted.
This turtle should be named Houdini. We lost it twice the first two hours we were awake. It was still in the tank, just contemplating its escape. And wedging itself up between the tank lid and the lightbulb so no one could see it.
We got back from the library.
"The turtle's gone," Ian announced on the way to his room. Clearly unfazed, he kept going.
"Whaaaaa?" I said, rushing to the tank.
Yup. Gone.
Thus began the search.
An hour and something later, my HC and I had torn apart the house searching and resigned ourselves to olfactory location sometime in the next week.
Then my HC decided to dig one more time in the corner behind the desk. He got a nip for his efforts, but he found the turtle.
The turtle's floating log was taken out of the tank. Now he is reduced to sitting on top of the air bubble stands, but he's doing well.
[shakes head] Sigh.

"Oohs, Aahs and Ha Ha Has"

An article on the front page Westville Weekly Times, Tuesday, June 16
by Mandi Goforth

Lessons, left brains and laughter were the products of this week’s fun at the John F Henderson Library this week. Native American Storyteller Will Hill performed on Monday for a special family program. Dressed in Native American costume, he told several stories that have been passed down from his grandparents. Mr Hill also began each story with beautiful flute music and a song. With his many voices and dramatic movements, he held the audience captive as he told diverting, moralistic stories featuring character favorites such as Rabbit, Skunk, and Buffalo.
Upside down artist Dana Helm came to show us how to turn off our right brains and enter into the realm of the left. She began her presentation with a musically timed upside down artwork that she later gifted to the library. She would periodically rotate her easel so the audience could see what her composition would look like once it was right-side up. Children and adults looked on in amazement as her sketch was completed. Then she turned the tables. “It’s your turn,” she said. “Everyone try. Even the adults!” Dana supplied a page of comic faces and instructed everyone to turn the paper upside down. “Turn off your right brain. The side that’s telling you that this is impossible, that you can’t do it. Yes, you can!” The amazing results to this difficult exercise are being displayed in the library’s hallway. Come and see your child’s left-brained masterpiece!
Harmless T Jester, a veteran entertainer who has toured all around the United States and even performed an opening act for the Smothers Brothers, left everyone with aching sides and laughter-induced tears. He told jokes and stories, did impersonations and funny faces. He juggled everything from little balls to sharp knives (they looked more like machetes). Three helpers tossed him bowling pins and he juggled those while perched on a board centered on a rolling cylinder. He then made everyone in the room raise their hands and swear a solemn oath that they would never, ever play with fire. Then he proceeded to juggle flaming torches and set his own bottom on fire. Almost. Well, it was close. In case anyone missed it, he did it again in slow motion. “I never laughed so hard in my whole life,” nine-year old Dusty said. “That was the funniest guy I’ve ever seen,” a mother added. Harmless ended his show by telling the kids of a prehistoric time before computers, DVDs and YouTube. Every trick he learned, he said, he learned by reading books. Needless to say, there was a stampede in the library later on as interested boys looked for books on rope tricks and juggling.
Next week promises to be just as fun when Robert Lewis, a Native American Storyteller comes Monday to enthrall us with more timeless lessons. Toddler Tuesdays are rolling around again with games, singing, reading and experiences guaranteed to expand the knowledge of your toddler (siblings too!). The much anticipated Critter Tales will be returning on Wednesday with live animals to touch and discover. Come a little early to get a good spot, as this presentation is always crowded. On Thursday, Kirsten Jackson, Queen of Theatre will be presenting another opportunity for your little Drama King or Queen to show their stuff. Acting, singing and dancing is all anticipated and encouraged. A teen drama workshop will also be held. Don’t miss this opportunity to let your inner diva loose!
The spectacular summer program is at the halfway point. It’s not too late to register or attend this inspiring and hilarious free entertainment. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by! Be creative at the John F Henderson Library. See you there!


Ian, Erin and friend Connor play during Toddler Tuesdays at the library

Rain On Our Parade

Today, we were very excited. We have been planning on going to the river all week. Ian had his follow-up with the allergist in Tahlequah and then my HC was going to show us a good spot on the river to play and swim and picnic. We were a bit late for our appointment and it's a bit of a drive, complete with sharp curves, s-bend roads and a hairpin turn up and down mountains to get there. The posted speed limit is 65 for most of the way, though there are "suggested" speed limits of 35 in spots. My HC thought it was very important to get there on time and proceeded to show us exactly what our Jeep could do at 55 around those curves. Most everything fell from one side of the Jeep to the other, then back again. When we got there, I peeled my hand off of the handle above the window and unclenched my bottom from the seat. Ian reluctantly unfastened his seat belt and hobbled down to the ground. Erin was just glad to get out of the car. It took a few minutes for the green tinge to leave her face. (We made it there on time and he never went over the posted speed limit, so I could hardly fuss about it, could I? At least, that was the argument my HC presented to my terrified whimpers.)

Well, we found out Ian's results. If you remember the previous post about Erin, there's a scale for the severity of an allergy. A level 3 is an alert level.
He scored a 2 for Brewer's Yeast, Coconut and Corn. (sigh, but not such a huge deal)
He scored a 3 for Cheese, Eggs, Wheat and Soybeans. (Grrr! Soy?!)
He scored a 4 for Milk. So now we are completely on Rice Milk and I cancelled our WIC today. We can buy our own Juicy Juice and Rice Krispies.
He had no reaction at all to environmental allergens. So that was good.
We are still processing the whole soy thing. So far, we are swapping our vegetable oil for canola oil. The doc told us to drink o.j. with calcium and added vitamins, keep taking our vitamin supplements and try to eat a lot of green leafy vegetables.
so there.
As if to echo our sobering reality, we exited the office to a dark grey sky and strong winds. We went to Wal-mart to pick up more rice milk and a rotisserie chicken, since Ian couldn't eat the sandwich I packed with wheat bread and cheese (Erin doesn't care for sandwiches; she had cut up chicken in her baggie). We decided to go to the river anyway. We stopped for gas and pulled onto the road to the bridge we had decided to visit. We were immediately enveloped in a curtain of hail that smacked and bounced against our Jeep. My HC spun us around and we took shelter under the overhang at the gas station we had just left. The hail left and a heavy downpour took its place. We proceeded to the bridge, but it was raining/lightning/thundering too hard to get out of the car. We ate some beef jerky and watched. We decided to go explore under a double bridge not far from that same gas station. This picture is one I took while under the bridge. You can see how dark the storm was. Ian thought it was night time. The rain stopped enough for us to get out and throw some rocks in the water. We got back in the car, as the temperature had dropped to the low 60s. The kids pretended to drive.



Erin's turn.


Ian's turn.


Everyone's turn.


"Dad! Ian's hogging the steering wheel! Make him move!"


After a while, the rain slacked off some and we played a little more. We threw some more rocks in. We ate some chicken. Erin was cold and wanted to be held. We were all cold! We decided to go home.


Erin took a nap, Ian immediately changed into some sweats and played video games.




Now we are watching Nemo and the sun is shining outside.

Busy Bees

The library summer program has started and we've been weaving around like crazy, getting here and there. The programs are scheduled differently each week to accomodate the different presentations and audiences, so I finally cleaned out the ole bike trailer (it was yellow with pollen) and hitched it up to my HC's bike. I forget why the hitch was put on his bike, since he's rarely around (or in the mood) to haul Shorty Red Curls around. I would like to place a motion to move the hitch from his bike to mine, because he is a good 8 inches taller than me and his bike reflects his size. In other words, my feet don't touch the ground very well when I am riding his bike. But that's neither here nor there.
Our favorite thing so far about the library program is Playgroup. It is co-sponsored by the Cherokee Nation Learn and Play Kid Connection. They have so many toys and learning experiences. There is a tub of water and floating ducks, wooden fruit that you can string up, play-doh, drawing, books, etc etc. And the teachers there practice counting and fine motor skills. It is for children 5 and under, though older siblings are encouraged to play along as well (and who doesn't get a kick out of baby toys? Everyone protests and scoffs, but after the baby leaves the room, the toys are still being used.).
But the absolute coolest thing about this is that they teach Cherokee. For those who aren't familiar with this area, Tahlequah (where my HC works) is the capital of the Cherokee Nation. The Heritage Center is there, the tribal buildings, the Cherokee Hospital, etc are all there. All of the street signs are in English and in Cherokee. It's pretty cool.
This month, the focus is learning numbers. I don't have a Cherokee font on my computer, so I will give the pronunciation.
One-- sa w u (sah-quoo)
Two-- ta li (tot-lee)
Three-- tso i (chjoh-ee)
Four-- nv gi (nuh-gee)
Five-- hi s gi (hees-gee)
Six-- su da li (soo-dah-lee)
Seven-- ga li quo gi (gahl-qwoh-gee)
Eight-- tsa ne la (chah-nay-lah)
Nine-- so ne la (soh-nay-lah)
Ten-- sgo hi (sgoh-hee)

There will be a quiz. So far, I can remember a few, but the best part is the accent. You know all those indian movies, like Last of the Dogmen and Dances With Wolves? They make those gutteral throat noises? Well, it's just like that and it's pretty awesome. But that is just me and my fascination with languages. And yes, plenty of people around here speak it. You can go into a room and two old guys will be rattling back and forth.
The lady who is the native speaker is a lot of fun and laughs at my pronunciation. It is now my personal goal to impress her. For some reason, Spanish was a lot easier....
When we are at home, we are goofing off around the house and playing a lot outside. My first squash is ready to come off the vine today. We will be having a squash cutting ceremony later today when we are out playing, if it does not hail (hello, summer storm season!). I can barely keep the swimsuits clean and dry before we are putting them on again to go out and play. The kids and I are getting tanned (okay, fine, the kids are getting tans). "Mommy, your spots are getting more!" said Ian as he pointed in wary fascination at my darkening freckles. In Britain, when someone has acne, it is described as having spots. Great. I am either pimply or a dalmation.
But today is my HC's Friday, meaning it's his last workday before his weekend. We're planning a visit to the river to play, so I'm sure I'll get even more spots then.