Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Even the Animals Showed Up

I think August is one of my favorite times of the year. An odd choice some would say, but I have valid reasons. Allow me to enumerate.

1. We are well into summer, which is my favorite season. August is hot and I like the heat. It can wear you down, but I also find there is something very cleansing and pure about a good, dry heat.

2. The kids are comfortable in their summer schedule. Summer school, if attended, is over by August. The routine of summer is established and everyone knows what they should be doing and when. In my family, we sometimes have trouble with transitional periods, so getting into a little groove is a good thing.

3. The Summer Reading Program is over at work. I really enjoy it each year, but I don't enjoy the librarian ego dramas that can rage. It is the stupidest thing ever, but in the end I think it is because people drawn to children's services take their jobs seriously...even though it is really, really fun.

4. With things going more smoothly at home and work, there is time to do fun things. For example, in a conversation yesterday it was decided that the desks and activity rooms in the library should be renamed in honor of Cartoon Appreciation Week. I won't go over the whole list, but you should all know that for now, I work in the Wile E. Coyote Public Library.Our motto? We never win, but we are really persistent!

5. When I was looking for that image of Wile E. Coyote, I remembered that last week I saw a coyote running really fast up the street in Arcadia. He was a beautiful creature and it was a little shocking to see how far down he'd wandered. He seemed to be running in the right direction, though, to get back to the foothills. Is this a reason to like August? Maybe.

6. Last night around 9:30, I was walking back to my apartment from the laundry room and I practically ran right into a skunk!Suddenly he was right there! When I realized what I was seeing I stopped walking and put my hand to my mouth to stifle the little shriek that almost slipped out. Startling him would have been regrettable. I stood still and just let him amble into the bushes. When he seemed safely hidden away I crept past. Is this a good reason to like August? Maybe.

Well, those last two are stretches. The animals do wander down more in the summer. They are seeking water and food. That isn't a good thing...we've enroached quite a bit on their territory and of course I don't like to think of them hungry and wandering the streets. Not good for them, not good for people. But seeing them...I don't know. It's kind of cool and we don't get that so much around here...the occasional skunk, possum, coyote, and most alarmingly the bears that sometimes appear.

This summer, so far, has definitely had it's ups and downs. Right now though it is August and life is pretty close to awesome for me. So...check in with me, would you? How are you anyway? Be honest. :-)

8 comments:

Ananda girl said...

I love skunks. We had a pair for a time that came to eat cat food. They had no fear of us at all. We were very respectful and no one was ever sprayed. They like to slap the ground first if something bothers them as a warning.

I am THE librarian in my space. But I have the same deal with the other educators. Egos are tricky things.

I always dread August... and return to the job that I truthfully adore kicking and screaming. Ha. I am such a spoiled brat!

MrManuel said...

I hate August mostly because of the heat. I cannon stand heat. Yeah, you can do more outside, but if it is too hot to do anything, what goes does it do ya?

AlienCG said...

What a great new name for the library, I am a fan of Wile E. Coyote. I am not a fan of skunks or real coyotes, though. Summer is a great season, though.

crazy4coens said...

You list excellent reasons to like August. Excellent.

But I am still not a fan, even though 2 of my 3 boys were born in August.

I think it is wonderful that you are able to re-name things for Cartoon Appreciation Week. Too bad it's not a month!

Tara said...

I love that photo of Wile E. Coyote chilling out with a good book! He looks so happy and not frustrated! :)

We get skunks around here, too. They're cute, but I wouldn't want to startle one either. Pepe le Peu is not as romantic when he stinks.

laura b. said...

Ananda: haha! You can tell me all that, but I still would tend to exercise caution around something that could make me smell like THAT!
School seems to start earlier each year...what is up with that? :-)

MrManuel: Yes, I think I am in a bit of minority with my preference for heat.

AlienCG: Isn't that name clever? I thought so :-)
I, too, prefer my animals at a distance...but there is also something exciting about happening upon them when you least expect it.
Yay Summer!

Crazy4Coens: Thank you! I know you are not a fan of hot weather...and I know exactly what a summer pregnancy feels like, ugh. :-)
Ooooh, yes...Cartoon Appreciation MONTH!

Tara: Poor Wile E....always happiest at the planning stage.
You're right, skunks really are cute...and it is probably good they have such a handy defense, I just don't want to be on the receiving end of that little present.

Sebastien Millon said...

I always watched those Wile cartoons hoping that one day he would finally get to feast upon the roadrunner's grilled body. I like to see strong work ethic and dedication rewarded. The roadrunner coasted on his natural abilities while Wile had to work so freakin' hard...

laura b. said...

Sebastien: Wile E. Coyote was a bit of a folk hero, I think. No one worked harder than him in the face of unrelenting adversity :-)