Life is pretty random at the moment — I can’t really say with certainty what day of the week it is, and it’s pretty much a toss-up whether the day is spent socially or working on various projects. In general, it’s not a bad way to live, with the only downside being that assuming none of my little projects pan out (and I’m not holding out much hope) then in a few months the slow hemorrhaging of my bank account will probably scare me into going back to work.
The cottage is working out really well, having now received my brother’s seal of approval as the best place I’ve ever lived in. One of the big highlights has been the local animals: I originally named the resident grey squirrel Ralphie, only to realize that the Ralphies are actually two different squirrels. The owl isn’t as regular of a visitor, but most nights he makes the rounds via the trees outside the front door. And lately there have been at least two raccoons (who I believe might be on methamphetamines) that stop by. Their first visit seemed to be a game of tag that lasted from about ten o’clock until two in the morning — all that I would hear would be a screech followed by a mad dash around the cottage, and then silence for a few minutes before the process would repeat. Three nights ago they were in explorer mode, including some flying leaps off of the cottage roof that sounded most impressive. The other neighbors include a cat and two dogs and are slightly less friendly. Of the dogs, Cujo has repeatedly tried to thrust himself through a second story window opening in an effort to remove me from existence.
Also, a few random bits:
- Rod Planck’s photography book is still on sale at Amazon.com, although it looks like they are nearly out of copies. It’s a really good nature photography book if you’re interested and have a bit of spare cash lying around.
- If you’re at all interested in the next Galapagos trip, it will be from May 6, 2006 to May 20, 2006. At $3400 per person it’s a bit pricey, but that includes everything but tips and airfare to Quito, so it’s still far cheaper than any comparable trip. I think I’ve already got nearly enough people to fill the boat, but let me know soon if you might be interested.
- Lynn has some really, really impressive portrait shots online — be sure to click on the thumbnails to get the full image.