Friday, July 28, 2006

So, how's your day going?

I spent a quarter of an hour or so this morning peering into my backyard from behind a curtain - watching a doe and her three-quarter-grown offspring eating fallen green apples beneath the apple tree. One of our cats decided she simply must get between the curtain and the screen and see for herself what I was watching. I held the curtain away and helped her get into the window slowly so she wouldn't scare the deer, and we nature-watched together for a while. Deer can look quite comical dealing with apples, if you don't know. So can cats sitting on a windowsill watching them. So that was a nice start to the day.

Yes, I do live in town. Rather in the middle of town. Given half a chance, mule deer don't seem to be put off by minor details like asphalt and sidewalks and cars and fences and people.

So, after this and that and the other, it was after lunch and I was washing dishes and I glanced through the living room and outside just as a truck pulled in front of our house. It looked like a fire truck, the best I could tell through the window from where I was, and through the slatted blinds we use for shade. The men who got out of it looked very much like firefighters, although not in firefighting gear. Then another fire truck rolled by. Definitely a fire truck. I jogged to my husband's office for a better look, and there was yet another fire truck parked on the street, its nose against our driveway. And another fire truck behind that. These trucks were all spewing firemen, in uniform but not turned out for a fire. Curious, that. Then the firemen all walked down the sidewalk, toward downtown. The best we can guess is that we have out-of-town firefighters passing through, and they needed a place to park while they went to lunch. Thanks, fellas. I haven't been this awake in a looong time. Some convoys are definitely more attention-grabbing than others, I have to tell you (especially until it gets through your head that there's not necessarily a fire just because fire trucks are pulling to the curb everywhere you look).

So, how's your day going?

Update: I have talked with some of the neighbors. These neighbors are having a grand time today, holding a "Christmas in July" craft sale cum yard sale. They even have Christmas lights up. They are calling out "Merry Christmas" to all and sundry who walk by. They tell me they are getting varied responses to this (no kidding). But, at any rate, they talked to the firemen, and the firefighters are from several towns a couple/three hours west of here, and are on their way home from helping fight a wildfire a couple/three hours east of here.

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