Chunk!!

7:35 PM - 3 Comments - 3 Kudos - Add Comment

Ah, the Beauty of Putrification
Current mood: cheerful
Category: Pets and Animals

As many of you know, I have a love of dead things, yes and of insect life. Isn't it wonderful how  insects rid the planet of so much dead rotten flesh. Were it not for our scavengers, we would be suffering the nauseating stench of putrified flesh on a constant basis. Let us of course not forget our other scavenger friends, vultures, crows, rodents, fox and other "vermin". Oh and don't think that our prized national icon, the bald eagle, isn't a scavenger as well. They often prey on dead fish, although in an attempt to keep ignorant Americans happy and complacent, we often see photographs of these undoubtably magnificant creatures gracefully diving towards a fish to successfully snatch it from the water and carry it off triumphantly, fish a-flappin', to devour it in stoic dignity. Well, not always the case. Yes,  even the eagle is a hapless victim of marketing. So anyway, why not marvel at the wild ferocity with which the vulture gleefully tears into the rectum of its meal, cause that's what they go for first when eating carcass. This spectacle can be viewed from pretty much any roadway as there will always be roadkill. You don't even need PBS. Perhaps a few minutes extra to get where you are going. Seriously, between the vultures and carrion beetles, even a deer can be expedited in a matter of days. Which brings me to my magical story of Death, Putrification,the Circle of Life and the Carrion Beetle, lover of all things rotten in the realm of flesh. Dave had returned from a hunting trip with some buddies of his bearing not only two beautiful wild turkeys (the limit which he bagged within three days of the opening of turkey season-that's My Honey!) but also half a bushel of oysters. Yummmmm. Jenny like oysters. Seeings how they had been harvested several days prior to being brought back, they had to be shucked for cooking because they were no longer suitable to be eaten raw. Oh well, I was dogsitting in Sparrows Point at the time that I had three dozen oysters to shuck and I sat outside Jim and Steph's (don't tell Stephanie, but I had goop all over the back deck HEehee) Sorry for those of you who don't know Stephanie, she is seriously compulsive about cleanliness and I think obsessive compulsive is more accurate, so if she knew she'd be out there with gallons of bleach and other horrifying sanitizing agents... Anyway, the story, so I wanted to save the shells to throw onto my driveway at home so I left the shells in the cooler and made oyster stew and the world was a happy place, yaddayaddayadda. Well, the cooler sat on the back deck a couple days with the shells in it. I then finally returned home at the end of my dogsitting with the cooler, still unemptied and left it sitting several days at the Chalet unopened and unemptied. Finally, I thought about cleaning it out, knowing it would be totally foul. Let me interject a bit fo info now about oysters. When you shuck them there is a hunk of flesh still attached to the shell after you remove the oyster meat. That being said, the shells and their meat hunks REEKED I mean I had to breathe through my nose and rush with them in a bag up the driveway and left the bag of shells on the side in some pine needles and leaf litter. After let's say two days I investigated the scene and determined that the bag should be removed. Yes, I had gloves on as I picked up the bag and dumped the shells out. Shewww! Still rank! The carrion beetles had begun moving in, Yay! The next morning as I was leaving for work, I stopped to check again. I saw lots more beetles and poked the pile with a stick. There was an audible rustling sound as all the carrion beetles  scattered into the surrounding leaf litter to hide. Some lingered and repositioned themselves on the putrified meat hunks. I obersvered some beetles had hollowed out the meat hunks and were inside of the meat chowing down while others were MM-Boppa-Mau Mau-ing on the outer meat. I monitored them the following day and most of the beetles were busy breeding and feasting, although not much flesh remained. The stench has subsided as well. Every time I stopped I marvelled at their presence and efficient work. Within only four to five days all the putrified flesh was gone, the beetles were gone and only clean shells remained. Truly Marvelous!The carrion beetle will lay its eggs in rotten flesh so that the emerging larvae can feast and grow into this beautiful and useful member of the foodchain. I love and respect insects. I wish only to help others understand their importance as fellow creatures on our planet and hopefully share and convey my excitement of their beauty and complexity as they enrich our lives in so many ways. Oh and of course I like dead animals too, so what a great combination!   

5:09 AM - 6 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

Wailing and Drool
Current mood: calm

So, not that long ago, about a month, Colleen was telling me about needing a babysitter for overnight while she and Chris go to work a beer festival. As if "working" and beer festival should be in the same sentence. But I digress. I was eager to offer my services because I have yet to have either of the little tattens over to the Chalet and I want to bond deeply with them and things of that nature. So it was agreed upon, dates written on calenders and time requested off work. Colleen made sure I was up to the challenge several times during the interim. "Yes" I would assure her, "didn't I say I was going to ?" Jeez!
So the week approaches and not only am I dogsitting in the farthest region of Baltimore, Sparrows Point, but I am painstakingly filling out my MS100, the state job application form, which for your convenience can be downloaded and filled out on your computer, although, that is quite a feat in and of itself. So in addition, I am composing attachments to augment the application which provides scant data entry fields in which to type every possible thing you know how to do because if you don't spell it out for the knuckleheads who read and "grade" the application, they can't or won't be bothered to figure anything out on their own. So I literally spent four evenings driving from work to Sparrows Point to attend to my charge, then to Chris and Colleens to avail myself of their computer and meanwhile wracking my brain to compile the most comprehensive and compelling list of achievements and job duties and skills I can reasonably muster to assure someone deep int he bowels of the evil state hiring machine will say. "Holy Jesus! Give this woman a job ! We must have her!" and driving back again. Every day began at 5am and went at breakneck speed until 10 or 11pm. Did I mention that simultaneously I am "casually" planning a friday afternoon work cookout to celebrate my girl Amy's birthday and Ranger Dave's promotion to assistant park manager? Well that wasn't so bad until I missed out on the whole thing because by Thursday evening, when I finally got done work and dog, and application, and driving 100 miles every day and mushroom hunting I crashed HARD. I felt nauseus, couldn't eat, couldn't think, totally dizzy. So Friday morning instead of going to work to enjoy the day, I merely dropped off my contributions for the cookout along with Amy's birthday presents I had been eagerly awaiting presenting her with all with a sickened and fatigued air. Only to drive back home take cold medicine, and sleep the entire day away. And a beautiful day it was. Everytime I awoke to roll over and resume my slumber I would catch a glimpse of the blue sky, leaves of the grand oak outside of my window gently waving in the breeze and heard the songs of all the little birdies wafting through my open window. And all that rest, no wieners, no Tiramisu, so I would be well enough to babysit the Foul and Wretched Lando.
Come Saturday and my anticipated babysitting stint, there was barely a minute that he wasn't wailing at me or in my general direction. And the drool! I sat him in the lovely backyard and went to hide in Indigo's house and he screamed and cried. I could see the drool from the other side of the yard. OH really, he wouldn't stop crying all day, but I feel for him, he is obviously in great discomfort and pain awaiting his teeth to erupt from their dwellings deep within his gums and fill that gaping maw of his. Only then, my dear friends will the wailing finally end, but probably not the drool.

9:33 PM - 4 Comments - 8 Kudos - Add Comment

Mourning Cloak
Current mood: calm

Beings it's spring and flowers are popping out all over, take time to note of the beautiful Mourning Cloak butterfly. It's name believed to describe the "sombre" coloring, no it is not a flashy butterfly, but caped to mourn the passing of the flowers. A biggish butterfly, dark brown, almost black, with a band of washed out yellow around the wings, should you get close enough you may see some blue coloring. One of the very first butterflies to emerge, a true sign of spring. You should see them through early summer. I have been lucky enough to see them frolicking about "the chalet" and in the woods while working. Ah, I love it when the buggies awaken and grace us with their presence. I am currently beginning the 10-gallon project which will be home to my favorite coniseurs of rotten wood, patent leather beatles and millipedes. I have begun cammo-ing their future home so they don't get too much light. Then the fun part, searching the woods for dead oaks, their preference, to collect them.

7:17 AM - 3 Comments - 5 Kudos - Add Comment