A Little Piece of Dark Chocolate

Right before I went to bed tonight, I carefully selected a piece of dark chocolate from the SO's Valentine box of Godiva's. And I guess that was enough caffeine to keep me awake. Because after two and a half hours of tossing, here I am back up and writing this. I lay there with  my mind wandering all over the place. Reminded me of an Ellen DeGeneres skit I saw once where she stream-of-conscious recounts lying in bed trying to go to sleep with her mind that wouldn't turn off. She made it sound hilarious. For me, not so much.

It seems the trains here are getting louder. They come by faster, too. We live a half mile from the track, much farther than I was in my house in Victoria, but still, they seem to roar louder than they used to, and they're longer, heavier, loaded down with coal going to the power plants. Maybe it's because it's winter and there are more of them with the unusual cold we've been having. Or maybe it's because the air lately has been dense with humidity. I remember that it seemed so quiet here when we first moved in, not even three years ago yet. I notice in the mornings, now, when I go for the paper, that there's so much more traffic out on the highway, truck traffic mainly. It's just busier than it was then.

The oil patch has arrived. I don't know why we call it the oil patch because in reality it's natural gas. Exploration. Everybody around here is a-buzz about it, too. There are pipelines going down, wells going up, trucks with heavy equipment everywhere, rutting the roads and littering. Some of the trucks are full of mysterious drilling fluids. Others, I call them tail-draggers, are full of used up fluids taking them to some nearby hazardous waste dump. Overnight millionaires abound.

We live at the eastern edge of the Reynolds Escarpment. And underneath the earth here is what they call Eagle Shale. Hydraulic fracturing is the method they're using to extract the gas from the shale. It's dangerous to the water table, and I fear for our water well. "Fracking" has led to many contaminated wells in other places where the oil patch has come and gone. It's one of those double-edged swords, this energy boom. There are buildings that have been vacant for 15 years that suddenly have new paint and polish, signs with names of companies that make no sense to an outsider like me. Motels are full. Rental property is gone before it's listed. I know of five new RV parks that have sprung up from nowhere. It's good for the local economy, and the instant millionaires would argue that there isn't anything bad about what's happening here. But I fear for the water wells. And I wonder what will happen to real estate prices as soon as the Eagle Shale plays out. If I could, I would sell this place now before the water gets spoiled, and while real estate is bringing top dollar. I could probably make a small fortune, but then where would I live? I would move AWAY away, but Daddy is still here, and he's not going anyplace else.

He called yesterday. "I need help," he said. I heard panic in his voice. My heart jumped into my throat. But it was his dog. She had swallowed a bone wrong and it was stuck. I told him I was on my way. It was a very long 3 miles. I couldn't remember if he'd said the bone was stuck in her mouth or her throat. I prayed it wasn't her throat. My car was running on fumes, but I skipped the gas station, drove as fast as I dared through all the neighborhood streets.

She came racing to the fence, as always. I could see the lump in her jowls. I went through the house and out the sliding door. She was overjoyed to see me, again, as always. Jumping and whining. Daddy said some things to me that I didn't really hear. I called her out into the grass. He had watered so I had to find a dry place to make her lie down. She minded me. She usually minds me. She laid still and let me pull the bone out. It was stuck tight at an angle like a cigar between her cheek and her teeth. The bone was jagged but she didn't seem to be bleeding. I imagine her cheek was scraped on the inside.

Daddy was so grateful, and also amazed at how easily I handled her. She's a big girl but sweet natured. I think she trusts me. Anyway, I don't have any trouble getting her to do what I want. I don't have any trouble with my own animals either. The dog lets me clip her hindquarters without a struggle, and massage her joints when she's limping. The cat lets me swab dirt from his ears and even bathe him without much of a fuss. Maybe it's the matter-of-fact tone I use that let's them know I expect no nonsense from them, but that I also don't intend to hurt them either. I let my tone of voice tell them that I'm in charge and am going to do whatever it is I have in mind to do without a fight. It's about trust, and the fact that I don't believe in punishment, nothing past a verbal reprimand, which hurts their feelings enough in my opinion. Nothing is gained from physical punishment of an animal, except a breaking of their spirit. Not a desirable quality in any animal.

Bluebonnets are coming up along the driveway. I noticed them this morning. They're just seedlings at the moment, but I'll watch them over the next few weeks for any sign of buds. I have other seedlings in the greenhouse, too. I just planted most of the things (tomatos, squash, peppers, herbs, and flowers) in there last Friday and Saturday, and just four or five days later, voila! baby plants are appearing. That always delights me. Don't know how in the world I'll bring off a tomato crop this year, with us flitting back and forth between the two houses, but I'm going to give it a go. Can't help myself.

We're talking about a cruise. Maybe in April. Just talking at this point. Eastern Caribbean. Holland America line. They keep sending us these irresistible brochures with special deals for past "mariners"-- their name for anyone who has ever cruised on their line. We'll see how far we take it.

Oh, maybe that chocolate has worn off by now......

Onward .... (& back to bed)