The Trees and the Big Dig.

Eugenia waiting for a home.

I know I started the tale of my trees and how cutting them down has depressed me so. I immediatedly started trying to find something to block out the light from the backyards of my across-the-canal neighbors.

I talked to a nurseryman about my needs at length: non poisonous, fast grower, tall, blocks light. He sold me privet. I can home and started digging. And I dug and dug and dug. There were so many roots it took me close to three weeks before that hole was big enough. I planted one tree and by that point, I had forgotten how far apart they were supposed to be. I started reading online and found out that privet is poisonous. I called the nursery and gave them an earful. They were so nice, they let me return the four I bought.

One Eugenia in; two more to go.

I ended up with Eugenia. It does meet all my requirements and makes a nice tart berry too. I only got the second tree planted last weekend thanks to the huge root.

I dug this firewood sized root out of the hole!

I have to say, with my business in the toilet and the lack of responses I get to my job hunt, I have found the perfect frustration killer. When I'm anxious, I go out and pick up that ax and swing til I can breathe. My body has gotten so much stronger doing this! I really think it's the perfect exercise!

My favorite tools: an ax, hand pruners, vine pruners and my mother's "sharpshooter."

I also realized I should have cut down an annoying vine on the west fence. I've been whacking away at it as well and finally fixed my chainsaw last weekend and got rid of it.

After cutting the stump down on this vine, I realized it was holding up the fence! Another project!

I doubt my yard will ever look as lush as it did but for the first time in years, I'm enjoying being out there trying to make it look better!

Quick Thinking On My Pedals

I was reading Becky's post today about being propositioned in South Korea and when she got to the last few sentences, she threw in a little comment about a man dropping his pants right in front of her! It reminded me of something that happened in in Argentina. (Thanks for the post idea, Becks!)

I and the American's I worked closely with would spend our one day off, Sunday, exploring. I, unlike the others, never broke my routine. They all would sleep in on Sunday, but that threw my body chemistry way off and made the first few work days afterward difficult. So I would rise, go for a walk along the docks and eat breakfast at the only restaurant I could find with something that resembled American pancakes. When the the rest of the gang was finally awake, we'd brunch somewhere, read newspapers and make a plan for the rest of the day.

We strolled about the city on this particular Sunday, sightseeing and taking pictures until someone remembered hearing something about a Mongolian Barbeque over in Palermo, a neighborhood some distance away.

As all of us were either from New York or L.A., we were perpetually in search of a good meal. It only took a few days to realize that most restaurants in Buenos Aires were all alike: each had a fish dish, an egg dish, a chicken dish, a beef dish and a hamberguesa. We quickly grew bored. We soon learned where to go for more interesting fare both near our office and apartments but Sundays were reserved for finding new and unique meals.

Keep in mind we were all working from 14 - 18 hours a day, six days a week. We were exhausted and all suffering from that malaise that makes nothing really matter too much. If one person had an idea, the rest were likely to follow.

Off we went in taxis to Palermo. Never mind that we had no name of the restaurant; no address. We were a resourceful group managing a crew of a thousand. We could find a restaurant with no name or address in a foreign country. The taxi drivers dropped us off at a park -Parque Tres de Febrero.

This park was like nothing we had seen. We had all been to the incredible Recoleta Park. But this park was wooded and had an amazing lake and big islands. Without so much as a word, we all got out of our taxis and started walking straight for the shore, mesmerized. The park was not busy at all on that late fall afternoon in May. Some of the guys lay down in the sand. Some of the girls took off for a walk along the vast shoreline while others hit the concession stand for a snack. Me? I walked to the water's edge, drawn to the paddle boats.

I've had a fascination with paddle boats since I was child visiting Percy Quinn State Park near my hometown of McComb, Mississippi. My mother would never let us rent a paddle boat. I spent my childhood watching those boats and longing to be on one.

I petitioned all of my friends and no one was game - for good reason: a winter storm was moving in. It was starting to sleet and darkness was setting in.

Finding that restaurant and our exquisite meal are a whole other story. But that park and those boats stayed in my head. It would be weeks before I would return alone on a brisk Sunday afternoon and rent a paddle boat.

I had the best time on that lake which was quite busy and soon longed to explore a quieter shore and study the flora and fauna away from the crowd. I turned down and inlet and soon the busy shoreline disappeared.

I found myself drawn to a duck that was nesting a late fall flock of ducklings. They were curled up next to their mom and she was protecting them from the breeze that was blowing. There were so many trees here, the sun was no longer visible. I paddled so close to the shore, I could have stepped off the boat if I'd had something to tie it with.

I marveled at the coloring of those ducks and how they blended so perfectly with the fallen leaves on that shore. As my eyes scanned that shoreline and the wonderful colors spread on the ground, something caught my eye. Those look like shoes. They are shoes with a man attached!
To my great surprise, that man had his pants down and started pleasuring himself on my shock. Immediately, I realized how close I was to him; that he could step on my boat in an instant! And then, that deep sense self - preservation that many of us possess kicked right in.

I started back pedaling the boat as fast as I could and simultaneously decided if it was my shock he wanted, he would not have it. With my left hand ( I was steering the boat with my right), I pointed at his engorged member and cackled very loud. As I laughed, I screamed, "Moi poquito, moi poquito!" (translation = very small)

He quickly tucked it in his pants and ran off into the woods. I've never wanted to rent another paddle boat!

When All Else Fails, Post A Picture

I'm finding this daily writing thing to be quite a chore! Here's a few thousand words to hold you over.

I've written about our local peacock flock before. It's fun to head out looking for them around sunset. They tend to congregate near their roost.

In the neighbor's ivy...

On the fence...

On the window sill...

I love this guy! He doesn't have a very impressive tail yet, but don't tell him that!

This guy is just a show off!

Computer Burn Out

I almost forgot to post today! In my defense, I've been on this blasted machine all day.

I wrote a blog post for the team blog I contribute to and listed a few items on ebay. And then I got down to the work of looking for a job. Can I just state how much I HATE online applications especially when they make my resume redundant?

I struggle so with their questions. Keep in mind, all of my jobs have been in a creative field in the past. Getting a job there involved getting a meeting with someone who talked to me a bit and then either gave me job or a list of names of other people who would give me a job. Sometimes they called someone and told them to give me a job. I didn't have to know how many hours were involved in my baccalaureate, I didn't have to take any tests, and my resume was simply a list of names of companies and directors I had worked for. The name game goes a long way in Hollyweird.

Setting aside the way I feel about filling out the same information, again, redundant on my new fancy resume, over and over, some of these websites are just archaic and difficult to use.

I found myself on the City of Los Angeles website helping a friend who is out of work. He couldn't figure out WHERE the job listings were so he called me, the computer "expert." I looked and looked and couldn't figure it out either. We actually had to call someone with the city to find the link!

Once in the right place, there were different categories and I even found a few I'm qualified for. It took well over an hour and a half to fill out their forms and supplemental forms.

Then I made the mistake of looking in another category: civilian with the police department. A young friend of mine recently started working with the sheriff in such a capacity and really enjoys it. But once again, I ended up in web - circle hell. The "jobs" link led to a q&a page and none of the other links led to actual jobs. The last one led me back where I started!

I wish "someone" would realize that when job seeker is looking for a job, they expect to see a list of available jobs; nothing else. It's a case bureaucratic of efficiency at it's finest.

Winds of Change

With the sun arcing up, you almost expect to hear angels singing.

This shot is the reverse view of the sunset. I love how the pink kisses the mountaintops.

Election night blew in more change than expected. We seem to have skipped right over fall and went to winter!

Not only was it "wear your pjs" cold, it was "toss on another blanket and turn the heater on" cold! Uh - that would in the 40s (stop laughing Janet and Becky!).

We've had five days of rain since the 30th and much cooler days and our coldest night last Tuesday. But these cool, breezy nights have been really something yielding the most spectacular sunsets.

I've changed in another way too. I'm finally becoming a smart dog mommy! Sunday night was my second night of insomnia when I realized Mabel was on alert, whining and carrying on a bit. I ignored her until I heard something knock over an empty coffee can I had placed on the banister to take to the shop. Raccoons love to stand there and try to break into Mabel's trash can of food.

I jumped up and had to move Mabel away from the door physically a few times. She was hell-bent on going out. I didn't want a repeat of that raccoon fight from earlier this year! I finally slipped out of the bedroom and managed to leave her inside.

Once on the porch, I saw little, wet, raccoon paws every where! The little turds had been swimming in my pool! I had been seeing a big wet spot near the stairs for several mornings but couldn't quite figure that out! Now, I have proof.

I walked out into the yard and spied a little raccoon standing on the other side of the fence with just his head showing. I casually picked up a pool skimmer and slowly walked around the pool. As I looked down to take a step up onto the deck, the rascal disappeared but then I realized I was only a few feet from a very large raccoon! I swung the skimmer and he darted under the deck.

I stomped around a bit for good measure then went back inside and climbed in bed as if nothing happened. And that dog who would have been so fired up, I wouldn't have gotten her inside for hours??? She climbed in bed and went to sleep! Score one for Momma!!!

This night hike was almost eerie. To my left it was pitch dark save for the moon. To my right was this lovely orange glow.