When I moved to the NW, I knew that I would see more than my fair share of wildlife. Especially compared to living in the suburbs of Alabama; what I didn't expect was for that wildlife to come quite so close to my house. But now I'm getting ahead of myself, because any good story about wildlife encounters always has a beginning.....
We have had a rather cold and rainy spring here, and while that leads to lots of groans from those of us living here, it also means that all the vegetation is blooming much later than normal. And with the lack of vegetation comes the lack of blooms and berries, something that the black bears like eating. In fact, I didn't realize just how much the bears like eating berries until they started making appearances near the edge of our neighborhood looking for said berries. At first I would share and hear reports about them lurking around the woods that surround our area in a crescent shape, and then started hearing about them running by backyards. The best report came from my Chaplain's wife- she told me about a bear chasing her husband on a run on the backroads to the ranges behind our village. At this point Ritter and I decided that we should probably take a break from hiking the trails in the woods for a while. Ritter might start to look tasty to those hungry bears! Even if they are not grizzlies and much less known to attack humans. Who am I to judge a bear that hasn't been eating well this spring? Finally, for a couple of weeks the bear chatter around the block had died down, and just when I was beginning to hope that the pandaemonium...or should I say beardaemonium....had ceased, I spotted one on the way home from church! This bear was probably less than 400m from my house digging a hole only two feet from the roadside. This concerned me for the following reasons: 1- I left Ritter in the backyard, and he feels especially tough when on his own turf. 2- Did I mention the bear was next to the road and had no worries that cars were passing him, and 3- the bear had huge paws and claws! After freaking out to the degree that I believed the situation deserved, I called the MPs and were less than impressed with their response. They informed me that the bears like to live in the woods and next to the creek (where my hiking trail is!), and that I shouldn't worry because bear traps were out (which was wrong- they had been out and then were taken away probably two weeks ago). The kicker of my call to the police? They informed me that someone would come out to "scare the bear back into the woods," because that would keep the hungry bear from coming back towards our neighborhood full of tasty kids, pets, and trash cans. That moment was the first when my confidence in the police went down a few points, to say the least. Since then the bear has decided to sample our trashcan fare and run by the backyards to keep us en pointe. Welcome to the wild west of Ft. Lewis my friends, welcome.
No more major sightings have occurred since, but it has been less than a week since my run-in, so I am still on guard. And on this vein of crazy events in my neighborhood I have even more to share! There was also a major meth-lab bust in the woods next to my house a couple of weeks ago. This has since led me to speculate that perhaps the bears play a part in the drug industry of the NW. The lab was in their area, and I'm pretty sure that people and bears on meth will do crazy things for blackberries. I won't be able to confirm my suspicions until I see that our neighborhood bear is losing his teeth though, so stay posted. Beyond this, the only big news for my street is the evil road construction on the major road connecting us to the rest of post. Every evening starting at 6pm, our main road is closed, and we then have to use tiny gates to get off post (but they close at 6:30 and 6:45pm), after which we have to take a large circular route around the woods behind our neighborhood to get to the main road and any access to roads that lead off post. This means starting at 6:45pm I have to add a minimum of 12 minutes to any route I want to use if I plan to leave my house. It's not the end of the world, but I'll be darned if it isn't super frustrating.
With that tirade over, I am happy to say that Dereck has safely made it to his FOB (forward operating base) home for the next couple of months. Much of the detail he told me was over a phone call made at 3am, so the details are more than fuzzy on this side. In fact, I woke up wondering which parts he told and which parts I dreamed up while going back to sleep. I am super excited to report that I know for sure he has internet (which means Skype!), and an address- FB message me if you would like it. He still sounds to be in good spirits, and excited to finally be playing Army for real. While it may not sound amazing to be deployed to a hostile country, Dereck has a job that allows him to be moving around and using tons of Army gadgets, something that suits him very well. Other than that, we are praying that the debt ceiling crisis gets resolved quickly since it could affect government employees' pay- and therefore soldiers' pay. More than a few of Dereck's soldiers can't afford to miss a payday thanks to previous debts, bills, and general expenses, so please pray that things will be resolved before this turns into a big mess.
And to that end, I am now planning on going outside to enjoy some rare sunshine with the dog. Let's just hope the bear isn't planning the same thing!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Deployment Blog- Take One!
After taking a break for some much-needed relaxation from the taxing world of blogging, I am back at it and ready to go! Since the last post, which I think was way back in October of last year, there has been a ton of life, living, and other fun things going on around the Northwest. Here's what all you missed in the "gap months:" Dereck's parents came out for Thanksgiving, we went home for Christmas, I quit my old job and got a new job- woot, woot!, we went home and to Key West for two weeks in May, and Dereck is now deployed halfway around the world. See? Not too much has been missed when you look at it in these terms!
In all honesty, I have been wanting to get back to the blog for quite a while now, but couldn't justify doing it while Dereck was still home, especially in these last two months. Now that he's gone though, I am a free woman! Next thing you know, I will be hitting up the casinos and buying flashy sport cars, simply because no one can stop me :) For those of you that are wondering where the deployment thing came from, we've known about it for a while, but thanks to Army rules like Operational Security, or OpSec, it wasn't in our best interest to broadcast that he was going anywhere until right before he left. So, my apologies if it was a surprise in any way. Dereck is now on a grand tour of a country in the Middle East for twelve months, and has had to acclimate to a literal doubling of temperature. The Northwest has been having a less-than-stellar summer, and while the rest of the country is broiling, we have stayed at a cool/cold 50 and 60 something with rain. Now before you start to think that this sounds heavenly and become jealous, remind yourself that you most likely had beautiful warm months called March, April, and May to enjoy while we soaked in a consistent drizzle of coldness. A girl could use some heat here!
But I digress.....Dereck left earlier this week, and I was able to talk to him for a good ten minutes on Wednesday morning, so I have no complaints. He survived a 42 hour flight to get there- that's right- 42 hours on one stinking plane. We found out after the fact that his group was in a smaller plane that needed to refuel every so often, and so landed four times during the journey from Seattle to the desert. One highlight for Dereck was eating schnitzel in Germany, so all was not lost. And he got ample time to read his new Kindle (e-reader) that we purchased for the deployment. I don't think Dereck has ever been that excited about a purchase. It was glued to his hands most of the hours before he left, and for that reason, I am thankful he bought one small thing to make the long days ahead more fun. He even got a cool case that has a reading lamp attached for the dark nights when he will be sleeping in trucks and tents.
In order to gear myself up for this next year, I have been thinking on positive aspects of the separation and here's what I have so far: I get to sleep anywhere on the bed I like, I can buy skim milk without any objections, TLC is the channel of choice when the TV is on, girl time is guilt-free since no one is waiting at home, the house is immaculately clean, I rock the Tacoma whenever I need to drive somewhere (the Civic was totaled in February thanks to evil black ice, and the NW's refusal to salt icy roads- thanks salmon, thanks a lot), no one goes hungry when I refuse to shop for groceries out of pure laziness, Ritter suddenly finds me much cooler since his favorite person is gone, Army gear doesn't litter every free corner of the house, I suddenly have time to ponder life's mysteries, I have had great phone chats with friends, and God loves on me every time someone prays for us. See- there is a lot of good to be had given the situation.
One other highlight is my "happy deployment" present to myself. Instead of going to the casino or buying that sportscar I thought about earlier, I am now the proud owner of a Keurig Coffee Machine- one of those cool machines that takes a pod and gives you hot coffee, tea, or cocoa in less than a minute. It's perfect for someone who only needs to make coffee for one (or a small group), and only wants to make coffee every now and then. What really sealed the deal is that the PX (like the Army version of Wal-Mart) finally has some in stock, and you don't have to pay sales tax at the PX! That's a big deal when sales tax is near 10% in the state thanks to the lack of income tax- so, with a big purchase like a Keurig, that's a difference of roughly $13. After standing and debating whether I needed it or if I was being crazy for twenty minutes, finding a random couple to debate with in the coffee aisle, and then a quick conversation with the lady ringing up my purchases, I found myself the proud owner. Two days later I am still happy, have no regrets, and can brew a mean cup of coffee in less than a minute. Shazaam!
And there you have it. Life without Dereck for 12 months is underway, I am working on finding small joys in daily life, and the Kennedy house is host to one cool coffee machine! Now start booking your flights to come visit! No seriously....we have a guest room, and Ritter likes to cuddle......
In all honesty, I have been wanting to get back to the blog for quite a while now, but couldn't justify doing it while Dereck was still home, especially in these last two months. Now that he's gone though, I am a free woman! Next thing you know, I will be hitting up the casinos and buying flashy sport cars, simply because no one can stop me :) For those of you that are wondering where the deployment thing came from, we've known about it for a while, but thanks to Army rules like Operational Security, or OpSec, it wasn't in our best interest to broadcast that he was going anywhere until right before he left. So, my apologies if it was a surprise in any way. Dereck is now on a grand tour of a country in the Middle East for twelve months, and has had to acclimate to a literal doubling of temperature. The Northwest has been having a less-than-stellar summer, and while the rest of the country is broiling, we have stayed at a cool/cold 50 and 60 something with rain. Now before you start to think that this sounds heavenly and become jealous, remind yourself that you most likely had beautiful warm months called March, April, and May to enjoy while we soaked in a consistent drizzle of coldness. A girl could use some heat here!
But I digress.....Dereck left earlier this week, and I was able to talk to him for a good ten minutes on Wednesday morning, so I have no complaints. He survived a 42 hour flight to get there- that's right- 42 hours on one stinking plane. We found out after the fact that his group was in a smaller plane that needed to refuel every so often, and so landed four times during the journey from Seattle to the desert. One highlight for Dereck was eating schnitzel in Germany, so all was not lost. And he got ample time to read his new Kindle (e-reader) that we purchased for the deployment. I don't think Dereck has ever been that excited about a purchase. It was glued to his hands most of the hours before he left, and for that reason, I am thankful he bought one small thing to make the long days ahead more fun. He even got a cool case that has a reading lamp attached for the dark nights when he will be sleeping in trucks and tents.
In order to gear myself up for this next year, I have been thinking on positive aspects of the separation and here's what I have so far: I get to sleep anywhere on the bed I like, I can buy skim milk without any objections, TLC is the channel of choice when the TV is on, girl time is guilt-free since no one is waiting at home, the house is immaculately clean, I rock the Tacoma whenever I need to drive somewhere (the Civic was totaled in February thanks to evil black ice, and the NW's refusal to salt icy roads- thanks salmon, thanks a lot), no one goes hungry when I refuse to shop for groceries out of pure laziness, Ritter suddenly finds me much cooler since his favorite person is gone, Army gear doesn't litter every free corner of the house, I suddenly have time to ponder life's mysteries, I have had great phone chats with friends, and God loves on me every time someone prays for us. See- there is a lot of good to be had given the situation.
One other highlight is my "happy deployment" present to myself. Instead of going to the casino or buying that sportscar I thought about earlier, I am now the proud owner of a Keurig Coffee Machine- one of those cool machines that takes a pod and gives you hot coffee, tea, or cocoa in less than a minute. It's perfect for someone who only needs to make coffee for one (or a small group), and only wants to make coffee every now and then. What really sealed the deal is that the PX (like the Army version of Wal-Mart) finally has some in stock, and you don't have to pay sales tax at the PX! That's a big deal when sales tax is near 10% in the state thanks to the lack of income tax- so, with a big purchase like a Keurig, that's a difference of roughly $13. After standing and debating whether I needed it or if I was being crazy for twenty minutes, finding a random couple to debate with in the coffee aisle, and then a quick conversation with the lady ringing up my purchases, I found myself the proud owner. Two days later I am still happy, have no regrets, and can brew a mean cup of coffee in less than a minute. Shazaam!
And there you have it. Life without Dereck for 12 months is underway, I am working on finding small joys in daily life, and the Kennedy house is host to one cool coffee machine! Now start booking your flights to come visit! No seriously....we have a guest room, and Ritter likes to cuddle......
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