Whacked by an Eagle, Circus, RIP Scissors

October continues to be busy.

Had a bit of an adventure at work last week.  Martha the bald eagle tends to be territorial and screams at us when we go to clean the aviary.  But this time she took it up a notch.  I had finished cleaning (with her screaming at me) and when I got to the gate I bent down to pick up the bowl of uneaten meat.  Suddenly WHAM!!! on my back!  She hit me and then flew off.  Fortunately it was chilly that morning and I had sweatshirt on - also, she didn't talon me, but just hit.  I didn't freak, but I was a bit unnerved.  Especially when you think of the size of an eagle's foot.

It's just coming up that time of year - courtship/nest building season, so she's feeling her hormones.  Note to self: maintain eye contact.

Last Thursday I went to my fourth circus of the year, because my young friend Faith was in it again.  Besides, I like circuses.  This one was Halloween themed - my favorite act was the trapeze artists, because they were all in skeleton unitards and makeup so all you could see were flying skeletons.  And Faith was happy to see me.

It was a fun evening, until I got home.  I went to put the chickens up - and saw a pair of shining eyes in the chicken coop.  Big ass raccoon - not my little Miss Sassy.  The chicken run has wood fencing about thigh high all around it, but the masked bastard had actually managed to push in one of the boards.  I beat the crap out of him with a broom that was in there until he ran off.  Then I had to deal with the mostly-eaten remains of Scissors (I used to have Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard,and Spock, plus Malcolm in the middle).  She was the one who had figured out that if she flew up and perched on my arm that she would have first grabs at any treats I was bringing in.
I'm now down to two chicken from the seven I had a few months ago.  You just can't stop a determined raccoon.
But I'm trying.  I've spent many hours since then screwing skirting boards around the inside of the coop.  I still have a few to go (my back gets tired, and I rain out of screws) but I'm mostly done.  I'm also putting cinder blocks all around the outside of the coop - only a few a day, because they're really heavy.

I was doing some recycling for the skirting boards.  What I needed was 1x4 lumber.  I found some in Bob's stash and used that, then was thinking I should go to Lowes.  But then I thought of another big project on the Things to Do list - take down the butterfly garden fence.  We made part of the front yard into a butterfly garden in 2010 (hard to believe it was that long ago) and put a picket fence around it to keep the peacocks out.  The fence was in panels, which had to be replaced from time to time - the last time I did that was in 2020.  But most of the fencing has rotted away since the hurricane.  I've been debating between taking it all down (I don't have peacocks anymore) or buying another 20+ panels and replacing everything.
I've gone for the easy route of taking it down (which will happen with various fires this winter).  But those last 3 panels are still in good shape - and it hit me that the pickets are made of 1x4 lumber.  So I've been knocking those off and reusing them.

And then I got sidetracked for a bit.  I have to cut them to length on the chop saw - and I had problems sliding it all the way back because there was stuff piled up on the table behind it.  I dragged it out - one thing was a large storage bin.  I opened it up and, sure enough - it was filled with empty jars, boxes, Skyflake cracker tins.

I went a little weak in the knees - why, Bob, why?  Then I went on a short rampage until I had piled up enough stuff to fill the car and then made a run to the dump.  It's still so hard - because it's Bob's stuff.  Except that it isn't any longer - it's mine, and I don't need dozens or hundreds of empty peanut butter jars.

I've been wondering when I'll ever stop feeling a pang every time I put a cardboard box or yogurt container into the recycle bin.  The answer to that came to me yesterday while I was fixing dinner - and it's never.  I will always feel that twinge.  What made me realize that is because I was having fresh asparagus.  One starts by bending it so that it snaps at the point where the stalk gets woody.  But my mother never did that.  As a child of the Depression, she couldn't bear the idea of buying asparagus (a splurge) and then throwing away about a fourth of it.  She would cut off the very hardest woodiest part of the base, and then cook it until the stalks were tender enough to chew.  Therefore, I hated asparagus.  I remember it being stringy and slimy.  Now - those snapped woody portions get chopped up for the chickens, and I enjoy my tender crispy asparagus.  Mom passed away in 2012 - but I still feel a little guilty and profligate whenever I snap those stems.   So I assume I will continue to feel the same way about empty but still useful jars that I nonetheless take to the dump.