The Calm Before the Sludge

The burn ban prevents me from getting rid of the modest piles of brush already cut, and I don't want to cut more and have loads and loads of dead trees. So, this weekend I gathered all the already cut stuff into a new burn site to the south of the old one, along the ridge line. It felt odd pulling the rocks away from the edges of the fire ring. I made that burn pit well over a year ago, in the middle of thick brush and trees, womdering how I would ever get the area cleared. Now it is completely cleared and ready to be excavated for the foundation.

Note to self: No more cutting until I get rid of what I have (right). I did get up under Grandfather Grove, the biggest of the oak groves, as well as the smaller one next to it with my brush cutter. I didn't quite finish. I ran out of gas and out of energy before all the undergrowth was cleared. Most of it seemed to be thorny vines, which wear me out faster than anything.

I saw a road runner this weekend. Ironically, it was walking. Later I saw a fox running across the road. I also saw two "V" formations of ducks, frantically flying into the southern sky. They always look like they are in such a hurry. I heard the loud screeching animal in the valley again this weekend. Not sure what it is, but it sounds very cat like. I am guessing it is a bobcat, but wonder why it would sound so distressed.

Great Aunt Quincy died this morning, a week from her 96th birthday. I will be heading to Louisiana on Saturday for her wake. An era for our family has come to an end. Now, I suppose the unofficial title of maternal matriarch passes to my mom. I hope she has it for a very long time.