TOO MUCH TIME ON MY HANDS....

 

I started working when I was 14 years old..and stopped after 68 years. This has now provided me with a whole new experience.

I have an excess of time on my hands.

I now find that over the years I signed up for stuff that I didn’t really need or want. For example, I found I have had a subscription to audio books for over 15 years. I have never listened to an audio book nor do I want to do so. These little discoveries are like a smaller version of Christmas or my birthday.

But what I want to discuss today is my new found appreciation of nature. When you grow up and live in the city for the majority of your life, you seldom get to experience any form of wildlife outside of the idiots who drive on the freeways.

But here in the country, we get everything. We have a ranch outside our front door with cows and horses. I know nothing about cows and horses and their various activities amuse us. Like those little white birds that seem to be assigned to each cow. Do the cows get the same bird each day? Do they know each other? I feel sorry for any cow that doesn’t get one. What’s the reason for that? Why do cows clump together in a tight circle from time to time? I’ve asked several of the ranchers around here and their answers are pretty vague with comments like…” I don’t know, they are just cows”

We have 2 feral cats that come up at night and eat the food we set out for them. They get loud if we forget to fill their bowls. Makes me wonder what they did before we got here.

But our main source of entertainment so far has been the toad population. Notice I said toad and not frog. We don’t get frogs, only toads.

We started off with Morris (my wife names them) then came Matilda, then Micky and then Mabel. I put an old bug zapper in the carport on a 3-hour timer. We now have 10 toads (6 will remain unnamed) that show up for the opening of the cafeteria right on time every evening. We moved the zapper to an area in front of the house before the situation got out of hand. The first couple of nights most of the toads had gotten the word that the zapper had been moved. She had to ‘relocate’ a couple of them since they had apparently missed the memo advising them of the move.

Having time on my hands allowed me to research how toads communicate. Fascinating.

They do use their voices, but they also use hand (paw, flipper, mitt?) signals as well as thumping the ground to start vibrations. We now find them in a semi-circle sitting in front of the zipper waiting patiently for their next morsel to be delivered. These toads have never had it so good. I now have time to imagine that they pick and choose their entrees. Tonight, I’ll have the June Bug a ‘gratin and tomorrow the roasted mosquito. I think Morris saves flies and gnats for dessert.

Now you know ……wasn’t this a stimulating discussion? Hope you learned something.

See you next week…Peary Perry