You are lost

So after staying up late (4 a.m.) watching Red Vs. Blue, I went to bed. I had slept all of 3 hours when the phone rang and now I have an appointment for an interview at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Pleased with the opportunity to prove my employment worth, I took today to rest and catch up on things, and proceeded to sleep until noon.

I put some more pics on the site, including some wildlife shots, not of any professional caliber mind you, but what I could get. I hope to get some better shots eventually.

Since I’m becoming semi-absorbed in watching the local wildlife (especially the birds) I picked up a field guide or two. It’s kind of a nerdy hobby, but it’s relaxing and I can do it while smoking, drinking, or both. I’m still an amateur, but I’m learning, and that’s how I spent the rest of my day; sitting on the front porch, watching the birds and antelope until the sun set. Very peaceful.

Aside from observing the local wildlife I’ve been doing some work on the yard.  It’s been a while since I’ve had a garden so I’m enjoying getting my hands dirty.  I’ve been tiling and composting the soil, watering the grapes and rose bushes, clearing out the debris and putting up some lattice work.

I’ve been taking a little time to find some new tunes to listen to.  Currently I’m listening to some ohGr, M.I.A. and  M.C. Frontalot.  It’s an odd mix for the playlist, but enjoyable.

I’m thinking on trying to pick up spanish.  As you would imagine a lot of people here speak it.  Aside from wanting to understand what I’m hearing, jobs pay extra if you’re bilingual.  It’s just a good idea.

I find myself staring at the sky a lot.  You feel so close to the clouds and the weather is so strange.  One side of the sky will be sunny and clear and the other side will have lightning storms with no rain and where you’re standing one cloud will decide to rain.  Lightning comes without thunder, thunder without lightning, and when you get both it’s tremendous.  My porch faces west so I get to watch the sunset over the barren hillside.

My house is designed for late day sun, which is nice.  Despite my slow adaptation to daylight living I’m still late to wake if my alarm isn’t set, so it’s good not to be blinded first thing in the morn, er, afternoon.  Forcing myself to go to bed early hasn’t really been working, it’s more of a best intentions type thing.  I mean to go to bed around 1 a.m., I actually go to bed around 3 or 4 a.m., which is still early for me.

As it may reflect in my writing, day to day life is relatively uneventful.  Drink coffee, take care of the paperwork, clean the house or yard, play with my cats, make dinner, maybe play a game with the house-mates.  I’m happy with it though.  It’s very relaxing.   Now I just need to win the lottery.   I want a bicycle.

I’d like to thank the person responsible for inventing dishwashers.  They’re fucking wonderful.  My sink is (almost) always clean.

It’s hard to believe it’s September already.  I think of all my college chidlins, going back to school.  Best wishes, slap Gaeb.

Please.

I saw a 17 year Cicada yesterday.  I was tidying up the yard when I raked over it, causing it to make the shrieky noises.  I didn’t know what it was at first, so I looked it up online.  These things are neat.  It starts as a nymph (I saw a nymph in my garden the other day t00 btw) and lives underground as deep as 6 feet.  After 17 years it emerges to molt (I’ve found some molts too) then lives for about 5 weeks above the surface before it dies.  Sweet.  Kinda like graduating from school only to die the month afterwards.

Other odd sightings include a couple of Praying Mantis’.  We had 4 of them on the porch the other night.  I didn’t realize that they came this far north. We had a Road Runner in the driveway the other night; they don’t look anything like their cartoon representation.

Apparently there are around 15 different species of hummingbirds native to this area, of which I’ve seen at least 4.  I’m learning more about identifying the local birds as I get time.

When I tell people about my intention to move to Arizona one subject always comes up: heat. Granted it’s a lot closer to the equator, the majority of the state is arid wasteland and it’s primary source of shade is provided by cacti so you would expect it to be hot.

Missoula is hot. Last summer we had 36 days when the temperature went above 90, 4 of those were over 100. This summer we’ve already set a new record for hottest temperature in Missoula and there’s still 2 months to go. On average Missoula breaks 90 degrees 18 days out of the year, rarely ever breaking 100, but it’s been far from average for a while.

As Montanan’s, we think of Missoula as just another part of our little winter wonderland, and that’s been changing too. Our average snowfall is 43.8 inches. Last year we recieved a meager 19.2 inches, the second lowest in recorded history.

So what am I getting at? We’re here for the cold. Most of us don’t have air conditioning, because it’s a cold weather state. Mild summer, cold snowy winters. We aren’t prepared for the heat. Arizona deals with heat all the time. The only time you don’t have air conditioning is when you’re outside. Now I don’t want to be trapped inside next to the AC all day, but it’s not too far of a cry from being trapped at a job where the AC isn’t working all day (it’s working now).

In closing, before I get too carried away, heat is not an issue. Being prepared for the weather you’re recieving is. Unless Arizona gets a blizzard, I’ll be ok sitting next to the AC with a tall glass of iced tea.