Monday, December 8, 2008

Enough Wilderness Already!!

Can you believe that 17th of this month will mark the 1 year anniversary of my moving into my first home?! Wow. Time flies! I must admit the first year wasn't too shabby! (I need to send a shout-out to my Dad who helped me by installing a new garage door motor...a new garbage disposal...tons of other stuff as well...then there's my brother & dad, who just put insulation in the attic over Thanksgiving weekend). They've both been lifesavers!

So, after being in my house a few months, & even more so with summertime, I found out there's a plethora of lizards running around the neighborhood! They're in my flower beds in the front of the house. When talking to a neighbor one day, she asked if I had them, because they were all over their yard. I figure it's always good to have lizards, as long as they don't jump on me or make me touch them or come in my house..I'm cool with that! I remember when I lived with Melissa for 5.5 years in our apartment in "Use-less", we had those tiny gecko lizards & sometimes they'd come in. I'd just look at them & say 'whateva!' (Can you believe that?). These I have now are bigger!

So, let's get started on this wilderness story...last Saturday I pulled a chair away from the wall in my front living room (a room I do not use - but only walk through, the few times I use my front door). After pulling the chair away, I pulled a fake plant (that's taller than I am) away from the wall & a lizard slid out with it! Yikes! How come Mr. L isn't here when these things happen?! I stare at it a second & it doesn't move. I tap my foot close to it & it still doesn't move. Whew - it's dead! I think about getting a wad of paper towels to throw it away & say 'nah - I'll do it later'. Well, I fix the plant & am moving it back to the wall & the bucking lizard crawls! CRAP! Well, apparently it's dying. So it's currently between a planter & the wall in that room, & it's been in the same position ever since. The next time Mr. L comes over I will tell him to set it free in my flower bed. I don't want to kill them! (Although this one must be in bad shape!). Can you imagine the heart attack I would have had if I was picking up what I thought was a dead lizard & it moved? Or what if it crawled on my arm out of the paper towels? Wow. I might not have a heart attack but I'd probably faint. Yes I'm that kooky & I do get myself worked up like crazy, especially with bugs. (Thanks mom for teaching me to behave this way). ;)

Later on, Saturday afternoon, I have my back door opened so that a nice fresh breeze can come through the screen door. I'm on the couch relaxing with Chloe (after raking up leaves from my front flower beds - it took 4 1/2 outdoor trash bags to get it all!) & I hear birds outside. Not a big deal but Chloe's ears perked up so I pick her up & just stand at the back door so we can look out. "Lord & behold" (thanks Yong for teaching me that phrase)...a freakin' vulture or hawk or something flew from the neighbor's tree to a tree in the backyard of the house behind me! Wow the wingspan of those birds are amazing! I think Chloe & I both had this face :o. lol

Last night around 9:00, after good times all day with Yong...I'm in my bathroom, putting on moisturizer, singing a little song you may have heard called "Womanizer" & I hear a noise outside my bedroom window! Yikes! It is like something banged on the metal of the A/C unit which is right by my window! So of course I stop singing & think "if someone comes a'crashin' through that window, I'm going to be stuck in this bathroom!" I hear the noise again! WTF!? I move to the far wall in my bedroom so I can quickly run down the hallway if need be. I hear it again! I debate on calling 911. Instead I call Mr. L & tell him I hear a noise outside. Again, why does this all happen when I'm A-L-O-N-E?! He's all calm about it, like it's not a big deal b/c it's not happening to him, & tells me to turn on the patio light. So I go to my back door, peek out the blinds, turn on the porch light, & see a bird sitting on the A/C unit (this after hearing this banging sound on the A/C unit about 6 times). I'm much more relaxed...& go back to my bedroom window to get a better look. It's a little baby owl!!! Oh my gosh it was so precious! It heard me moving the blinds & it turned it's head all the way around to look at me. It was just so amazing. It turned away from me, just like it was chillin'. I wanted to get a picture of it but knew it'd probably fly away if I left the window, & I wanted to just keep looking at it. It was probably 9" tall. Did I mention how cute it was!??? Eventually it hopped off the A/C unit, to the ground. I ran to the back door again to get a better look but it was gone in the darkness after that. :(



(No, this pic isn't me holding the owl. It's just a pic I found online, maybe a bit smaller than the one I saw in real life).

In conclusion, as cute as that baby owl was...really now...I've HAD IT with wilderness! I had no clue "Bedford" meant getting in touch with my outdoorsiness side! Bluck!!!! Sometimes I really miss Plano.

1 comment:

Alvaro Salinas Jr said...

sounds like you have a wildlife refuge in your back yard. start advertising it and charge $15 for admission. don't forget about all the money you can make off concessions and stuffed baby owls.

HOOT!
HOOT!