En Garde! (Or Not)

I love days when I feel like I have a serious reason to be tired. I like feeling fatigued because of hard work, a day with blood, sweat and sore muscles. Today was one of those days. My normal job tasks and chores can't be done, because there is a group in camp this week who'd just undo everything I did (which was yesterday: a giant exercise in futility). So today I hopped onto other tasks. After our meeting this morning I did some inventory for Matt W., then headed out into the far pasture with Hampton to do some fencing (by fencing I don't mean the kind where you yell "En Garde!" and then perry. perry thrust. I mean the kind that is used to keep livestock within a confined area) where the horses keep getting out. I have never put up fence before and this is what I can now tell you: it is hard ass work. The spools of fencing weigh about 80 lbs to start with, and walking one along through the woods and trying to unspool it is not too much fun. As it was nearly 80 out today I was wearing capris...not good pants to fence in. The lower half of my legs are red and scabbed from the briars and trees I was pushing through. I managed to hit my thumb with a hammer while nailing in a staple, which did cause me to curse loudly. I also used a chain saw for the first time in a long time today...all in all it made for a pretty sweet experience. Any time work makes me feel a little more bad ass I'm all for it.

I also got my first try running the giant swing and managed to also be injured my first go. I was stopping kids (from behind, where the edge of the platform is not met with just air but is pretty even with at least some ground) and they were going faster than I expected so when I grabbed the chains to stop them they lifted me up and out and I fell really, really hard on my left side. (Good thing it was left; if it'd been my right chances are my shoulder would have completely popped out for the 3rd time) I laid there for 5 seconds to get my bearings before I got up. My hip hurts like crazy. Ouch. Sweet bruises for the day? check. Scared the crap out of Matt K doing it.
Finished that with enough time to do another two hours of fencing. I can't really lift my left arm very well it's so tired. Anyway, I'm going to bed. I loved today. I like you, tired for a reason.

Dirty Mirrors

This first struck me on Monday and thought about it for a bit today. Don't know why, because my thoughts haven't progressed from their state yesterday to where they are at the moment, but sometimes stewing doesn't change the makeup of a fact, it only distills it.
We were cleaning Cedar yesterday and our friend/boss Shaunna joined the funterns for the late afternoon. She was cleaning mirrors in the bath house and would spray and wipe, then step back and to the side and stare. Julie asked why.
"Sometimes it's the only way to see where the marks are; from straight ahead they often don't show up."
That little interaction got me thinking how applicable that is--how sometimes we work so hard on the blemishes we do see and, when they are eradicated, we consider ourselves victorious over the less than perfect parts of us. It is only when we step back and to the side, to the view of another, when we see all the points we missed. We spent the time we had on the points that didn't matter.
Sometimes we want so badly to be a better us that we only deal with the marks blocking our view of ourselves.
Does that make sense?

Rock Star

This is the rock star horse with the sweet 80's hair. My friend Nate suggested we name him Michael Bolton, and we would always refer to him by his full name. This is funny, but fear most 15 year olds wouldn't get it. He's still living here with no name. Poor rock star. But what great hair.

What's Your 20?

I'm hosting but there's nothing for me to do at the moment but sit in the office and wait for the trickle of keys and radios to return. So I started making a list. I have no idea why this is the list. It has no point. But I was mildly entertained making it.

Similes to Avoid When Professing Your Love for Someone:

Veal
A stapler
Cheese
Winches
Polyester Clothing
A paper cut
A squeegee
Meatloaf (the food and the singer)
Allergies
Red Wine on a White Carpet
Rodents
Spanish Influenza
Darfur
Fire Hydrant
Tapioca
Teetotalers
Hornets
Community Baths
The Bolsheviks

Parasites
Any fitness videos
BBQ spare ribs
Vinyl Flooring
Victorian Ideals
Pigeons
Lead based paint



Similes That May Actually Work:

Flav-O-Ice
Tetris

Trampoline

That last post was pretty crappy and I know it. I'm sorry. I have little thoughts to say and then lose them. I'm about to head to work for my first weekend hosting by myself. I'm not nervous or overwhelmed, but I feel sort of bla so that doesn't help much.
The DC trip still has left much rolling in my head. Two weeks from today I'll be up in Syracuse for the wedding of my dear friend Dylan. The summer will be here all too soon and life just spirals along. It's like that moment when you are jumping on a trampoline and you reach the peak of your jump and the world seems to freeze--to stop--right there. You know it's not true, know that you'll go flying down again to hit that black mat and the process will repeat at a speed faster than you expect, but in that one frozen second you know exactly where you are.
I'm needing my solitude lately. Blips of craving company, but mostly I've needed to sit in silence.
Lastly:
We got a new horse here who needs a good rock star name that won't scare children. He's tan with this ridiculously long, curly, bright blond mane. Think Dee Snider from Twisted Sister hair. Brett from Poison hair. Got that picture? Any name suggestions?