Journal of a Sabbatical

October 18, 2000

please don't eat the maytag man

Adopt cats at Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society

Today's Bird Sightings:

Plum Island
American black duck (hordes)
great egret (5)
greater yellowlegs (3)
Canada goose (20)
gadwall (6)
great blue heron (3)
mallard (10)
American crow (2)
snow goose (56)
American goldfinch (1)
northern mockingbird (1)
purple finch (2)
herring gull (200)
double crested cormorant (100)
northern harrier (1)

Today's Reading: Coming Home Crazy by Bill Holm

Well, I had three lovely cat pictures for this entry: Cyril, Sneakers, and Mitzy. I slipped the floppy into the drive and inexplicably instead of creating a folder into which to copy the files, I dragged and dropped 'em to the desktop. What's wrong with that you ask? Well, the pictures disappeared from both the floppy and the desktop and the floppy filled up with infinitely recursive desktop folders. Fool that I am, I tried to list what was left on the floppy. Oops. Can you say bomb icon boys and girls? I knew you could.

Titan got adopted so you would think Sandy would have free reign over the big yellow bucket. Somehow Sandy let his guard down and Stormy has taken over the bucket. Sandy did get donuts today though, so he's happy.

Stormy bit the Maytag repairman. The poor guy had to come change the belt on the washer and Stormy was being all friendly and lovey dovey while watching him do it; rubbing up against him and everything. Then just as he was leaving he tried to pet Stormy and CHOMP! Time to break out the first aid kit for the Maytag guy and cage Stormy for 10 days bite quarantine. Poor Maytag guy! Poor Stormy! Somehow this isn't like the Maytag commercials.

Roy tells me that the Sunday Boston Globe had an article that mentioned MRFRS in the context of working with the city of Haverhill on Trap-Neuter-Return of feral cats. Yesterday Thomas told me Sunday's Globe had an article about fraternity chefs that featured him and one of his recipes (shepherd's pie if you were wondering, not anything exciting like his famous lobster ravioli or chocolate peanut butter pie). Day before yesterday Julie told me the Sunday Globe had an article about her research on the Underground Railroad. I guess I've got to start reading the newspaper again. Should've asked Roy if he saw Thomas's recipe.

So, lunch at Angelina's. Where else? I've been fantasizing about Angelina's veggie subs since about the the middle of my second week in China. A nice crisp salad, or anything featuring piles of vegetables would've helped, but the fantasy was definitely of an Angelina's veggie sub. So I ordered one. It was everything I had dreamed of. The cure for homesickness or at least for severe vegetable cravings.

It was a little too gray and on the verge of rain to really relish a visit to the refuge, but I went anyway to see what I could see. It started to rain and the visibility wasn't very good so there were probably a lot more interesting shorebirds than the greater yellowlegs but I couldn't for the life of me tell what they were. A scope with a powerful spotlight might've helped. However, I did see a flock of snow geese, always a beautiful sight. The first ones this year. And near the clam flats I saw a gathering of herring gulls, cormorants, great egrets and great blue herons all bustling about a small area very busily flapping and diving and making a huge commotion. Some fish that's tasty to all those species must've been concentrated in the water there. It was quite a show.