Cleanup Crew, inside and out.

We wondered if the birds would bother with such a small meal, but then, his body was about the size of a squirrel, so perhaps they would find him. My first clue was Zoe’s Bird Chatter, which allowed me to see the liftoff of the Turkey Vulture, who had come to claim the prize. We had subsequent visits from a raven and by the time we took Teejay for the morning circle walk, these few bits of hair were all that was left. The circle is complete. An owl must have dropped him, the ants got working and then the big birds left almost no trace. Oh, and someone else is still eating those tomatoes. (Little bastard)

We are facing a weekend of Fire Weather, again, with the winds threatening to rock the northern Valley counties. Now, PG&E has issued a shut-off alert for Sunday and Monday, which means, that once again, we will be powering the house and studio with our Big Ass propane powered generator. We got it, in 2010, after a freak snowstorm knocked out the power for 4 days and stranded us until we could dig out. Mom must have sensed that things were going to get hairy and decided to leave the planet, when she just knew that I couldn’t get to her. (Typical) We run our well with electricity and I can tell you that, like Scarlet O’Hara, I vowed to never be in that position again. Let’s just say that our down the hill neighbor got tired of hearing us power up, while they continued in the dark, and finally got one, since things are NOT GETTING BETTER.

We are getting regular texts and landline calls, now, warning us of the time that we will have to Make Our Own. Of course, running fossil fuel generators all over the place is not helping. Our propane company is claiming that the governor wants to ban the use of propane, sometime in the future, much like his idea that internal combustion engines will no longer be sold here, within 15 years. Can you hear the howling from my neighbors?

I just want to be safe. We continue to be packed but I can tell you that there are still fires burning all over the place and I can hear the PG&E helicopters flying around, looking over trouble spots. We are not in danger and hope to keep it that way BUT I can tell you that Paradise burned because the people who ran the power company cut corners for YEARS, so now, their only recourse is to punish us further with shut-downs to protect themselves from killing any more people.

So, how do I cope? I clean up the last drawers over which I have provenance. I look at the colorful things that I have collected and wonder if I will ever again have a reason to wear them. Maybe the NYSS&W Festival in 2021?

I have to have hope, really. If there are no more festivals, will we ever be able to travel again? Perhaps, with new leadership, science will give us a way back to our old way of life. In the meantime, remarkably for me, the indoor cleanup crew work is soothing my raggedy soul.

Poison Oak update: I have begun the step-down process with the Prednisone, which is leaving me less jittery and less prone to search for words because my brain was spinning. I WILL get through this and the healing is evident, with the smoother pink skin everywhere the eruptions happened.