And the rain , rain, rain, came down

I feel like Pooh


or perhaps it is more of an Eeyore kind of feeling that is in the air. I watched the weather reports this afternoon and all claimed that the storms would pass north and south of Madison with some small breeze to cool the air. Imagine my surprise when I heard a whoosh, a thump. When I investigated  I discovered the wind was blowing quite strongly and had ripped the porch awning up off of its mooring. As I stood watching things blowing down the street the rain came in horizontal sheets. Cars were sending up waves of water toward the students who were just leaving the high school which is across the street. Some made a dash back toward the school while others simply took it in stride and continued on to their cars.

Now rain is the last thing that we need right now but I hold this slim hope that perhaps that there will be less moisture to come during the winter months!  :-)  One can hope!!

Summer's End

Here it is, the middle of August, and the evenings are started to cool down considerably. I find myself tuning off the AC and wrapping myself in an afghan as I sit and read or watch the telly. But then morning comes and by mid-morning the heat begins once more. It is Mother Nature's way of reminding me that I live in Wisconsin and our warm seasons are short but sweet.

This summer was strange with periods of very hot weather, followed by torrential rains. My grass has  never had to be mowed as often as this summer required. And don't even get me started on the mosquito population explosion that was seen toward the end of July and continues this month. As noted in previous blog entries, the insect world and I have an ongoing feud and our worlds have collided more than normal this summer.

Bees, flies (both house and fruit) spiders, lady beetles, earwigs, ants, and mosquitoes have taken up squatters rights around my house. Right now a spider has erected a giant web across the back of my car from antenna to a bush along the drive. He persists in redoing it daily so I imagine he finds that all of my other squatters offer him excellent hunting.

In addition to the insect world, I have several gophers who have made their hole between the paving stones of my front walk and a warren of rabbits that make my yard their own. At night  I discover the presence of a somewhat unwelcome prowler, Mr Skunk, and I tend to let him go about his hunt without too much interference.  With the end of summer some of these fellow inhabitants of this property will move away but I ask myself what will take their place? 

David Cook and Carrie Underwood Duet at Walt Disney World

Little Miss Muffet

Have I mentioned that I don't like spiders? I am told by friends that most of them are quite harmless and in fact help to control the more destructive insects. I hear, "remember Charlotte!" and all the other things that are suppose to make me feel good about the abundance of spiders that are lurking about my place. And I know that they are watching me and just waiting for their chance to ensnare me in their web.

I remember as a young girl sitting at a family gathering and seeing a spider dangling from a thin strand of webbing just above my head. At the time I laughed and slid my stool over a few feet, only to see the spider finish coming down and scampering over to where I sat. I moved again, still with a laugh, getting a little less joyful, and once again the spider changed direction, at which point I leaped from the stool and raised across the room just like poor Miss Muffet!

I love this little snippet!

http://vimeo.com/7787870

Ceara A Preview of my story (rough draft only)

Ceara sat before the blazing peat fire, watching as smoke curled up and out the chimney. It was on nights like this when the west wind blew in, carrying with it storms, that her thoughts turned to family or rather her lack of family. Her mother had died at her birth and her father, not knowing what to do with a small girl child, had delivered her over to the care of his friend Merlin and had disappeared. From time to time treasures were sent back from the various times and places where he wandered but what she wanted most of all, a day to day father, was not to be.

Now it was not as if her childhood was lonely or miserable. How could it be in the household of Merlin? For a time she had even had a playmate, a young lad by the name of Arthur, but all too soon he was sent away to act as squire to a nobleman in a distant land. Ceara learned all that Merlin thought to teach her. She learned to mix potions, cast minor spells and best of all to communicate with the animals of the forest. And then in the summer of her fifteenth year everything changed.

Merlin disappeared.

Now as a wizard, he had done this many times, often going to check on young Arthur but this time he did not return. Ceara continued her chores and worked on her studies in Merlin's workshop, each day checking the glow of the great crystal ball that dominated the room. As days passed the glow of the crystal grew dimmer indicating that something was preventing Merlin’s return.

Ceara was truly alone now.

At first Ceara maintained the pretense to visitors that Merlin was only away on a short visit and was expected back at anytime. She would make up the requested potions but would advise them that she would ask Merlin to consider their request for a spell casting when next she talked with him. Later after the visitor had left Ceara would go into Merlin's Workshop and pull down his great book of spells, find the appropriate entry and cast the requested spell.

Sometimes the spells did not always work the way they were suppose to work and disgruntled villagers would show up to complain. One morning the baker's wife had wanted a spell to make her daughter more beautiful in order to catch the eye of the Mayor's son. She returned the next day, bringing along a lovely white mare. Ceara had only asked in her spell that the girl be made to resemble the son's heart's desire. Little did she know that he had been trying to convince his father to let him purchase a new horse and had his heart set on a lovely white mare that he had seen recently at a fair.

Ceara asked that the girl/horse be left in her care and she would see that the spell was reversed as soon as Merlin came home. That evening, she cast spell after spell until the girl was returned to herself and quickly fled toward home.

The next morning the Mayor and a group of the leading citizens arrived at the cottage demanding to speak to Merlin. Upon discovering that he was not there and that Ceara had been casting the spells herself the angry group demanded that she leave the village. And so packing the few possessions that she could carry with her and casting a final spell to ensure the security of Merlin's home, Ceara started on a journey that would bring with it many adventures.


So off she went, her pack slung over her back and Merlin’s cat, Marric, scampering behind. Ceara had no idea where she was going but simply placed one foot in front of the other and headed off toward the setting sun.

Ceara traveled for several hours. She finally stopped for the night beside a quiet pond.

After eating a small meal of the bread and cheese from her pack, she settled down for the night. The sounds of nature and the soft light of the moon lulled her to sleep. As she slept the word of her presence sped thru the forest.

Micmacs: trailer HD 1080