My wild life

I have a wild life—or at least there's a lot of wildlife in my life. :)

Yesterday I got home an hour or two earlier than normal. I had taken the day off work to attend my all-day Otterbein Alumuni Council meeting. Becky, our fearless leader, graciously got us out of that stuffy boardroom and into the beautiful sunshine ahead of schedule.

So I scooped up Noah from the sitter's house, and home we went. Because I was off my normal schedule, Peanut was napless and exhausted by the time we got home around 4:30. So I put him down for a nap, and I indulged in some book reading while basking in the glow of gentle Spring sunshine.

The animals in my yard had other ideas. They were so noisy I couldn't help but watch them instead of read. A tiny chipmunk was darting in and out of a pile of leaves in the brush between my neighbor's house (oh yes, we have neighbors). A fat, waddling robin was working over the backyard, plucking worms and grubs and anything else it could find to satisfy its hungry tummy.

A pair of round, gray squirrels chased each other in the woods behind our house, dashing up and down trees and flying through the sky to reach greater heights. A cacophony of bumble bees and other winged insects executed drive-bys near my ears almost incessantly, so that I felt a bit like a horse in August, swatting them with my ponytail (stubby as it may be) in a steady rhythm.

Still, it was a wonderful 50-minute escape from life, responsibilities and the McCallen Laundry Mountain. It doesn't take much to amuse me, obviously. But I like our country chorus, and the wildlife that keeps my life hopping.