“Remoted” – Day 490 (Monday)

This morning, there were fresh annoyances lying in wait and ready to pounce to greet the new week. It seemed like everything I touched seemed to turn to crap. 

Around 11:00 am, as the crap was mounting and I approached the usual Thursday 4:00 level of aggravation days ahead of schedule, I touched my left temple and it felt as tender as if I had slammed my head on something, but I don’t remember bumping my head any time recently. Soon, there was a full-blown headache that included cheekbones and eye socket pain and throbbing sinuses. Maybe it’s all the damp weather. Maybe it’s all the glamour and excitement of life at The BungaLowell. It lasted all day and so far, all night.

Moose wouldn’t go outside when I headed out to return the trash bin to the driveway. I told him to go outside and he stood in the dining room stubborn and defiant, staring me down. When I reentered the house barely a minute later, he was dining on fresh and fragrant poo that had just been deposited on the rug just inside the front door.

A bunny and the fresh greens salad bar.

All day long the tall back yard greenery remained wet. A bunny enjoyed the lawn greens salad bar, but the woodchuck was nowhere in sight. I tried to will the bunny to keep eating and trim the yard, but it didn't. Apparently no creatures were bending to my will.  After my work was done and as large drops of water still glistened in the light on the weeds and grass, the mowing was tackled anyway. 

Gas was added to the mower and it started, accompanied by a puff of smoke. Mowing commenced. After a couple passes, the machine suddenly stopped. The gas was checked and already seemed low. More was added. About a ton of wet grass was pulled from underneath. The mower started again and a few more passes were completed. Then it stopped once more, with a dark and dramatic puff of smoke. More wet clumps were removed and it was restarted. This happened at least four times, but by some miracle, in about 40 minutes, the back yard was completed and I called it quits.

The front yard was still wet and mowing was postponed. It will be delightful to have chores still hanging overhead. With the headache, it was feared my head might actually explode, although if it could guarantee an end to dealing with rainy wetness, mowing, general stress, and picking up dog poo it would probably be worth it.

At 10:00, the basketball players came out to make the nightly noise. Tonight, the dribbling almost synchronizes with the throbbing in my head. It's almost like an alarm clock. It's glorious.