Making It Up As I Go Along #275

MONDAY...
— Quiet day around the house. Some milk and juice are bought (grocery stores are closed for the Canada Day weekend so it’s a corner store for the bare minimum).

TUESDAY...
— Back to work. It’s an alright night. Supper with Kiyomi and Claudette... a second late night walk in two nights as well. Lots of rabbits in the neighbourhood. I’ve seen three each night.

WEDNESDAY...
— Go to the dentist for a filling. That’s a pain... in more ways than one. It’s about midnight before the ache goes away.
— Work is okay. Learning the new system some tonight. It seems okay but day after day of it in the future may get monotonous.

THURSDAY...
— Okay evening at work... not much out of the ordinary.
— Hour and a bit walk again tonight. Three rabbits seen for the third time in three walks.

FRIDAY...
— Okay evening at work. We go to the chip wagon for supper and there’s a new rule in our office... twice a week, we can take a half hour to do physical activity. So Josee, Kiyomi, Claudette, Mark and I take the time to walk around our compound in the evening.
— After work, I meet up with Linda and we have a bite to eat and some drinks while we catch up.

SATURDAY...
— Busy day. Off to Kemptville and North Gower for some house looking and getting to know the towns. Kemptville is nice actually.
— After that, I meet Melissa for a movie at the Mayfair. A good one too... Away From Her.


The Rabbits of Avalon

Two straight months of evening shift allows me to live a more natural life. That is to say, I no longer have to worry about bedtime. I can go out and be in the world when I most want to... late.

So back are the late night neighbourhood walks. And it’s at this time that the world is seen in a different light.

In the day, you wander around with cars screeching... many thumping a base on it’s stereo system so loudly that it echos in your chest.

Kids run the land... scurrying about and yelling. And dogs are walked, pulling masters along like sled dogs looking for a patch of snow.

At night, it all changes. Dogs are curled up on the beds of the kids... and the base thumping cars may still drift by in pimp-looking-for-his-woman fashion, but they aren’t as regular in their pimpin’.

At night, others come out. Rabbits run the lawns. They patrol neighbourhoods, nibbling on chemically treated grass. A passing walker, like myself, brings one of two reactions for the bunnies. Either they freeze where they sit, hoping that my lack of aggression is a sign of their success in blending into the shadows. Or they sprint ahead, leaving me startled with a white tail skirting through the grass.

This second option often brings difficulties for the rabbits. They sprint some twenty feet ahead but then have to bound off once again when I catch up to them. It never occurs to a rabbit to simply take off in another direction. Rabbits... the blonde bimbo’s of the animal world.

Another couple share the night. A cat and mouse scurry along the roadway. The cat sees me and stops the chase, sitting on the asphalt and watching me come. He’s sheepish, as if he’s just been caught. The thing is, it didn’t look like the cat was wanting to eat the mouse. They seemed to be sharing play time. Perhaps it’s human assumptions that has cats and mice as mortal enemies. Their cover has been blown and the cat sits in a fashion of one caught red handed, putting hands in pockets and whistling a nervous tune.

The assuming human would believe that the mouse has run for cover... thankful of the interruption. But I think it’s just sitting off in the grass, waiting for me to pass so it can join it’s feline friend once again.

The one problem with nighttime walking is a fear of the neighbourhood pond. I dare not walk there late at night because I’m concerned about startling a skunk around a corner... or crushing half a dozen frogs who overtake the pathway when the sun goes down.

Skunks are actually my biggest concern in Ontario. I live alone and have no trusted neighbour. What would I do if I get sprayed? I hear a shower only makes matters worse. Tomato sauce? Perhaps I should keep a large supply on hand. Encase it in glass, only to be smashed open on that dreaded day when the fumes of Pepe are all over me.

And those frogs... they’re everywhere. I’ve had to manoeuver quickly on past occasions. The frogs will be sitting there on the pavement and actually have hopped at my feet when I’ve gotten close. Perhaps they’re the NASCAR drivers of the animal kingdom... drive straight at a crash and it’ll be gone when you get there. Or perhaps they’re the true blondes of the wild... leaving the rabbits a touch more respect than was originally given.

Whatever the case, nighttime walking is the thing to do. The ordinary is all tucked away and sleeping. Nighttime is when the world takes on a different light.