Pecking

Yesterday evening, the house filled with the smell of charcoal lighter fluid. Some of the neighbors have no business trying to barbecue. If you release the stink of lighter fluid, you're doing it wrong. Later, the dog next door spent several minutes making quiet growls, snarls and aspirate barks. He kept running along the fence. I couldn't see anything on this side of the fence, so maybe he was putting on the performance for my benefit alone. Maybe he disapproves of me living here. Or maybe he was disturbed because he was hearing the distant whump of big fireworks going off in Chico and Oroville. It was right about that time of night. I didn't hear them myself, which surprised me. Most years I do. Could it be that my hearing is going, too?

I find that the discomfort of sitting at the computer is coming on more rapidly now. I might have to cut back even further on using it than I already have. I'm unable to concentrate on writing anyway, while my head hurts, so maybe it's for the best. There's no telling how long it's going to take to get all the kinks in my neck straightened out. I hope it's soon, not only because they make me very uncomfortable, but because I'm severely addicted to the computer. This is being a worse than usual summer so far.

The blue jays are awake and pecking at the lawn already. I've brought the cat in so they can have it all to themselves.

Stiff

I saw a butterfly this afternoon. They have become a rare sight here, and I miss them. It was moving swiftly away from me when I first glimpsed it, so I didn't get a good look at its wings, but they appeared to be dark and tipped with mauve. I'd have stayed out for a bit longer to see if it returned, but it was way too hot today. My tolerance for heat is diminishing.

The headache has been less intense so far today, and I actually slept for seven hours. But I've found that the longer I sleep, the stiffer my joints are when I wake. My guess is that my joints mistake sleep for death and thus decide that they aren't needed anymore. When I wake and start using them, they protest. Aren't you dead yet? they say. Have you decided to become some sort of zombie? they say. I tell them to shut up and bend. We fight for a couple of hours, and then they settle down to a state grumbling discomfort. I feel like the tin man in The Wizard of Oz.


I found an enjoyable weblog entry all about pee! Sadly, this has been the high point of my day.