P o c k e t CT

Someone lovely made my bed for me yesterday and put the striped comforter on sideways. Not wanting to ignore an opportunity to shake things up I slept sideways, awoke an extra hour early still sideways, listened to the first katydid of the season going click click thk thk wawawawawawawa on the window and I see that it is Ratcatcher’s Day on the calendar.

Apparently today we are to celebrate exterminators and hail the spirit of the pied piper. OK pest removers today is your day. So I am thinking about what bugs me in the pest category. There are a few ants running around my house lately. However they aren’t many and I don’t mind them. A few fruit flies by the compost this morning reminded me that I should keep my tomatoes in the fridge even though you “aren’t supposed to.” Those aren’t so bad either. I suppose the only pest that would really bug me are the biting kind. The absolute worst I’ve encountered are fleas. I moved into a room that was infested with them when I first moved to the valley. Traumatizing. Today, I profoundly thank every person who had their hand in making the weekly series of bombs I had to use.

So what bugs you?

The first plan that came into my head as I realized how early I got up was to plan the mint that Dr. Pepper Gail gave me. That is inviting in what people normally consider pesky. I can easily with the amount of mojito like beverages I can consume keep the mint at bay.

Here is my recipe for 2

take 10-15 mint leaves and bruise. I use a martini shaker with some ice in it and beat the fuck out of it. Alternately you can use a mortal and pestle. Now I have this fabulous japanese herb grinding bowl that has ridges in it and a pestle which doesn’t just bruise it but rather liquefies the mint.

mix with two - three squirts of lime juice or 1 lime juiced

sugar, maple syrup or dissolved honey to taste. (To dissolve honey for juice mix in hot water and then add to cold.)

Rum if you want.

split into two tall glasses with ice, you can strain out the crushed mint pieces or leave it rustic.

fill the rest of glass with seltzer.

garnish with whole mint, lime or both if you are feeling fancy.

Ok now I am going to plant the mint and start packing for Falcon Ridge. Once I get there I may put my phone on airplane mode for a few days and enjoy an internet free totally out of touch time. (whoa!)

I hope your time is pest free and refreshed with fancy beverages.

<Rant>Yesterday I stopped of at our little country store to get some prints I am scanning for a friend. On the counter I see a petition to the town planning board requesting a particular someone be granted a special permit for her guest cabin. I will call her SM. This immediately got right up my craw. First off I was on the planning board for a while and there was nothing, and I mean nothing, more annoying to me than a bunch of people who thought that if they rallied harder louder and longer to get our attention, it would mean that we could listen to them, instead of reading the bylaws and trying to make non capricious decisions because they wanted us to. In some instances abutters opinions on the subject made a difference to the decisions but only if the request was in line with the by-law in any case. In no cases did it matter that people liked that person and thought they should be able to do what they wanted. In two instances something like that was said in my presence.

That makes me huffy.

So first off I like SM, I enjoy bumping into her at the store and seeing her around town. She values a lot of the same things I do: simple living, creativity etc. She is nice to have around. Still it could be someone I absolutely adored and I wouldn’t want to have a legal enactment made based on how nice or liked someone is. Even if it were me.

I sort of had a little rant in the store. It started with “Geeze, I hate these fucking things” and went on a tirade about what people should do instead. Unfortunately I went on the tirade to a person who is commonly in support of, maybe not the petition, but definitely SM staying cozy in town. I don’t know if she got why the petition gets on my nerves. And maybe I might have said something like “trying to make a fucking homogeneous white bread hippie town populated with all our like-minded friends” She said. “Christine you better watch your mouth because you are not in the majority here.”

I.don’t.care.

There are a bunch of cabins in town. I know of five. Many of which are on lots with regular-joe single family homes and people rent them. These aren’t above the board rentals that follow state code, and because of that the rents are low and the conditions are, ummmm, interesting. Some are without water, some are without electricity most are small. The people who stay in these places are fabulously interesting. Artists, people living below the taxable income threshold intentionally to be legal tax evaders, people who want a small environmental footprint. It makes Wendell feel like an oasis of Vermont but without the even harsher Vermont winter and crappy state economy. The by law was maybe written to both reign in and allow for properties of this nature. The problem with them is that the sanitary conditions may not be fabulous and who wants to allow a lot of that in town. “Dear Cholera, please come visit soon, love little rural town who likes interesting people” Ok no thanks, but then again I love the way this town is different from the rest of the suburban and rural world with little places that throw spite in the face of mcMansion loving masses.

So the real thing is the the bylaw sort of sucks. It is not clearly written. It says that guest cabins can be used for now more than 30 consecutive days but doesn’t clearly say what use is. So if someone goes away for a weekend is that disuse and I can start again? Or would that person have to move all their stuff out for an hour and then put it all back? Could I change my address at the post office for the day to make it official? How about going shopping in Hadley for the afternoon and hitting all the grocery stores? I am after all not using the cabin at the moment.

All this effort to get signatures for a petition would be better placed in fixing it to be clear. Then anyone can have a guest cabin. Even if they are black conservatives from Alabama, or a nuclear family from eastern mass. Having people, even cool people be able to skirt regulations because you like them is just another ism. I want to be across the board opposed to ism, even ones that work in my favor.
</Rant>

Every day for a month we seem to have had thunderstorms, the air thick with humidity - weighing on my skin with mist. Last year’s autumn leaves are crushing under my feet, wafting the fecund scent of their destruction. I scan the ground, my eyes lighting on a certain color, squint, discern, move on. As the dappled light of the forest changes I have to recalibrate what will give me pause. The sound of the brook next to me soothes as I am travel up its bank to get a closer look at a chestnut topped bolete, flicking a slug off its underside and then run the sticky feeling between my fingers. My basket taps against my bare thigh. I take a closer look at some granulated boletes and as I step back I see that I have just walked over a nice patch of chanterelles. I find myself clapping my hands in joy and jumping around so the forest can see my glee before laying the basket and kneeling to pick the larger ones.

The forest is filled with treasures and traps

just like my mind

Last week I got an email from an intern that worked for a colleague of mine. This is someone I had wanted to keep in touch with and had emailed and called a few times, to no response what so ever. I was beginning to think he had dropped off the face of the planet, died or been inducted in to a weird sex cult that wouldn’t allow him to keep in touch with outsiders. The email was not much noteworthy, looking for a job, almost finished an album, living in NJ. Good you are not dead, I am happy to hear that and will write back soon. Two days later I received and email from some VP looking for a recommendation for him. Easy. When he worked here, I looked forward to his shifts for so many reasons: he was totally brilliant and could keep up with the my fast paced explanations of everything, absorb respond and improve. He was delicious to have around both for his quality of work and because he is charming and well delicious. Then as I am writing a reply for the reference I see his line.

“Do you see him performing well in a face paced pharmaceutical sales position?”

Oh say it ain’t so! I don’t have a high opinion of that industry. Now it is hard to write this recommendation. This is the same industry that regularly visits doctors, gives them percs and kickbacks to proscribe more of their drugs (read bribes,) use them for “off label” uses (read avoid fda approval) and have huge (in)discretionary budgets to accomplish this. Sure it is great fun to take doctors on pricey fishing and ski trips, sure it is great to buy complete schmonsey dinners a household for every PA and NP in a doctors office sure it is great to single handedly drive up the price of medical care across the board and isn’t it easy to sleep at night. no I wouldn’t think so. In fact this industry makes my list of bad for the soul occupations.

“Although I can see Matt excelling in any industry, I truly hope he isn’t going to work in your god awful one. I’m sorry but I can better picture him saving the world not looting it. - yours truly - PocketCT”

Here is the full spectrum. Did I miss any?

I love having my birthday in July. Right around that time the blueberries are ripe and are available in the farm and in the woods. The first of the fabulous valley farm corn starts showing up and I begin binging on that. Then is my birthday usually rung in with a pint of blueberries when ever I get into the car to go anywhere, corn for dinner and a skinny dip somewhere. On the weekend closest if I feel social I will have a party. This year the day is on a Wednesday so I had my pick and I am feeling like all kinds of celebrating. You are invited.

I intend to make some letterboxes to hunt for during the day, they will have nice prizes as well as the usual stamp your letterboxing book. There will also be swimming, blueberry picking, a bbq and super people. There will not be, if I have my way, presents, rain, or rotten watermelons in my truck after because I forgot about it.

If you have something that would make a nice (small) prize to go in the letterboxes and want to offer it up let me know (or if you make stamps … hint hint hint you know who you are!!!)