the snail graveyard and the dead armadillo

while max and i haven't ventured too far off our usual romp to the field next to our apartment, we sometimes go the extra 'mile' [more like 50 yards LOL] and make it all the way down to the blanco river, cross over the concrete bridge and back again. the last leg of this trip, on the sidewalk next to our beloved field, is what i call the snail graveyard, or more accurately called the 'suicide strip'. for some reason unknown to me, hundreds, and i mean hundreds, of snails converge on the sidewalk. their zigzag tracks glisten silver in the sun and no matter how careful i tread, the sound of their shells being crushed under my shoes is unmistakable. why,why are they on the hard, hot side walk? what has compelled them to leave the safety of the brush and venture out to their certain death? all sizes of snails, both large and the very tiny, appear; at first i thought twas some mating ritual but surely this is not adding to the gene pool very quickly! their comrades who have fallen before lay in a black, gooey, sticky spots - some the victims of ants, most not. apparently while many birds will go after LIVE snails, the crushed ones are not as appetizing...

and then there is the ROADKILL - the bird i came upon not long after i moved into my new apartment perplexed me; i still have not found out what kind of bird it was but it apparently was some sort of waterfowl as evidenced by its very large feet and the fact that we are very close to water. it had black feathers and a small, whitish bill which immediately eliminated a duck or swan or goose as its species - its large feet, out of portion to its body, were a greenish blue color with tiny claws at the end of the 'toes' - i could not tell if they were webbed or not. i did take its picture on my phone but have since deleted that pix for lack of space. anyway, it is now nothing more than a small, mound of black feather mush, on its way to being the proverbial grease spot in the middle of the road. i was also surprised that the many turkey vultures in town had not swooped down to pick the last remains of flesh off its bones....

recently, a brand NEW roadkill victim appeared near the sidewalk next to our field; at first as i approached it, i thought is was a piece of a blown out tire, the ridges of its form distinct in the moonlight. as i got closer, i began to see the tail and claws of an armadillo! it has to be on god's list of the weirdest looking animals ever created, along with the platypus and the giraffe. it is also one of those official mascots of texas and like the turtle and shark, a creature that has been here for thousands, nay, millions of years, with very little evolution evident except for its now smaller size. in the ancient times, this creature was the size of bull and now, its at best, raccoon size. its hard shell is its only defense, its nocturnal nature keeping it out of the sight of its natural predators like coyotes and bobcats, its only threat to humans? besides messing up your quiet drive, it is the only animal that carries, and can transmit to humans, leprosy. quite an interesting fellow! oh, and its on my list of the weirdest things i ever ate - yes, this is texas and we bar-b-qued it! i know this sounds lame, but covered in sauce and slowed cooked over an open flame, well it tasted just like bar-b-qued Chicken!

why doesn't the city council get it?

i recently spent my saturday morning with my daughter's girl scout troop during the first annual Greenbelt Awareness day. this great resource of 'wilderness' inside the city is located in the edwards aquifer recharge zone. its is imperative for our existence to have WATER. the water must be able to make its way into the aquifer by soaking through the ground; something that cannot happen if its covered in asphalt, concrete and cement. in addition to being a 'buffer zone' between residential homes and 4 lane roadways, it is a place for walking, hiking, jogging, and provides a habit for all sorts of plants and critters. allowing more and more apartment complexes and continually shrinking our green space will only prove to be for the worse, not better, in the future. the council sees potential for more tax revenues but the citizens have yet to see any real gains. we don't even have complete sidewalks or traffic lights for our schools. with close to a hundred visitors to the green belt this past weekend, i hope next year's event draws 4 times as many people. the importance of protecting these green spaces is NOT just about tree huggers an those opposed to development, its about RESPONSIBLE development and something sorely lacking with the present city government, a little thing called LONG TERM PLANNING. get on the ball san marcos or we'll all be looking for our next glass of clean water.

hmm, do i have more talents than just removing staples?

okay, before i start on another tirade of complaining about work, let me first say that 1. i am extremely grateful for having a job, esp in this economy AND that said job allows me to
1. leave at a moment's notice if i have to pick up a sick child from school or take a forgetful child homework, clothes, permission slips, etc
2. express myself, both professionally and creatively, by allowing me time to work on various campus and library committees [although that can become tedious] and by working on different projects, exhibits, and displays, both on and off campus
3. I HAVE PAID SICK LEAVE & VACATION
4. i have health insurance & the cost of coverage is one of my benefits....

that being said, i sometimes get bored out of my mind removing staples and paper clips from boxes and boxes of documents....sometimes it is an interesting read, but mostly, its NOT. i organize, inventory, and place incoming accessions into acid-free folders, and blue boxes; all nice and neat [sans bugs and dust!] for the archivist to later then 'process' - another level of organizing, re-boxing, and producing finding aids - all things I KNOW I AM CAPABLE OF DOING. alas, i don't have the proper degree but after being a while, i know now that i am NOT library material. the only reason i don't go mad being here is that i am in the unique position of having 'other duties' as the one mentioned above. we also have fun things up here that are non-existent in other parts of the library -we have opening receptions with food and drink, we have readings and book signings, we have day long events that include panel discussions and LIVE MUSIC, oh, did i mention food and drink? still, there are moments that i yearn for something more, more than folders and lists of material, more than shelving books, and removing dead insects from old files and books......

twas a plethora of uniforms....

i was a volunteer at our university's spring commencement this morning; i passed out programs, directed people to the bathrooms, and smiled and said things like 'good morning' or 'welcome'. i did notice the abundance of uniforms - aside from the obvious gap and gown of the graduates, the robes and stoles of the faculty, there was....the LAW. yes, the white marshal shirts contrasting with the black of the university police, the tan of the hays county officials- long sleeves for the sheriff deputies and short sleeves for the emergency medical teams, blue for the gary job corps training academy cadets AND i even saw a marine! the rest of us in 'official' capacity were stuck with our maroon polo shirts with gold lettering [to match the school colors of course]
as far was the ladies were concerned, it was hard to determine what the 'current' fashion trend of the day was as it seemed just about anything goes - although i did not see a long denim skirt - of course there was quite a few of the old standard, classic: the little black dress. the only other two things that stood out were the 'gladiator' shoe, both equally popular as a flat sandal and a 4 inch heel. the only other thing to note was 'if you got good legs, show them off' seemed to rule the younger crowd. and it seems, the more attractive one felt, the more leg was shown. i left with my cheeks sore, after spending 2 1/2 hours smiling at folks; i was right there where the graduates lined up for the processional so i also was able to congratulate a bunch of my fellow 'bobcats'.

keeping austin weird

well after walking down 6th street saturday night, i can guarantee you that yes indeed, there are still plenty of weird in that town or maybe they just all come out saturday night! caught a show at el sol y la luna - a group i've wanted to see for some time now - Atash - and it was great. roberto is wonderful and the dancer, well, i'm speechless. but back to the 'weird', okay, its not that weird just the variety and mixture of people make it seem weird - there's the ultra casual to the folks in tuxedos and evening gowns looking like they are on the way to a prom or to accept a grammy! there's the pedi-cabs and the police on horseback! horses in the middle of town always surprise me! the music, the smell of grilling meat [the best wurst booth just outside the restaurant smelled AMAZING], the shouts of party goers and the pleas from the 'homeless' - you can never tell anymore if someone really is homeless or just has found panhandling to be their best skill. regardless, thanks to ken for a wonderful evening out [which lasted well into the morning] and i imagine it will be awhile before i venture out that way again.

mocking bird - the official bird of texas

never have i seen such a tenacious bird as the mocking bird. they defend their turf like nobody's business, going up against feral cats and other birds - even much larger birds like the turkey vulture so common to central texas. just this morning as max and i were out walking, i saw a pair of mockingbirds swooping and dive "bombing" a cat, chasing it away from their nesting tree - continuing to chase the cat across the street until the cat finally sought refuge under a parked car. then the birds still squawked and continue to swoop down, letting their feline enemy know that they mean business! i'm not sure who the voting committee was or what other birds were up for review, but considering the determination and some would say hard-headedness of us texans, the mockingbird is the perfect choice! one can see them perched on just about anything that they can find - from cars, to fire hydrants, to clothes lines, to telephone poles, as if to survey all they can see as their domain. i have seen them attack dogs as well - our lady, a terrier mix, would delight in gobbling up any unfortunate hatchling that fell out of the nest but then would have to endure the punishment from the parents.

our children deserve better than that!

recently one of the leaders in our community made a remark that a certain playground should not be used by my daughter and her 'peers' as it may be unsafe - you see, it is located in a 'low economic neighborhood'. my daughter was perplexed, we had lived in that VERY SAME neighborhood just a few years earlier and walks from our house to the playground were a routine thing. nothing bad ever, EVER happened to us. my daughter asked herself 'like we couldn't fall down and get hurt at a playground in a higher economic neighborhood?' no, the point was that it was unsafe due to the PEOPLE in the neighborhood, not that the equipment was somehow different than, let's say, at the city playscape although technically, the part of town where the children's park is located is also a 'low economic' neighborhood. having grown up in san antonio, and not in the 'ritzy' part of town, and having lived in various neighbors in san marcos, i take offense to such comments. i was not a part of a gang, did not maintain a 'gangsta' lifestyle nor did i get pregnant 'many times' as a teenager. AND I HAVE NEVER BEEN ARRESTED. i am disappointed that someone in a position, a leadership position, that has influence over groups of children in the community and in his/her church would perpetuate the stereotype that people who are not 'white' and don't make as much money as he/she does must therefore be BAD, DANGEROUS, and 'gangster' like. this is not the type of message our children need to here; yes, OUR children, the future is everyone's business, and all of our children, in our village, in our community, in our city of San Marcos Texas DESERVE RESPECT and the OPPORTUNITY to be free of LABELS. Anyone can f*ck up and be a liability to a community,white rich kids included, not just those in 'low economic neighborhoods' and we should be fostering an atmosphere where everyone CAN BE ALL THAT THEY CAN BE. [to borrow a catch phrase from the military -sorry about that] labels and stereotypes and generalizations do not foster that atmosphere. two generations ago in my family, no one had even gone to high school and now we can count among ourselves several college degrees, including a few MASTER degrees. and we would have never gotten there if we believed that due to the 'low property' value of the house we lived in meant we were destined to go to jail and experience multiple teenage pregnancies.