And Time Whirls By

like leaves blowing in winds warning of winter's coming

So yeah. Its been a month since I last posted.

As you might have surmised, my excuse for my tardiness has not changed: illness, work, family, and autumn chores are all still on the burner and the pot is still boiling over.

Let’s see. First was the illness. The last you heard from me, I had picked up the most lovely gift from my nephew in the form of strep throat. that same week, while on antibiotics mind you, I picked up some sort of sinus infection thing.

And boy, that was miserable and tenacious! Or rather, I should say IS miserable and tenacious because here, a month later, its still lingering.

It started as sinus draining and turned to that terrible thick sludge that just wanted to fill my throat and bronchial tubes and left me wheezing and coughing my head off. I had to sleep for 2 weeks in the recliner so I would be in a semi-propped up position because otherwise, the stuff just choked me.

I finally 10 days later went back to urgent care because it had gotten bad enough that I feared I was headed for walking pneumonia, but the answer was basically “well, you were on antibiotics, so here, we’ll just give you an inhaler and a round of prednisone and good luck!”

It didn’t work.

Last week, I saw my primary care physician who at least confirmed it wasn’t heading toward pneumonia but did suspect bronchitis and a sinus infection that was causing all this, so I was put on another round of prednisone and a different antibiotic.

Thankfully, this week, things are improving.

Meanwhile, since we last spoke, in addition to more baby sitting, my husband and I took my parents on a little weekend getaway over the weekend before Veteran’s Day. I found a good deal on a condo at Snowshoe Ski Resort since it was the off season, and we went up for 3 days. It was meant to be a writing weekend for the husband and I, and while I did get some writing done and finished up the rough first draft of a short story my husband and I are co-writing, that was about it on the writing front. I got a little reading done as well.

The drive home was fun the following Monday in that we got our first snow of the season that day - and boy, did we ever! At my own home, we had 5” when it was done. That’s not a complaint from me - I love snow, and especially the first snow of the season.

However that also put a big push on the out projects I have got to get done - namely that darn chicken coop that has been hanging over my head all summer long. We’ve got the new section of run put in (more on that in a minute), I have the door and windows on it, and the clean out door and chicken doors framed. But we had to paint the side with the chicken doors before we can slide it into place because once its moved, I won’t have access to that side.

We got the first coat on before the Snowshoe trip, and the good Lord was gracious to us as this past weekend, the weather held out and we were able to get the final coat on it. And I was able to go get my trim and get it started. I just need to finish trimming out the window and the other chicken door and it will be ready to move. Then its finishing out the rest of the trim and building the laying box and putting in the roost bars.

Should be easy, right?

Yeah, and I should have been able to get it done 4 months ago, too.

Meanwhile we were baby sitting the kiddoes again, and I warned my brother to put them in clothing that could get paint on it. Thankfully he heeded me. We set them up with water based acrylic paint and let them have at it on the inside of the coup and now I have a nice set of kids’ drawings and handprints all over the inside of my coop as a wonderful memento to their childhood!

I don’t care what the chickens think of it!

Meanwhile, I managed to get a few of the winter chores done such as pulling my lawn mower battery. I still need to straighten up the wood pile, pull the camper battery, and get the camper tarped for winter.

And we found out the hard way this week that I have a few weak points in my new chicken run that will have to be addressed this weekend.

On Sunday night, my husband noticed that we had roosters crowing at midnight. Not exactly prime time for that sort of activity. Now sometimes, they will crow even at night if they hear us in the kitchen, as that is the side of our house closest to the coop and it turns out chickens have really good hearing. But this didn’t seem to be that sort of crowing.

I do have a security camera set up inside the coop, so he went to check it. I heard “that is a rat?!!!” and went to see what he was looking at.

Nope, not a rat.

A possum.

Inside the coop with the chickens.

Gorging itself on their feed.

I knew too how it got in. When I set up the extended run, I was unable to get the two sections fully tight against one another. And I had to cut a hole in the chainlink fabric so the chickens could get from one side to the other. I had zip tied the old fabric to the new, hoping to secure it, but down at the bottom, I couldn’t get it tight - and sure enough, that’s how that critter got into the coop.

We know this because when we went out there, that possum was working its way back out the way it came in.

It used its powers of cuteness on us and we decided to let it go and just block the hole as best we could. That was foolish, we know, because Monday night, guess who came back?

This time, we did not show mercy and my husband dispatched the critter to the great trashcan in the sky. He normally has a tender heart and he did feel guilty about it, but possums will kill chickens and it was a risk. It wouldn’t stay out of the coop, so it had to go.

Which also means that in addition to trying to get my trim finished on that side this weekend, I’ve got to figure out how to secure that section before a coon decides to wiggle his way in because raccoon will kill chickens for sport and can wipe out a whole coop in a single night.

So all of that is why I have not been writing much if at all.

“But, Bam,”, you say, “what about during the week?"

I’m sorry to say that hasn’t worked out either. Writing during the week has proven illusive as well, mostly because I’m back in the office (you’ve already heard that gripe) and by the time I get home of an evening and spend some time with my husband, deal with dishes and dinner, its almost bed time and I’m brain fried.

Yes, I know, plenty of writers write even while holding down a full time job, wrangling kids, and other commitments.

I admire those writers, I really do.

I am not them.

So for those hoping I would have a new story here for you this month, I am terribly sorry, truly. I do feel guilty over not getting more fiction up for you. Maybe in December, but I’m not making any promises.

And special apologies go out to Jamie Wilson at Conversatarian Press. I have been horrible at keeping up with the November writing challenge and will definitely not be hitting my writing goals. At this point, I’ll be doing well to get half. I am very sorry; maybe I’ll be able to try again come February.

To all those who are hitting your goals and getting those words out, my hat’s off to you!

And for those who struggle to get those stories out, who can’t seem to find enough hours in a day, you have my utmost sympathy—I’m in that boat with you, bailing as hard as I can!

But I figure the only way we can guarantee failure is to quit trying, right? So tomorrow is a new day - and if I keep plugging away, eventually I gotta have a breakthrough, right?