I Wish I'd Stayed In North Carolina

For July 4th I jetted down to NC to enjoy an event that gave me some of my best childhood memories: the Eno river festival. My interactions with the Eno river were highly predictive of the rest of my life as it turns out. I was the only child to fall into the Eno on my fourth grade field trip (probably because I was the only one climbing on the rocks where I really shouldn't have been), I was remarkably stoic when forced to cross it once in the middle of winter, and I delighted in every opportunity to examine the bugs and animals living in its vicinity.

Here I am wading in the river during this year's festival to retrieve a feather I wanted (which I believe probably is a primary from a blue heron, but I'm not totally sure). It won't surprise anyone who knows me well that in my worn sandals and thigh-high skort I had no hesitations about getting wet.

While I was in NC, my friends EB&D did their best to ensure that I would not be able to return to Ithaca-- they had their trusty dog Lilo destroy the contents of my backpack. Unfortunately, Lilo shredded my boarding passes, my car registration renewal and part of a book but not my passport, my social security card or anything else that would have prevented my return. Nice try though. I'm sure next time you will have Lilo better trained about which documents are essential and which are non-essential.

I returned to discover that Lindy had a UTI which turned out to be E. coli. Luckily I knew enough from my career as a veterinary technician to recognize that pollakiuria and inappropriate urination should not be ignored (much as I wished I was just imagining the signs). I think I caught it in time to avoid further kidney damage (she's the one already in renal failure) but now she is on a 28 day course of Clavamox! Sigh. If I were still in California it would have been a fraction of the price because I got things at cost or free there since I had a connection to the emergency clinic.

It was a long week.

Last night EB shared with me on the phone that there had been a loose pony in her neighborhood earlier that day. And a black bear wandering around a few days earlier. She lives downtown! Sadly, the black bear was hit on the highway. The pony simply moved on.

All in all, I had more fun in North Carolina and it continues to sound more exciting than Ithaca. There are no loose ponies or black bears wandering around frat row here, sadly.