Trying hard to not become a sheep

“Whoever becomes a sheep is eaten by wolves.”
― Henri-Frédéric Amiel, The Private Journal of Henri Frederic Amiel

The woods by where my mom and Terry now live - the woods that I decided were mine when we started visiting my then-to-be-stepdad's cabin when I was in the third grade - are the place that I consider to be my home in my heart.

Despite this being home, and despite discovering piliated woodpeckers, coyotes, and even moose tracks in recent years, I had never seen a fox here until last Christmas. I had never seen a bear (although I had heard one) until last June. And I had never seen signs of a wolf until today.

My goal, when walking, was to not become a sheep!

For context, my boot is a size 9.5.

My eyes were more on the ground to see what else had passed this way before me (answer: smaller deer, shrews, rabbits, birds, mice, squirrels, coyotes, and foxes) and scanning to make sure I wasn't being followed, rather than taking in the full breadth of the scenery, but I still managed to see some of the beauty around me.

I was having some problems uploading videos which are cooler than the photos that follow because you can hear the wind in the trees, which is pretty much my favorite sound. You can find them here, though:

McDermott video #1

McDermott video #2

Best if you click on this.

Road headed back toward the house.
A truck had come through where I was walking, but
thankfully it was after I had stopped to go to the
bathroom right out in the open...

You can burn all my mail and disconnect my phone...

I need a change of scenery

"I need a change of scenery" is pretty much the most (only?) pick-outable lyric in The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - - my favorite song to bike to. To which to bike.

That line isn't why I like the song, nor is it the reason why Stacy kindly put it on the video she very, very kindly pulled together of my September San Francisco/wine country bike ride, despite it being quite a change of scenery. (Thank you, Stacy!)

But it fits for the video. It fits for bike riding. And it fits as an explanation of the inside of my head the past month or so.

I visited my Beth (I hate qualifying my relationship with half of my parents and siblings with the word "step"). I got to go for a chilly, pre-snow ride with my friend Matt followed by a good Korean dinner, and now I'm visiting my mom and Terry. On the horizon - a mix of family and friend gatherings for Thanksgiving and a December trip to Nashville.

I thought I'd throw in some random photos that illustrate either a change of - or a need for a change of - scenery.

I had to work in the dining room for a week
because an injured Piper needed monitoring
and she couldn't go up/down stairs. Wearing
a sweater that Beth and my dad gave me
for my birthday last year, I enjoyed
working in a room with much more
natural light than my office.

2+ weeks after her injury, and largely better,
she snuck upstairs when I was in my office,
sliding the barricade out of the way. She
also needed a change of scenery!

I was considering having cocoa
instead of tea while typing this
(it is cold here in the northwoods),
but decided to have the best of both
worlds: a handful of stale mini
marshmallows while my tea heated up.

I made a survey for my siblings to assess
our plans for exchanging Xmas gifts. I
put a picture next to each option, including
this totally bizarre image. Evidence
of a needed change of scenery?
Regardless, I love the Internet.

My sister Molly went with me to visit Beth. She
really pushed to pull out the lawnmower, which
she'd never driven before. I guess she needed
a change of scenery, too.

Not a change of scenery exactly, but a change
of perspective. Since when is a neck a butt?
When the phrases "pain in the butt" and
"pain in the neck" were created, did
they mean the same thing?