When he sensed weakness, but didn't yet know the source, he was like a tracking dog, a bloodhound. A Bible verse comes to mind, seeking whom he might devour. Once he recognized the source, he was relentless. First it began as joking around, at the expense of the weak one. The attack escalated and victory for him came when the victim took it...didn't try to deflect and merely counted off time to wait the attention out or find some reason to escape. Sometimes the perceived weak one, would speak back, directly. Most times it didn't take much for the bloodhound to retreat, but not the kind of retreat that comes to mind. Confrontation, he wasn't afraid of it, he wanted it. Thus everything could escalate. It seemed once he had said everything he wanted to say, he dug in on a nerve to totally "own" the weak one. When he tired of his meanness or perceived he had lost the advantage the bugler in his head sounded retreat. His retreat wasn't peaceful by any means and now in his warped emotional thinking, he was the victim. Most tracking dogs are for search and rescue or to track criminals down and keep a community safe. He was like a bloodhound but his tracking instincts were not for good. Maybe he was a mixed breed bloodhound with a bit of aggressive pit bull dog in the mix. If you found yourself in his presence, the best strategy? Never, ever show any sign of weakness.
The above paragraph is part of a creative writing prompt and today, the prompt was, he was like a ________.
We might be looking at day six of having temps in the 90s. Along with the heat, the humidity has kicked in making any time outdoors difficult. I was out earlier feeding the ferals and coming back into the house, to the welcomed air conditioning was a pleasure. Last night as the rain split to the north and southeast, I got out to water the front flowerbed, plants on the deck and plants in the back. Oh, let us know forget the wildflowers in the side flowerbed. It is a lot of work. The sky was overcast when I began but the sun came out in the midst of the chore. I got hot pretty quickly.
Today on Monday I had Sunday lunch. I cooked the greasy beans all afternoon yesterday. They were definitely lacking something, a little more salt for sure. So I added salt and remembered some spices mixed at the Biltmore for dipping bread in, oil and spices. Those spices were added and boom, the beans were so good. Since I like to eat a large meal at lunch time not so much for supper, I punted the planned meal to today. Delicious! Greasy beans, sliced tomatoes, ham and sweet potatoes. No cornbread but none was needed.
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Tuesday morning began foggy but it has burned off with the sunshine. The ferals were out waiting this morning for breakfast. The kiddos used the waiting time for playing and it is difficult to get anything done when playtime is on. Even though Punky is around a little more, Boo, her kitten we couldn't rescue, has bonded with Mama Cat. He is out there playing but takes time to go over and sit by her. He doesn't do that for Punky. It feels as if there is a power shift going on in the back and the territory is becoming more of Punky's. So, who knows, it is just fun to watch those kittens play.
The local neighbor association is reporting a lot of bear sightings around us. The ones who have lived around here for a long time seem to think the bears are living by Mountain View Church, in the woods on their property. Those woods come to the edge of our neighbors above us. When I am outside I am keeping an eye open for bears, but no lions or tigers. I once saw a bob cat in the front yard and our neighbors have seen some on their trail cam.
In this social distancing portion of life, with lots of time and projects to keep me occupied, I find a gentle change happening inside. I don't know if it is the effects of this season or if it is a part of me that was kept under wraps for survival sake. Anyway, no matter, a calmer approach to life is healing. The slower pace therapeutic. The unrealistic needs of trying to keep up with whomever we are trying to keep up with don't even register in a top five kind of deal.
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