Gulls

Here in the PNW gulls sit on roofs and telephone poles and boats and pickups, etc.. They eat dog food out of bags folks leave in the backs of their pickups while shopping for hardware. It's a sad thing, all that shat, not to mention the owner must buy another bag of dog food. Here at the condo, the gulls wake me early every morning. They sit on the peak of the tennis club, a big green building across the street. Sometimes they just soar in circles over the parking area, perhaps the air currents are good between the three buildings, I don't know, but while circling, down comes the shat. And what happens next is of course ruined paint jobs, especially if you are out of town for awhile, like my neighbor was one exceptionally hot summer week.

Always, I've been a watchdog in my neighborhood and report things that go wrong. Even the gull thing I've reported. Because, it was my belief that the big old birds were making a nests on the roof of the "C" building. This was never confirmed nor denied; however, it improved after my complaint. In Yakima, I called Woody the neighbor frequently, usually because his cows were out or because a hunter was walking the edge of my garden. I had sheep and goats and chickens and ducks, and I had a young child. So he'd say, kick em off and say I said so, so I'd stomp on out to the barbwire and yell, no hunting, blah, blah, blah. The hunter would get defensive and leave. I'd feel all jacked up, sort of proud of my territorial behavior.

Once a calf fell in the stream in the pasture out past the garden and couldn't get back out. Turned out it was sick. Woody had gotten a little tired of my calls, but since I saved his cattle he started to like me. Until one of his cows died leaning up against my fence just on the other side of the sunflowers. I thought she was sleeping there. Didn't have a good view of her, and then it was over. A quick death, I think. Actually many cows died while I lived on that mini farm. Also Mt St. Helen's erupted and there was a small flood. I had a pig run away and return home all fattened up and I sold two goats to a Mexican family who promised me they would eat them. And I sold vegetables out of my garden. It was a good thing, growing all those vegetables. And a good thing eating them too. And a good thing having a mini farm. I'd have one again in a flash. Condo living is for the birds, or gulls, whichever comes first.

Flower