Bella and the salmon run

It seemed like such a nice morning for a walk to the salmon stream. Here at Minter Creek the salmon are running, and we decided to take a walk to the creek to look at the fish making their way up the stream to breed and die. I watched from the bridge for a minute and then decided to take the path to the creek for a closer view. Big Mistake!!!!! Bella the mighty huntress escaped, dragging me into the muddy creek, while she jumped wildly among the big salmon. Then, she snatched one up, and shook it. Bella's collar was off, and she was WILD. She had that salmon and was not letting go. Finally, I managed to grab her by the tail and put her collar back on. Poor salmon- it was at death's door. In order to get Bella back up the hill and to the road, I had to push her muddy butt, beat the hell out of her (NOT my normal activity) and pull her up. It was so hard that I was panting and on the verge of tears. Remember that Bella weighs almost 100 pounds- not much less than me, and she is much stronger. Finally, finally I got her to the road, and had to walk back to the rental house covered with mud- and was wearing a skirt.

Once I got Bella back I knew that she would realize what that splashing in the creek behind the deck was. It was those fish! Those wonderful fish that are so much fun to catch. I told Jon what had happened and said that he needed to watch her while I went in. Two minutes later I came out, and there was Bella- down in the muddy creek wildly chasing salmon. Jon went down and finally got Bella, then rigged up a harness to keep her on the deck. In the past Bella has killed a fawn, raccoon, squirrel, rabbit, vole, mouse, mole, and now a fish. She had to feed herself and her puppies before I rescued Bella. She was abused and pathetic, so I can't fault her survival instincts.

Now we are in Seattle spending the night with Rob and Amelia. We ate Salmon for supper. It was good, but I kept thinking of that poor fish in the stream.

Driving from Nashville to Seattle

Let's just say first of all- Thank God for antidepressants. We drove with a hundred pound dog from Nashville to Seattle, and made it. Secondly, What do they do with all that corn in Nebraska? Miles upon miles upon miles of corn. We have a diesel car, but never got to try biodiesel. Maybe on the way back.

I hear that it was over 100 degrees in Nashville, but it has been COLD here. This morning was 58 degrees. It reminds me of the quote from Mark Twain, "The coldest winter that I ever spent was the summer in San Francisco." We rented a house sight unseen on Minter Creek. It is a long way from anywhere, although it is ostensibly in Gig Harbor. The house is on a tidal creek which is full of birds, salmon, and other creatures, but most of the time it looks like a mud flat. Also the house is dark as Egypt (a southern saying referring to calling outhouses Egypt.) One of the first things that I did was to go buy new bright light bulbs. They were PC with the compact flourescents. To hell with PC. I've got to see to pluck my chin hairs.

I'm sure everyone wonders if I got in knock down drag out fights with my husband. A few minor skirmishes, but no major battles. It has been nice to see my son and his wife. Another downside to this house is that my cell phone has no reception. The wifi also does not work. At one point, feeling rather cranky, I said that I may as well be in a tent in Alaska. Not quite, but close.

In addition, I have been trying to calm down about not talking to my daughter 15 times a day. I suppose this is all good for me. I do hope that all my muscles don't atrophy in this month. What if I can never swim a mile again. What if my butt gets bigger? To illustrate how plebeian I am, while my son and husband were sea kayaking, I went to the local Target for fun, then the grocery to admire wine sold actually in a grocery, and then to the fruit stand. Does this make me really boring, or easily satisfied? I bought some magazines and papers for my reading enjoyment too.

Here's hoping that I don't crack anytime soon.