Getting all my data, passwords, and such from Nicole’s laptop took longer than I had expected. I guess I got pretty busy with the laptop she loaned me for a 5.5 months. But now she’s gone, the farmer’s daughter has returned to the Indiana farm and I have one less pal in Flagtown. I probably won’t be making a bunch of new ones either hanging out here at Camp 1, but I did see some old friends at her little departure party.
I had intended to ninja into town to drop off her laptop, but ended up spending the night in Flag. Took care of some things I’ll either keep secret or not bore you with. I sit here within the wind. It has a slight chill, almost like a warning, ‘Summer is almost spent and Fall will lead to a brutal Winter. How do you expect to survive?’ It jokes at me like a playful siren, humor before hardship or is it humor in the hardship.
But things aren’t so drastic yet and I spit back at the winds and demand they keep their dances of gloom and doom to themselves.
Then a limping coyote walks by. It might be about the largest coyote I’ve ever seen. Tan, yellow, and light brown reflect off its fur. Yellow is the color of The Selectors in my novels, which are the viscous spirits who protect nature at all costs. I also found it odd the animal limped.
This became even stranger, when I grabbed the camera to try to get a shot and the animal had already vanished.
I hesitate to write this, since I am within their territory, but the Dine have witches called Skinwalkers which assume the shape of coyotes, favor yellow, and tend to disappear at will. I haven’t had any trouble since it passed, but I’ll need to be vigilant tonight.
***
The day took an ominous turn as dark clouds moved in from the west while thunder vibrated the hills. I was in a bit of a funk before, but now I have a strange feeling of anticipation.
I hadn’t expected rain, but it came anyway. Sort of an annoying, just wet enough to have to stash my things, but then it would stop. I’d take some wet things out to dry just to have it start raining again. Then the sun would come out and I’d try to work on my newest novel only to have to shut this laptop when the rain begun again.
But I have more exciting news. I have a pet of sorts. A huge desert rat is living in the roof of my shelter. Now I know why my sleeping bag was chewed open and where so many feathers went, the little turd. This isn’t some pet store rat. I’ll tell you that. She’s brown and mangy. We stared at each other for a long time when I lifted my camo-tarp to look for something. Then she ran off. I gave her some pizza. Maybe we can be friends and maybe she’ll be quieter at night and not bug me as much since I know where she lives, so if she messes with me, I could mess with her too.
***
Just a final note. There were no more Heebies Jeebies. A few elk walked through my camp in the morning and since I gave the rat two tortillas, she let me sleep through the night. Yes, I’m sure the little gal is a she and I’m going to name her Lucy after the dog I had as a kid growing up.
Tune back in as I Do the Unexpected and Head out of Arizona Again. Or maybe you were expecting that.
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