Prisoner of Summer (and everything else)

Maybe I mentioned that my place of work was hit by a tornado.  Did I?  Maybe not.  Yeah, it was not too terrible, but we have been closed to the public for about a month now, in the height of tourist season.  NOT A GOOD thing.  We do get to open up soon and maybe my life will return to normal.

I avoid talking about work, because I don't want to get into trouble for any reason whatsoever (the story about Dooce getting in trouble has haunted me ever since I read it).  But I thought I should offer up a partial reason to my being absent.  Just too worried about things at work and too beat with keeping staff informed of what's going on.  And, hence, not feeling very bloggy.

But, recently, the universe has presented some opportunities for me to blog again.  Let me tell you a little story.

I was pulling into my driveway last week and noticed a lot of birds gathered around our driveway and lawn next to it.  In a circle.  Watching something.  It piqued my interest and I pulled in very slowly to get a peek at what was going on.  Suddenly, a couple of chipmunks exploded into view.  They were grappling in a small ball, almost in the center of the circle.  I could almost hear the birds chanting, "Fight, fight, fight, fight," as the chipmunks ferociously went head to tail, whirling and whirling in a vicious rolling ball.  My mouth dropped open and I resolved to park there and see how it turned out, whipping out my phone to call my husband to the door to have him witness what I was seeing.  If there had been little red, green or blue sweaters on the chipmunks, I would have sworn I was being punk'd.

The birds noticed me and started to fly away.  Reluctantly, I might add.  The chipmunks must have either figured out who was dominant, were disappointed their audience was gone, or realized that I was more of a threat than trying to figure out who was top chipmunk.  They broke it off and ran into the neighbor's yard, though one was clearly chasing the other in pure anger.  I started laughing as I pulled into the garage.

It's what I needed.