Journal of a Sabbatical

April 4, 2000

taxing

Today's Reading: Early Spring in Massachusetts: from the Journals of Henry David Thoreau edited by H. G. O. Blake, Thoreau's Country by David R. Foster

Today's Starting Pitcher:
Pedro Martinez
Pedro's Strikeouts: 11

Two great black back gulls are squabbling outside my window. There never used to be great black backs around the condo complex. Herring gulls yes, but great black backs no. A few weeks ago some great black backs were raiding garbage bags down the street on trash day. Now they've landed on the roof of my building between the parking space blockers' and the busybody's. They're loud. Really loud. Even louder than the parking space blockers' drummer and horn player.

I suppose if I stayed home all the time and just looked out the window, I'd see more species of birds than I would imagine haunt suburban condo complexes. There's woods on two sides of the complex - a small buffer zone to the south between us some upscale homes built in the eighties, and a wilder more unruly thick forest to the north between us and a big open field belonging to one of the historical estates in town (but not contiguous with the estate). Mainly this attracts starlings and crows and of course house sparrows but anything is possible.

Staying home all the time sounds very attractive lately. Yesterday and today I've mostly stayed home catching up on correspondence and bills and unfinished projects, not wanting to interact much with people.

Yesterday's big outing was to the vet for Wilbur's shots and annual checkup. The front desk was very disorganized and kept us waiting for about 35 minutes even though the vet was ready for us. Too many distractions going on with a dehydrated dog who needed fluids and some orange cats - see Wilbur make threat displays - and a vet from Colombia who spoke no English and wanted a job treating large animals (farm animals). That was pretty strange actually. His sister-in-law was translating for him and they had been sent here by a vet in Lawrence who didn't want to hire him because they had nobody on staff who could translate for him. Now if a vet in Lawrence doesn't have any Spanish speaking staff, why would they expect one in North Andover to? Besides, the greater Lawrence area does not really have a lot of farms anymore. Not much call for large animal vets, let alone Spanish speaking large animal vets. The vet I go to is a small animal practice. They don't do farm animals at all. The office manager tried to be helpful and gave him a list of large animal vets in the area. I hope the guy finds a job but I suspect it will be very difficult.

Today's big outing was to my accountant's office to pick up my taxes. She's moved her office down the hall into a big sunny suite, which she's had decorated in yellow with modern furniture that looks like scaffolding. Lots of yellow and big glass flowers. It looked sort of temporary and insubstantial and not at all like an accountant's office. We exchanged pleasantries and then got into this weird discussion of what makes a meaningful life. She's always been envious of what she calls my "lifestyle" since I quit my soulless job. I suggested she got to work for the Hungarian botanists... I mean she has the American Dream: husband, kids, suburban home, small private accounting/law practice. I always thought kids and a husband was what people meant when they said "Get a life!" It's still an open question.

Thoreau went to the woods in order to live deliberately. David R. Foster went to the woods to read Thoreau's journals. I went to the woods to look for red-breasted nuthatches.

Yup. Still an open question.