Homecoming II

Finally, I'm home from my last out-of-state trip to promote my book.  I'd recently gone to Seattle, which is one of the most beautiful, liveable cities I've ever visited.  But it's so nice now to be home for good.

    I've been trying to get my old sleep patterns back; this Fall's travels have had me waking up after only 3-4 hours' sleep a night.  After trying warm milk and honey, camomile tea, melatonin and other over-the-counter sleep-aids, I had to resort to prescription sleeping pills.  They kept me functioning, but they had a side-effect of making me feel like I was coming down with the flu during the day.  That reminded me to pack vitamin C and other supplements which I think kept me from getting the real flu, but now that I'm back home for good, I've jettisoned the sleeping pills to try to get back to my natural sleep cycle.  And finally, this past week everything came together, and now when I first wake up in the morning, it's dreams I remember instead of long bouts of tossing and turning trying to get back to sleep.  This is the first week in months that I catch myself feeling odd moments of bounce, anticipation, during the day.  It's the first time I don't feel like I'm trapped in a kind of half-life, putting things off till I have more energy.   

    Here's how I did it, in case any of you are experiencing the same problem (sleeping the first part of the night, then staying awake from 1 am on).  1. No more than one cup of coffee each morning 2. No alcohol on week nights, 3. An hour's fast-walk each morning (this has cured our dog's itchiness, which just developed this Fall when we had to interrupt our morning walks)  4. Weight-lifting three times a week, and 5. sleeping with the window cracked for fresh air (plugged open with a sock).   

    As with all goals here in middle-age, I don't expect to stick to all five of these rules every single week.  Goals, in this more relaxed time of life, have become something to aspire to, not something to chain myself to.  I'm hoping that one more week of loose adherence to this schedule will cement the sleep pattern I've just now started to enjoy.

   This has been the big homecoming reward, getting back to normal nights' sleep.  But within that, on a smaller return from a visit to the local dogpark the other day, my husband and I found a bluejay lying on its side in front of our garage.  When we tried to set it up on its feet, it flapped a wing but kept wobbling over onto its side.  

    We'd left the garage door open, and I suspect the bird had flown in and couldn't find his way out, and - lured by the light in the windows, beat himself against it to a broken wing.  My husband and I put the bird in a cardboard box and brought it into the cellar so it wouldn't freeze.  Then I dialed the Audubon Society, and - referred to a long list of wildlife vets and bird rehabilitators - I finally found a place within an hour's drive where I could hand the bird off to another driver who would take him to a rehabilitation center called Avian Haven.  This is a network of volunteers who rehabilitate birds and release them back to the wild. Their website has wonderful stories of their work.  They're based in a small rural town two hours' north of us, aptly named Freedom, Maine.  

     There's something poignant about people in this challenging economy and fierce winter climate trying to help birds - for no pay and little recognition.  These people x-rayed our injured jay, didn't find any breaks and thus determined some neurological injury, probably because of flying into one of our windows.  They put him in an incubator and hand-fed him for about five days.  But he got weaker every day and finally died.  On autopsy, they found that he had a skull-fracture.  

      We've put audubon silhouettes of hawks on a number of our house windows, which has cut down such incidents, but now it's time to do it to our garage windows as well.  It's the least we can do, seeing as we've built up the bird-population around our house - and thus their risk of injury - by putting out bird-feeders.  

      This is a part of homecoming as well: small sorrows in the deeper joy of ongoing engagement.  There are always improvements to make, maintenance to make our home more natural, less intrusive and threatening to wildlife.  It's good to be home, to have the energy once more to take on the daily challenges of rural winter.                           

Comments

[Tabor]

I remember your issues with sleep. I still will wake up two or three nights a week at 3:00 or 4:00 and get up and read for a while and then end up sleeping until 8:30!! Since I don't have to be anywhere it is less stressful. Glad your marketing is behind you and you can enjoy the holidays.

[Terri]

Wishing you a Merry Christmas, one day late.
Sounds like the time difference in Seattle really got you turned around. Thank heavens that doesn't happen to me with all our travel to Europe. When I arrive there, I never have a problem but coming back it takes a day or so to get back on my own clock.
That was a sad story about the bird and incredibly kind of you to help it as you did. We have a screened lanai surrounding the area where our bird feeders are and every now and again, a dove will hit the screen forcefully and I always cringe and feel bad in case it's been injured. So far, in four years, I've only seen one hit the ground and it was gone right away. And yes, I felt terribly guilty. I like the idea of putting the hawks, but I'm not sure what I could put on the screen to alert the birds.
Enjoy your down time now as you sure have earned it with SO much recent travel.
Wishing you a happy, healthy and VERY successful book year ahead! 10 more months, Spinning Forward will be released and I'll be on the same fast track you've been on.

[Cowtown Pattie]

Glad you're home and safe!

My daughter once rescued a crow. She saw him hopping down a sidewalk and not far behind him was a cat in a crouching slinking shadow.

She grabbed her windbreaker, threw it over Mr. Crow and brought him him. It seemed he had injured a wing. We called the local zoo who promptly told us it was illegal for us to have him, no matter his medical condition. But, the caregiver did suggest we cut the toe out of a long tube sock and slide it over his head - like a turtleneck sweater - thus immobilizing both wings and see how he did after 24 to 48 hours.

Mr. Crow soon grew to enjoy hopping around our kitchen like some strange looking pop up toy. When we left the house, Mr. Crow got put into an old birdcage we had for a long ago cockatiel. He nibbled scraps from the table, and soon would allow us to adjust the sock without much pecking or fear. Crows are exceptionally intelligent.

In a few days, it was apparent Mr. Crow had a broken wing. We finally found a rescue group who gave us the name and address of a lady who had a huge backyard coup for wounded birds. They were even separated by size and species so that no one got further battered.

She said MR. Crow would likely never fly again or be able to be independent, but that he could live out his life with her in the big outdoor birdcage. Amazing, isn't it, how these good people spend so much time and money helping animals that otherwise would just die or be put down. I am very grateful and humbled by their passion.