October!

i walked out this morning and felt fall.  seriously!  i had gotten so used to the ridiculous heat that i forgot there was any season other than broiling summertime.  i have been so consumed with the gentle lifetasks of job and chores and pets and home that i haven't been paying as much attention to the weather and the progression of days.  but the progression of days happens so quickly, and suddenly it's going to be 56 tonight, the first 6-weeks is over, the chicks are huge, and it's october.  yesterday i had a moment when i realized that it's getting dark before 8pm, and the chickens had put themselves away before we went out to dinner.  the earth is tilting away from the sun!  there are cold fronts coming!  perhaps merciful fall begins to cast her gaze toward texas!

so i scored a ball python off craigslist as a class pet.  he is a beautiful snake, about 2 feet long, and has resided in my classroom for about 1.5 weeks now.  i had a wonderful moment with nearly 30 7th graders, silent to the point of reverence, as they watched the snake stalk a (frozen/thawed, humanely killed, locally raised) mouse.  the deathlyquick strike of the snake as he captured his weekly lunch elicited a collective gasp of awe from the class.  this is funny, but i really think i can _feel_ the sense of total collective focus from students, and this event was a prime example.  it gives me the goosebumps.  it's the reason i'm a teacher.

unfortunately, this same snake felt the need to BITE me on my thumb the day after i brought him home about 2 weeks ago. it was entirely my fault--snake in strange and new environment that smells of rodents, me sticking my hand in there willy-nilly.  it was reminiscent of what could have happened on a far worse scale once, but really it wasn't that big a deal....a little blood, a little drama, hardly anything really.  and the toothmarks went away immediately.....until they reappeared recently as red itchy bumps EXACTLY in the shape of a snake bite mark on the meat of my thumb.  at the behest of my husband, aunt, uncle, cousin, and cousin's friend, and what i imagined my parents would say if i told them i WASN'T doing anything about it, i went to the doctor today.  the doc visit resulted in ganesh getting a tetanus shot right in the trunk, and the assurance that the chompsite wasn't infected or otherwise going to result in the amputation of my hand.  of course, extreme caution is warranted in the handling of our cherished class pet.  but he has been a perfect gentleman since this unusual occurance two weeks ago.  whew!

anyway, now it's saturday evening, that most sacred weekly holiday.  we are going to cook a (locally, humanely raised, organic) chicken in the rotisserie.  (don't tell the flock!) you, Dear Reader, will probably hear about that sooner than later, as well as other developments around the TUF...i have been most delinquent lately.  but, as always, stay tuned!  more soon!