Tidbits

There's something innately weird about driving the car out the driveway and down the street to meet the tow truck, don't you think? I do, of course, appreciate their desire not to take out the birch trees on either side of the driveway, necessitating that it be the car that moves, not the truck. Still, if you can drive the car....

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One of the odder jobs that has come my way since my dad moved in has been separating coffee filters. I used to heat a mug of water in the microwave, stir in blended instant coffee, add ice and drink. (I don't like hot hot coffee, just mild.) He, however, drinks coffee all day until 3 or 4, whenever it runs out. His Mr. Coffee came along in the move. I am now used to emptying the old filter of used grounds and setting up the next potful on a daily basis. I even drink that myself now, as long as the pot is sitting there. But the filters are packed so tight that occasionally I grab two together, or in my hurry to separate them, bend down a side so that during brewing the grounds spill into the pot along with the liquid.

Not good.

Thus, periodically I sit down with the stack of filters and carefully separate each from its partners, then restack them loosely to go back in to cupboard until use. It requires about 5 minutes of my undivided attention, and keeping at least one good fingernail. The result, once back in the cupboard, looks like one albino pineapple waiting to be eaten.

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I pulled into the dock area of a company in Eden Prairie yesterday for a unique experience. They keep a semi trailer permanently backed up to one of their dock doors. A lot of companies do. What makes this one different is that they scatter seeds under the trailer to feed squirrels as an incidental matter, but primarily do it to feed the local wild turkeys. Two of them were there feeding as I rolled in, a tom and a hen.

I eased up to the dock very slowly, hoping not to frighten the birds away. It turns out I needn't have bothered. These birds were not about to be frightened. Before I stopped, they headed over my way, and in the process entered the sunlight. I spent a full couple of minutes marveling at the variety of irridescent colors to be found in their otherwise drab plumage as they inspected my new red car carefully: orange, gold, green, and even pink at one angle. I got a close look at the bright blue heads, red wattles, and the black brush of (feathers?) dropping about 6" from the center of their breasts. When they started pecking at my new car (how dare they!) was when I remembered that the package I was there for was on fast service and I'd better risk scaring the birds away to go in and get it.

Driving away was a real challenge. Something about my front tire fascinated both birds, and they insisted on walking in front of it and pecking it while I left, trying to drive slowly enough so as to not injure either bird. The fellow on the dock had told me they started out with a flock of 8 visitors, and now were down to this pair. I could certainly see why. He'd also commented that most drivers were frightened of the birds, afraid that they were going to be attacked.

Stupid turkeys!