Life after Death

There has been a bad spell of mortality in our fish tank of late.  The last 6 months has heralded the end of Dwarf Frogs, Gouramis, Eels, and Danios.  Two robust Cories (catfish) and our Plecostomus are all that remain.

There was a little miracle a few weeks ago though, where after a school of Long-Finned Danios all perished suddenly, Melissa noticed a small speck fluttering in the water.  Upon closer review, this speck of detritus turned out in fact be a minnow.  With nothing but bottom feeders left in the tank, this little minnow has managed to go uneaten.

Now roughly the length of a pencil eraser, this little Danio symbolizes life after death, and a new hope for the St. Clair family fish tank.

Pet Peeve

When I get any sort of mail, be it a letter, package, card, or bill, I immediately process and dispose of it.  I may hold onto a card from my grandmother a day or two before tossing it as an exception.  It grinds my gears though when someone accumulates piles of correspondence and envelopes cluttering up tables and counters.

That is all. 

Scotch

Sitting here by myself in the late hours of work, I find my mind zoned out on a yellow (it could be green, I am color blind after-all) scotch tape dispenser.

Do you capitalize the scotch in scotch tape, as in Scotch tape?  It is capitalized on the dispenser, but that could be due to an egotism from the Scotch tape dispenser manufacturer.  'Our tape is so important it is a proper-noun' they probably think as their machines kick out dispensers.

Is Scotch/scotch tape made in Scotland?  Unlikely.  Does the glue in Scotch/scotch tape contain a derivative of single malt in its adhesive?  Even more unlikely.

Does staring at the Scotch brand Scotch/scotch tape dispenser make me want to consume a fine single malt?

Definitely.

Do any other companies make off-brand

Scotch/scotch tape?  If so, do they have an uncapitalized scotch tape and matching dispenser?

I think it is time I get back to work...

Leslie Lake

I took an extended camping trip into the Elkhorn mountains this weekend.  It was a phenomenal time that changed my outlook on who I am and what I am capable of.  Mostly it was the task of getting a little 2WD Honda Recon ATV up a rocky and harrowing 5 mile 'trail' up to Leslie Lake.  Never having any 4 wheeler experience, or experience with a manual transmission, I was a little nervous at the onset.  Once I got the hang of it though, I decided that it was something that I was meant to do.  Shooting up boulders and crossing streams started to feel like second nature.

Sadly, my phone decided to break, so I couldn't take any pictures of the pristine lake or the monstrous trout swimming within  that wanted nothing to do with the lures I tossed in.

Before the Heat

The calm of the morning breeze before the heat sets in is always so comforting, like a blanket of tranquility over my small town.  People scoop up their children and their lunchboxes, drink their coffee and ready their weeks.  Firework garbage litters the streets and the yards of East Helena, an acceptable trash once a year. Work that was so hastily abandoned Thursday afternoon anxiously awaits a helping hand to finish up the job.  The Ghosts of Kessler are climbing back into their walls and ramparts, the spiders back to their corners and underthings.

I tuck my weekend back to sleep, and get ready before the heat as well.