Wednesday, February 22, 2012

I'm covered up in fauna, Donna!

February 17 TM and MA spotted and removed a partially engorged tick from the face of TM's dog Ruby. About a week and a half earlier I noticed a solitary preying mantis baby resting on the inside of the window closest to my bed in the Airstream. I have since spotted it periodically on that window, a little bigger each time. Meanwhile on a different window in the Airstream, a Funnelweb spider has been building and rebuilding massive webs in a corner crack for about the past six months. Periodically, if the web is getting too large for my comfort level, I vacuum it with my Dirt Devil. Within a day or two there is the beginning of a new one. Homey must be eating something.
These were the trivial insect and arachnid occurrences that I was relaying to my friend and former employer Donna yesterday, when the delighful unplanned rhyme fell off my tongue: I'm covered up in fauna Donna!
Today my throat is. Well, technically viruses are not scientifically classified as animals because there is some (really important) debate as to whether or not they are living organisms and so forth. But for the sake of today's notes, I will be calling the cold viruses that are attempting to feed upon my throat and airway little fauna. I particularly enjoy thinking of them as fauna on today, Ash Wednesday, which happens to be my all time favorite Christian holiday, as it is the day that we are bluntly reminded of our mortality. From dust we are and to dust we will return. As I have expressed before here for you handful of readers, I actually find great comfort in the undeniable fact that we are all unavoidably subject to the laws of nature. Today I eat a chicken. Tomorrow I eat some plants. Someday the worms will eat me. Eventually I will be covered up in fauna and pooped out into the willing mouth of the very earth which gave and sustained my little life.
Wow! But for now, I am happy as a clam to be part of the great kingdom of fauna that covers it up, Donna.

3 comments:

meg said...

I like it that I can scan your blog for things like fauna, ash wed. and mortality.

Anonymous said...

It is better to be covered up in fauna then come home and have washed your hands 85 times in a time span of 8 hours, and change a diaper in 35 steps.

Eduard.

Girl In An Apron said...

In the midst of cracking my sh*t up, you say some things that are quite poetic dear Dane. I am also covered up in fauna, it sucks big, but for the moment you have shed new light on the wretched cold.

What are we going to do when Donna leaves? Boo!