the summer has flown by and it is now late july, with everyone's eye on the impending opening of school. we are trying to finish doctor's appointments, etc., before we start clothes shopping, but basically, we'll be relieved when the new year starts. our kids have way too much time on their hands, and are way out here with the deer and elk, with basically nothing to do but electronics. Sure, they have basketball, hiking, etc., but they reject all that, leaving us a little miffed on what to do with them.

i have become a volunteer fireman, and that adds a dimension to my life. first is the radio, which intermittently brings me whatever crisis is happening down on the highway. it's a pretty busy highway, only two lane, snaking through gorgeous mountains, and lots happens on it. it's the road from alamogordo to artesia, or las cruces to lubbock, or la to wichita falls, if you look at it that way, but in any case, it gets plenty of action, and we hear the EMS people responding to various kinds of accidents and events. i don't have to respond; i'm too new. but if a call is in sixteen springs, that's what i'm there for.

i have not received all the training yet, but i got a really nice hat that i wear a lot and hope to, someday, deserve. now that it's the rainy season, maybe it's less likely; maybe there will be fewer pure fire calls. it rains almost every day right now, and when it's not raining, it looks like it's going to, but there's still lightning danger, and this steady stream of calls from down on the highway. plenty going on - i'm sure i'll stay busy.

the other new thing in my life is carpentry. i inherited a shed - so full of junk that my wife scorns it - but we put a washer and dryer in it, and all the tools, and all the junk we couldn't throw away, and now, i've noticed, lots of wood and insulation hanging around, as if someone was still putting walls and ceiling on the thing. so i've taken that up - now, i'm putting walls and insulation on this shed - but to do that, i have to move junk around a lot. and in the process of doing that, i'm sorting a lot. lots of old books and papers - i'll do that last. first build the walls, so that i have a place to put all this wood and insulation.

this, and my usual jobs, teaching as an online writing tutor, and teaching chinese children. school is out for the moment, and i'm not a sub, and may not even go back. during the rainy season, these storms pass by, and make everything green, and make the wildflowers come out - i could just sit here for most of the season, but the flies bug me. so i get up, and work on the land - i dig out the sticky thistle, or pick up the rocks strewn around - there's plenty to do, besides carpentry, and i enjoy the fresh air. it's kind of a new life. one that involves a little break, before the next thing comes along.