It was just one of those cranked-up, crazy days.
My wife the pianist had to go rehearse with a classical singer at 11:00, which meant I had a free slot to practice for the upcoming Los Changos del Mar gigs. She doesn’t mind if I practice while she’s here, which is kind of miraculous, but I can’t help but turn it down at least a little then. There’s nothing like being able to make all the noise you want, in any case, so of course I was onto that well before noon. This time I learned a new song: “Tsunami Struck” by the Surf Coasters, a Japanese surf band. Check it out!
There’s a mostly descending progression at the end of the V chord that goes C#CBBBbAAG#EFF# or something close to it. I play those as one-note chords on the ES-335 12-string. The song is really just a blues pattern, believe it or not. Well, try to imagine a rhythm guitar in that clip. Sheesh! Anyway, that’s what I did, in the middle of the day in my terrible life. And this might be the place to tell a funny story: since I got my 24″ iMac, I’ve gained almost five pounds. I can only attribute this to spending more time sitting in front of it, since it’s so gorgeous and all. But since I started this intensive practicing (two to four hours a day) about 10 days ago, I’ve lost four of those five pounds!
By early afternoon the place was peaceful again. My wife came home and took a gardening break to deal with a big geranium. The weather was such that you had to be outdoors: very breezy, sunny with occasional clouds, and 65 degrees — not half bad for July 31, by God. I stood around looking for something to do outside, when all of a sudden it came to me: “OOOWWWW!!!” she screamed. Another ant bite. Okay, that was the last straw. Leave my wife alone, dammit!
I had a secret weapon, purchased the day before at WalMart and stored in the back of my truck. It was a desperation move, spurred by the outrageous ant infestation we have this year, swarms of big red-and-black ants like something out of a horror movie. Nowhere outside is it safe, and they also get into the house, of course. You know what was in truck: super-duper, radioactive, guaranteed dead toxic waste ANT POISON. Chemicals! Bad stuff! And boy was I glad I had it. What I didn’t know exactly was where most of the ants were coming from, but I had an idea.
These are the kind that build huge mounds of pebbles several feet wide, so you’d think anyone could find them. We have all this ancient sagebrush, though, and that conceals them. But out back, just a few yards from where we sit sometimes, there was a suspicious swelling in the shadows under a particularly gnarly old sage. I thought that might be an anthill, and boy was I right.
It ws the biggest anthill I have ever seen. By the time I’d stepped carefully past the cactus and limbs from a nearby brush pile, I could see that there were numerous entrances, all bigger than I’ve ever observed, with thick streams of ants flowing in and out of every one. It was impossible to stand there long enough to do what I had to do, so I did it badly: when I took a step forward onto what I thought was solid ground in order to dump more poison granules over the far side of the nest, my foot went a whole foot down into the earth and was instantly covered by hundreds of ants! I immediately shook off my sandal and hopped out of there, crashing into a prickly pear and acquiring several other minor wounds. That always helps a little, if you know what I mean.
Later we had “cocktails” outside. That really means wine for her and tequila for me. I drank half again as much as I usually do and got in great shape for cooking drunk. It was all tons of fun, and we had a great dinner, also sitting outside as is our custom. Taos is the only place I’ve ever lived where my salad regularly blows away, but this time I managed.
After dinner, I practiced again for another 90 minutes. I am now utterly spent and intend to crawl into the bathtub, so that’s the end of this.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
“salad regularly blows away”…..toooooooooo funny !!!
True, though!
And here’s hoping you won the Ant War!! I hate the little buggers!! And they just seem to get in everywhere…..In good old Okiehoma I am dealing with an influx of Fiddle back spiders!! Nothing to be messed with….but my wife’s intent on cleaning up the garage…which seems to have shaken them loose from their hiding places…and more out into the open…..Maybe I need to get some of that Super-Duper Insect Killer you mentioned…..(actually a friend turned me on to Diatomaceous earth – a Natural pesticide – info link here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth
that might be something LESS hazardous….but a whole lot LESS FUN that what you probably already used!! Just fyi….Whatever, etc……..
Steve