It has been hot in Michigan. Like, buy-a-one-way-ticket-to-Alaska hot.
Often on warm nights I drag my pillow outside to try to find a cool breeze. After tossing in my bed for a couple of hours Tuesday night I headed for the porch. There wasn't much breeze there, so I decided to try the hammock.
Me and my sheet were nicely settled into the hammock and I was listening to the frog croaking nearby, when I heard a snorting, shuffling sound. The grass rustled. I held my breath as a skunk ambled within a foot or two of where I lay suspended between two trees. Then it passed me and I unclenched my muscles and closed my eyes.
I still couldn't sleep, so after awhile I decided to go back to the porch. I was just starting to sit up in the hammock when I heard frantic clawing and snorting from the tree behind my head. I froze while the skunk had a panic attack. Seconds passed. Adrenaline tingled in my fingernails. The frantic sounds subsided to snorting and shuffling as the skunk moved back in the direction from which it had come. I waited a few minutes and then, keeping to parts of the lawn illuminated by the yard light, I returned to the porch.
I rested my head on my pillow on the porch and was just drifting to sleep, when a howl behind me jerked me awake. Awooo. Awhooo. Augh-augh-augh-woooo. A coyote. I had heard a pack of them howling in the distance earlier in the night, but this one seemed to be practicing his solo from my back yard.
After a few more tosses and turns on the porch (and willing myself not to think about rabid bats), I crept back into the house. Needless to say, it wasn't a restful night.
I remember many a Michigan summer nights with the family all stretched across the living room on Nold road, much like in The Relatives Came, all seeking some solace from the muggy heat. You might want to think about a small window unit in the future to allow some relief and rest.
ReplyDeleteIn the absence of a/c, I recommend soaking your head (seriously) right before bedtime, then sleeping with a fan blowing right on you. It worked like a charm for us in our a/c-less, early marriage, graduate school days.
ReplyDelete~ Betsy
That is so hilarious! I'm almost rolling on the floor. I'll see what kind of recordings I can rig up for the next hot night. *grin*
ReplyDeleteWell, I am glad that none of the wild animals got you. I hope you can find some better places to rest your head and keep cool.
ReplyDelete