Eleventh Month Anniversary

Our 11th month anniversary was on a Wednesday, my school day. Fortunately, the teacher let me leave early. Kelly came over about 8:30 pm. I gave her a card with two Christmas tree ornaments attached; an owl and a frog. Kelly gave me three CDs by the band Live. Unfortunately, I had all three already! But since two of the CDs were burned copies, I kept those; I gave her the one I already had. We talked for awhile and realized it was too late to do anything, so we watched a short film called "One Too Many." After that, bed!

Dick Young Forest Preserve (or as I grew up with, Nelson Lake Marsh Nature Preserve)

Although a brisk morning, me and Kelly bundled up tight and went to Nelson Lake Marsh in Batavia for some autumn birds. I was certain it would add a few avian wonders to Kelly's list, as it has mine for so many years now. My footsteps are all over this place, the first being those of a preteen. I spent many weekends walking the trails, admiring familiar feathered faces and searching for new ones. It's a beautiful preserve, with prairie, woodland, savanna, a large marsh (technically a kettle), and a 40-acre lake. I was excited to finally be taking Kelly there.


We parked by the old silo at around 9:15 and began walking towards the lake lookout. It was overcast and drizzly but the birds were active. As we approached two returning birders I stopped, took up a karate stance, and told them to tell us what ducks were on the lake.

The man fell to his knees and grabbed my coat, "Please don't kill us, Mister. Please, please don't kill us!"

"The ducks," I said calmly. "Tell me the names of those ducks and I'll spare your worthless little lives."

"G-g-green-winged teal," said the man, shivering. "And scaup. That's it. That's all we saw."

"Don't lie to me punk!" I yelled, drawing a chop high into the air. "I will slice off your head with my hand if you lie to me!"

The woman fainted.

"I swear to God that's all we saw. Those are the only ducks we saw!"

I lowered my weapon and clutched my binoculars. "Okay, I believe you. Now pick up your ho and go. And don't ever show your faces around here again, understand?"

The man gulped. "Yes, yes, I understand. I understand! Thank you."

As he began smacking his wife's cheeks, me and Kelly turned and resumed our walk to the lake. Kelly took my hand and gave me a seductive look. "That was sexy," she said.

The rest of our visit was quite pleasant. We walked maybe a quarter mile to the north before deciding to turn back. The most common birds we saw, by far, were Cedar Waxwings and American Tree Sparrows. Afterwards, in the car, we wrote down all the birds we saw in the "birder's shorthand" that I use:

A Goldfinch 5+
B Jay
BC Chickadee 2
C Goose 20+
C Waxwing 50+
DE Junco 20+
Fox Sparrow 10+
Gull sp.
GW Teal - small flock
M Dove
N Cardinal 5+
RB Woodpecker 2
RT Hawk
Scaup sp. (too far away to ID) - small flock
Tree Sparrow 40+
WT Sparrow

Good Pizza and a Lame Poetry Reading

Kelly and I went to Limestone Coffee & Tea in Batavia for their first open mike. It's located on the corner of Wilson and River streets, and is an elongated space with tall, sky blue walls. A few nice paintings adorn these walls and there's a room for kids to play in. Overall it's very nice, and the coffee is good, but the five or six tables may limit the amount of people able to participate or enjoy the open mike there.

Nicole M. was already there when we arrived. She was sitting with Jennifer, the host, but no one else had shown up yet. Since we were hungry, me and Kelly decided to bail out and have dinner. We promised to come back later. Then we walked to Venice Tavern and had some great pizza. After dinner we went back to Limestone as promised, but there still was no turnout. Jennifer was up front now, playing acoustic guitar and singing, so we decided to stay for a beverage. Nicole left a few minutes after we got there. We talked with her briefly and then left shortly after she did, taking our drinks with us.

When we got back to my place I was excited to show Kelly Comet 17P/Holmes, which, on this night, was moving through the constellation Perseus. Very exciting! After that we decided to write; Kelly worked on her novel, and I wrote a poem called "Stopwatch." Coincidentally, both of our writings contained a similar concept: the almost apocalyptic downfall of mankind and the reclaiming of earth by nature.

Yuck Pumpkin Spice Latte

Went to St. Mark's. It was an enjoyable service. After that, went to Grahm's 318 for drinks. Kelly got chai latte, I got pumpkin spice latte, which tasted like yuck, so I exchanged it for a vanilla. Went upstairs and sat in a nice room with green walls. Talked about religion mostly, and my struggle trying to find one I'm comfortable with. Went back to my place and ate leftovers and wrote. Kelly bought me Poet's Market 2008, which was in the mail when I got it the night before, and I used it tonight. Not sure what the date was, but it was a Sunday in November.

A Perfect 10

Today was our ten month anniversary. Jason was supposed to show up around 6, but instead a weird mustached man wearing sunglasses came knocking at my door. He arrived carrying a box of my favorite chocolates and a bouquet of the most beautiful flowers, and introduced himself as "Juan." So I let him in. He proceeded to pace around my apartment, talking to me in a strange accent I could not trace. I turned my back for a moment to put my flowers in a vase and lo -- Juan was gone, and Jason stood in his place. All that was left of Juan was a mustache lying on the carpet. Jason called the man a coward for not standing his ground.

We went out for dinner, then picked up a couple movies at a local video place we were checking out for the first time. Then we built a fire -- the first time using the fireplace in my new apartment. My living room was bathed in a warm glow. We were enchanted, and sipped on wine and talked, then put on the movies. Jason couldn't keep his eyes open, however, so we kept the movies for another night.

Justin and Lisa's Wedding

Just another one of the 8 weddings we are going to this year ... but this one was special because it was for Jason's brother and Lisa. The magical event occurred at White Pines State Park in Oregon, IL. We stayed in neat log cabins that were built by the CCC in the 1930s, complete with gas fireplace (lights magically with the flip of a switch these days). We enjoyed reading the cabin's guest book with stories of couples and families waxing poetic about their time there. The wedding occurred on a beautiful day, though unseasonably chilly. Wind blew out their unity candle, but could not disturb the warmth in their hearts, or the tears in their eyes as they said their vows. Jason looked incredibly studly in his tux, and I believe I told him so often enough where he was contemplating keeping it. Kelly also got to meet Jason's extended family, which was very cool. Jason and Kelly danced a few slow songs, and Kelly showed she can do the electric slide with the best of them. One night we watched a cute movie called "Heart and Souls". We also got to do a little bit of hiking and saw some neat fall migratory warblers, like the American Redstart and the black and white warbler. And we saw a deer right next to the cabins. Jason frantically tried to knit a sweater for the bride to wear on the cold day, but wasn't fast enough. People there for the wedding threw bonfires each night. We would really like to return here some day to relax. Check out the video -- the best part is the hilarious end frame extreme close-up of Jason's face.

Eight Month Anniversary

Eight months ago on this fateful day Jason and I met face-to-face for the first time! Unfortunately we had to spend this anniversary apart. Due to his coworker having a sprained ankle, Jason was suddenly whisked away to spend 9 days doing field work in northern Michigan, collecting oak specimens. He left early on the 4th and will be gone until the 12th. He called me on Kelly B.'s cell phone tonight, and told me he was in Harrison, MI, and he caught me at my parents' house (doing laundry) ... so we were 301 miles apart.

I googled Harrison -- its slogan is "Twenty Lakes in Twenty Minutes" and it's the country seat of Clare County, Michigan. Also had to google Indian Head Park, and the only trivia I could come up with is that it was named after a golf course.

I miss that boy. We're going to celebrate when he gets back -- I can't wait!