The Sound of Settling

Dearest blogbuds,

Rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated. For as much as I'd like to attribute my absence to landing a job, alas, this is not so. But I have been applying like mad, so it's only a matter of time...right??


I am back in Michigan on a semi-permanent basis (excluding a visit to family this weekend, and of course I would move back to Illinois if I got hired there!) with my parents. I have not spent considerable time here since before graduating high school - I spent my college summers working at a Boy Scout camp about 50 miles north - and it is a somewhat surreal experience. I keep expecting to see familiar faces in the area, though in fact most of my graduating class has left for greener pastures.

This morning my dad and I went for a walk around town. It was quite pleasant (though not nearly as much as yesterday's walk, since it was much more humid today). Part of our wanderings included a stroll down a bike path that follows a creek running through town. I remember wading in it with Frank and Spenser, picking up freshwater clams and prising them open to look for pearls (I did, once, find two pearl-ish growths embedded in the inner wall of a shell), nervously chasing crayfish, and watching the seemingly overnight influx of Japanese water snails, which we took home and put in a fish tank. We saw a great blue heron on both days of our walk, watching us imperviously from the middle of the creek. Though I admit, ever since I saw these pictures (first 3), I've been somewhat creeped out by them.


I promise to make more regular appearances, though as I mentioned before, I'll be travelling for most of the weekend, leaving tomorrow, so if nothing else, expect a long update Monday or Tuesday! I also promise to get to Rachel's meme, and I'll be spending some time catching up on everyone's blogs. Thanks for waiting! =)