Green Mansions

After three years on a windswept, Aleutian island known for its harsh climate, violent and rugged beauty in the shape of desperate rocky cliffs dropping hundreds of feet into crashing and frigid seas, I am restful in a new location and a very different climate.

Here I am peaceful, nestled in layer upon layer of variegated verdant wooded hills and winding roads. The sun glows through waving green treetops and glares off the surface of a slightly mossy pond. I am calm. I can breathe. There is space.

Tiny spotted frogs and silly orange salamanders challenge my steps and my dog's snuffling nose as we make our way deeper into the (rather buggy, but lovely) woods each morning. I have adopted this hundred acre wood as my own green mansion. It's not quite a jungle, but it will do in this short pause before we move on to another coast and another life, and time speeds up again.

Wallet, watch, volt meter???

In my latest perusal of the Scotsman, I noticed the headline of this article and as I dearly love my own dog, it piqued my interest. Then, after reading it, my only thought was....

a passerby with a volt meter???? Really??? How in the fuck does THAT happen???

So, tell me: do you carry one in your handbag, or trouser pocket? Am I missing some trend in personal items carried about regularly of late? Do they come in fancy colors now, and should I knit myself a volt meter cosy?

I've not yet got one, so if you are looking for a gift idea, there's one for you. I'd like a small, yet easy to manage model, perhaps with a carabiner to attach it to my bag, and if I can synch it with my ipod, so much the better, thanks.

http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Dog-dies--in-freak.4957343.jp