Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Endings, beginnings


Though this blog really shouldn't start until I start living there in September, Summer has begun and I haven't decided what to do with myself yet. Or--correction--I don't exactly feeling like doing what I know I should be. So, a preliminary post (with perhaps more to come) about a life that will soon be lived from the titular garret.

Today I'm at my grandparents' house in New York attempting to write an application essay (almost done?). Instead, I took a walk or two. It's probably the hottest day of the year thus far, with a high in the mid-90s. The light breeze made the slightly humid air feel like someone's breath on my skin. Not an entirely unpleasant feeling, but slightly strange--like an unsolicited intimacy. The chief objective of the walk was to find turtles, and perhaps a few frogs. I somehow latched onto the idea of a pet turtle, which is strange since I mostly like cats, and though I've resigned myself to the impracticality of such a venture I still wanted to see a turtle. I set off and managed to see practically every other common animal except the beast of choice: squirrels, cardinals, chipmunks, a rather large snake, untold numbers of immobile toads, fish, and golden-striped frogs. As I rounded the final bend I saw a few small ones sunning themselves on logs far out in the water, and far out of my reach. Objective somewhat attained I returned indoors. Later this afternoon I ventured out again in search of more turtles... and found this behemoth from the deep! Its shell must have been 1.5 feet long, with long tail and a neck which, extended, was at least twice as long as mine. It was in the shallow water by the shore so I watched it for a while, lying belly-down in the grass. When it came up to breathe I could hear the air rushing in and out of its nostrils. Strangely enough, its pace of breathing was similar to mine, though with longer exhalations. Its back was covered in a film of algae or some other fuzzy green material. It reminded me of the time my grandfather pretended to be a mythical turtle when I picked up the phone.

I didn't have my camera with me when I went out the second time, but I have a few pictures from my first walk.


1 comment:

  1. I didn't realize you identified with garrets, though it explains why you like nesting in my closet.

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