The face of my earth

I feel, a little, like I fell off the face of the earth for a while, even though that's not true. It's just that I was in a different part of my earth for a while, and now I'm back home.

I spent the week (and will return for the next two), working in a great program at my college with a group of absolutely wonderful students. But, unlike the regular semester, this program runs daily from 8:30 to 5, like a regular job. I haven't had that schedule since I taught high school seven years ago so I'm completely pooped. My husband, who has a normal M-F 8:30-5 job, has no sympathy for me.

I stayed up at the tiny college town this week and have to say that while I sorely missed some of the comforts of home - including Cable TV and Internet service (I am wired in my office but not in my temporary home-away-from-home), I enjoyed being able to be so close to campus. The nearness of and to everything allowed me to go "home" for lunch since the drive to and from the classroom is less than 5 minutes (compared the full hour-plus I spend commuting from my real home).

Meanwhile, Rusty enjoyed barking at the deer, at least one of which examined him with some curiosity, as if wondering whether because of his blondish-red color he was some weird long-lost relative. The obviously very young fawn even made a move to come nearer but its mother quickly corrected it, likely letting it know in deer-talk what a dog actually is. Rusty grinned his goofy smile and walked on. He also loved taking long walks on quiet country roads, marking everything within reach and figuring out the smells for possums, deer, raccoons, squirrels, skunks and all the other wild quadrupeds in the area.

That other earth has its charms and I'll be falling off the face of my usual earth again next week. But, for now, I'm back home and Magellan is snoozing next to my keyboard, under my desk lamp, while Darwin does likewise on the floor a few feet away. And, soon, my husband and I are going to take an evening walk with the dogs. I love my earth.