Like a lamb

It’s a little chilly out, but that fact aside, March is coming in like tame, sunshiney lamb. Pine grosbeaks, chickadees and redpolls flit around outside. They seem pleased with the sunshine, or maybe they’re just happy I’ve been remembering to put out bird seed on a regular basis.

For the last three months, we’ve kept a plastic container filled with sunflower seeds just outside the Shack’s door. The squirrels have gnawed on the handle of the container a bit over the months, but it was until this past week that they actually figured out to push the container’s lid down into the container to access the seed. After the first time they managed this, I put the lid back on and put a rock on top of it. The second time, I switched the lid around so that the gnawed handles no longer lined up. The third time around? No more Mr. Nice Guy. The container of seed is now sitting where shoes and boots are meant to go in the Shack and I’m sure the squirrels are feeling a little disheartened this morning. The ever elusive pine marten popped out from the wheel well of Andy’s truck this morning and gave me a good hard look while I was brushing my teeth. Maybe it’s not the squirrels to blame after all.

I’m starting in on the next batch of articles. The deadlines are a long ways away, but I need to get them done with so I can spend an appropriate amount of time on other projects. Turns out no one answers their phones on Tuesday mornings. Who knew? I have now left messages with approximately five gazillion people and am hoping some of them call me back. That would be spiffy.

March came in a little bit like a lion for me. I contracted some sort of weird bug that wasn’t the flu or a cold and most logically was probably just a mild reaction to a vaccine (thankfully the third of a three part administration) I got on Thursday. Nevertheless, I’m feeling pretty close to myself this morning and for that, I’m very glad. I hate being sick, although I was glad for the opportunity it offered me to finish up Ruth Reichl’s Garlic and Sapphires yesterday. Despite the comically persistent discussion of foie gras (I wouldn’t know good foie gras if it landed on my head), Garlic got me excited about eating out in NYC, although I doubt we can afford any of the places Reichl mentions.

Speaking of health, health insurance policies renew at the end of March and both Andy and I got a bunch of information in the mail about price hikes in our current plans and other available plans if we’d prefer to switch. I am so underwhelmed with my health insurance options as a young, healthy person. I don’t see the point in paying for health insurance every month if my deductible is so high that I will inevitably have to pay all of my annual expenses out of pocket anyway. I also know it’s irresponsible not to have health insurance because if something were to happen, it wouldn’t take long to rack up bills over the deductible. The coverage available for prescription drugs is getting poorer and poorer each year.  I make too much money to qualify for any of the health coverage programs the state offers. It feels as though I’m being punished for being able to provide for myself and when it comes to health care, it seems like I spend a lot of my income paying for, well, nothing. Why is the racket of health care so hard to figure out in this country? It’s frustrating as someone looking to self-employment as a permanent option. One of the biggest drawback of the particular “career path” I’ve chosen to stumble along on is that it means health insurance, not to mention retirement, will always be my problems.

But like Scarlett O’Hara would advise, I guess I think about that tomorrow. (I have until the end of the month to decide what to do about health care.)

For now, I’m going to fire off some more emails, maybe make some more phone calls, do some research and maybe get a bit of novel revision in too.