Monday was odd. Or at least, on Monday morning I observed three odd things. Makes me wonder what would have happened if I’d gotten up earlier and gone wren hunting* . . . I might not want to know.
I finished a story, then went to the gym. On the way, I saw something lying in the road. Dark, furry, a dead animal lay in the road. As I slowed and detoured around it, it proved to be a melenistic possum. The late critter had a black coat shading to dark brown at the bottom of the flanks. The head looked normal grey possum color, but the tail seemed darker than standard. How odd. I’ve never seen one like that before, but it explains why it got hit in the wee hours of the morning.
The parking lot at the gym was full. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who wanted to get in a little exercise. I ended up parking in the unofficial overflow lot across the way. Technically, the lot belongs to a church, but they don’t mind us taking up some space, since we are well away from the office and the school door. Something round sat in a parking space beside a smaller car. I shrugged and parked, then hurried over and did my thing. The weight section was crowded with young men, all college age or so. A few older men and women worked out as well, but the average age had dropped by easily 20 years. I found an empty bench and lifted. I cut my workout short because of all the people coming and going. Many were not paying much attention to their surroundings, and I’ve almost gotten hurt before when a careless person distracted me during a big lift.**
I did cardio after my weights, then went back to the truck. The round thing proved to be an intact pumpkin pie. Someone had left a perfectly good pumpkin pie in the parking space. It looked store bought. That, or the baker is much better with crimping crusts than I am. Had it been dropped and abandoned? Had it been a spare that someone set down after a church function, got distracted, and left? No idea. Something would eat it, so I didn’t try moving it to one of the distant dumpsters.
Back home, I hopped out of the truck and noticed a disk of ice, like a cowpat, beside the truck in the garden. It sat right above one of the soaker heads for the irrigation system. Oh no. Had Dad and I forgotten to turn off both parts of the system? Oh dear. Not good. I looked for others, but didn’t find evidence of hose activation or other frozen material. What could have done it? As I turned toward the house, I saw that the bowl of water for the outdoor critters had been emptied of ice. Mystery solved!
Some Mondays are just strange.
*In Ireland and parts of England, it is traditional to hunt the wren on St. Stephen’s Day. According to legend, the wren betrayed Jesus. The wren is sometimes also associated with the darker side of magic and winter.
**As in almost brushed me as I lifted the weights over my head in a shoulder press. Please don’t be that person.
(I set new personal best weights in all categories this year – 85 lb bench, 50 lb shoulder press, 60 lb deadlift. Given my chronological maturity and mileage, this is a Good Thing. Also keep in mind I don’t have a spotter or trainer, so I progress very slowly and carefully.)
Cat Rotator's Quarterly 
THAT meant more coffee needed. At first, I thought of a different Familiar Tale snippet, involving an evil doppelganger attacking Magnolia. The local group set a spell trap for it, baited with pie from that coffee shop, to contain and send back.
The odd one I saw was a perfect 6″ heap of snow on top of a stock tank heater, used to keep open a water and breathing hole in a pond. The insulated plastic case let snow build above, with a span of clear water around it.
Good point about gyms, and the number of sometimes clueless people walking around. I keep my distance when possible, and otherwise wait. Flexibility training takes about the same space, with less weight, but the same hazards.
Who hasn’t set something on top of the car to unlock the doors, and then driven off with it (very briefly) still on top of the car?
Somebody with ADD is looking in odd places, trying to figure out where the heck they set that bloody pie down.
Not really Odd, I suppose, but a few years ago I noticed my Beagle Lilly sniffing something in the back yard. I went out and it was a possum. So I got a snow shovel, picked it up and was carrying it to the garbage can. Then it appeared that the possum was looking at me.
I decided to dump it into the neighbor’s yard. If it was still alive, I didn’t want it to be trapped in the garbage can. Well, it wasn’t there the next day. 😉
That’s a helluva way to start a Monday…LOL And yes, don’t be ‘that’ person! The pie…just doesn’t make ANY sense…
:is envisioning some sort of a bright yellow, highly stylized Domino mask on a black possum:
GOTH-UM NEEDS YOU!
Oh, LOL – that breaks the Intarwebz!
Ah yes, about put the thing on the roof while unlocking – I will neither confirm nor deny, uh, two cups of coffee?
Two comments. When you drop the pumpkin pie (not in a parking lot) you can save dessert by putting the whole thing into the blender with cream cheese and a bit of sugar. It comes out like cheesecake filling or mousse and the pie crust is like bits of cookie scattered throughout.
Also, my brother-in-law claimed that the best joke ever was to get a lady’s purse (from a thrift store?) and put an extremely strong magnet inside it. Then he would put it on top of his car and drive off and watch people chasing after him to tell him about his mistake. Coffee cups also worked.
Given that most car bodies are aluminum, I’d be surprised if the magnet trick worked.