The Wind

I don't like the wind when it's strong, like tonight. It buffets the house, making it creak & groan. Sounds like someone walking in the walls & on the roof. Reminds me that Pazuzu lives in our fireplace.

Not too long ago, I had picked up an anthology of the year's best horror. I don't remember the exact title, but one of the stories has stuck with me. A family moved into a country house. It had a pair of large stone rabbits on the walkway & rabbits would congregate in the yard at night. Everything was okay at first, but then, gradually, things began to become haunted. At first, I think it was just a mirror. They turned the mirror to face the wall or some such. Then it was a pair of shoes under a bed. Then this wall, or that piece of furniture. It wasn't the whole house - just a bit here & a bit there. Even the cat became haunted, probably because it spent so much time under the bed. The father still worked in the city & eventually, he became haunted, too. At the end, he shrunk down to brownie-size, mounted a rabbit, picked up a spear & the story ended w/him about to lead a pixie raid on the house.

Sometimes, I just don't like living in this house. It's noisy. It's been invaded. It belongs to the scorpions. Nothing I can do seems to be strong enough to keep what's inside, or outside, at bay. All truth be told, we don't belong here & the house isn't subtle about reminding us, every single day.

Big-Ass Rountuit

We finally got the biggest rountuit of all - Ed is happily installed in his new tank. He's got plenty of room to stretch out & may actually grow another foot or so. I don't think he fully realizes that it's his new home, even though we put all his rocks & his branch & his little green hut in with him. I gave him a bath & the place has all-new astroturf, so it probably doesn't have that old familiar snakey smell yet. He also doesn't seem to realize that he really can stretch all the way out. We still need to do three things - get him a bigger little green hut, a bigger water bowl, and I want to make a jungle-gym out of some PVC pipe so he can take advantage of some of the tank's height. Not enough to be crowded, but enough so he can get up off the ground every once in a while. 

I took some pictures, but they're on film - so I've got to use up the rest of the roll before I can show the world :)