Not Dead!

Not dead! Had a wonderful time at Bubonicon—saving full report for when I get back from Worldcon this weekend, and can knock it all out at once.

I returned to 34 frogs in the pond. This is more frogs, by leaps and hops, than I have ever seen in the pond. I am stunned.  I don’t know if a crop of tadpoles all suddenly grew legs and climbed up on land at once or if the hot dry weather dried up a pond and they all found their way here, but…dude. Frogs. Frogs in extraordinary quantity. I find myself fretting—what will they eat? (Answer: Bugs, worms, each other.) They’re bronze frogs and Southern leopard frogs. The blacksnake has already come by for a meal.

I know it’ll all even itself out in time, and this is probably the boom and bust of a very young population cycle, but man, you walk to the compost heap and suddenly it’s all alarm calls and SPLASH SPLASH SPLOOSH! And when I look out my window, it is Frogtown.

There is also a nearly grown dragonfly nymph in the water barrel, which means no mosquito larvae and only a few enormous tadpoles. He is SOMETHING. I’m a little scared. There’s a stick so he can climb out, but dude.

And I had a facial yesterday, as my buddy Mur decided we were going to something girly before the Hugos, goddamnit. It was a helluva thing. My face is still a little stunned. There were all manner of goops and massaging and more goops and steam and I even had my ears massaged, which is really peculiar and has never happened before. (I assume it’s part of the thing, and that I didn’t just have Horrible Damaged Ears That Required Treatment At Once.)

I am only partly recovered from travel and now I get to do it again tomorrow, but it’ll be fine! I will lose with dignity and go to the Hugo Loser’s party and drink until I fall down. With dignity.

20 thoughts on “Not Dead!

  1. Graydon says:

    You realize you’re tempting more or less all the shapes of fate if you don’t, in the spirit of preparedness, write down on a little card what you will say if you win?

    Because if you don’t, well, if you do get up there, “with dignity” may not be how events transpire.

  2. RhianimatorLGP says:

    The ears are part of the thing if they’re doing a good and thorough job of a facial. Otherwise they feel left out and alone while the rest of your face got all the attention.

    No one wants pouting ears.

  3. Hawk says:

    The thought of my ears being massaged makes me kind of never want one. My ears are waaaaay too ticklish!

    Hope the Hugos are a good time, win or lose. Travel safely!

  4. Liddle-Oldman says:

    I’m jealous of your frogs! There are no frogs at all left in the North — I just spent two weeks on two lakes and never a ribit.

    I miss amphibians.

  5. Al the K says:

    It may also mean you missed a surfeit of bugs in the backyard. Frogs’ll move out if competition for eats is an issue, and you’ll probably get visited by hungry herons besides.

    So suppress the desire to whip up a mess of bug salad with expensive store-bought ingredients. No need for knitting pullover sweaters for them, either. Sweater for the blacksnake: okay, but keep it tasteful.

  6. Don Hilliard says:

    “I will lose with dignity”

    Like hell.

    “and go to the Hugo Loser’s party and drink until I fall down. With dignity.”

    Well, maybe.

    Heartiest congratulations on the win!

  7. tanita says:

    So, LOSING WITH DIGNITY no longer being an option, what are you going to do now??? (Well, falling down with dignity is still an option.)

    Happy dances and congratulations to you. You and Digger rock.

  8. Kaitlin says:

    Congratulations on the Hugo!!! I squeed so loudly when I found out that my boyfriend accused me of trying to deafen him. I can’t imagine anyone who deserves it more.

  9. Deb Kosiba says:

    Kaitlin, you are not the only one who squeed loudly! You should have heard the screams in the audience when she won!

    Congrats Ursula!

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