Hunting (and sometimes gathering)

With few free days left before I have to step back into the classroom I've donned my hunter-gatherer boots, but I seem to be doing a lot of hunting and precious little gathering. 

I had invited my birding-and-botanizing friend out Sunday to go creek-stomping in search of kingfishers. "They've been really active lately," I told her. "I see them every day." So naturally the kingfishers were nowhere to be seen Sunday, even though we waded far upstream into their secluded areas. They were probably taking shelter from the persistent drizzle, which anyone with a working brain would have done at the time, but we just stomped on through the muddy water, sludge, and drizzle.

Yesterday I was more successful when I went hunting for classroom-worthy clothes, bagging a wonderful skirt, a blouse, and two sweaters, but I spent most of the day helping my husband with two other important searches: a computer to replace his ailing 12-year-old (!!) laptop and a used van to replace the one that exploded three weeks ago. We brought home no computer and no van, although we test-drove the perfect van at the perfect price. We just need to get a few financial things figured out before we actually buy anything, which means the perfect van might no longer be available. On the other hand, Autotrader.com offers a wide field for hunting and gathering used cars, so one of these days we'll bag a beauty and bring it home.
 
Back home our gathering has been much more fruitful. Our corn is as high as an elephant's eye and absolutely delicious, so we've been eating it every day--sometimes two meals a day. Sweet-corn season doesn't last long but while it does, it's good to be a gatherer.