The branch has fallen. The birds thus dislodged from the tree have flown off in search of other perches. My branch remains secure, with a better view of the sky.
The better view of the sky means that the hawks circling above get a better look at me. In a continuing effort to be cryptic and inscrutable, I will note that over the weekend these hawks killed off the only two birds of my species that were remotely related to my tree. It is evidently their plan that I become the sole representative of my species, and assume the perches of my other ex-compatriots.
I do wish they'd conferred with me first. I fear the hawks are about to learn that they've killed off the only birds that had any clue as to how to sing their part of our song properly. I only sang harmony, and while I suppose it would be possible to learn to sing lead, I'd need someone to teach me. And the birds that could have taught me are now just little piles of feathers at the base of the tree.
The weekend flew by too quickly, and I have little to show for it. The Socialist and I did play cards, watch additional episodes of Babylon, and participate in various forms of communication Saturday night, and it was a nice, relaxing day. I spent most of Sunday fighting off a mild migraine (stomach was upset, but I didn't spew, so I figure it couldn't have been that bad).
We did get snow (somewhat unexpectedly) yesterday, which persisted until well into the evening. The temperature hovered right around 32 degrees, so the snow couldn't figure out whether or not it wanted to melt. The net result was that there was an inch or so of mush covering most of the landscape. Walking around outside was like walking through a giant spilled Slurpee. The Slurpee froze overnight, leaving a rather nasty mess on the roads this morning. Nothing I couldn't cope with, mind you, but not the ideal way to start what is destined to be a miserable Monday anyhow.
I've sent an SOS out to my mentor, who apparently may be picking up his email, but who will not return to his office until tomorrow. I desperately want to talk to him before my company gets a chance to talk to me.