Dispatches is a tumblelog by Thomas Sibley.

Urban wild

As I sit on the couch in my living room, I hear the neighbors across the street exclaim to each other, “Is that a wolf‽  It looks like a wolf.  Maybe it’s a dog and the owner is around the corner?  No, look, it’s running away from us… I think that was a wolf!”

My windows don’t allow a view far enough down the street to see for myself, and by the time I make it downstairs and outside, the “wolf” is gone.

I don’t trust my neighbors’ identification skills, and it was probably just a stray dog.  But if anything, it was more likely a coyote than a wolf.  Coyotes at least have a history of venturing into and living in cities.  I’ll have to keep my eyes open…

Fine Gin & Tonics

I had an epiphany the other week: why mix your damn fine (and expensive) gin with cheap tonic?

Oranges

Occasionally I’ll find myself in a quiet, dimly-lit kitchen in the still hours of the morning hunched over the stainless steel sink slurping on ripe orange wedges as the juicy fruit satisfyingly pulls away from the peel.

I expect that might be the case again tonight with the oranges still left over after squeezing three dozen for fresh juice.

The priced to sell, very ripe Valencia oranges I bought today remind me of those I bought at the Lyttelton farmer’s market in New Zealand with a handmade sign declaring “Look terrible, taste great!”  Needless to say, they were delicious.