cobblestone days, asthma nights

going to the country remains a seductive journey for me, but when I actually go in the fall or spring or summer I invariably have the wind sucked out of my sails (quite literally) by asthma. This weekend was no exception.
Athens, Ohio is a joy to visit, with meandering cobblestone alleys, hilltop cemeteries with big blowzy pine trees, and a healthy undercurrent of anarchist collectivism (The Wire, , Casa Nueva). I recommend the seasonal blackberry chipotle salsa at Casa! mmmmmm.
But nighttime brought on the wheezes, with the chest-tightening tension of wondering when the next breath would come. Ernie's noble donation of a clinical massage helped, but at the birthday party that night I passed the point of no return that asthmatics everywhere dread.
Fortunately I had the presence of mind to call S. and ask for advice. He had none, other than to second my hope that there might still be a few molecules of albuterol left in my 3-year old inhaler. I hung up and turned to see another partygoer, who said: "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but are you having an asthma attack? I'm asthmatic, and I can go get you an inhaler if you need one." And so my guardian angel at the party saved us all from a needless trip to the ER. yay!
Two other bits of wildlife-related news from this past weekend: On Friday night, after I'd arrived in Columbus and while Ernie was driving us back to Athens in the darkness of the highway bypass, I am disgusted to report that we ran over a dead deer at 65mph. EEEEEWWW! The rest of the weekend of relaxation was punctuated by trips to the auto shop and car wash, which, oddly, provided us with one of the more entertaining and satisfying moments of the weekend, in which we were able to pressure-wash the blood and guts off the bumper and down the drains. mmmmm....deer guts.
And finally, from Libbywiz we have this frightening tidbit:
Mantis Eats Hummingbird!
I don't know about you, but the Praying Mantis now gets my vote for SMLTBOIO (Species Most Likely To Become Our Insect Overlords).