THE LONGER WE STAY HERE, THE WORSE OUR HABITS BECOME – Janice Anne Wheeler, Sparring With Mother Nature
Welcome! There is SPARRING in every passage and due reward for staying aboard! If you just found our very engaging little community, please read SPARS & SPARRING, .….it introduces my wonders and my wanders. ~J THE LONGER WE STAY HERE, THE WORSE OUR HABITS BECOMEI’m swearing like a sailor, drinking like a fish and befriending anything that comes along. Well, I’ve always done that.
About ten days ago what I thought was a Bumble Bee chose me. Seriously. It’s a forehead crinkler, I get that. But he (an assumption) did. For days, this delightful, bi-colored softly-endowed insect was constantly around my workspace, wherever I was, there he would be, checking up, checking in, an occasional collision, even, in my new relationship with one of Mother Nature’s more intriguing, essential characters. I photographed, he posed and was endowed with the nickname Kami in reference to Japanese Kamikazi warriors that took their life into their own hands, because more and more frequently he would simply bonk right into me, then bumble off. “He’s picking on someone the wrong size,” was my sailor’s comment. A little foul, no harm done. Every morning he showed up, just like we do, a gift from Mother Nature. I was (still) engaged in the endless prep you’re tired of hearing about and I’m tired of doing, re-taping the bronze through-hulls for one of the middle coats of paint. The following morning I noted with a certain amount of astonishment and a bucketful of respect that a small, ragged hole had been torn in the center of the tape. Yes, you’re following along; it was about Bumble-Bee size, half an inch. Tree hugger at heart, I felt horrible, awful, guilty, neglectful and downright mean that I had probably taped my newest and rather loyal companion in there….also equally impressed at the solution found for such a (dire?) situation.
Exploring the many housing options, and then, the escape. The chosen thru-hull is the drain for our shower in the aft cabin. An assortment of these exits (above) and intakes (below) waterline make our yachting systems self-sufficient, some have more powerful forces than others; the exhaust for the generator, for example, even a hearty insect would vacate that steamy, strong outflow. Now, of course, I had to wonder what’s been constructed in there, and how not to harm anyone while ensuring the functionality of said plumbing drain. We saw several bumbling about outside the next time tape was quadruple-layered over their main doorway. I learned later that they can and do bore through inches of solid wood. Ah well, I had her best interest in mind, and once again a human highly underestimates the ability of creatures surrounding us. Kami was so much in the forefront of my mind that I mentioned my follower to former farmer, friend and fellow ‘Stacker Elizabeth Beggins (see her pollinator story here). She informed that it was a Carpenter Bee and, stingless, was trying to defend his chosen home or more likely, his mate’s chosen home—(BTW females can sting if addled), which was clearly a bronze-framed hole in my chosen home. Happy to report that after the taping incident he/she/they bumbled off and found a more suitable location with less chance of imprisonment and flash-flooding. Thank a bee, save a bee.
Even with this delightful distraction from the drudgery, I finally said it out loud. The exact quote was, “Your boat is kicking my ass.”Here’s the precursor. We’d decided that what was to be the final coat of paint was not actually good enough coverage to be the final coat, making a total of seven. It takes almost twenty hours of labor between coats. STEADFAST feels sooooo much longer, bigger, taller and wider than she was when we energetically, enthusiastically started this little repair project. “She grows on you,” is groan-worthy. To refresh memories and bring all our cool new subscribers up to date, we began in July of 2024; with an original estimate of four months. I’m thinking you know who I was discussing the ass-kicked ailment with; he answered with a resigned, “I know.” And he does; his rear-end is certainly in a similar state, perhaps a tad worse even. We don’t need to say this out loud, but I finally did. Remember that story GOING GRAY? Still going! It would be far beyond bat-shit crazy to stop now. At some point recently I had the realization that I’d really like to not pick up sandpaper or a paintbrush again until 2028. Our Secret Sparring Society knows how HIGHLY UNLIKELY that is, but a girl can wish! Honestly I really did enjoy refreshing and rejuvenating this floating home on a regular maintenance schedule; we all need a little rewarding reinvigoration, don’t we? But this has been way too much, there was no bargain struck for this. My favorite quote of late? “The longer we stay here, the worse our habits become.” I’m swearing like a sailor and drinking like a fish***. That statement is not truly true, but… well, I’ll leave it to your active imaginations. More info follows on the fish part. Have you stayed doing something, somewhere, too long? By choice or by chance? Betcha have. Do tell! My website is entitled ‘Everybody Has a Story’ AND THAT MEANS YOU DO, TOO.
Each Monday, an idea for our weekly Sparring Society Story has formed or been chosen from my brain and I gradually build these messages, an hour here and a couple hours there, often taking on a life of their own, ending up a paradox to the original idea, the best laid plans. This is one of those weeks, I think…an unintentional interlude and candle-at-both-ends ending….always searching for maximum impact, of course; we all are as we toddle through life. As I finish this, it’s almost the witching hour here on the East Coast of North America and my candle is sputtering, so until next week, I’m yours truly, ~J The accidental boat builder. Here, in my most flattering outfit.
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If you prefer to listen, you can access an audio recording, read by me, here.  …18 days ago · 37 likes · 55 comments · Elizabeth Beggins & From the archives… enjoy— it’s available to all.
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© 2026 Janice Anne Wheeler
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