Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Cats and Dogs in Snow - Photos

Wow.  We are supposed to reach 22 degrees today - it's a veritable heat wave!
But, please remember, if you are cold outside, so is your pet!







Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Cats in Snow - Photos

It was -10 degrees at Rosie's this morning; the weather lady says we'll have a high of 3 degrees, if we're lucky.  Six and a half inches of snow fell yesterday, and we're expecting another one or two inches today.  Please protect your animals, pets and children from this Arctic cold...







Monday, December 29, 2014

Dogs in Snow - Photos

Boulder had the high temperature of the day (18 degrees) at 1 minute after midnight this morning - temperatures will continue to drop during the day, and our low tonight is forecast as -5 degrees.
Please keep your animals and pets inside, except for very short exercise and bathroom breaks!






We're also expecting more snow, starting this afternoon; the forecast for Boulder is another 7 to 9 inches - it'll be above my knees!

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Horses in Snow - Photos

With the high temperature forecast as 30 degrees today - please remember
that pets and animals feel the cold and suffer from frostbite just like humans!







Saturday, December 27, 2014

Colorful Birds - Photos

Mountain bluebird

Quetzal

Rainbow lorikeet

Red-billed streamertail (aka the Doctor bird)

Parrot


Weather and Pet-Sitting

My sister's first chemo treatment went very well yesterday, and she's supposed to be getting a white-cell booster shot this morning to counter-act yesterday's treatment.  It's so confusing...  Kathy didn't have any adverse reactions during or after the treatment, saying only that she felt sleepy afterwards.
  The Dellwood family should have made it home by now - I stopped by earlier and fed everyone, and cleaned the potty box about 8.  Then I went to the Chandler's and took care of Victor and Xena.  I followed that with Tugger on Rosewood, then went over to see the new clients on Sumac.  Have returned home for an hour or so, and will head back over to Tugger for the rest of the day after blogging.
  NOAA said that Boulder got .7 inches of liquid precipitation on Christmas Day that was topped by 12.3 inches of snow through Friday afternoon.  The ski resorts on the other side of the continental divide have had more than 43 inches of snow in the last 72 hours; they'll be getting more snow through Thursday.  We're supposed to have mostly clear skies with highs near 30 today and tomorrow - if you watch the Broncos and Raiders game on TV tomorrow afternoon, I'm sure they'll show the snow and people skiing and snowboarding up at the resorts.
  We're supposed to follow up this pleasant weekend with another Arctic front, so we'll (hopefully) have a high of 10 degrees on Monday, and, maybe, 5 degrees on Tuesday.  The weather gurus are saying that the low overnight Tuesday-Wednesday might be  -10, or so....  One of my clients let me know yesterday that she wouldn't need my services (beginning today), so that's a house off my list.  I called to check with another client, seeing what time she was leaving her home on Sunday, so I'd know when to show up at her house.  She informed me that her kids are going to be there through either the 30th or the 31st, and she'll let me know when she knows when and for how long she needs me.  She does this frequently, and I should be used to it, but that irritated me a bit yesterday.
  I'll be visiting the new client's house twice a day beginning Sunday evening and running through the following Saturday morning.  I re-met Tiko and Bopp this morning, and again went over their routine with the owners.  So that's settled; and I move in with Rosie Monday morning and stay until New Year's Day evening....
  Apparently there has been an outbreak of tularemia in the squirrel colonies in our area.  We used to see 10 to 20 squirrels in the back yard during the day - now, we might see 5 or 7.  The CU married housing complex across the street has sent 4 squirrel bodies for analysis in the past five days.  I know that our squirrel numbers are down, and we haven't seen Ernie, the raccoon, in a couple of weeks.  I know that diseases are a natural culling of the weak out in the wild - but I don't like the knowledge.  I'll be rooting for the South Carolina Gamecocks and Steve Spurrier today!

Friday, December 26, 2014

Boxing Day Photos






And, oddly, on Boxing Day in Wales, it has become a tradition to take a plunge into the Atlantic Ocean on Boxing Day, wearing your "funniest outfit."  These are down-right scarey!

Photos from Yesterday

Christmas sunrise

Snow family Christmas tree

Kathy and Jim Snow

Kathy's hair, released from the usual French braid

Jim cut off her braid...

Kathy's new bob - but her husband insists it's a "Jim"

Snow falling in my back yard last night when I returned home...

Boxing Day

My cats always love the day after Christmas - traditionally called Boxing Day in Great Britain and Canada - because they have a multitude of boxes to play in, attack each other from, and, in Nedi's case, chew and rip apart.  I have leftovers from yesterday's big meal, but am running around to three different houses, taking care of critters, today.  I've already fed and walked the Chandler dogs, and fed the cats and chickens on Dellwood.  After noon, I'll add Tugger to the mix until New Year's Eve.
   The Dellwood clients hope to get back to Denver from Guatemala this afternoon, as scheduled.  But it's doubtful they'll make to Boulder from Denver tonight, as their car is parked in a garage in a downtown alley that doesn't get plowed.  The hope to be home by mid-morning tomorrow.  At least Jim is recovering from his ruptured appendix, but Jan fell and sprained both her hand and foot yesterday, so neither of them will be very spry upon their return.
  I spent the majority of yesterday at Kathy and Jim's house.  We had our "traditional Swedish" Christmas breakfast, and giggled, yet again, about Pop-pop choosing an easy breakfast for Christmas morning, following Mom-mom's passing - sausage links, scrambled eggs and pumpkin pie.  Then I did the dishes and we sat around and chatted until their son Mike and his wife Erin arrived.  Then we got into two technical discussions - what Kathy was supposed to do last night and this morning before starting her chemo-therapy, and how best to cut off her glorious hair..  We got everything straightened out, and written down,and I put dinner in the oven.  Then Jim rebraided Kathy's hair and cut off the braid.  Withe her new, short bob, Kathy really looks like Mom again...  Then we ate, and after doing the dishes again, Kathy and I looked at photos of eight generations of our family - it was amazing, and fun.
  It started snowing a little after noon yesterday, and, as it had been warm, the snow melted almost as quickly as it hit.  It still snowing, at this moment.  Boulder officially had 9.7 inches fall up until 7 a.m. this morning.  The weather folks say we'll have another inch or so fall today and this evening; then it will stop until Monday.  Supposedly we'll highs in the low and mid-30s Saturday and Sunday, but a high of 11 on Monday and a high of 6 degrees on Tuesday.  Looks like I'll be staying bundled up for the next week or so. I add another house of critters to my care list on Saturday, SUnday and Monday... Before New Year's Eve, I'll be taking care of 6 houses full of cats, bees, dogs, fish, and (outside in their coops) chickens each day.  I'll be extremely happy when January 4 arrives, and I'm back to just my regular dog-walking for a week!
  I hope that you had a good time with friends and family yesterday, today, and through the weekend.  Peace and joy are my wishes for you for the rest of this year.

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Have A Wonderful Day!

I, personally, am celebrating with my family today - exactly what I believe I am celebrating is no one's business but my own.  Many different faiths celebrate for some reason during this time of year; what you celebrate is no one's business except your own.  I am celebrating by being with my family, cooking them a meal, and providing a few laughs (I hope), and by caring for the pets of other people who are visiting people they love elsewhere.  In any event, here are a few depictions of critters expressing the companionship and friendship of the season...







Merry Christmas!

Boulder, Colorado might not start out celebrating a "White Christmas" in the morning - but we're supposed to have between 6 and 12 inches fall Christmas night - and have a high temperature on Friday of 18 degrees, with a low Saturday morning of 3 degrees.  We'll have a frosty Boxing Day!