Boulder Valley

Since I arrived here, I've always known that I live in "the Boulder Valley." It was very apparent this morning, when I left Brighton, out on the eastern plains and it was 52 degrees outside; 45 minutes later, as I pulled into my parking lot, it was 45 degrees outside. There is a spot on Colorado Highway 7 that shows this to be true - I'll try to take a photo from this view point before Sunday, when I'll be without a car again. Yes, I have the Brighton gang's Toyota Prius again. And I still think it's a wonderful car.

I awakened sometime early this morning, swimming up from a deep sleep, and heard the soft rhythmic snoring of my bed-partner. My first thought was that Jeff's snoring had gotten to a very comforting level; then I remembered that Jeff was no longer alive, and that my bed partner was a German Short Haired Pointer named Nikki. She was asleep with her head on the pillow and her back toward me; Abby was between my ankles, Natasha was along my right side and Boris was curled up, and partially on, my right side; Shadow was, again, on the bureau. Three of the four cats there react to catnip , Abby, the female orange tabby, is the only one who doesn't. So I got the kits a couple of toys and they are having a great time playing with them in their part of the basement.
"Their part of the basement?" All cats and dogs have full run of the house - except in the daylight basement. There, the cats have three-quarters of the floor for their own use, behind a chain-link fence the dogs can't cross (unless one lets the dogs through the gate). That way, the cats can have their own area if they don't want to put up with dog play and/or doggy drool. Both Kohlbi and Nikki use the cats as head pillows while they're in shared spaces, and the cats usually don't mind it. Of course, the dogs have an acre-plus sized yard to play in that the cats do not. I think it pretty much evens out.

My kits are chasing each other in this cooler weather. They come tearing in from outside, Lovey meowing at the top of her lung capacity, and Banichi in a quiet, determined rush. They seem to play a form of "Tag" - one chases one for a while, and then they switch. Banichi is getting much better at running - he moves forward a lot faster, and doesn't jump up so much any longer - and sometimes when he's able to stay close on Lovey's heels, she hisses at him. They are both sitting in the sun now, trying to convince a flock of birds to leave the tree and approach the bird feeders.

The space shuttle launch for the Hubble Telescope has been postponed until next year, due to unexplained equipment failure on Hubble itself. That means I'll be home for 5 more nights this month. (Yeah! - I think.... this is when I get my Christmas gift money together...)