Wind?

Last night was ... interesting. I slept between Rosie and Remy, which was fine; what was odd was the high winds. The winds neatly folded Rosie's bed on the deck in half; it emptied out the toy bucket across the deck, and tossed the bucket into the middle of the pond; most of the lawn furniture ended up against the rear fence; and a metal rain spout, shaped like upside-down bells, tore loose from its mooring, and battered away at the side of the house, until I went out and tied it down. There were gusts in the 70s and 80s here in Boulder, and a few miles up north of us, at Carter Lake, they recorded a wind gust of 98 mph.

Banichi is sprawled on my lap while I'm typing this, and Lovey is coveting her favorite dove, who's on the patio, out of the wind, pecking at seeds and grain from the feeders. Neighbors' trash is mixed with a bunch of dead leaves and it's all dancing in a whirlwind at the edge of the patio. I can see an empty puppy chow bag, pieces of newspaper, what looks like a tan sheet (fitted, queen size), two empty beer cans and another clear plastic container, all dancing merrily in spirals and circles, just off my patio. It's weird. Am I in Kansas?

I received framed family photos from Mike, as well as a neat, old book on kitten care; cash, a shopping spree, and a wonderful book on local Indians from Kathy and Jim; a plethora of goodies to eat from the extended Snow clan; and some wonderful cards and enclosures from friends and family. Lovey and Banichi were treated to Lovey's favorite Midnight Madness Balls, courtesy of cousin Sarah. The fruit platter I carried over to the Snow gathering was demolished - it consisted of grape tomatoes (I said they were love-apples), blackberries, raspberries, and large green and small red seedless grapes.

Jim pulled a bot-fly larva out of his leg wound yesterday evening, and is going to see his MD today - to make sure that there aren't any more of them in his arm and leg. The bot-fly egg is passed to humans (usually) by the bite of a mosquito, which was infected/fertilized by a bot-fly.
They are gross enough in livestock.

I need to replenish my stock of bird seed and peanuts tomorrow - as well as picking up my meds from the pharmacy. I think I can handle that. I've invited Kathy and Jim to come watch the Rose Parade at the Irish kids' home... they haven't seen the HGTV version of the parade, and I think they would enjoy it. Here's hoping that the last day and a half of 2008 will be kind to all of you!