Wildfires & a Good Walk

I truly feel sorrow for the folks in California that have lost houses and homes in this latest wildfire; but I am truly moved by the loss of habitat and wildlife that have not been able to escape the heat, ash, bad air, and tongues of flame. - The critters, after all, are "dumb" animals; they can smell the smoke, feel the wind and heat, and try to run in front of the fire, but in many cases there is absolutely no way for them to escape the horror of dying from burns and asphyxiation. My heart goes out to all creatures caught in or near these fires.
The smoke from the California fires has been carried here to Boulder, so we are hazy, and have a great deal of particulates in the air. People are being told that if they have respiratory problems, they should stay inside and avoid exertion. There is a dry, burning sensation in the back of one's throat after walking a couple of blocks here. (I guess I'll take my inhaler with me when I walk Rosie and Remy today.)

Remy and Rosie were extremely well behaved yesterday - we ran into four sets of unexpected dogs on our walk; and the first one was the only one to get Rosie a trifle riled. The first dog was a golden retriever that was barking at us long before Rosie gave one half-hearted bark in return, and Joel had shortened the Rs leads, so nothing really happened. As we passed another house, a dog that was tied up in the driveway lunged out at the end of its rope, barking like mad at us. Remy and Rosie just continued walking. The house full of Newfoundlands barked at us as we walked by, again with no response. We ran into a loose Norwegian Elkhound at the Elks Club, and he left us alone, so the Rs ignored him. After cutting across the Centennial track, we ran into two Chinese Pugs - and, again, the Rs ignored them. I think it was a great walk, overall, for Joel to have taken with the kids. I told him not to expect trouble, and most of the time it would not appear (this, after he immediately shortened the leads by half as soon as we saw another dog). He seemed surprised that it worked, so I told him that the dogs can definitely read his tenseness, and if he relaxed, so would they. ... The kits have been having a ball with me at their beck and call 21 hours each day. They have managed to get me to spoil them even more - Banichi with huge, pleading eyes like a dog, and Lovey by talking to me until I'll do (almost) anything to get her to stop talking. She is a mouthy child!! ... The only "news" on the horse racing front is that the owners and trainers of Mine That Bird have Calvin Borel back on the colt for morning exercise rides at Saratoga. ... And, finally, Aspen is still plagued by bears: yesterday afternoon a lady fell asleep on her deck while reading and was awakened by a pain in her leg. It was a black bear, clawing at her, trying to see if the scented tanning lotion was edible. The bear ran up a tree when the lady screamed, and DoW tranquilized and relocated the bear.