Black Cat on White Snow

It is 29 degrees outside this morning with oodles of sunshine. Tinkerbell got miffed with me this morning when I saw a breathing lump under the covers of her owners' bed, and lifted them to take a look at my charge. This is the second time I've had Tinkerbell in my care, and the first time I've seen her - she is a very dark black and silver tabby, while Twister, her loving buddy, is white with orange tabby patches. I had forgotten how much fun the antics of gerbils can be, too. I had an enjoyable 15 minutes playing with the tan and black little guys; one of the black ones has a white chin, so they are distinctive. Cloudy is also upset with me, because I wouldn't let her out last night - there were cottontails on the patio, and she wanted to hunt. Shady has spent a lot of time in my lap this morning, but is now crossing the back yard. His sooty black fur against the gleaming snow is an awesome sight.

I spent 6 hours at home with Lovey and Banichi yesterday - most of the time they were curled up on top of me, as if they could force me to physically stay at home. One of my clients has changed their itinerary, so that I will return home on April 1 instead of the 4th. That will give me a good solid week of being at home and only walking the red kids, so that the kits can feel secure again. I took the red kids out for an afternoon walk yesterday, and we had a ball. We visited the preschool play ground at the Quaker Meeting House, where the walkways had been shoveled, but there were piles of snow otherwise. Rosie and Remy dashed around the grounds, looked inside the tunnels, and jumped up onto the different levels of the fort-like jungle gym. Then Ewie, the sheep, got into the act and started baaing and running and bucking in her pen, which set the dogs off running again (but not barking). All in all, it was an invigorating jaunt.

Yesterday's Florida Derby was very interesting - Lentenor, Barbaro's brother rallied mildly, but only finished fourth (of course, it was his first time racing on dirt - he's run on the grass up 'til now...). But a pair of long-shots fought bitterly for the first and second places, while the favored Rule finished third. Ice Box won the race by a short nose, at odds of 20 to 1, while Pleasant Prince (at 29 to 1) came in second. Ice Box was not really regarded as a contender, so trainer Nick Zito was nicely surprised. Enjoy your Sunday.