Ohio

It's 48 degrees outside and clouds are building to the west.  Lovey is sitting on the corner of the desk, looking out onto the patio.  Nedi is out there, hoping to sucker a squirrel into coming close, so he can give chase.  It was pretty calm out this morning when I visited Ooch, then walked Rosie and Remy, and then groomed Oly, Annie and Bentley.  I had to remove my outer coat before I started to groom the kids, as it was getting warmer outside.  So I had on my red polartec fleece jacket/sweater when I started on the kids using "the Furminator" to remove loose hair.  It's now a light tan color.  Tomorrow I'll wash and dry it separately from the rest of my gear.  All I need to do tomorrow is give Ooch his morning visit; when I return I plan on doing laundry and making meatballs.  The winds have picked up this afternoon, and there was a 50 mph gust about an hour ago.  We have high wind warnings go into effect tomorrow through Wednesday, so I'll stay inside as much as possible.
   I was really saddened to hear, see, and read about the shootings at the high school in Ohio this morning.  I guess I was lucky in that I went from kindergarten through my senior year with about 85 other kids that I had known for all that time.  Certain friendships still remain, and are very tightly locked - others, I can remember names and faces - but I cannot grasp the idea of wanting to shoot any of my fellow students, nor any of the teachers.  There were a great many circles of friendship, many which over-lapped.  But even in high school, in a graduating class of almost 400, I never felt so alone or isolated that I wanted to strike out at my fellows.  One of my friends committed suicide in 10th grade, and I was terribly shocked.  I hadn't realized how despondent he was over the loss of his grandmother, and his brothers and sisters were just as shocked.  -  But taking another's life... that is something I just can not connect with.  I was miserable during my junior and senior high school years, but I would never have dreamed of hurting other people, or any living thing.  I really am worried about the younger generation, as a whole, that America is raising; they seem to be so completely isolated and unable to reach out and contact anyone for help.  They are tuned in, plugged in, and completely isolated by all their wiring and micro chips. It's frightening.
  I did learn a couple of interesting things from a gardening and birding buddy of mine.  I have always put out my dryer lint and excess cat hair for the birds to line their nests with.  I was informed that dog hair, feathers, and excelsior packing was a wonderful thing to place out for birds to use.  I had no idea that cat hair and lint hold moisture inside the nest, which is just what the birds do not want.  At least I'm continuing to learn, and my brain isn't going totally stagnant!  And, having groomed the 3 big kids today, I placed all the dog hair in a net and hung it in the back of Ooch's yard, since his yard is designated a bird sanctuary....