Adopt a Cat - And Fires & Flooding

Cats continue to be available for free adoption at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley though the end of August.  Any cat, aged 6 months or older, is available for adoption at no charge from HSBV - they currently have 80 cats in residence.  These kitties have been spayed or neutered, have all their vaccinations, have been checked out by a licensed veterinarian, and are micro-chipped for identification.  All you have to do is add a loving home with plenty of fresh water and food.  Believe me, the felines will love you forever for saving them.  Not only does HSBV have a surfeit of cats, the Pikes Peak Region of the Human Society has 50 cats that were saved from a hoarder two months ago, that are also ready for adoption.  If you have the money, time, space, and love available, please give one of these cats a good, new, loving, for ever home.  The cats available for adoption at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley may be seen on-line at: http://www.boulderhumane.org/animals/adoption/adopt_cats   The 127 cats available from the Pikes Peak Region may be viewed at: http://www.hsppr.org/cats   I have adopted cats and kittens of all ages throughout my life, and I have to say that they have all given me much more than I have ever given them.

We just can't seem to escape from fires and flooding out here in the West.  In nine western states, there are 95 wildfires burning - and that doesn't include Texas.  California is leading in today's number game, with 20 active wildfires; Idaho comes in second, with 19; and Colorado and Arizona are tied for third with a dozen each.  Utah and Montana each have seven wildfires burning, while Nevada, New Mexico and Wyoming each have six fires raging.  It's amazing we don't go up in smoke.  According to the InciWeb, at noon today, there were 893,390 acres ablaze in these nine states - that equals 1,395.92 square miles....  That's more than the size of the state of Rhode Island (1,214 square miles), and a little over half of the size of the state of Delaware (2,490 square miles).  It's kind of frightening.
   And, now, of course, Colorado is getting the summer monsoon rains - which we really need, don't get me wrong.  But they seem to be falling over areas that have been burned by wildfires over the past 24 months; not long, light rain showers, but real possum pounders that consist of large, heavy rain drops that strike the ground like strafing bullets from a Fokker airplane.  The grass and small undergrowth is just starting to take hold and send their roots deep - this rain drills down into the soil and lifts everything out.  And I do mean everything - young plants, trees, ashes from previous burns, mud, soil, clay, downed limbs, any detritus that can float - it's amazing.  I'm sure you've seen the videos of the mudslides and flash floods in Manitou Springs - that's a heavily traveled area, and, as such, people are there to document the cars sliding away in rivers of mud.  It's just plain old amazing....