Pets, Photos, and Tunkan Hoksila

It's been a busy day, and this is my first chance to sit down and blog...  There were a lot of small planes in the skies today, which meant that Cooper had to chase them all - as far as he could see and hear them in the fenced back yard.  Even Lola, his cohort in crime, got tired of bolting from the living room, charging onto the deck and then leaping out into space to hit the ground running - and come face-to-face with a six-foot solid board fence...Both Pounce and Tipsi, the two cats, were bored with the commotions after only an hour.  They would heave huge sighs each time the dogs charged out to chase the plane...  Lola doesn't do it on her own - she just goes to back up Cooper.  She pooped out this afternoon, and Cooper was plane chasing on his own....   Dogs - they are forever hopeful.
   Walked both Rosie and Charlie this morning.  Rosie is doing great for a big dog who's almost 14 and a half years old.  Her hind legs still give her trouble, and will, for the rest of her life, but otherwise, she's in great health. Eats well, has an interest in what's happening around her, is very sociable - she's just not steady on her feet any longer...  Charlie is a handful.  She's part Pug, and I'd swear the other half is whippet.  She has, almost, a Pug's face - but definitely has the head, neck, chest, back and tail of a large Pug.  Then she has these really thin, long, stilt-like legs...  She's an orange and brown brindle, and is cute as a bug.  Bouncy, happy, always eager to go - and she loves her toys.
    Finally finished cropping and captioning all eleven albums - 1,544 photos - from my vacation.  I am so glad that is over!  I feel I can relax again, now that that "job" is done.  I hate finding photos and not being able to remember when, or where, I took them.  I have to admit that I like the Snapfish albums, and the ability they give one to crop the photos and to caption them...  I thought I had taken about 1,500 photos all together.  I was wrong.  I took over 1,800, and then friends shared their photos from different perspectives with me.  I've weeded these 1,544 photos out of over 3,000 photos...  I'll start sharing a few of the best of the best here on this page soon.
   One really awful thing happened on Assateague Island while I was on the Eastern Shore for my vacation.  On Friday, the 29th of July, after night had fallen, there was a hit-and-run accident with a car or truck that ended in death.  One of the stallions on the Maryland end of Assateague was struck by a vehicle.  The impact crushed both of the horse's hind legs, and threw him into a ditch beside the road.  Tunkan Hoksila did not die immediately - he lived for another two hours, or more, awaiting a licensed veterinarian to assess the damage to his body, and then be euthanized.  Since it was obviously a vehicular accident, the Maryland State Patrol and the US Park Service were involved in the investigation.  Several campers were also there on the scene.  Poor Tunkan Hoksila!

And he would have had a chance to sire foals in the near future, too.  Now his bloodline won't be continued.  Three colts, all sired by Yankee, had been born so far this year on the Maryland end of Assateague.  The day after Tunkan Hoksila died, the final expectant mare gave birth to a filly (also sired by Yankee)....   The circle of life does continue.