Here and There

I know that I have been well-trained by "my pets."  They cry, I wake up.  They walk across me, I wake up.  If the weather is nice, they go to the balcony door and I open it for them; when they come back inside, I close the door behind them.  Our first apartment in Boulder faced east, and since the east wall was 80% glass, the cats awoke with the sun.  That meant that I awoke then, also.  We've been in the new apartment 22 months; the windows face west and south, but the cats (and I) still get up at daybreak.
  My roommate, Beatrice, grew up with dogs, not cats.  She has always been a night owl, sleeping in until 10 a.m. or noon.  She moved in 21 months ago - and she is now an early riser - thanks to my cats.  Nedi has decided that "Auntie Bea" is his person.  He sings to her when he believes she should get up in the morning, and, should she close her bedroom and/or bathroom door, for any reason, she will receive an operatic comment.  I awoke at 6:05 this morning; Nedi went into Bea's room and sang her awake at 6:25.  I had already opened the balcony curtains and blinds, fed the cats, and cleaned the litter boxes.  Nedi, however, wanted Beatrice out in the living room, where she would praise, pet and scratch him.  She has learned that he is extremely persistent.  She is now an early riser, too.
   The last word I got from Chincoteague is that there were twelve foals on Assateague - but two of them have yet to be photographed.  Reports are that May's Grand Slam and Dream Catcher have foaled on the north end of the island, but no photos as yet.
   This Saturday is another planned March against 45 - this one is to raise awareness of, and support for the scientists who believe in the evidence of, Climate Change.  So far, the Marches in Denver have had pretty good weather - cold or warm - but the current forecast for this Saturday is for snow.
   In the years since Franklin Delano Roosevelt made his Fireside Chat radio broadcast regarding his "first hundred days in office" Presidents of the United States have been graded, fairly or not, on their individual achievements since then.  FDR had introduced and pushed through the New Deal, Social Security, and the WPA.  The circus peanut, so far, has signed a bunch of executive orders and is dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency.  More than 80% of appointed positions remain unfilled.  He hasn't held up his end of his campaign promises.  He reeks of lies and under-the-table payments.  He needs to be booted out the White House and Washington.
   In the Kentucky Derby, less than two weeks away, one of the thoroughbred racing prognosticators has said that the following horses make up his "Derby dozen favorites:"  Always Dreaming, Irish War Cry, Gunnevera, Classic Empire, McCraken, J Boys Echo, Hence, Practical Joke, Girvin, Gormley, Battalion Runner, and Irap.
   I hope the rest of your week is great!