Working Here, Working There

Heaven in Colorado - three college football games on television; the the Gators and the Gamecocks kick off at 5 and 5:30, so I'll be switching channels like mad for a little while....  The Buffs, here in Boulder, are playing at home, against the University of Massachusetts. I want to watch the game, and I don't want to watch the game.  Twenty-five years ago the CU Buffs were the best team in the nation; now, we're lucky to win three games a season. Oh well, not everyone can be a Gator.
   I've taken care of my kits and done the Saturday house-cleaning.  I've gone to Lynn's house, fed all of her critters,taken in the mail and newspaper, and watered all the exterior plants.  I've gone grocery shopping.  I did laundry yesterday.  My one objective for today is to seek and find the dUSB cable for my camera.  I will accomplish this one task.
   Waiting for client checks to arrive - can't get my meds until the checks are in the bank.  When the MD used to write the prescriptions for one month at a time, I had no problem having the $15 co-pay; now that the meds are being dispensed for a 3 month period, I have to shell out $68 for them...  So, it's a waiting game.  The pharmacy has called twice to tell me the drugs are ready, but I can't pay for them...  I will be able to pay for them tonight, as Beatrice will pay me some of her rent money when she returns home form work.  I just hope the pharmacy is open late tonight.
   I wired my red crab to the outside of our balcony yesterday afternoon.  So far, only Bea and Mike have commented on it.  Nedi is thoroughly enjoying himself, as Beatrice is allowing him out on the balcony while I'm away.  Both kits enjoy sitting on the balcony, especially after being indoor/outdoor cats at the other apartment.  The only worry I have here is high traffic levels and lots of loud, unexpected noises that startle the kits - so they are restricted to our second floor balcony and the interior of the apartment.

Goodbye, Bear.... and Football

I hate to report this, but the young black bear that I met pretty much face-to-face last Friday is dead.  She kept hanging around the neighborhood and several families to the west of our subdivision were frightened by her.  The Department of Wildlife came out and shot her with a tranquilizer dart - but she reacted energetically and broke through the circle of observers.  They lost track of her.  Thirty minutes later, she was found, dead, in a drainage ditch.  The tranquilizer had kicked in and she had gone to sleep - in the bottom of a drainage ditch with four inches of water in it.  She went to sleep, her head fell under the water, and she drowned.  The necropsy showed that she was about two years old, weighed 115 pounds, and had not yet had any cubs.  At least her accidental death did not mean the starvation of cubs, also.  It just goes to show that sometimes, even with good intentions, bad things can happen.  If the tranquilization and capture had gone as planned, she would have been released in the middle of a National Forest, with no human habitations within 10 miles of her.  It's sad.

Once I finish my blog entries for today, I am going to open all my move-in boxes and find my dUSB cord for my camera.  I still haven't looked at the photos I took while in Virginia and Maryland.  I've been busy, but not that busy, and I'm kind of disgusted with myself for letting it go for so long.  

   At least my college football season got off to a good start yesterday.  Even though it wasn't a "pretty" win, the South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels, to get me and Coach Spurrier on a winning streak.  Following that game, both the Broncos and the Eagles lost their final pre-season games.  It looks as if I'll be following two pro teams this year - the local Denver Broncos, and, since it looks like Tim Tebow will be on the Eagles' roster, I'll have to tune in for their games, as well.  And, today, the Eagles traded the other quarterback that was battling with Tebow for a spot on the team.  I very rarely positively like a professional quarterback - but I'm all for both Tim Tebow and Peyton Manning.

Warmth and Football

Boulder has just seen two days with the high temperatures 20 degrees warmer than normal - we've been in the low 80s instead of the low 60s.  We had a temperature of 70 degrees at 9 this morning - but our high temp tomorrow is expected to be 52, the Monday night's low around freezing.  Yuck.  Our plants don't know what to do - there are daffodils and iris getting ready to bloom.  Brother-in-law Jim is still gathering 5 pints of ripe raspberries every afternoon (and that's after I eat them off the canes for breakfast each weekday).  Lovey and Nedi have been enjoying the sunshine and warmth - and the squirrels are getting quite plump.  Lovey is sprawled across the foot of my bed at the moment, while Nedi is stretched out on the patio, absorbing the sun's rays.
   Yesterday was Homecoming for the CU Buffs here in Boulder - and they had to play UCLA.  I have to admit that I expected a blow-out by UCLA - but the game went to two over times, and CU lost by a field goal.  I had much higher hopes for the South Carolina Gamecocks playing at Auburn - even though SC hadn't won at Jordan-Hare Stadium, ever.  And the Gamecocks scored first!  The only problem was that two of Dylan Thompson's passes were intercepted - the last one in the end zone that would have tied the scores at 42.  There was less than a minute left, and Auburn kept running the ball, making sure that the Gamecocks couldn't get the pigskin in their hands....  *Sigh*  It would have been wonderful if Steve Spurrier could have won that game!  Thankfully, the Gators had a bye, and so I didn't have to watch their inept efforts.  I don't think Will Muschamp will be the head coach next year...
  I'm starting to get excited about the Breeders Cup races at the end of this week.  As soon as the entries and fields are known, I'll be commenting on them.

Weather, Football, Child Abuse

There was an interesting view on the way back from the bakery this morning - pale blue sky with orange clouds almost straight above me, but to the west a haze was hanging over the far peaks.  I could see snow on the top of Green Mountain and Flagstaff; the Indian Peaks were white, but with the haze, it was hard to tell where the mountains and sky parted ways; to the northwest, Mount Audubon was invisible in the haze - or were they clouds? ....  Yesterday was very windy here - winds steady between 20 and 40 mph, with gusts up to 92 mph.  This morning we seem to be leveled out at 20 mph - cold and crisp, with clouds moving to the south at a good clip.
   Boulder celebrated last night - the CU Buffs won a home football game, beating the U of California Golden Bears 41 to 24.  I have to admit I was listening to the crowd in the stadium a block away, but I was watching the Florida Gators - South Carolina Gamecocks game on the television.  I'm a Gator; but I dearly love Steve Spurrier and his team, too.  The Gators have been pretty awful this year - but they have a legitimate excuse, being decimated by season-ending injuries to their starting players.  The Gators had lost the last four games, and the last time they lost 5 games in a row was in 1979 (which I remember) under head coach Charley Pell, who had replaced Doug Dickey...  If the Gamecocks beat the Gators, and if Missouri lost one of their two next games, then the Gamecocks would be in the SEC playoffs.  If the Gators won, neither they nor the Gamecocks would be in the play-offs for the SEC Championship.  I was rooting for the Gamecocks.  I must say I was highly impressed by the first-time starting quarterback for Florida - Skylar Mornhinweg.  He kept his cool, he became more sure of himself with each play, and he made no mistakes until he made a big one late in the fourth quarter.  Overall, his first game was awesome.  I also enjoyed seeing the Gamecocks kicker, Elliot Fry, a 150 pound six-foot string bean, who made 4 of 5 field goals, as well as kicking the PATs.  The Gamecocks won, 19 to 14.  And I'll definitely be watching the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs tonight - the best NFL offense against the best NFL defense.  (Go Broncos!)
   I am, finally, puzzled and outraged by what was found in North Carolina yesterday.  A Sheriff's Deputy had been dispatched in Union County to check out the report of a loose pig on someone's property.  The Deputy found an 11-year-old boy, handcuffed to a porch railing, with a dead chicken around his neck.  The temperatures were frigid, and the boy was shivering with cold, wearing jeans and a T-shirt.  The Deputy knocked on the front door, and was chased by several aggressive dogs back to his car.  He called for back up.  While awaiting assistance, and with the dogs still growling and barking at the cruiser, a man came onto the porch, unlocked the handcuffs and took the boy inside. When back-up officers arrived, the dogs were caught, and the Deputy went to the door.  The 11-year-old was a foster child, and there were four other children inside the house.  The man was a registered nurse at the local emergency room; he and his wife had fostered and then adopted the four other children.  The 11-year-old was a "new" foster child.  The shocking detail was that the mother-wife of the pair was the head of the Union County Social Services!  Both adults are under arrest; all the children are back under the auspices of the County's Social Services, and the woman has been stripped of her job.  -  There is still no word as to why the boy was outside in freezing weather, hand-cuffed to a porch rail, with a dead chicken around his neck...   What were these people thinking - or even doing - how did they get custody of these children?   Heaven help us.
 

Sporadic Blogging

Well. Kathy and Jim have made their escape off into the wilds of Washington state - making a road trip, just for the fun of it.  I'll be staying at their house, without internet access, and without cable or satellite television, which means I can watch ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, or a religious network.   I've gotten spoiled with my satellite dish and internet access here at home.  I'll be home for only a few hours each day, so don't be surprised if my blogging becomes very spotty until the 18th of September.  - I'll probably move Lovey and Nedi in with Boo and I, as they get along well.
    Last night was the "big match up" game to begin the NFL season.  It was played in Denver, and the Baltimore Ravens, the Superbowl Champions from last season, faced the Denver Broncos.  There was a heavy rainstorm, and the kick off was delayed due to fears of lightning for 35 minutes.  The Broncos won the game, with a score of 49 to 27.  Peyton Manning threw for all 7 touchdowns for the Broncos. -  But the funny thing was the article in The Columbus Dispatch that stated that John Elway threw for 7 TDs; the lead paragraph states that it was Peyton Manning, but the following paragraphs, as well as the headline, state it was Elway.  What a hoot!

At least I can get my fill of college football tomorrow - first the Gators play, then the Gamecocks play, and tomorrow evening is the first home game for the Colorado Buffaloes - one long block from my apartment!