Miscellany

Colorado's primary voting concluded on Tuesday - and we're still awaiting a winner in one race, the Democratic pick for the Attorney General's office.  Late last night there were still 50,000 votes that needed to be hand checked and verified, and there was about a 9,000 vote difference between the two men.  Phil Weiser is currently in the lead, while the candidate I favor, Joe Salazar,  is not yet willing to concede.  I hope that Joe prevails, even if there must be a re-count.  In any event, I will be supporting the Democratic ticket and not the Republican one.

   We have had sixty-one foals born so far in the Virginia Chincoteague pony herd on the southern end of Assateague.  We have had two deaths of foals, the first due to unknown causes on Assateague, and the second was due to "failure to thrive."  Then there is the mystery foal - he became separated from his Mom before he was a day old, and tried to attach himself to a mare who was still pregnant.  He has been adopted by Bay Girl, who lost her foal. -  So, 59 babies so far will be available at the Pony Auction on 26 July, and there are quite a few mares that are still pregnant.

   Today is supposed to be the hottest day of the year so far in Boulder - and, currently, the humidity is also high - for Boulder.  Currently, the temperature is 80, with a high forecast of 102, and the humidity is 40%.  At this time of year, the humidity is usually 7 to 12%, and you don't realize you're sweating because your sweat evaporates immediately...

   My sister attended her 50th High School Reunion in Gainesville, Florida this past weekend, and had a blast reconnecting with her school buddies and old friends.  She was amazed by how much the city has changed and sprawled outward in so many directions.  And she was able to visit the house we lived in from 1960 through 1982, plus the Devil's Millhopper and Payne's Prairie State Park.  She returned to Boulder quite happy with her adventure.

  I am still learning all the new tricks I can with my new camera - besides still shots, it also doubles as a digital video recorder.  I'm afraid my hands aren't quite steady enough for filming any longer, and I'll need to invest in a tripod - I loaned my good tripod to my son 25 years ago and haven't seen it since...

   The Colorado voting race for the Governor will be interesting.  The Republicans chose Walker Stapleton, while the Democrats chose US Representative Jared Polis.  We'll have to see whom other parties choose to run.  Our current Governor, John Hickenlooper, is term-limited and cannot run again this year.  Once Polis and Stapleton were declared winners of their respective primaries, verbal barbs were again in use:  "On almost every question before us in this election... Walker Stapleton comes out on the wrong side and the people of Colorado know that," Polis said in his victory speech, mentioning health care, immigration, and honesty as his rival's faults. - In his victory speech, Stapleton blasted Polis for supporting tax hikes and "a government takeover of your health care. ... The choices could not be clearer; the difference could not be more stark."
   Walker Stapleton is serving his second term as Colorado State Treasurer and is a relative of the Bush family.  (His mother is first cousin to President George H. W. Bush.) His family has been active in Colorado since the early 1900s, and his great-grandfather Benjamin F Stapleton (a very proud member of the Ku Klux Klan) was the mayor of Denver.  Walker grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut and attended the private Brunswick School. He graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts, received a graduate degree in business economics from the London School of Economics, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.  He is the son of US diplomat Craig Roberts Stapleton.  He is married and has three children, and is 44 years of age.  He is trying to become only the second Republican elected governor in 44 years, and has aligned himself with noted Republican firebrands.
   Jared Polis is a five-term Boulder Congressman, and if he wins the Governor's seat in November, will be the nation's first openly gay man elected to a Governorship.  His parents, whose surname is Schutz, started Blue Mountain Publishing Company, printing greeting cards and books.  In 2000, Jared legally changed his name to use his mother's surname, in part to raise public awareness for a fund-raiser, and because he simply "liked it better." Polis lived in San Diego, California during his high school years, and graduated from La Jolla Country Day School in three years with multiple honors.  He received his BA in politics from Princeton University. He has started and sold several businesses, served on the Colorado State Board of Education, is a well known philanthropist, and is one of the ten richest men serving in Congress. He has a partner of many years and two adopted children.  He refuses PAC money for his campaigns.

Miscellaneous Photos

Goldfinch

Rift Valley, Kenya - broken dam/levee

Kileauea's lava on Hawaii

Townsend's big-eared bat - Colorado native

Justify during a gallop on 10 May

John McCain returning from 5 years of capitivity

Representative Jared Polis and his partner, Marlon Reis

This and That...

While sitting and working at my computer yesterday evening, I saw two bats fly by; and this morning, I saw the first goldfinches of the season.  And I just had an immature house finch alight on the balcony railing, and inspect my desk and me through the window.  It was very  curious, and kept tilting it's head from side to side, while chewing on a pumpkin seed that was larger than it's bill.  And there are now 31 foals kicking up their heels on the southern end of Assateague.  - Today, if I were in Scotland, I'd say it was a soft day - overcast with a misty drizzle.
 
  I realize that it's the normal course of Mother Nature and our Earth, but I'm appalled by the loss of life in the Rift Valley in Kenya.  They had over a year of drought, and now have had two months of torrential rains.  The majority of jobs and industries there are agricultural, and owners build reservoirs on top of hills.  With the rains, the walls are breaking, sending floods down through the homes built below them.  More than 157 people have died in the last month, either drowned or buried in mud.
  Then, of course, there's the eruption of Kilauea on the big island of Hawaii, that began on 3 May.  More than 15 volcanic vents have opened around the caldera, spewing lava and toxic gases.  The latest warning say a large eruption could toss boulders as large as 10 tons in almost any direction, should there be an explosion within the caldera.

   After all the crap coming from the White House since the last inauguration, I should not have been surprised or upset by the latest leak of information from a staff meeting held "behind closed doors."  I'll be honest and say that I have rarely agreed with Senator John McCain's stance in politics.  However, the man was a pilot in the Viet Nam War; his plane was shot down; and he was held prisoner in Hanoi for 5 years.  He was a physical wreck when he returned home after his ordeal.  But to have a White House staff member say that the Senator's opposition to the appointment of Gina Haspel to lead the CIA, "...doesn't matter; he's dying anyway" is disgusting.  Special assistant Terry Sadler now claims that she said that as a joke, just as 45 always claims his disparaging remarks are jokes.  Because a Senator is fighting brain cancer is no reason for Cadet Captain BoneSpurs and his chosen few to disparage an American hero.

  Thoroughbred trainers are still deciding whether or not they'll have an entry in next Saturday's Preakness Stakes at Pimlico, outside of Baltimore, Maryland.  Justify, the colt who won the Kentucky Derby, has already had a 1 and 1/2 mile gallop over the track there.  Justify's regular jockey, Mike Smith, has received a 4 day suspension from the stewards at Santa Anita in California.  His mount, under a right-handed whip, drifted to the left and interfered with Kent Desormeaux's mount.  Smith's suspension will not affect his ride on Justify in the Preakness.

  And I am throwing my complete support behind Jared Polis in his run for Governor of Colorado.  Jared is a local from Boulder; he is gay, and he and his partner have adopted three children.  I firmly stand behind all that Jared represents as a father and as a legislator, as he is currently serving in the United States House of Representatives, serving the Second Congressional District.  He is also an entrepreneur and philanthropist.  -  And I laughed out loud at one of his tweets this morning:  You know you're living in the 21st century when your inbox contains an announcement about a "DNA Sale!" announcement for Mother's Day. Call me old-fashioned, but I'm getting Mom some beautiful flowers...

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Bits and Pieces

It's nearly noon on Wednesday and the parking lot is almost dry after we had 8.2 inches of snow fall in the last 24 hours.  The sun is shining brightly, and the temperature is up to 45 degrees (F).  I had to scrape 2 inches of frozen ice and snow off the windshield this morning to head for the library, bank, and grocery store, but it came off easily.  I am so lucky that Donn loans me his vehicle while he's in California, Texas and/or Mexico.  It's pretty nice to have a 4-year-old SUV - a VW Touareg - to get my stuff done in - and all I have to do is pay for the fuel I use, and, occasionally, replace the wiper blades...  Donn takes care of everything else, and recently he's been gone for stretches of 4 weeks at a time.  Unfortunately, I am getting very used to having the convenience of a car at my disposal.
   Our raven family hadn't visited the dumpsters next door for three or four weeks, and we were getting worried about them.  They returned this morning and had good breakfasts from Chez Thuy...  Beatrice and I went to Sam's Club and stocked up on nuts, so Bertrando and his gang of squirrels won't go hungry.  And the finches and sparrows are having a ball at the tree feeders, along with the small feeder and water bowl on the balcony.
    It's normal Colorado weather, but it seems really strange to have 8 inches of snow on Tuesday, then temperatures in the 60s and 70s Thursday through Saturday.  We're both getting tired of Boulder, so we'll probably take a day trip out and about - either over the Divide, down south to Manitou Springs, or out to the eastern plains - we need a change of scene.  I'd like to go to Grand Junction, Hanging Lake and Steamboat Springs - but right now we'd have to take I-70 west, and I'd rather not do that, which means waiting until June or so.
    Beatrice and I are going to a Town Hall Meeting with Jared Polis, our Representative in the House on Friday evening.  We have to get there 30 minutes before it begins to get through security - but at least it's nearby, on the CU Campus.  I'm not sure whether either of us will speak, but we are attending.  I loved seeing the news headlines this morning that Bannon is off the National Security Council.  That bigot  had no reason to be on the council in the first place - and I laughed hysterically when a source said that he'd been placed there by 45 to "watch over Mike Flynn's dealings."  As if that did any good...
     We ate at the Cheesecake Factory on Monday night - was stuffed to the gills, and brought home enough for two more meals...  Delicious!
    And - if you're in New York, or nearby, please go see a play that will open on Broadway, in the Cort Theatre, on April 18.  The play is titled Indecent - and it's an incredible musical ...   I give it a High Five in voting ranks!!!  Go - see it - you will never regret it!