The Mayor of Talkeetna & A Great Horned Owl

An elderly mayor of a small town in Alaska went for a stroll late last Saturday night.  He had done it all of his life, and all of the local inhabitants (800) know and recognize him.  But sometime during the last hour of the last night of August, the Mayor was attacked by a loose dog.  There are leash laws within the community of Talkeetna; the dog should not have been at large and able to attack the Mayor.  The Mayor has yet to identify his toothsome mugger - he's in the hospital with a punctured lung, crushed sternum, and a five-inch long gash along his ribs.  In all probability, the the attacker will never be identified.  Why?  Because the Mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska is a 16-year-old orange tom cat named Stubbs (due to a very short rear appendage).  Shortly after his birth, the town was voting for a new Mayor (a purely honorary position in Talkeetna) and none of the candidates were particularly impressive.  A write-in campaign for Stubbs was initiated at the small general store that had adopted him.  Stubbs won, and has kept the Mayoral position ever since.  He has led an adventurous life - he still has BB pellets in his nether region after an encounter with two teenagers; he took a ride in the garbage truck and ended up out on the local rail road line; and, while he was investigating a deep fryer at a restaurant (luckily the fryer was turned off and cold) he ended up in the frying oil, and had to have several baths to remove the oil from his fur....   I say, "All hail, and all praise to Mayor Stubbs!  Long may he continue to govern his town!"

Mayor Stubbs recovering from Saturday night's attack

I was able to witness something that was wonderful yesterday evening - it gave me goose bumps and made me smile all evening.  As I was leaving Cooper, Lola, Pounce and Tipsy last night, I heard a group of magpies screaming and chattering furiously.  I turned to my left, where the noise was originating, and I asked aloud, "What's got you guys so stirred up?"  I had my answer within the next minute.  A very large great horned owl flew from a tree on the cul-de-sac, with a group of 20 or more magpies in pursuit.  I was standing in the center of the circular ending of the court, and the owl flew right over my head.  I was looking up, watching his flight, and felt the rush of air from his wings lift and move my hair.  It was a fantastic sight! (Luckily, he wasn't flying with his talons open, and also, luckily, he didn't poop on my face and open mouth!) The flock of magpies followed the owl to Nicodemus' house, where the owl perched on the bedroom gable, and seemed to peer down at me.  The magpies tried to sneak up behind the owl, singly, and the owl would suddenly rotate it's head about and look the magpie in the eye.  The magpie would then fly, and another would take its place.  I watched this show for about five minutes, and then hurried on to catch my bus and return to my kits at home.

Magpie beginning to haze a great horned owl

Great horned owl

Awwwww... And an "Oh, My!"

Found abandoned, burned, and covered in soot, a bobcat kitten rescued from a Northern California wildfire over the weekend is recuperating just fine at a South Lake Tahoe wildlife shelter, officials said on Wednesday.

Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care

Chips, the bobcat kitten, was rescued by firefighters patrolling the Chips Fire in Plumas National Forest in California. She's fattening up at a wildlife center, getting fed mouse meat.

The 4-week-old bobcat is “starting to feel better and wants to get out,” Cheryl Millham, executive director and co-founder of Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, told NBC News. “She’s sleeping and eating much better.”  Members from Northern California’s Mad River Hand Crew were patrolling the northern end of the 74,000-acre Chips Fire in Plumas National Forest on Saturday when they found the bobcat stumbling in the ashes, Millham said.  Crew superintendent Tad Hair spotted the animal, described as about the size of a domestic kitten, walking alone near a stump. The bobcat was walking in circles, barely able to hold herself up.

The kitten had suffered second-degree burns on her four paws. After seeing no signs of her mother, Hair decided to get her to a Sierraville, Calif., firefighter who transported her to Lake Tahoe, Millham said.  The wildlife center received the kitten, who was named Chips, on Saturday evening and started her rehabilitation. Chips will be sheltered throughout the winter at the center, where she will learn appropriate behaviors with other animals, Millham said. She's eating pulverized mouse and squirrel, and drinking formula.  "She will get well, heal up and be released into the wild when she is ready," probably when she is about 8 months, Millham said.  Chips is expected to gain 10 more pounds before her release into the wild. Her vision, which had been impaired by an infection from smoke and ash, is expected to heal, Millham said.

  Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care is a non-profit organization that helps injured and orphaned animals.

************** The mayor of the South Texas town of Hollywood Park has died after apparently being attacked by a 500-pound donkey on his ranch, officials said Wednesday.  The body of Mayor William "Bill" Bohlke, 65, was found Monday night during a search by Atascosa County Sheriff’s deputies and relatives, according to the sheriff’s office.  Chief Deputy David Soward told The Associated Press that Bohlke apparently was attacked on Monday morning by an aggressive male donkey on his ranch.  The Mayor went out to his ranch to takes photos of his prize heifers and check on all the stock.  A jenny was in season in an adjacent pasture, and the jack, known to be aggressive, attacked the Mayor.   -   My only (and truly awful) question is - was the Mayor a Democrat or a Republican?