Bits and Pieces

There are 26 new foals playing on Assateague - well, actually, 25, since Bat Girl and her colt are at the Carnival Grounds on Chincoteague, keeping Randy company.  Randy herself looks much better, and Bay Girl is also doing well with all the grass and hay.  Bay Girl was looking pretty poor after she foaled Friday, so she and the baby were moved to an area where they can be looked after.  We've lost one foal so far this year - not quite sure why, but Lady and Prince's chestnut foal did not survive it's first 36 hours.  Since Randy aborted after her quicksand ordeal, and both Wild Island Orchid and Surf Queen died while pregnant (also from being trapped in quicksand), we'll have a few fewer foals that usual this July.  And, since we have only 26 on the ground now, it seems that the majority of the foals purchased at the Auction on 26 July will need to have the owners return in October for a fall pick-up, since the foals will be too young to wean from their moms.

   I had to laugh at three teen-aged boys.  On Sunday, the three of them (two aged 15, and one 16) stole a Jeep in Aurora and drove it up to Boulder to buy a cheap cell phone. They had contacted the owner, and the boys and the man met at the Bustop, the bar and stripper club on North Broadway.  The man passed the phone into the Jeep for the boys to look at; and the boys decided to drive away without paying for the phone.  The phone owner threw himself into the open window, and was hanging there by his waist.  The driver kept the Jeep going, and the third boy pulled a pistol out and placed the barrel on the phone owner's head.  The driver looked over at the gun, and was so distracted he ran the Jeep into a parked RTD bus.  The boys all jumped out of the car and ran away, having pushed the cell phone owner out of the window and onto the ground.  Police caught all of the boys and also found the phone and unlicensed gun.  The phone owner was treated at the hospital for cuts, scrapes and bruises, and released.

  I was so very happy to see that Don Blankenship lost his race in West Virginia.  Felons should NOT be allowed to run for office, period.

  And, of course, the idiot in the White House has decided to back out of the Iran Nuclear Treaty, just as he said he would during his campaign for President.  A lot of past Presidential advisers believe that this will be the first misstep that starts our country into a slippery slide into a full-out war in the Middle East again - just like Iraq...  That orange-painted anus is doing everything he can to completely annihilate all the good things that Obama and Clinton worked so hard for.  - I am still amazed at his dismantling of the EPA; especially since it was formed by Nixon.

  And, suddenly, all this information regarding unusually large payments made to Michael Cohen, the personal counsel (attorney) for the Chief Chimpanzee, is appearing on the scene.  Four $50,000 payments from AT&T; $500,000 from Columbus Nova, an investment firm with close to ties to Russian oligarch Victor Vekselberg (who is a close associate of Vladimir Putin); four payments of $99,980 each from Novartis Investments S.A.R. L., a part of Novartis pharmaceuticals; and a $150,000 payment from Korea Aerospace, all were paid to Essential Consultants, the shell company that Michael Cohen owns.  All in all, over $4,400,000.00 have been paid into, and out of Essential Consultants between September 2016 and April of 2018.  And, don't forget that Michael Cohen is one of the  Finance Chairmen for the Republican National Committee....  What exactly was all that money for?  Why did it get paid into a shell company?  Where did it go?  What was it spent on?  Something seems rotten in this information....

A Windy Day

Here in Boulder, the wind started last night and continued throughout the day; winds blew between 25 and 40 mph, with gusts up to 70 mph. It made walking a chore. Add to that an accident in one of the local buses, and you've got a good idea of my day. I was on my way to walk the Irish kids: I took the Jump bus to the library and returned 4 books, then walked the 3 blocks to the bus station, and boarded the 204. The bus was parked in it's pick-up zone, with the engine turned off. Pete, the driver, waved me on and asked when I was baking more goodies for the drivers.... I answered as I sat down, and then Pete reached for the engine start button. Then the bus was nudged to the right. A new driver, on probation, did not turn wide enough from 14th Street onto Walnut. He clipped the left rear corner of the 204. It made a very small scratch on the rear of the bus that I was on, but the front of the other bus was crumpled, torn and broken. I know that today was the last day the new driver was employed by the First Transit company. Pete went into the bus station, as soon as he made sure all of the passengers were OK, and grabbed his supervisor. We had to wait until the next north-bound bus arrived to continue our travels. So Bill was my driver up to the Poplar stop... Pete was still filling out forms when we left, poor guy.
The kits have had a nice afternoon, and I enjoyed my short walks with Tessa and Lucy, and playing with Lyra, Dhisana and Lilly. With the wind so high, the Rs got a reprieve (as did I). ... Horse news.... It was confirmed this morning that the two horses who died in the Newbury walking ring died from electrocution. The electric cable has been turned off, disconnected, and physically removed from underneath the paddock. Racing will resume on Saturday. ... On the US Triple Crown trail, Tapizar is out with a chip in his knee; Boys at Toscanova has not been willing to run, and has been given a vacation at the farm. Uncle Mo is the current Derby favorite.