This 'n' That Miscellany

The three-year-old colt (actually, he's a ridgling) Catholic Boy ran away from everyone in the Mid-Summer Derby - otherwise known as the Travers Stakes, run at 1 1/4 miles at Saratoga.  Bravazo, the D Wayne Lucas trainee, who ran in all three Triple Crown races, was coming up hard to finish in third place behind Mendelssohn finishing second.  It was a really great race.
 
The President is complaining because he Google-searched his own surname plus the news, and found that most of the news stories listed ran toward negativity about his leadership.  He is swearing that Google needs to be investigated because they only list "Fake news."   -  The man is an idiot.

There were voting primaries in Arizona and Florida yesterday.  I grinned when I saw that ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio finished last of three candidates where he ran.  I was very happy to see the ex-Mayor of Tallahassee, Andrew Gillum, won the Democratic Gubernatorial nomination. I could only sigh when I saw that DeSantis, the President's Republican pick, won that race.  DeSantis is such a suck-up to the man in the Oval Office - his advertisement for running was creepy, showing him reading a book supposedly written by the President to his son, and then helping his son build a wall of wood blocks, while chanting, "Build that wall!  Build that wall!  That's right, son, let's build that wall!"  And then his statement this morning, telling voter's not to "monkey up the election" by voting for Gillum, who is African-American.  That really set my teeth on edge.

I am still working on identifying a bunch of older photos of ponies that lived on Assateague Island - both in Maryland and Virginia.  Trying to match body markings on pintos is fairly easy - but when you're looking at anklets, socks and stockings when the ponies are either in sand, water, or grass and bushes can make it hard.  Most of the bays, chestnuts and sorrels on the north end of Assateague, in Maryland, have few distinguishing marks, and with the life in the wild, their coat colors can change dramatically between high summer and the dead of winter...  I've gotten half of the photos identified, but some of them are single "shots" and no other photos of that particular pony are posted elsewhere.  It's like working on  a family tree and/or a locked-door murder mystery.  Fun, but puzzling.

I've been reading quite a bit recently - still have five Tony Hillerman books to find and read to complete his series.  Then his daughter, Ann's, three books.  Have read about half of the C. J. Box books so far.  I've had several series recommended to me that are only available as electronic books that I have to download to my PC...  I might be tackling them soon - but I love to sprawl in my chair in the living room or on the balcony and read...  Being tied to the PC is not something I particularly want - and I positively hate reading on a tablet or Kindle or whatever...  I want a real book in my  hands.

I start eleven days of walks at 7:30 a.m. with the owner of 5 King Charles Cavalier Spaniels on Friday.  His wife is visiting family, and he needs help with the furry scurries.  On Labor Day, Monday, I start 3 to 5 weeks of cats, chickens and fish sitting while the owners go play in the Canadian Rockies...  They'll return when they feel like it, or the weather turns too cold.  That means fresh eggs on a daily basis and tons of fresh veggies and grapes from the garden, too. 

Snow and Books

So after more than fourteen hours of snow fall, the sun is shining, and most of the sky is bright blue.  But it's 23 degrees outside - not the 80 degrees we had two days ago.  There is snow on our balcony, and on top of Bertrando's telephone pole.  The parking lot and street are almost entirely clear of snow.  There is a small amount of snow scattered across the grasses and bushes  in the little area between our apartment and the restaurant next door, but the community building across the creek looks to have two to three inches of snow on their large yard.
   I had to turn the heat on this morning when I got up.  We'd had the air conditioning turned on Wednesday, but my legs were chilly under my blanket when I awoke this morning, so I turned the heat on.  We have eight biscuits left from last night, and a large amount of soup - that's all in the refrigerator at the moment.  And I had two raspberry muffins for breakfast today - yum!  Waiting to hear from various clients as to whether they want their dogs walked today...  I'm very happy to do so, but a few will want their dogs to stay home because of the cold, and a few because of the snow and ice on the ground.  Winter day walks are always a toss-up.
   I finished reading The Rest I Shall Kill, a very good, but incomplete, biography of William Tillman.  It's incomplete because we really have no history of the man before the incident that made him a "Northern hero," and because, like today's 15 minutes of fame, he disappeared into obscurity a month or so later.  It's really a shame that a man can have so little known about him, even after he's been acclaimed a hero of the Civil War.  -  I also just finished reading the new Jack Reacher novel,Night School, by Lee Child.  I also find it funny that Lee Child, an Englishman, is the author of a series of books that introduce and maintain the idea of the iconic American ex-GI....  But I thoroughly enjoy each and every one of them!
    Going back to read a few more Eight Countries books by Elizabeth Moon that I haven't seen before...  Should be a snug reading and sewing weekend.

Odds and Ends

We're half-way through February in a new year, Thoroughbred foals are being born all over the country, horse racing enthusiasts are starting to talk about the Kentucky Derby and the Triple Crown in the United States, and the British Triple Crown in the United Kingdom.  I am looking forward to Saturday, the 20th, when Ziconic will make his racing debut.  Unlike his elder brother, Cozmic One, Ziconic seems to realize that racing, and going under the wire first, is the name of the game in his current life.  Cozmic One, the oldest son of Zenyatta (by Bernardini), has raced twice but not with his Mom's need to win.  In his first race, he finished last in a field of six; in his second race, he was seventh of nine contenders.  Cozmic One doesn't seem to be able to focus on his job.  Ziconic, the younger brother, by Tapit, seems to enjoy racing much more.  I'm looking forward to his race on Saturday.   Zenyatta, herself, is due some time in March with a second foal by War Front.  This foal is eagerly awaited, as her last foal (also by War Front) died from injuries in a paddock accident.  I hope her progeny can continue her winning ways.
   One of my four granddaughters, a pre-teen, has just won the National Cheerleading Team title with her squad.   She is certainly making her parents and grandparents proud.  I only wish my husband could be here to express his encouragement to her and the other participants.
   I can start collecting my retirement pay from working at Shands Teaching Hospital at the University of Florida in a few months.  They have given me the choice of a lump-sum payment, or a monthly stipend for the rest of my life.  The lump-sum payment is enticing, but I'd lose 30% of it due to federal taxes, and then there are state taxes, too.  I'm pretty sure I'll choose the monthly stipend over the lump-sum.
   I had to laugh this morning - I have on my calendar that, beginning tomorrow, I walk the DD dogs every morning for at least an hour.  Another woman is house-sitting, but she is recovering from a back and hip injury, so I'm to walk two of the dogs while she walks one.  I sent an e-mail to both the dog owners and to the house-sitter earlier today, asking for confirmation that the trip was still going to be taken, and stating the dates.  I also asked the house-sitter at what time she wished to walk the dogs each morning.  The house-sitter called me back, almost immediately, and said she'd visited the people and critters (3 dogs, 1 cat) yesterday, and that I had the dates wrong.  The family was returning on the 25th, not the 23rd...  I read her my three letters from the owner, which designated the dates each time - she looked her original contact notes and found she'd made a mistake - I was correct.  Then she asked if I could meet her to walk the dogs at 7 each morning, in order to avoid the middle school students.  I told her that I could, but that I would have to arrive later on the weekend days.  She asked why, and I told her the first buses that ran by my house on the weekend came by at 7:30 - there was an earlier one, but it heads east, while the dogs' home is west of me.  She was completely taken aback by the fact that I don't have a car.  She wanted to know how I got around, and I told her, by bus or by foot.  She was also amazed that I don't own a smart phone....
    I guess I live to the beat of a different drummer in more ways than one.

Olinguitos ... And Rosie's Pride

The last few days, I've changed the walking areas where I've taken Rosie out each morning.  At first, she wants to go in her usual direction, and looks at me questioningly - then she gets into the spirit of "exploring" and wags and prances wherever we go.  We're not really exploring, we're just walking in places that we haven't walked for over two years, since Remy started declining in health - but Rosie thinks they are all new, especially since there are new and exciting scents to explore.  We're also running into different people with a whole new set of dogs.  Yesterday, Rosie garnered four "beautiful!" comments and one "gorgeous!" - you could almost see her expand with pride at the sound of admiring voices.  She finished her walk with both her head and tail held high - and I'm very happy I decided to change our walking routes.
  The Smithsonian Institute has announced the discovery of a new type of mammal, native to the forest canopy of the Ecuadorean Andes.  They say it looks like a cross between a house cat and a teddy bear with a bit of monkey and raccoon thrown into the mix...   What do you think?  Here is the olinguito:

They are from the same order as civets, cats,  bears, and hyenas.  They are thought to have been originally carnivorous, but are now frugivores, eating fruits,small birds, lizards and insects.