Assorted Photos

Moss/algae growth in a marsh

White squirrel

Three mountain lion cubs on a porch in Boulder

Vulturine guinea hen

Buddies

Fox on Assateague beach

New species - red-headed opossum

Various Photos

View of road from top of Trollstigen Pass in Norway

Catnip?

Huppe fasciee

Chrysanthemum

Latte and herd, Assateague Island, Virginia

My Favorite Things

Horses and the West

Wildlife of all kinds

John Wayne movies

Cats and kittens

Chincoteague ponies

Reading good books - including Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

Animals

"What?  We're just playing..."

Try a Holstein engine warmer the next time it snows...

Swan on the Serpentine in Hyde Park, London

Mountain lion kittens in Wyoming

A red stag bellows a mating call in Scotland

Free Cat & Kitten Adoptions This Weekend

The Humane Society of Boulder Valley has 30 adult cats and 26 kittens available for Free Adoption on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday - June 28, 29, & 30.  This is the end of Adopt a Cat Month, and the Humane Society has had a sudden, but expected, wave of unwanted kittens.  All cats and kittens are available at no charge (unless you'd like to make a donation) - they have each been spayed or neutered, had a check-up from the veterinarian, and have had their first series of needed vaccinations, if a kitten, or are up to date on their shots if you choose an adult cat.  They also have been micro-chipped, so they can't be easily lost.  Please, if you have the love, time, space, and money necessary to adopt, please do adopt.  You'll have a friend for life.

Assorted Scenes

Is it time to get up, or time to go to bed?

 

A gull at sunset on Bodega Bay, California

 

Hummingbird on a thistle

 

Ice crystals in mares' tails cause rainbow clouds

 

More Mixed Friends

 

 

 

R-e-s-p-e-c-t

 

Cute Young Critters

 

 

 

 

Endangered Scottish Wild Cat/Kitten

 

 

 

 

Kittens

 

 

 

 

Odd Adoptions

Amanda adopted four puppies with her three kittens

 

Kittens were adopted by this maternal dog

 

This miniature Sika elk was adopted without question

 

This mother dog dearly loves its pot-bellied piglet

Please Do NOT Give A Pet as a Gift...

My cousin Sarah just brought up the fact that she is seeing a lot of advertisements trying to get people to purchase animals for another person as a Holiday gift. Both of us beg you NOT to do so.  A lot of people out there buy gifts for friends and acquaintances, and for those they would like to impress favorably.  The majority of people, and kids, in the world today want to choose their own pet. Kittens, puppies, baby bunnies, etc. all look cute and act cute when they are young, but they also entail a lot of work and money.  If you think someone would like a pet added to the family, first ask.  Second, propose to pay the adoption fee for any critter the giftee would like from any Humane Society, Rescue Group, or any animal aid society.  There are thousands of wonderful animals languishing in shelters around the world, and/or being euthanized on a daily basis because someone could no longer care for the, or no longer wanted them.  Many pets that are given as Holiday gifts - for Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, or Kwanzaa - end up at the animal shelter, on death row, for one reason or another.  And the reasons given are as numerous as the drops of water in all the oceans - someone in the household is allergic; food and/or veterinary care is too expensive; the new pet doesn't get along with older, established pets; the new owner says the new pet "just wasn't what he/she wanted;"  the puppy chews on things; the kitten climbs the curtains;  (I can continue ad infinitum) ....
Brand new pets are cute and cuddly and will usually be greeted with "ooohs" and "aaahs" of immediate appreciation.  Then reality sets in.  There are annual shots, spaying and neutering, training, licensing, food, kitty litter, toys, and all sorts of other expenses that raise their head.  If the new owner is conscientious, there is also the matter of time - one needs to bond with the new pet, and have the attachment grow.  With today's lifestyle, a lot of that is impossible.
Please, whatever you give as a Holiday gift, do NOT give a living creature.  Please ask the recipient prior to giving; and please adopt an animal from a shelter or rescue.  Don't be the cause of more suffering for the pets of our world!

Babies

I love kittens - especially those with speckled bellies

Puppies that are half Chinese Pug are smart and energetic

This Oldenburg filly is certainly full of energy!

101 Free Cats

The Boulder Valley Humane Society is inundated with cats and kittens.  Therefore, today through Sunday (Happy Mother's Day!) all cats 6 months or older are available for free adoption, and all kittens are available at half the usual cost.  The adoption means the cat or kitten has been spayed or neutered, has a micro-chip, has been checked by a veterinarian, and is up-to-date on vaccinations.  If you can afford the cost of up-keep, and have the space, time, and heart to take in a kit that needs a life-time home, please do so.
   In horse racing news, I'll Have Another is getting comfortable at Pimlico prior to the running of the Preakness on May 19th.  Union Rags is skipping the Preakness, as is third-place finisher Dullahan.  The slightly shorter course of the Preakness might be better for Bodemeister.  ....   Team Z announced on May 8 that an ultrasound has confirmed that Zenyatta is in foal to Tapit.  She, and her colt by Bernardini, continue to thrive.  ....  Black Caviar, the sensational Australian race mare, won her last race, and is now 20 for 20.  She is running again in the Goodwood Stakes, down under, on the 19th; then she will be heading for Royal Ascot, to run before the Queen.
    A cold front came through last night, and today's temperature is 30 degrees cooler than yesterday.  Yesterday, we were all in shorts and T-shirts, and sneakers or sandals.  Today, it was long pants, sweaters, raincoats and boots...  Weather in Colorado.  You never know what will happen next.

A Lazy Friday for Me

I have spent today idling about the apartment and at the public library.  When I got up, I checked my e-mail and found a message from Rosie and Remy's folks saying they were taking the red kids for a walk in the mountains this morning.  I admit I went back to bed for another 2 hours; then got up and answered the e-mail.  I loved and fed my kits, then wandered to the bakery and purchased an apricot danish for breakfast.  Got back home and let the kits outside to play.  But they wanted to stay near me, inside - so I sat on the sofa and read.  I went to the library at 10, when it opened, and came home with 11 new books to read.  I started to read one, and fell asleep, with Lovey in my lap and Nedi at my feet.  I didn't wake up again until almost 3 this afternoon, so I fixed scrambled eggs, toast, and sausage for an afternoon brunch.

I stopped by to fill Kathy in on some family things, but she was just too busy to have time to talk at Sunflower yesterday.  So I asked her to call me and came back home.  She called a little after 7, and I filled her in, and then went on to say that I was watching the British edition of Antiques Roadshow, and that I would highly recommend Person of Interest at 8 on CBS.  She watched  - and I was amazed when she called after the show to tell me how much she liked it.  We both missed the teaser for next week's episode because we were talking - but she hung up in time to see all of The Mentalist.  I watched a few minutes of it, then curled up with a book (and cats) in bed. 

And in Birmingham, England, a jury took five hours in deliberation to find a woman guilty of burglary.  The woman in question had separated from her husband three days previously. Her husband, John Hemming, a liberal Democrat MP, has had a relationship with Emily Cox, a researcher, since 2005.  Last September, closed circuit TV cameras show Christine Hemming crawling on her hands and knees below window sills at Emily Cox's home. She entered through the home's back door, and the CCTV cameras filmed her leaving  about three minutes later with a grey tabby kitten stashed under her arm.  Beauty, the kitten, has not been seen since. MP Hemming says that Twinkle, Beauty's brother still misses her, and searches the house several times daily, seeking his sister.  The accused says she has no idea how she came to be holding the kitten when she left.  She also said that she tried to place Beauty under and/or through the fence of a neighboring house when she realized she was carrying it.  Christine Hemming is now serving 5 years on a burglary sentence, for stealing the still-missing Beauty.