Support Our Youth

We continued to have occasional snow flurries throughout the day yesterday, and it didn't get much warmer than 28 degrees.  We are supposed to have a high in the low 50s today - and it was already 30 degrees at 8 o'clock this morning.  The forecast also says we'll get another 2 to 3 inches of snow tomorrow, so I guess I'd better get some more nuts for the squirrels this afternoon.  I let the kits run out this morning, and was very surprised when they were chased back inside by a large (50 to 75 pounds) black dog.  The dog tried to come inside, and I had to yell at it to get it to stop.  Since then, Lovey has been playing sentinel on the top of the cat tree, and poor Nedi crawled under the cover on the reading chair and is curled up asleep in the seat. I also found two large piles of dog poop on my patio, so I am not a very happy camper today.  -  I completely understand that dogs have a tendency to chase cats they don't know;  I'm unhappy about my patio being used as a toilet.  I will suppose that the dog that chased the cats is the same one that pooped on the patio, and also barked at me when I looked out of the curtains last night, when I arrived home.  I've sent a note to the apartment manager asking if he knows anything about the dog...  I have the feeling it belongs to the girlfriend of one of two neighbors.
  Now that I've gotten my morning snarl off my chest, I wanted to list a few URLs that might be of interest to people who love animals...  If you have children and want them to learn about animals and their care, I suggest you contact your local 4-H office (http://www.4-h.org/) and discover what programs are available in your area; the same suggestion goes for the Future Farmers of America Organization (https://www.ffa.org/Pages/default.aspx).  I belonged to both of these organizations (as well as the Brownies and Girl Scouts) and can say that I learned a heck of a lot about all types of animals and the the incredibly hard work that goes into being a farmer.
  If you'd like information about dog shows (purebred) in Colorado, please visit:  http://www.infodog.com/panels/co.htm
   For information regarding cat shows, there are two places to check:  http://www.catshows.us/   and   http://ticamembers.org/calendar/
   For local horse show information, check:  http://www.horsestop.net/shows.htm
And don't forget that both County and State Fairs usually include livestock judging, pet shows, and horse shows....
   Look them up, visit them, and support our youth that are interested in farming, livestock, horses and all types of animals!

National Western Stock Show, Broncos, & Suing Nike

The Denver National Western Stock Show opened to the public yesterday, and had over 44,000 visitors go through the gates.  It was the second-largest number of folks to visit on opening day since the Stock Show history began, 107 years ago.  There are all kinds of things that can be seen at the stock show - it's an agricultural show, and just about every kind of farm animal possible (from chickens to yaks) have judging contests; there are different types of horse shows, mule shows, donkey shows, and draft horse shows.  You can see Grand Prix Show Jumping; the rodeos - Colorado versus the World, Mexican International Rodeo, the MLK African-American Heritage Rodeo, the Wear Pink Rodeo; the Colorado Fiddle Championship; the Coors Western Art Show; Stock Dog trials; and a Wild West Show,  to name a few.  There are a lot of interactive activities for youngsters, and multiple stock sales - horses, cattle, goats, sheep, llamas and alpacas, swine, yaks and all types of fowl.  There is a daily entrance fee, higher on the weekend than on weekdays; the last day the adult entrance fee is $10 per person, but on Tuesday, 21 January, admission is totally free.
  Today, Denver is awash with Broncos and San Diego Chargers fans.  All week, KUSA, our NBC affiliate, has been passing out "Clingy Thingees" - a clear, self-adhering sticker for windows (car or otherwise) that reads, "Broncos -  United in Orange - Time to Ride."  Actually, it's the Broncos logo, not the word; "United in Orange" is printed in orange; and "Time to Ride" is printed in blue.  I want one.  But you must travel into Denver to get one, so I'll have to do without...  The Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots won their NFL Playoff games yesterday.  Now the Broncos need to put Philip Rivers and the Chargers away this afternoon.  The game temperatures will be in the mid- to low-30s, and the wind will be swirling, with gusts up to 40 mph.  I'll be rooting for the guys in orange and blue!
  I laughed myself silly yesterday, reading one news story.  A man in Washington state is trying to sue Nike shoes for $100 million - because the company's Jordan Nike shoes do not have a warning label stating that the shoes can be potentially dangerous, if used to beat or kick someone.  The man is a pimp, and he beat a john who refused to pay for the use of a prostitute (in his string), with the shoes.  The john had a broken nose and facial fractures, and had to have plastic surgery to repair the damage.  The pimp also beat one of his "girls" with the shoes, causing her to bleed from the ears.  At his trial, the pimp was found guilty of aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (the shoes), and was sentenced to 100 years in prison.  Now he wants to sue Nike because the shoes were not labeled as being "dangerous!"

A Smiling Sunday

I am still all smiles after Friday at the Stock Show. Being around all the creatures was a breath of fresh air for me - even though I laughed a lot at young city kids pinching their noses and placing handkerchiefs over their faces, trying to escape the ammoniac odors of the animals' excretions. Friday, besides being the Draft Horse, Donkey and Mule Show day, was also the last "school kids" day at the show - there were more than 3,000 kids from the fourth grade on down to kindergartners at the show that day. Country kids, who thought everything smelled normal, to inner-city kids who were amazed at the size of the animals and appalled at the odors. I almost had as much fun watching the kids as I did everything else.
  My kits are enjoying the sunshine, just as they did yesterday - and just as Aiko and Yoshi and Tugger and Sasquatch have been enjoying the warmth and the light. I've tried to be sure they have all had time out in the sun, just to play, as well as the dogs' scheduled walks. I'm heading up to Nederland to take photos of the Carousel of Happiness in about an hour as per the request of a friend in Wisconsin. I am still coughing and I guess I'll have to call my MD again in the morning to see what, if anything, I should do... Kathy and Jim now have this monster flu, and they believe they caught it from Mike and Erin. Luckily, Sarah and Michael seem to have escaped this affliction so far.
  I hope the rest of your weekend is grand, and that this coming work week passes by quickly. Take care, folks!

Denver National Western Stock Show

I am exhausted. I felt well enough to go to the Denver National Western Stock Show yesterday, and I was there for 9 hours. I don't regret a single second of being there, but I sure am pooped today. I arrived early, and since I had purchased my ticket at King Soopers, the local grocery store, I didn't have to wait until the box office opened at 9 to be able to enter the show areas. Draft horse Halter classes began at 8 a.m., and I was there. I was able to see about half of the exhibits - and declined trying to ride the mechanical bull. I did, however, have my photo taken sitting on a 17-hand Texas Longhorn steer, and on an 18.5 hand Belgium draft horse. I visited the children's area early, before the petting zoo opened, but I was able to see the critters as they were brought inside. There was also a very nice poultry display and some of the geese, chickens, roosters, doves, and chicks were for sale. I wandered through the Stockyards, originally built in 1886, and was able to see and pet a wide variety of cattle, miniature cattle, Yaks and bison. I had a wonderful chat with some folks who had started showing Longhorns just 5 years earlier - they already had two Grand Champion bulls, and it was a wonder to watch their 8-year-old daughter groom them, loose, in a 30-foot round pen. I was invited to enter and interact with the bulls, and I did so with great pleasure. The cattle dogs were working cattle to whistles and hand signs in the afternoon. That was quite a sight, as well. I wandered through the livestock stabling areas, and visited with goats, sheep and rams, cattle galore, and the draft horses, mules and donkeys. In classes yesterday afternoon, I got to see the log skid, the single horse cart, donkey hunters under saddle, mules under saddle (English and Western), and the double hitches. I was also lucky enough to see some of the "Roman riders" at practice - they were standing on the backs of the last pair of a 6-horse-hitch, and moving at a walk, trot and canter. I wish I had the guts to try that. Their classes are today. I was able to see and pet the Express black Clydesdales in their stalls in the barn area, as well as getting a good look at their harness and wagon - I was glad that I already knew a little bit about them, thanks to RFD-TV's "Gentle Giants" program. I looked at boots and saddles, western furniture, lamps, fencing, gates, horse and stock trailers, tons of ads about stock for sale and breeding availability, custom made boots, signs, and tons of all sorts of other things. As I said, I had a fantastic time, even though I'm tired after a day on my feet... I'll share my photos soon.
  Lovey and Nedi have forgiven me for spending only 30 minutes in their company yesterday - they have twined all about me, and I'm covered with their scent. Tugger and Sasquatch are fine and dandy, as are Aiko and Yoshi. It seems that both of the munchkins are 3 to 5 pounds overweight, so we take two long walks and two short ones each day; and their snacks have been cut off. They are not really happy with that, but that's their folks' rules, and I follow them. Nedi has been outside, chasing, and being chased by, the ravens. Lovey has spent most of the time in my lap. I gave them a special treat for breakfast, since I was gone for 24 hours... Spoiled? My kits? Where on earth did you get that idea?
  I hope you have a super weekend!

Another Smoky Morning

The High Park fire, which started in Rist Canyon, is still completely out of control, and has spread to over 36,930 acres.  One resident is known to be missing, and is feared lost to the fire.  Almost 2,000 homes have been evacuated - many of them not having time to evacuate their livestock: horses, cattle, goats, sheep, llamas, pigs, and all types of fowl.  Even a wolf sanctuary has been cleared out, partially.  The owners have been building "fire dens" to protect the wolves from just such a calamity as is upon them, and about half of the wolves are still in their usual areas.  A Health Advisory has been issued along the Front Range, as there is a great deal of smoke, ash, and particulates in the air.  A smoke plume of over 100 miles extends into Nebraska...  Then, of course, there is the fire in southwest Colorado, as well as the two fires in New Mexico.  It's windy and dry...  and fire Marshall's and the state government are comparing this fire to the 2002 Hayman Fire that burned over 1,000 square miles, and burned for over 4 weeks.  Some people have been told to evacuate, but have refused to do so.
    My kits are running in and out this morning, and I've already walked Aiko and Yoshi.  Their family is due back tonight, so I'll be able to sleep with my kits tonight and tomorrow night. (Hooray!)  I need to walk the red kids today and tomorrow; and I start caring for Phoenix and Patches tonight.  On Wednesday, I move in with Rosie and Remy, and on Thursday evening I add Sasquatch and Tugger to the mix, with Brandi joining the care circle on Friday.Bret, who belongs to Phoenix and Patches, returns home on Saturday; Brandi's family comes back around noon on Sunday, and the other two sets have families returning on Monday afternoon/evening.  Then I have a week at home before I move in with Maggie May.  It will be wonderful to spend a week at home with Lovey and Nedi!
    Just a little bit of thoroughbred news:  Trainer Bob Baffert says that Paynter, who finished second in the Belmont, lost a shoe during the race.  And Union Rags was on his way back to Fair Hill training stables in Elkton, Maryland about four hours after winning the third leg of the Triple Crown.  He unloaded there early Sunday morning, and Michael Matz said that he headed directly for his own stall.
  

Snow, freckles and Richard III

The faintest hint of white on the grass is the only sign of yesterday's dry, light snowfall. It's 22 outside, and the kits ran around for about 30 minutes in the backyard, then both came in and curled together on the bed. I've had my walk - wearing my longies for the first time this year - it's foggy and the tops of the foothills are wreathed in cloud; the Flatirons are invisible due to the clouds and fog. Grandma Anne Snow has had 6 inches of snowfall up on Sugarloaf Mountain since yesterday morning.

On Thursday, when I last walked the Irish kids, I was wearing my new Gator "National Chompions" T-shirt. A young man sat next to me on the bus, and after a few minutes, giggled. I glanced over at him, praying that I wasn't having a "wardrobe malfunction", and saw a person with dark red hair, green eyes with golden flecks in them, and a lot of freckles. I raised a brow and asked, "Yes?" and he giggled again and said he never thought he'd meet anyone with as many, or more, freckles than he had - but that I fit the bill. He had pale creamy skin and large freckles; I've got tons of little freckles. And I had to grin with him and agree - it did look like I had more freckles than he...

"We invite you to see the rise of one murderous man to the throne..." An invitation to see Shakespeare's Richard III - that is currently a frequent ad on the local TV stations. The story of Richard III was written by the Tudors, who overthrew Richard... most historians agree that Richard was not the ogre that history has made him. In reading several of his biographies, I have found that most people seem to like Richard up to a certain point... "and then it seems that he could not refuse evil any longer..." I just have to shake my head. There were so many currents, undercurrents, waves and ripples occurring in society, in the economy of England, and throughout Europe during those last 12 years of Richard's life, that, unless one actually lived and recorded things as they happened (which Richard did not - he kept his own counsel), one can only guess at the reasons that compelled Richard to take the throne....

The world and nation's economy has certainly struck at the National Western Stock Show. Last night the Youth Livestock Sale was held, and the young man who raised the champion bull took home $50,000; last year the champion (30 pounds heavier) was purchased for $103,000. A similar down-turning affected all the other stock, as well. Several regular breeders of beef cattle found that they barely broke even on sales of their stock this year, but most were planning on raising more cattle and hoping for a better market next time around. There are only two days left of this annual event - and last week, with very favorable weather, the NWSS had a few days of extremely high attendance. Hopefully this weekend will be as profitable to all those concerned.

A Loud Night

It has been an interesting night and morning. One of the neighbors had a party that began about 8 p.m.; the police stopped by three times to get them to quiet down. Then, after the party broke up, there was a screaming match and fight between two women in the same apartment, which resulted in 3 more police visits between 1 and 5 a.m. - altogether, it was not a restful night. (And I was not the person who called the police - I'm pretty sure it was my neighbor, who does not like critters.... She's the one who says I should be living on a farm.) After having spent 9 hours at the NWSS yesterday, and then getting caught up in another thrilling adventure novel by Wilbur Smith (this one is The Eye of the Tiger) I did not get much sleep. I'm sure I'll sleep like a rock at Suki and Boo's tonight.

I met a very interesting lady at the NWSS yesterday - she studies chickens and her business card lists her as a "Chickenologist." She's looking for a couple of smaller-sized pigs to raise along with her chickens. The swine were not yet at the Stock Show, but will be arriving Sunday night, so we talked about chickens and breeds of pigs, and Chincoteague ponies. She was a very lovely person and we exchanged business cards.

I tried to sleep in this morning after the disturbed night, but Lovey and Banichi started serenading me at 6 a.m. - wanting their breakfast, and wondering why I wasn't up and dressed for walking. After spending yesterday on my feet, I decided not to walk this morning; but that is difficult to explain to a cat. I filled all the bird and squirrel feeders this morning, and the kits are currently lying inside the doorway, in the sun, watching for possible victims. Only Lovey's pigeon has shown up, and flew off when Lovey decided to chase it. I'll soon be driving Kathy and Jim to DIA for their flight to Phoenix; they're both running in the P F Chang Rock'n'Roll Marathon tomorrow. I'll be walking Suki and Boo on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday; and the Irish kids Monday through Thursday, so I'll be staying busy. Have a good weekend!

Twelfth Night Tree-Lighting

The sky is a nice clear blue this morning; we had high winds last night and are expecting them again this afternoon. I've walked 3 miles so far this a.m., and am heading over to give Rosie and Remy a longish walk (it all depends on Rosie's hind leg). Afterwards, I'll get my hair cut, and then shop for goodies for another fruit tray. The kits have been running around like mad, in and out of the apartment - it's all of 25 here, and we hope to hit 40 - they are always so playful and full of energy when it's cool out; just like horses!

Kathy and Jim are having a Twelfth Night tree-lighting ceremony tonight; that's the reason for the fruit tray, again. They have invited the whole neighborhood over for light snacks and desserts. Jim loves Christmas, and with his illness from Peru, their Christmas tree was put up in the living room - all 14 feet of it - but it was not decorated. The tree was decorated over the weekend, including 30 to 40 traditional candles that Jim will light several times tonight. Don't worry! The fire extinguisher is kept about 6 feet away from the tree and candles. It's a really nice traditional German ceremony - and we did miss it this year.

I am taking Rosie and Remy on excursions three days a week now, and I'm booked for pet-sitting for a week in February and a week in April; and I just accepted a 10-week job for later this year. That's not to mention my jobs for Kathy and Jim - one is coming up soon for the Phoenix Marathon and Kathy's birthday.

I'm getting excited about the up-coming National Western Stock Show. I love wandering in the livestock areas and looking at all the wonderful examples of different breeds. (I dislike the crowd, but one must sacrifice comfort occasionally.) There is snow falling on the western slope today, and Vail is expecting 10 to 14 inches; visibility is poor starting at the Divide, and there might be blizzard conditions out on the slopes . At least Boulder was not inundated with snow in December like Silverton; they received 196 inches of snow in 24 days!!