I'm Back With - Miscellany - Tonight

Well, Pony Penning is over for 2017 - the major part, anyway.  Fall round-up will be October 13 and 14th, when folks who purchased younger foals will return to pick them up, and the veterinarian will give everyone another quick check-up.  I don't how how much money the raffle tickets for King Neptune brought in, but the 62 foals sold (including the ten designated Buy Backs)  brought in $209,900.  It was also reported that other items auctioned - art, photographs, arts and crafts, T-shirts, etc. - brought in another $3,300.  Pony Penning was successful this year.
    I have up-dated the previous post with the auctioned foals information twice; today it was to add the 24 names that the youngsters have been given by their new owners. Still waiting to hear what the CLG decides to name their colt and filly, as well as a few other Buy Backs.  The names of purchased and removed foals are slowly percolating through Chincoteague Pony lovers.   I'll post them as I learn of them.
    One of the dogs that I care for crossed over the Rainbow Bridge Monday evening.  I'm pretty sure her owner had her put down.  She was a delightful 12-year-old mutt, named Tess.  She bounded like a gazelle, and pounced like a fox on prey.  She began having seizures around Christmas.  The owner believes in holistic medicine and would not put the dog on "normal" seizure medication until 8 weeks ago.  The medication made the dog unsteady on her feet, gave her a tremendous appetite, and caused her to drool excessively when sleeping.  The dog had good days and bad days, and was slowly getting adjusted to the medication.  The owner's daughter and I have been the dog's most active care-givers, as the owner has been "home" only six weeks since Christmas.  I was notified by a Facebook posting that the dog had "left us."  I will miss that happy, romping, black girl for a long, long time.  Goodbye, Tessa.
    I laughed out loud today when I read the news that officials on the University of Colorado campus here in Boulder sent Tweet and e-mail alerts to all students that a "rare" and "extremely dangerous" badger had been seen on campus.  A number was given to call in sightings, and students were told to avoid the badger at all costs....   What a laugh!   If a badger is protecting its' young, or if it's cornered, will fight to protect itself (or its' young).  It does not rampage about, causing mayhem wherever it goes.  When the Department of Wildlife was contacted about the message, they laughed.   Badgers are usually seen a little farther north and west, on the edges of Estes Park, and in the Rocky Mountain National Forest.  They are somewhat unusual around Boulder, but CU sure made a fuss over nothing.
 
    OK - I'm going back to politics for the moment.   Since I started this blog, I have had comments made in many foreign languages.  If it's a language I recognize, I translate it.  But when I last worked in Washington, DC, for the EPA, I was still getting weekly visits from FBI agents to view my folder of "odd/unusual" comments.  Once I began this blog, I hate to say it, but I routinely delete any comments written to me in Cyrillic or a Middle Eastern language. Since spring and summer of 2016, I have had an upswing in the number of comments in those languages.  So I was interested in learning about Russian bots and how they grab certain words and send "disinformation" to the writer. - I wrote a blog on this s few months ago.
    Today a friend, and several of his colleagues, who have worked for the US government in the past in the area of cyber security, have opened a new website called Hamilton 68.  It does not show the response on the internet - but it shows how the bots, implemented by Russia and their comrades, react to words on Twitter.   If you ever use Twitter, look at this site!   Once you get there, there is a button for first-time users that explains pretty much anything you want to know - the site can be viewed at: http://dashboard.securingdemocracy.org   I highly recommend at least one visit - the information is mind-boggling.

   Two other political items, and I'll be quiet for the night.  My jaw dropped tonight when I heard that the current President wants to have the Commander of the US forces in Afghanistan, Army General John Nicholson, fired by his Pentagon Generals.  He stated, "We aren't winning."  And went on to ask why we haven't demanded a share of the $1 trillion in mineral wealth that Afghanistan owns for "US aid and assistance."  After the President left the meeting, a shouting match was overheard between Steve Bannon, the White House chief strategist, and H. R. McMaster, the White House National Security Adviser.  - But then I remembered that the President had said something along those lines during his campaign....   I had no idea that America expected Afghanistan to pay us for a war against ISIL and the Taliban waged in their own country.
    The other thing is the new immigration laws and limits that the 45th Administration wants to impose.  Not only does this group want to ban all immigrants of Muslim faith, they now want to decrease the number of legal immigrants each year.  The new immigration laws they are calling for will limit legal immigration by 50% over a period of 10 years by reducing the number of relatives allowed to join families later.  They will cut refugee numbers to 50,000 people per year.  They will end the diversity visa lottery that currently allows 50,000 from under-represented countries to receive a green card.  And they will most highly favor those immigrants who speak English, have skills to raise the economy, and who can financially support themselves and their families upon arrival in the United States.
    In a televised news conference today, White House adviser Stephen Miller was presenting the above outlines to an array of reporters, when Jim Acosta, a CNN representative, quoted the first few lines from the poem on the base of the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island in New York City's harbor: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses..."
* The Statue of Liberty, actually named Liberty Enlightening the World, was a gift from the country of France to help us remember their assistance during the Revolutionary War.  Edouard de Laboulaye, a French political thinker and an abolitionist, proposed the idea of the statue - and made certain that a broken shackle and chain were placed at her right foot to show that America had broken the shackles of oppression and tyranny.  American people raised the money for the shipping of the gigantic statue for more than 6 years, and she was unveiled and dedicated on Thursday, 28 October 1886. *
    After Acosta spoke those lines, Miller stated, "The poem you were referring to was added later. It's not actually part of the original Statue of Liberty."  Miller went on to say that the statue is a "symbol of American liberty lighting the world" and suggested that it had little to do with immigrants of any kind.  This has caused a huge amount of protests today.
  *While waiting for the statue to be assembled in New York harbor, writers and authors asked Emma Lazarus, a poet and descendant of Jewish immigrants, to write a sonnet that would be sold at auction to raise money for the gigantic pedestal that was needed for the statue to rest upon.  Emma Lazarus wrote "The New Colossus" on 2 November 1883 inspired by the plight of immigrants and refugees, and her own experiences in New York City.  The poem appeared in The New York Times and in Joseph Pulitzer's New York World.  Lazarus died in 1887 and her poem was forgotten.
    In 1901, Georgina Schuler, a friend of Emma's, found a book containing the poem, and began an effort to resurrect the work, have it inscribed on a plaque, and placed on the statue's pedestal.  The sonnet reads:

  "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore."

I hope all of you have a wonderful August!

Critters, Wild and Tame

It doesn't seem like a week since I sat down in front of a blank blog page...  All sorts of things are going on in the news and wildlife areas.  And I've been taking care of multiple houses full of critters, as people decide to vacation on a whim, without planning for pet care.  I've been running around like crazy.  I think I have two days off, Wednesday and Thursday this week, if nothing else pops up.
   I've started re-reading my Robin Hobb collection, and am currently reading Dragon Haven.  After I read her books, I'll hit my Rafael Sabatini novels, and then my un-edited editions of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers.  That should keep me busy for a little while.
  I received my National Geographic DNA information back some time ago - my Haplogroup is J1c4.  But I have recently sent my DNA for processing to both Ancestry and to 23AndMe, also.  I'm waiting to see what is reported by the other two agencies...
   We've recently had moose in North Boulder - a woman was tending her garden on the edge of Wonderland Lake, and said she "suddenly felt a presence looming over" her.  It was a mother moose with twin calves, and the mother decided the woman was threatening her babies.  She was knocked down and walked upon.  Luckily, she only had scrapes and bruises.  And another moose with a single calf was reported at the Justice Center near the end of Boulder Canyon.
   Of course it's now summer, and we're having our usual incursions of coyotes, mountain lions and black bears.  The coyotes have been grabbing small dogs who are off-leash on walking, jogging, and biking paths, as well as cats loose in neighborhoods.  The mountain lions are grabbing the mule deer and fawns.  The bears are smashing bee hives and stealing honey, as well as raiding any bird feeders they can reach.  A friend has a one-inch thick wrought iron post for her feeders, and thought they were safe - this morning the post was bent at a 70 degree angle and the bird feeders were crushed and empty on the ground.  And folks around my sister and brother-in-laws house now have teen-aged bobcats out hunting with their parents, as well.  The fox are staying under cover as much as possible.  The cottontail rabbit birth explosion is feeding most of the smaller predators.
    Tess, one of the dogs I care for, is not doing well at the moment.  She started having seizures last fall.  They began occurring every 4 days a couple of months ago, and she has finally been placed on Potassium Bromide as a daily medication. (Her owner is a very firm believer in holistic medicine and diet taking care of everything.)  The K-Bro medication has increased her appetite amazingly, as well as her thirst.  But the main side effect is ataxia, her hind legs don't support her well...  The vet told the owner that once Tess reaches her optimal medication level, she'll return to normal.  The vet told the owner it would take one month.  I read the information, and it says the optimal level is reached in three to four months...  We'll have to see.  In the meantime, the dog who always bounced and danced on her hind legs is now shuffling with her nose to the ground.  It's pretty sad...
   Still at 59 new foals on the Chincoteague NationalWildlife Refuge - 56 after the three losses.  One foal died from an umbilical infection, one foal got stuck in the marsh mud and couldn't break free, and one had a congenital defect of the forelegs, which could not be healed.  All the others are quite bouncy and bold.  As usual, there are some really stupendous pinto markings, quite a few solids with great conformation, and a few real stand-outs.  I'm happy with the foals so far...
 

More Stuff...

In the Kentucky Derby picture, El Areeb is out of contention, coming back from a breeze with a bone chip in his knee.  Always Dreaming won the Florida Derby this past weekend and Girvin won the Louisiana Derby.  Next Saturday will see the Grand National Steeplechase run at Aintree - there are currently about 50 active entries, any of which can be scratched by the trainer up to the start of the race.  No more than 40 horses are allowed to start in the Grand National.
   We've had some rain and a little drought relief this past week.  Forecasters are claiming we'll get snow tonight, again.  There's a big westerly breeze that is drying, but it looks as if it's bringing clouds up to the mountain tops.  We might have rain, or snow...  I'll just wait and see as always.  The Forecasters were very serious when they said we'd have 5 to 8 inches of snow fall Thursday and Friday, but all we had was a light rain.
   Still missing the lady Rose.  My next pet appointment is on the 14th - walking Nicodemus and Emmett, and then again on the 17th.  Seems very odd not to have walking duties daily...  I could accept an offer from a couple in the same neighborhood - they have three Anatolian Shepherds, a Golden Retriever, and a wolf-German Shepherd mix.  The Golden is the smallest, at 60 pounds; the youngest Anatolian is 7 months old and weighs 75 pounds so far.  The others range in weight from 110 to 135 pounds.  - And when I walk two of them together, the sidewalks and pathways clear out - it seems like I'm walking two great white sharks...  But the owners gave me incorrect dates a few years ago, and while the dogs did receive care from me, it wasn't the full-time care the owner expected.  She gave me a date that was 3 days off from the correct date, and when I noticed the family hadn't returned, I continued to feed, water, and walk all of them - but I wasn't staying in the house.  They were not nice about it, even when I produced their original e-mails regarding dates and times....  So I'm not sure I really want to get involved with them again.
   We have placed a rather light-weight bird feeder on top of the coffee table on the balcony, and placed a small water bowl for the birds as well.   The cats can only go out under supervision, so we won't have any calamities.  But they are so cute when there is a flock of finches and sparrows on the balcony, eating and drinking (and occasionally bathing), and the kits are curled up with their noses against the glass and they are making their instinctive chittering sounds...  Love my kits, but love the birds, too!
   The third Chincoteague pony foal born this year - a little boy I named Lost Tide - didn't survive.  He was born on the 27th and died on the 31st of March.  He was originally ignored by his first-time Mom, but then they were placed together in a box stall with a small paddock.  He seemed to be doing well, they were bonding, and he was nursing.  He laid down for a nap Friday afternoon and didn't wake up.  A filly was born on the 27th, also, I call her The Swan - Mom is Little Duckie and Dad is Legacy.  Then Splash of Freckles had a buckskin pinto filly on April Fools' Day - the fourth foal so far for Legacy...  So he's sired three girls and a boy so far this year.  Riptide has only had the one colt (so far this year) who didn't survive.
 

Bits and Pieces

If you want, or need, a good laugh - and can stand to read a lot of incomplete sentences that were uttered by the current President - please read (and guffaw, as I did) the following new article, or interview, from Time magazine:   http://time.com/4710456/donald-trump-time-interview-truth-falsehood/
     There were six late additions to the Triple Crown nominations list, so the current list of contenders now registered is 425.  A horse must have a certain number of qualifying points to run in the Kentucky Derby, which is capped at 20 entries.  Other horses that are nominated, but do not have the points, may race in the Preakness Stakes and/or the Belmont Stakes.  The newest nominees are: Thunder Snow, Hollywood Handsome, More Than Words, Parlor, Rapid Dial, and Stretch's Stone.
   The wind is picking up again, here in Boulder - it's from the west and is expected to bring a rain-snow mix overnight and into Friday morning.  We really need the rain, snow, sleet - whatever precipitation we can get.  I just hope there's no hail - gardens are blooming and trees are budding and putting out fresh delicate leaves right now.  I'll pull our potted plants back in from the balcony this afternoon.
   It has been judged that the Sunshine Canyon fire was started by an illegal campfire by people trespassing on private property.  The fire investigators state that the camp appeared to have been used by "transients."
    And Joe Pelle (our Sheriff) announced that a body has been found on one of the local hiking trails... currently, no further information is available.
    I am still grieving the loss of Rosie, the Irish Setter, whom I cared for over a period of more than ten years.  We lost Remy, her brother four years ago...   And I'm preparing to say good-bye to a beautiful cat who has bone cancer in her jaw. She seems to be in quite a bit of pain and is no longer eating - but she will drink... so I've suggested that her owner give her chicken bone broth for some nutritional value.
   My two kitties are doing well.  Lovey is curled up in her little nest beside my bed, and Nedi has burrowed under the afghan on my reading chair.  Lovey is napping - Nedi is keeping an eye on the birds visiting the feeder and water bowl on the balcony...
   I hope you have a great day, wherever you are - and whenever you read this!

This and That...

Our local wildfire, in Sunshine Canyon, is completely contained, and evacuation orders have been lifted.  No loss of pets or people, no loss of homes - but I'm afraid that nests, burrows, and wildlife were lost...  And there was a fiery public bus crash yesterday in Boulder yesterday; one of our friends has been charged with "careless driving."  We wish Rich the best outcome possible.
   Seek, the Spangled Bengal, with bone cancer in her jaw, is doing a little better.  I'll go spend time with her tonight and Thursday while her Mom is teaching art classes.  Seek eats well for me, and likes to be a lap cat while I'm visiting.  Then I take clients to Denver International at 4 Wednesday morning; Seek again Thursday evening; a quick visit with Pip and Squeak's people on Friday morning; and care of the chickens and cats on Dellwood begins Saturday afternoon...   But no Rosie (sigh) - I know she's in a better place where all parts of her work, but I miss our daily outings.
    In the Kentucky Derby picture, things are getting more cloudy as time goes by and the race gets nearer.  Mastery would probably be the betting favorite today - but he's out of the picture for any spring or summer racing.  The colt won the San Jacinto Stakes by almost 7 lengths, under a hand ride by Mike Smith; 10 strides past the finish line, Mike felt the colt change his movement, and pulled him up.  The colt had suffered a condylar fracture of his left fore cannon.  He's had surgery and is back in his stall in Bob Baffert's barn.  At the moment, Gunnevera has the most points earned for the Kentucky Derby; but a lot of folks are talking about Malagacy's win this weekend in the Rebel Stakes.  Here's the list of the horses with the most points:  (1) Gunnevera,  (2) Mastery - out with broken leg, (3) Tapwrit, (4) J Boys Echo, (5) Malagacy, (6) Epicharis, (7) Girvin, (8) Mont Saint Legame, (9) Practical Joke, (10) Untapped, (11) Classic Empire, (12) El Areeb, (13) Gormley, (14) State of Honor, (15) McCraken, (16) Iliad, (17) Sonneteer, (18) Adirato, (19) Cloud Computing, (20) Wild Shot, (21) Caucus, (22) Guest Suite, (23) Petrov, (24) Lookin At Lee, (25) Term of Art, and (26) Uncontested.  Many more colts have ten points or less; Gunnevera, the leader, has 64; and only 20 colts will start in the Derby on 6 May.
   Spent part of yesterday listening to the House Intelligence Committee asking FBI Director Comey about the current administration and Russia...  Things are getting very interesting.

Critter Sitting

I met two new cuties that I'll be caring for in a few days - a pair of black sister litter-mates, Pip and Squeak.  They are very sweet.  As usual, I had a little giggle because the cats came out to meet me, after their owner assured me that they were both sound asleep, and wouldn't be stirring for several hours.  I heard a quiet "Mmm-row?" and told her that one of the cats was awake - and she looked very startled and told me I must have heard something from outside, or that the cleaning team had made something squeak.  Less than 30 seconds later, Squeak was doing the snaky figure-8 around my ankles.  It gave the owner quite a surprise.  Less than a minute later, Pip also joined us, and I was able to see the differences between the sisters.

   I was also able to walk Rosie today...  She is such a sweet girl.  The owners' son had been home from college and just left yesterday, so I didn't walk Rosie on Thursday and Friday; instead Max spent time with her.  And she loves Max so dearly - she'll try to do anything he asks, no matter what.  And since she's fourteen and a half years old, we never know if the day will be her last.  She still enjoys life greatly - she absolutely loves Chicken McNuggets and usually eats 17 to 20 of them when I take care of her in the evenings.  She doesn't have much of an appetite for her prescribed dog food, and usually gets rotisserie chicken and meatballs from a local market, plus fresh-frozen duck.   Spoiled?   Not my Rosie!  Today she chased a mule deer in my sister's back yard, and I think that made her feel powerful and young again.  There are usually squirrels and rabbits galore for her to see, and chase, if she decides to do so.  Today, the fir trees were full of chickadees and that was almost all you could hear - and Rosie had a good time "playing Safari" under the low branches of the trees, looking for lions and tigers and bears.  The only thing we haven't found there is a tiger, so far...

   Both of my cats are curled up on, or next to, my bed - Nedi has made himself a little nest in my dirty laundry basket and is out like a light.  Lovey is at the foot of the bed, but I can tell from her ears that she's listening to the keyboard.  I have been lucky to have had the use of Donn's VW Touareg since two days past Christmas; while he's away, I pick up his mail, and get to use his vehicle, just replacing the fuel that I've used.  He returns tomorrow afternoon, and after almost 30 days straight with a car available, it'll feel strange to go back to busing and walking...  but that's what happens tomorrow.

   Luckily the job that I begin on Wednesday (actually two jobs start at once) is within a block of a bus stop; I'll have to walk two more blocks to see Pip and Squeak.  I'm just hoping that we'll continue to have mild weather and little snow until both families return.  Also back a Dellwood on Wednesday - chickens, cats and fish to care for.  At least, if there is a heavy snow, the way is short from the house to the chicken coop, and the girls will be able to stay in the covered run.  They also have a heat lamp and heated water bowls, so there's no worry there.  I'll just have to try and keep the cats inside, if there is a heavy snow; Carter would rather be inside where it's warm, but Xuxa wants to go out and burrow in the snow, silly girl!

Pangolins and Cheetahs

I love almost every single living thing on this planet - everything that is here has a special niche in the ecology and biology of this world.  (I will admit there are two types of reptiles that I have, and will, kill without compunction - the first is the rattlesnake, if it's anywhere near a dwelling or livestock; the second is the blue-tailed skink - its' tail, which will break off when caught,  contains a powerful neurotoxin that generally kills cats.)  Having seen horses, cats and dogs die from rattlesnake bites, and having one cat who was a special needs kitty after a skink's poison, I don't feel too badly when I remove one of those critters from my personal space.  - I don't go looking for these two creatures, but if it's near my living space, that poor creature is dead.
    Having said that, I was very saddened to read that the beautiful, lithe, and extremely speedy cheetah is on the edge of extinction.  Watching a cheetah move in it's natural habitat is a wonderful sight - the grace and speed of the big cat is amazing.  Sadly, the cheetah population is disappearing; the main reason is loss of habitat due to increasing human population and the expansion of farming and civilization in it's natural areas.  Cheetahs range across a huge area in their normal travels.  We humans thought the areas protected for the cheetahs to live in and hunt were adequate - but the cheetahs range over an area that is 77% greater than the reserves.  Cheetahs are extinct now in Asia.  In the Middle East, a thriving group of over 7,000 is now down to about 170 over 10 years time.  There are massive die-offs and much less reproduction due to the loss of food sources.  The same is happening in the six countries that have a cheetah population in southern Africa.  There is one other reason, though, that must be considered:  cheetahs as pets.  A pet cheetah is a huge status symbol in the Gulf countries of the Middle East.  Kittens are sold for a minimum of $10,000 apiece - and more than 85% of those kittens die before they reach the age of 3 months, once they are stolen from their mothers.   This is horrendous.
    Another animal in imminent extinction mode is the pangolin, or the scaly anteater.  This month, an illegal shipment of more than three tons - 6,000 pounds - of the scales of these gentle animals were confiscated in China.  It is estimated that from 5,000 to 7,500 were killed to produce this number of scales - and they have a street value of more than $2 million.  The scaly anteater has horny scale all over it's body; the scales of made of keratin, a protein that makes the nails of humans, and the hooves and horns of many animals.  But in the Far East, the scales of the pangolin are believed to be a curative for just about everything, as well as an aphrodisiac.  For this reason, the gentle quiet animals are killed in great numbers.  Now, every type of scaled anteater, or pangolin, is on the rare animal watch list - and every kind is threatened with extinction.
     Can't we humans learn to leave well enough alone?

It'a a Little Chilly Out

Thankfully, there wan't any wind to speak of during our snow Tuesday night and Wednesday - and it isn't windy or breezy now - winds are "calm" and it's all of five degrees outside.  The sun is shining, and fog is developing on the roadways.  The big worry out driving today is unseen ice on the road...  I'm not going out, unless there's an emergency for one of my clients.  - I'm sitting here, in my desk chair, wearing slippers, sweatpants and a T-shirt.  And I'm warm enough that I've pulled my hair back into a ponytail so my neck won't sweat...   I'll put my boots on later and go out and sweep the balcony clean.
   Beatrice, my room-mate, just left with Mike.  They spent yesterday afternoon working on a Christmas surprise for Mike's wife Sarah, and they're hoping to get it finished today.  A week ago I introduced Lovey to Bea's new waterbed mattress, one that is "waveless."  Now, every morning at 9:30, Lovey goes and gets on Bea's bed, and follows the sunshine from the window across Bea's king size mattress.  She just luxuriates in the warmth and the sun.  When the sun is not shining, she whines and complains to both of us, as if we can turn the sun on for her...
   Nedi is working apace on his newest art project. He loves boxes.  Smaller ones, and crisp paper, he shreds with his teeth - but he loves to artfully claw and scratch large boxes.  The only large one we have inside is the one that Bea's old waterbed mattress is packed in.  We need to take it down into the basement storage area, but Nedi is having a delightful time clawing and scratching the upperreaches of the box.  He was actually swinging by his front paws, with hind feet and tail off the floor, yesterday morning.  It means we sweep the floor daily, and sometimes thrice; but it keeps the boy happy and he doesn't attack the furniture.
   We're supposed to warm up to 40 degrees tomorrow, so I'll be walking Rosie again.  I spent yesterday with Tessa, Cleo, Lily and Lyra - walked Tessa and Cleo for 45 minutes in the snow at 1 p.m. and then stayed inside as  much as possible.  I turned the dogs loose every 90 minutes to go run and play and use the bathroom in the snow, but I did not join them.  Even Lyra, who longs to escape the house, didn't try to go out...  She's a smart kitty!

Little Things Mean A Lot

I was very depressed the day after our Presidential election, but as the world hasn't ended, I decided to make a note of the small things in life that I truly enjoy....
    Yesterday morning it was 31 degrees outside when I left to take care of the family pets on my morning pet run- and I was extremely happy that the car I have to drive for the next week has heated seats.  I haven't, before, truly appreciated this small piece of engineering brilliance - but to have the small of my back, as well as my bottom and thighs warmed by the seat, instead of feeling like very cold leather, was a true gift.  (Guess I'm getting old...)
    The joyful sounds of small birds in the trees and bushes is glorious.  Besides the chirps of the sparrows, there were chickadees singing, robins singing, jays and rufous-sided towhees, the coos of pigeons and doves, the small clicks and keeps of the nuthatches and woodpeckers, and the hoots of a pair of great horned owls.  And to that the chattering of the squirrels, and I'm in heaven.
    The fact that the coyotes seem to have left the neighborhood again is bringing back the fox population.  I saw one two days ago in a neighbor's yard.  And I saw something run across the road Friday morning, but wasn't sure I trusted my eyes.  In speaking with my niece, she, too, saw a mink in the area.  It stood erect upon a woodpile and surveyed it's surroundings, while she was less than 20 feet away from it.
     Having my female cat, Lovey, clean my face each night when we go to bed may not be someone else's idea of a good thing, but it means she loves me and accepts me as I am, no questions asked.  Need, my male cat, just wants to be loved and patted and scratched, and then he lies down upon my hand, pinning me in place, while he slowly blinks his big eyes at me.  I always blink back at him, slowly.
     Having 20 different families trust me to keep their homes, pets, and vehicles safe is almost frightening, but also makes me feel very humble about being allowed into their lives.  I consider most of my clients as friends, and not really as an employer.  I am trusted to make good decisions regarding their pets - health care, food, discipline and veterinary visits.  Most of my friends hand me their car keys when they leave, and say, just replace the fuel you use...  That is trust.  But I feel that taking care of the critters is a responsibility that is the utmost in trust.
     Since Beatrice and I became sharers of a two-bedroom apartment, both of us have more money to spend.  We used to count pennies, and hope we'd have enough to feed ourselves at the end of the month.  Now, sharing, an apartment, we each have an extra $300 per month, and neither of us worries about whether we'll have groceries that will last until the next paycheck.  (And we both love the cats - the cats are fed before we feed ourselves.)  But it's nice not to have to worry about whether you can only eat toast for the next week at the end of the month.
    Bea has had the flu since Tuesday, and it was nice to be able to give her a get-well card, and a little stuffed toy (from the cats), and prepare her favorite meal for her yesterday.  And we both felt a little bit of pride when we looked into the freezer compartment and saw that it was packed with easily prepared meals, if we didn't feel like cooking.  That really felt nice.
     I always try to say "please" and "thank you" to anyone I speak with that assists me in any way.  If I meet someone on the sidewalk, or they catch my eye on the bus, I always greet them with a smile.  So many people these days are  so inwardly tuned, with their smart phones and i-pads, that they no longer notice other inhabitants of the planet...  I just try to be nice, and admit them into a small piece of humanity, daily.

Poor Old Rosie!

I dearly love this dog.  We lost her "brother" 4 years ago, and now her health is failing, also.  She's considered a medium- to large-sized dog, being an Irish Setter, and she's now 14 and 1/2 years old.  Her muzzle and face are almost - but not quite - white; her ears have streaks of blond; and the red of her coat is more orange  than red these days...  According to the veterinarians, and she sees four different vets, she no longer has any feeling in her hind legs.  She powers her way up from lying and sitting using her shoulders and forelegs.  If we get her hind legs under her, she can walk and trot normally.  Since her hind legs don't cooperate very well, she rarely runs any more.
  Her left hind foot turns inward, and then pivots out when she walks.  Her right hind leg frequently collapses on her.  The vets say she isn't in bad enough shape to put her into a wheelchair - yet.  This past week, she's been dragging her left foot with the tops of her toes - her "furry knuckles" - tucked under, and has rubbed the fur and skin off.  This morning we got a good, professional paw wrap from her vet, and, if we keep her off hard surfaces, she should be okay.  The problem is there are wooden and stone steps at both the front and back doors - and when she starts downstairs, her hind legs collapse and she drags her feet.  We have earthen ramps for her to use, but most of the time she chooses the steps.
   Today, I drove her over to my sister's for our hour in the back yard.  Had no problem getting Rosie into and out of the car, and she used the bathroom at my sister's (which I dutifully picked up) and enjoyed wandering around the grassy acre.  I loaded her into the car to go home, and we drove there without incident.  I had all the windows half-way open so Rosie could scent the wind as we rode.  When we got to her house, I grabbed my bag, and then opened the back door for the Rose.  I slipped my right arm in front of her hips to make sure she was standing square on all four feet in the garage.  An intense odor greeted me.  I thought she had farted when I pressed against her belly.  I took her inside, gave the owner the car keys, and left.  She caught me at the foot of the drive - Rosie had pooped all over the back seat of the car, apparently just as we pulled into the garage.
   The owner had to meet with patients at her office in 30 minutes, so she and I both wiped up, and washed down the back seat of the car, so she could leave.  We went back inside the house to wash our hands, and realized that Rosie had pooped again, while sitting down in the kitchen.  I sent the owner on to her meeting, and Rosie and I took a shower; then I blew her dry with her hair dryer.  Then I got to clean up the kitchen floor.
   The owner was on time to see her patient, and tonight she and her husband called me and announced they'd be doubling my usual wages staying with her over the next few days.  I told them that a raise wasn't necessary, because I consider Rosie a part of my family, and that we all need to accept the changes of growing old.   I do love that Rosie!

A Fall Weekend

Fall has definitely arrived, with breezy weather and the temperatures about 15 to 20 degrees cooler than they have been.  The weather forecasters said we'd have a high of 58 degrees (F) today and it would be grey and rainy.  The sun is shining, the sky is blue, there's an occasional breeze and the forecast for today's high is 70 (in Boulder).  We had homemade Belgium waffles this morning for breakfast, as well as some turkey sausage - I had juice and Bea had her coffee.  I was surprised when I arrived home this morning at 7:10 and saw Beatrice out on the balcony - usually she sleeps until 8 o'clock, or so.  When I got upstairs, I asked why she was up, and she said that Lovey had been talking to her.  As she (Bea) drifted awake this morning, she thought there was a small child in the apartment that kept saying, "Hello?  ...  Hello?"  The voice got closer, and she looked down and realized that it was Lovey.  I had thought it would be Nedi, but no - it was the girl.
   Cooper had a wonderful time yesterday, chasing the planes that were flying overhead, along with the gliders.  I'm thankful that there wasn't a home football game, or the whole neighborhood would have wanted me to keep him inside.  But he has a good time chasing the planes and barking - and doesn't run into the wooden fence too often.  Lola, the other dog, just sits and watches him act the fool.  Pounce has been having a fantastic time stretched out along my legs while I'm reading, or watching television.  Tipsi has been busy hunting - he's brought me six snakes in two days, along with one bunny, and a partially mashed frog (it looked like a bicycle had run over both hind legs).  I turned everything loose again, except the frog, which was too badly damaged to survive.
   The Gators started out well against the Tennessee Volunteers, but couldn't hold onto the lead yesterday, so the Vols beat the Gators for the first time in 11 games.  Mizzou had a huge blowout, and at the half, the teams agreed to play two ten-minute quarters to end the game.  South Carolina lost to the Kentucky Wildcats.  And, much to everyone's surprise, including my own, the Colorado Buffaloes beat the Oregon Ducks in an away game....   We'll have to see what happens with the Denver Broncos today....

Crazy, Crazy

This past Monday I wrote about a client who kept changing her mind.  In June, she made reservations for me to stay at her house for 5 nights and 6 days.  When I called nine days ago to verify, she told me she didn't need me at all.  Twelve hours later, she called and said she needed me for the last three nights; eighteen hours after that call, she told me she needed me for the entire, original reservation.  When I arrived, the daughter had not returned from the airport - she had run a few personal errands before returning her Mom's car.  On Thursday, the client called me and asked to to find a Certified Mail slip, and to go to the Post Office to pick up whatever it was, and to also check her friend's mail box at a different address.  I picked up the Certified Mail and had to sign my life away, as it wasn't addressed to me, then I traveled to the other house and grabbed that mail.
  Friday, Bea and I rented a van and went shopping for a dining room set and/or a new sofa.  We found the dining set we wanted, and, as we were on the way to the warehouse to pick it up, my phone rang.  It was my client.  Her daughter had contacted her; the daughter and boyfriend were to have spent the weekend at Grandma's condo in Aspen.  When the daughter called the building to inform them she would be there for the weekend, the building manager told her the condo "was being shown" this weekend (for sale) and that they couldn't stay there.  Grandma has been threatening to sell the condo for the last 5 years, and apparently decided to do so without telling the kids or grandkids.  So the daughter would be back at the client's home that evening, and, once I had fed all the critters their evening meal, it was time for me to clear out.  And the daughter would pick the client up at the airport on Monday.
   At nine o'clock last night (Saturday) I received another call from the client.  She had decided to come home today - Sunday - and thought her daughter would pick her up.  But her daughter had already changed her plans, and was going hiking on Sunday (today).  Could I come pick her up at the airport?  I got the flight information, and told her I would be there.  Then I stated that her car was very low on gas - should I fill it, and have her reimburse me, or should I drive the VW?   She told me that her car should have at least a half-tank of gas - I told her that it was on the one-quarter mark when I parked it Thursday, after going to the Post Office.  She said to drive the VW.
   I checked this morning, and ascertained that her flight was on time, with arrival at DIA at 12:19.  Then I checked the Denver sports area, and found that the Rockies had a home game that started at 2:10, and the Bronco had a home game that started at 2:25.  I decided to leave a little early due to increased traffic; then realized I'd better drive the client's car rather than the VW, because the VW doesn't have a Toll Pass for the road to the airport.
   I caught what was supposed to be the 10:07 RTD bus up to the client's neighborhood to get her car.  The bus was running 12 minutes late because the rear door kept sticking open - and the driver kept opening both doors at each stop, instead of only opening the front door.  So I was late reaching the client's house (in my mind's time table) - and the daughter called while I was walking to the house from the bus stop.  She realized that the client's car was nearly empty, and she needed to drive over from Longmont to get the car and put gas in it, and then she would come pick me up - OK?  I said, No.  I was almost at the house, I'd put gas in the car, and go pick up her Mom.  When I told her to enjoy her hike, she sounded completely lost, like she hadn't planned to go hiking...  
   In any event, I made it to the airport with 5 minutes to spare and turned the car over to the client, who dropped me off at home, after she paid me....   Crazy, crazy weekend.  (Both the Rockies and the Broncos won, by the way.)

Packages and Apples

I finished re-reading Visitor last night, and now have to wait until May for the next book in the series,  Convergence.  And, yesterday, we received three packages that we had ordered; new cooking assists - a couple of new frying pans, ceramic knives, silicon muffin cups, and some microwave gadgets;  I got my copies of The Rain Wild Chronicles; and we received the audio book version of Ship of Magic, the first of the Liveship trilogy....  Enough to keep us busy for a small time.   

   Once again sitting in the office at Lynn's with Lyra and Tess - Lyra's cat tree is positioned so she gets the first sunlight on the top perch, and that's where she is.   Tess is grooming herself behind my chair.  The housekeeper is due this morning, so I can go home and visit my kits, and make my Facebook postings.  Then I'll walk Rosie, and be back here at the house for the rest of the day - other  than going over to Donn's house and checking his mail and package deliveries.   I had to pick up a piece of certified mail for him yesterday - boy, procedures have changed since I last received, or picked up, a certified item...

   Our apples are starting to tumble from the trees - this neighborhood was originally an apple orchard, and every lot has at least two apple trees, if not five or six of them.  The squirrels and deers have been munching away, and very shortly, it'll be time for the bears to arrive and finish the harvesting.  That's when I have to be careful that I don't do what I did last year - turn a corner around the house and come face-to-face with a black bear.  I froze.  The bear turned and ran.  Before I got back around the corner of the house, the bear climbed the wooden gate and took off....   Lucky me.

   We will try to drive across Trail Ridge Road this weekend - the better weather will be on Sunday, so we'll probably do it then.  Hopefully it hasn't snowed enough to close the road and mountain passes; and I'd like to stop in the bakery at Grand Lake again, just to purchase a few croissants.  There is an Arts and Crafts festival on the Pearl Street Mall, and we might brave the crowds for a short time on Saturday.

Weekend, Catnip, and a Client

I did some small grocery shopping over the weekend, checked the mail, and sat out on the balcony for several hours each day, and otherwise avoided people, other than Beatrice and a few phone calls I had to take.  Bea was feeling her cabin-fever itch and went out daily to window shop and just wander around different areas of town.  I stayed at home, cuddled with the cats and read and read and read.  It was wonderful for me.
   I did have to laugh about the phone calls, however.  I checked my work calendar for next week (now this week) on Friday, and saw I was scheduled at a house for 5 nights and six days.  I also knew that one of the client's adult children was at home, so I called to ask if my services were still required.  I was told, no, that the daughter would care for the house and critters while the client was away.  On Saturday, the client called and said the daughter was going to Aspen for the weekend, and could I cover caring for the house from Friday afternoon until Monday morning.  I told her, sure, no problem.  Last night, I received another call from the client - could I possibly cover the originally planned 5 nights and 6 days?  The daughter is currently house-sitting for someone else, and thought she could take her new puppy and older dog into another household that already has two large adult dogs and a new puppy in residence.  The daughter's job ends on Friday, when she plans on leaving for Aspen - and, oh, by the way, I'll have the daughter's puppy and dog at the client's home over the weekend....I sometimes feel like such a fool.  But this person is a very good client, and I've worked for her for over 8 years now, so I acquiesced.
   Last night, I opened the catnip jar.  The kits are still slightly high.  I pull out the dried catnip and roll it between my fingers to make very small particles before I place it on the nip rug.  Both Lovey and Nedi eat the catnip, and they both acted as if they were starving.  Then I pulled out one of their fuzzy, rattly toys that had been in the jar for a month.  Nedi was in ecstasy over that gift.  I put two other older toys back into the jar and resealed it.  This morning, all visible traces of catnip have disappeared from the rug, and the toy has been making odd appearances in strange places since I arose.  It seems I made them happy.

Learning From Star Trek

My apologies for not posting sooner.  I've been wrestling with a tremendous migraine headache that shut me down for several days.  I've been drinking Gatorade and nibbling on cheese and crackers to keep the body going, while the brain kept saying, "Crawl into a dark hole and die."   Luckily Lovey and Nedi know when I'm not feeling well.  Lovey just huddles as close to my face as she can get, and stays there.  Nedi comes in every three or four hours and touches my face with a feather-soft paw, sits for a minute or two, and then retreats.  I guess Lovey tells him she's got me covered.  Anyway, I'm feeling much better today and will head out to walk Rosie and Charlie this morning in about an hour.
   Fifty years ago, yesterday, I sat on the floor in our living room in our small house in Florida.  I had done my homework, and was (probably) already in my pajamas - I had a 9 o'clock bedtime on school nights, and I had just started fifth grade.  NBC was showing the premiere of a new television show, and I did not want to miss a second of it.  The show, Star Trek, was a new science fiction series; and it was to showcase cooperation of all humans and countries on Earth, as well as other planets.  I was awed by the thought of a "United Federation of Planets," and was eager to see what would happen.  I fell in love with the show, with the concept, and with Mr. Spock.  Originally, the first show to be broadcast was supposed to be "Where No Man Has Gone Before."  But the network executives didn't think that that specific episode would "catch" viewers - and, so, the first aired episode was "The Man Trap."    Creator Gene Roddenberry had presented the idea of Star Trek as an episodic "Wagon Train to the stars" and had firmly said there would not be a monster-of-the-week in each episode.  - And what do the executives give us?  A weird looking creature, female, the last of her kind, who needs huge amounts of salts to survive - and she gets them by tricking and killing crewmen from the USS Enterprise.  Poor Gene Roddenberry.....
   Forty years ago, I attended the first 10-year Star Trek convention over Labor Day weekend at the Statler Hilton Hotel, next door to Macy's, in New York City.  Almost every one of the actors was there, folks who had two appearances or more, and all of the main cast - except Leonard Nimoy, who was appearing in the Helen Hay Theatre in the play Equus.  But even Leonard Nimoy appeared, making an unscheduled showing on stage, which excited my friend so much that she was puking.  I missed the appearance, but not the barf...  I had been in another venue, and had gotten Mark Lenard's autograph.   And my group, Mary, Kathryn, Carol and I, got to see Nimoy on stage in Equus, as well as out on the streets of New York, as we tried to decide on a tea room after the play.  Carol was so intent on her local NYC map that she ran directly into Nimoy's chest - and was very flustered.
   Mom and Dad had always tried to raise my sister and I without prejudice toward any one or any thing.  Dad was always urging us to try new foods, new ideas, new places, new books....  I think that Dad ended up enjoying Star Trek for those three seasons as much as I did.  He certainly dove into my science fiction books, fantasy books, and historical novels after the first year of Star Trek.  I really have to thank my parents - and Star Trek - for opening my eyes to things that had been hidden, or unseen by me, before.  Thanks to Star Trek, I do believe in the IDIC symbol.  Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.

Pets, Photos, and Tunkan Hoksila

It's been a busy day, and this is my first chance to sit down and blog...  There were a lot of small planes in the skies today, which meant that Cooper had to chase them all - as far as he could see and hear them in the fenced back yard.  Even Lola, his cohort in crime, got tired of bolting from the living room, charging onto the deck and then leaping out into space to hit the ground running - and come face-to-face with a six-foot solid board fence...Both Pounce and Tipsi, the two cats, were bored with the commotions after only an hour.  They would heave huge sighs each time the dogs charged out to chase the plane...  Lola doesn't do it on her own - she just goes to back up Cooper.  She pooped out this afternoon, and Cooper was plane chasing on his own....   Dogs - they are forever hopeful.
   Walked both Rosie and Charlie this morning.  Rosie is doing great for a big dog who's almost 14 and a half years old.  Her hind legs still give her trouble, and will, for the rest of her life, but otherwise, she's in great health. Eats well, has an interest in what's happening around her, is very sociable - she's just not steady on her feet any longer...  Charlie is a handful.  She's part Pug, and I'd swear the other half is whippet.  She has, almost, a Pug's face - but definitely has the head, neck, chest, back and tail of a large Pug.  Then she has these really thin, long, stilt-like legs...  She's an orange and brown brindle, and is cute as a bug.  Bouncy, happy, always eager to go - and she loves her toys.
    Finally finished cropping and captioning all eleven albums - 1,544 photos - from my vacation.  I am so glad that is over!  I feel I can relax again, now that that "job" is done.  I hate finding photos and not being able to remember when, or where, I took them.  I have to admit that I like the Snapfish albums, and the ability they give one to crop the photos and to caption them...  I thought I had taken about 1,500 photos all together.  I was wrong.  I took over 1,800, and then friends shared their photos from different perspectives with me.  I've weeded these 1,544 photos out of over 3,000 photos...  I'll start sharing a few of the best of the best here on this page soon.
   One really awful thing happened on Assateague Island while I was on the Eastern Shore for my vacation.  On Friday, the 29th of July, after night had fallen, there was a hit-and-run accident with a car or truck that ended in death.  One of the stallions on the Maryland end of Assateague was struck by a vehicle.  The impact crushed both of the horse's hind legs, and threw him into a ditch beside the road.  Tunkan Hoksila did not die immediately - he lived for another two hours, or more, awaiting a licensed veterinarian to assess the damage to his body, and then be euthanized.  Since it was obviously a vehicular accident, the Maryland State Patrol and the US Park Service were involved in the investigation.  Several campers were also there on the scene.  Poor Tunkan Hoksila!

And he would have had a chance to sire foals in the near future, too.  Now his bloodline won't be continued.  Three colts, all sired by Yankee, had been born so far this year on the Maryland end of Assateague.  The day after Tunkan Hoksila died, the final expectant mare gave birth to a filly (also sired by Yankee)....   The circle of life does continue.

A Nice, Quiet Weekend

For once, I had no other animals to care for this weekend, so the kits and I (and Beatrice) had a nice, quiet, pretty-much-at-home kind of weekend.  I read two books and started a third,and loved all of them.  Decades, a television station, showed a marathon of the old Peter Gunn series, and I got to enjoy the fantastic music of Henry Mancini all weekend.  I cooked supper for Saturday and Sunday - preparing Chicken Parmigiana, with mashed potatoes and buttered, steamed green beans with crunchy bacon bits on Saturday; I don't usually make mashed potatoes on back-to-back nights, but the pork chops I baked Sunday gave the makings of a rich gravy, so I fixed glazed carrots and mashed potatoes to go with them.  When I took the pork chops out, I put a nice pan of gingerbread in for dessert...  Everything turned out well.
   Nedi and Lovey were very content, as both Beatrice and I were home, almost the entire time, to wait on them and see to their needs.  Nedi wanted in and out onto the balcony, Lovey wanted to touch me at all times.  Nedi wanted chin scratching and stroking, while Lovey wanted to try eating everything that entered my mouth.  She discovered that while she likes the sauce that comes with baked beans, she does not like Tropical Blend Diet V-8 Splash.
  Yesterday afternoon Beatrice and I went to the cinema - the first time I've been in 18 months.  We saw, of course, The Secret Lives of Pets.  We laughed hugely at several points, and giggled through several others.  In scenes where the pets were in danger, I was like a small child, trying to lend them my strength.  Happily, it had a very happy ending and we left the theater feeling satisfied.  If you want to see a sweet, cute movie about pets, this is for you - even though there are a few scenes that might be a bit traumatic for very small children....
   Getting ready to go walk Rosie, and I'm watching the helicopters carrying dump buckets and the planes carrying fire retardant pass overhead on their way to the fire in Nederland...   sigh....

17 May

It's a little after one in the afternoon here in Boulder.  The date is 17 May.  Our usual average temperature is 72 degrees (F).  It's currently 45 degrees - and what the Scots call a "soft day," with overcast skies, clouds hiding the mountains, and an almost constant mist of rain.
   Since the weather is keeping my mood down, I've been concentrating on the animals I care for.  Each one has different personality traits, and they all react to the weather in their own way.  Tess never wants to go out and go to the bathroom unless she's ill; getting her outside in rain is like pulling hens' teeth.   She doesn't like to poop in her own yard, and will very reluctantly pee here.  If I take her out into the front yard, she will happily pee by the mailbox, but wants to move two houses down (in either direction) to poop.  She won't wear a rain coat, and she refuses to step outside if it's visibly or audibly raining.  She will go outside under the cover of a large golf umbrella - but she refuses to "go." The dog must have cast-iron doors that she locks down -  I could never hold my stuff for as long as she does....
    The cats all have it easy, as they have litter boxes available at all times.  My kits do not like thunder, and seek cover under a bed, or behind the toilet fixtures.  Lyra runs to the window to see what made the big noise, while Lily just ignores it.  Pounce also ignores it, but Tipsi  goes into the laundry room in the basement.
    The Brittany Spaniels don't seem to care whether it's raining or not - but Roxie doesn't want to go out if the sprinkler system is on.  Finnie, on the other hand, seems to love running through the water sprays.  Finnie is rather scatter-brained, but she hones in on prey, and it's difficult to get her to break her point unless you can flush what she's pointing.  Sometimes it's a squirrel in a tree, and the squirrel won't move - so one needs to use treats and re-direction.
    Cooper, the English Springer Spaniel, doesn't mind the rain at all - he seems to revel in it; especially when it comes to shaking his body next to his walker.  Lola, the German Shepherd mix, is completely different.  She will run outside into the rain, chasing Cooper, but as soon as she realizes it's raining, she's back inside.  She still hasn't totally recovered from her abuse, and it usually takes a few hours before we can make eye contact...  But she's a good girl, even though she has a ferocious bark.
   Rosie.  My dear. sweet Rosie. She has had her 14th birthday, and is very grey around her muzzle.  Her hind legs have lost a great deal of muscle, and sometimes collapse on her.  She feels no pain, according to the vets, simply can't feel her hind end anymore.  She gets acupuncture treatments every two weeks, along with deep-muscle laser therapy, and she now gets thyroid medication every day.  Rosie detests getting wet in the rain - but she loves to swim...  I always think that's a strange contradiction - but, then, that's Rosie.  A month ago I thought we'd lose her before the end of the summer - with her thyroid meds, she has visibly perked up and seems to be alert and eager.  Maybe we can keep her going for another year....

Back From a Trip Through Time and Space

Sorry, folks; between pet- and house-sitting and getting deeply involved in three new books, I just didn't get around to my blog.   I'm embarrassed by my back-sliding (not really).  I have been extremely busy in my critter-sitter business, and won't be sleeping at home again until the 26th of May.
   I was up at 4 o'clock this morning, showered dressed, walked the dog, fed the critters, watered the garden and the flowers, and was standing at the end of the driveway at 5 o'clock to travel with clients to Denver National Airport.  When they picked me up, dawn was breaking, the robins and smaller birds had begun singing, and a few of the neighbor's ducks were wakening and quacking.  As we drove out of the neighborhood, there was an oddly-moving eye-shine reflected back in the headlights.  The driver asked what it was, and I was able to answer it was a raccoon - although it was moving sideways, more like a crab than a raccoon.  I didn't give it anymore thought, as we were soon on the Expressway, where the speed limit is posted as 75 miles per hour - the family had decided to sleep in a little later and then rush to the airport.  As we passed one automated signal, it said we were traveling at 98 mph.  Oh, boy....   I drove back to Boulder at the rather sedate 65 mph posted for the Interstate, instead of racing back on the Expressway.
   First, I fed and walked Roxie and Finnie, the two Brittany Spaniels.  Then I went to the house behind Roxie and Finnie's and I walked Cooper and Lola, then fed those two, as well as the two cats, Pounce and Tipsi.  I had already fed and walked Tess and the cats, but I stopped by to allow Tess time to go outside again.  Then I went to my apartment, fed my kits and cleaned the litter boxes, and took a 50 minute nap.  After that, it was off to walk Rosie.
   Rosie and I had decided to visit my sister and brother-in-law's yard this morning.  (She's visited Tess the past three days.)  So we ambled toward my sister's house.  As we approached, I saw a raccoon (this was at 10:25) sidling sideways across the road from Olivier's house.  Rosie also saw it, and wanted to run and grab it.  The raccoon was having great difficulty moving.   It crossed the street, and had a seizure.  Then it licked it's hind legs, which were completely hairless and looked like raw meat.  It started sidling sideways, again, like a crab into the back yard at my sister's.  The (d'uhh!) realization came that this was the same raccoon I'd seen about 400 yards away at 5 this morning.   It had another seizure before it hid inside an airplane wing beside the shed.  I told my brother-in-law and sister what I had seen, and they agreed to call the Animal Control officer....   Rosie and I came over to Tess's house instead.
    After walking Rosie, I have bounced back and forth between the three houses of dogs and cats.  I have walked dogs, watered flowers and gardens, and gathered mail and newspapers.  Tonight is the penultimate presentation of Peter and the Starcatcher at the Boulder Dinner Theater, and Max is back in town to see his Dad on stage.  So I'll be headed over to Rosie's soon to keep her company while her family is out for the evening....   I do have to go feed Roxie and Finnie and the ABCs before I go to Rosie's.
    I just finished three new books, as well as re-reading another trilogy set of C J Cherryh's Foreigner series.  I find myself thinking in the alien language, Ragi, occasionally - and I sometimes throw an atevi into a conversation, because the alien word is a better fit than the English one.  Sometimes I feel that I'd rather exist in Ms. Cherryh's universe!

Random Thoughts

While I was blase regarding the Broncos win in Super Bowl 50, the following morning, I could not get Queen's song, "We Are the Champions," out of my mind.   And I would have loved to have been at the Broncos' World Champions parade in Denver this past Tuesday - but I don't like crowds anymore - and it was estimated that over one million people were along the parade route and at the Civic Center Park to celebrate the win.  Just looking at the huge amounts of humanity shown by the television news helicopter there was enough to convince me not to go.
   The Super Bowl advertisements were a disappointing lot this year....  I did like Helen Mirren's Budweiser commercial; I loved the Audi R8 ad; and I liked Christopher Walken's sock puppet.  I had hoped to see another fantastic Clydesdale commercial from Anheiser Busch, but was greatly disappointed there - a few seconds close-up of the horses mouthing their driving bits did not pass my love test.  Most of the ads this year were not humorous and some were just plain stupid.  At least that good defensive game was worth watching.
   I'm still having very vivid dreams, thanks to my anti-depression medication.  Yesterday morning I awoke totally convinced that I was living in my grandparents' house on Peterson Street on Chincoteague Island.  I stretched in bed, and then bounced up, ready to go out and ride my bike to the beach.  I was very disconcerted to look out my bedroom window and see the outlines of the Rocky Mountains.  I felt cheated, also.  Having awakened in an excellent mood, and being ready to go out and enjoy the sea air, the smell of morning marsh mud, and a delectable view - I was hit by the realization that a Chinook wind was blowing down from the mountains and that the island was 2,000 miles to the east.
   This morning I dreamed that I was in a huge house - part sales emporium, part haunted mansion - and I was trying to find all of the pets that I'd ever had in my life...  Collecting the hamsters, the bunnies, the chickens, the horses and the dogs was easy.  The cats kept running off to explore other movements of other creatures that were hidden in distant rooms.  It seemed like an effort in futility just before I woke up.  So, does the gathering of my pets mean that I'm too clingy?  Does it mean, as one psychiatrist said, that I'm too attached to objects?  Am I too attached to animals and not to humans?  I don't know and I don't care.   It's just good to "see" all my critters happy and healthy...