Florence Photos - And Elsewhere

Hurricane Florence from the ISS

Jim Cantore on the Weather Channel

Flooding in Fayatteville, NC

Trees down, causing injuries and deaths

Rescues in New Bern, NC

Neuse River flooding at Seven Springs, NC

Sunset last night on Chincoteague Island at the Ropewalk

Boulder, Colorado's Fall Fest -

90 ° weather  Friday, Saturday and Sunday

Hurricane Harvey

I don't really know how to phrase this without seeming callous and uncaring, in one way...  So I'll try to explain.  Hurricane Harvey.  People knew it was coming.  It did not appear overnight.  Yes, it suddenly grew in strength before it actually reached the coastline of Texas; but hurricanes are known to do that.  I feel very badly for every person and for every animal that has lost his or her life, who has lost their home, lost their belongings, lost their treasured items, lost their way of making a living, lost their vehicles, lost all the tangible items of value...  I, too, have lost everything, except my life, several times before.  I am a survivor.  I pull myself upright and I start making headway again.  I might have to borrow money and certain items, but they are always paid back, with interest.  Thirteen years ago, one national charity helped me with $250 in cash, to pay my rent.  I have given that charity more than $5,000 in the last 10 years, and not as a tax write-off either - it just makes me feel better.  I understand gratitude and feel it greatly.
   Hurricanes are a fact of life all along the water front areas of the eastern and southern United States.  My maternal family has lived on an island in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Virginia for 350 years.  My grandfather built a store-ordered Sears, Roebuck & Company house for my grandmother before he married her in 1915/6.  MomMom chose the wall paper for the "big kitchen" which was where the family ate; it had slate grey vertical stripes of varying widths, imitating a trellis, and large bunches of blooming pink roses, on an egg-shell background.  I can still visualize the five high tide marks on all the walls in the big kitchen - a reminder of the four hurricanes and the Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 that the house and all it's inhabitants weathered.
   If you knew a storm was coming with high water, your rolled up the rugs and put them in the attic.  You placed other movable items of value on the stair landings, around the bedroom (only one), and crammed the rest into the attic, also.  Once the water started rising, and was well above street level, you wore your hip-boots out, and waded to your dink (dinghy) or small run-about boat, like a bateau, and you poled it back home, tying it to the roof.  Sometimes the wind took bricks from the chimney.  Sometimes flying debris broke windows.  You just boarded up and carried on.
    I grew up with tales of big storms, high waters and hurricanes.  As a baby, we lived in Oceana, Virginia; then the Navy shipped Dad (and us) inland, to Millington, Tennessee.  I rememebr small flashes from living in Tennessee - but I remember a lot more from living in Kingsville, Texas.  And when I turned five years old, Dad retired from the Navy, and we moved to Florida.  I saw hurricanes first hand growing up, with school years in Florida and summers in Virginia, on the island.  I have to admit I was never in the exact path of a hurricane, but I've been too close for comfort several times.  I've also been through several outbreaks of tornadoes.  Yes, I am very lucky.
    What I've taken the long way around saying (or writing) is that I am just disgusted with some of the news reporting.  The word usage is awful.  People are repeating themselves over and over.  This landing of Hurricane Harvey is a natural, national disaster.  We all need to do what we can to help.  Donate to the Red Cross, donate to the Salvation Army, donate to smaller food kitchens; donate money, food, clothing, unused home items, time, and blood, sweat and tears.
   Please do what you can to help people impacted by this huge amount of water and wind.  Do NOT be like our President, and just Tweet - "Oh, this is so exciting!"  This is not exciting.  It's a disaster.
   

Bits & Pieces

Haven't been blogging because my depression has had a huge upswing - the tear duct in my right eye is infected, and my very nasty recurrent case of shingles is back, making every moment painful.  But enough griping.  The world continues to turn no matter my personal condition.
   My cats are here, loving me to pieces.  It's an overcast, rainy day here in Boulder, with an expected high temperature of 66.  Our usual high on 7 August is 93 degrees.  I have on a pair of sweatpants instead of my usual shorts. A fine mist of rain is falling and visibility is limited to about 600 feet.
   In need of laughter, I have been watching news clips and YouTube videos...  not to mention listening and watching the Randy Rainbow musical videos.  (He is a fantastic singer, and his videos are such a hoot!)  A few of my favorite videos have included a fawn and a rabbit playing together in a suburban yard; the rescue of a foal who tumbled into a huge ant bed; the Muppets performing Bohemian Rhapsody; and a trio of pathetic mental incompetents.  Unfortunately, all three of the people are female.  One video shows a woman who believes that drinking a bottled water branded "Smart Water" will actually raise her IQ level.  The second video is of a woman who is asked how many slices she wants her large pizza cut in.  She firmly states 8; when asked if she'd prefer 12, she insists on 8.  Asked why 8, and not 12, she says because she can eat 8 slices, but not 12.  Hunh?!?  The third video just shows a deer crossing sign - but the audio is from a radio call-in show, in which a female driver (who has hit three deer crossing the road with her car) is complaining that the deer and other wildlife crossings need to be moved off of main roads and interstates to somewhere safer, like a school crossing area, or into small towns where the speed limit is 25 or so.  This woman believes that the deer and other wildlife cross the roads because the wildlife crossing signs are there.  She can't understand that the wildlife crosses the roads in those areas naturally....
    With the cooler temperatures, the three hummingbirds that I recognize are coming multiple times to my hummingbird feeder.  There are three distinct ones - two females and one male.  On warm and hot days they don't visit the feeder except early morning and dusk.  All three have been here multiple times this morning - and I counted as the male dipped his beak in 43 times at three different "flowers" in one visit.  I was particularly happy when I observed a small air bubble flow up to the top while he was sipping away.
    I called the emergency 911 police number Saturday evening.  A new tenant moved into an apartment on the third floor two staircases north of me.  Each building has a staircase, with two apartments on the ground floor, and four apartments on the second and third floors.  Beatrice, my room mate, and I are friends with our maintenance man, Chris, and Chris tells us things he feels we should know about neighbors.  The new tenant, a Caucasian woman, came to be known because she was screaming and yelling at a cleaning crew in an apartment across the hall from her.  The cleaning crew was made up of two whites, two Hispanics, and an African-American.  She was hurling nasty racial slurs at everyone.  The next day, a Hispanic man was doing heavy-duty carpet cleaning - and had his hoses running between the apartment he was cleaning and the new tenant's.  Suddenly, none of his hoses were working.  He stepped out to find they'd been sliced through - completely severed - and the woman was threatening him with a large butcher knife. He locked himself inside the apartment and called the police, who came and took her away.  She was back inside 24 hours.
   The lady had been pointed out to us at an apartment community meet-and-greet on 1 August.  The night of the 5th, she was at our door around 7:25 - she rang the doorbell three times, then pounded on the door, then laid on the doorbell again.  Our neighbor who lives diagonally across from us has multiple medical problems, and we thought it might be her, so Beatrice opened the door without looking out the peep-hole.  It was the new tenant.  She placed her hand on the door, as if to push it open further, and yelled, "Andre?!?  Where's Andre?  Does he live here?  I need him now!"  Beatrice immediately said, "No Andre here," and abruptly closed the door.  She went next door, rang the bell and pounded, and they opened the door - she began yelling about Andre, and all of her stuff, and it was in her place, and where the hell was Andre?  They closed their door on her.  Across the little hall from us lives a couple with their dog and new baby.  Luckily, they weren't at home, but she took a while trying to get them and the lady with medical problems, who was also gone.  Then she came back to our door, ringing the bell and hitting the door with her fists.  That's when I called 911.  Apparently the folks next door were also calling, because the 911 operator told me they were taking another call about her at the same time...
    We ended up with four "squad cars" (although most Boulder police vehicles are actually SUVs) in the lot.  I had called 911 at 7:29; the last car left at 8:05, and called up to us that everything was OK...  I don't know what exactly happened.  One of the neighbors called and said one of her neighbors claimed to have heard a gunshot.  I heard doors slamming before it started to pour rain, but no gunshots....  Life is always entertaining in Boulder!

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.
 

Rain and Miscellany

We had almost 24 hours of light rain yesterday - it was marvelous and badly needed.  It barely gave the ground a thorough wetting, but I'm still thankful for it.  While we got only rain, I can look out my window and see snow on top of Green Mountain, just behind the Flatirons, that wasn't there yesterday evening.  And we're supposed to get rain and/or snow this weekend, too.  Good.  I will not complain.  We need the moisture.  Period.
   I'm still getting over the death of Charlie, the white laying hen.  Her owners left Saturday morning to go hiking and take photos in Utah.  I went over mid-afternoon Saturday - quite a few hours early, but to give the cats and five hens some good loving and petting.  Carter and Xuxa were sound asleep in the living room, so I stepped out onto the deck and headed for the back gate into the side garden that contains the fish pond and chicken coop.  First I saw a couple of white feathers on the walk way.  Then I saw what didn't - at first - make any sense....   a long red and black stick was poking out through the fence...  It took a couple of horrified seconds to realize that the stick was Charlie's neck and that there was no head, and that something had tried to pull her body through the fence...  I went inside to check on the other girls, and they were crowded into a group at the far end of the garden.  I filed a bowl with sunflower seeds, showed it to them, and got them into the coop.  They literally ran past Charlie's body.  Then I had to disentangle Charlie's remains from the fence, bag her, and place her body in the trash.  I cried like a baby.  Charlie liked to sit in my lap and be petted.  Charlie was the leader of the flock, and, as soon as she heard a human voice near the back gate, she'd cackle and lead all the girls to the gate to greet me.  She was a sweet hen and we'll all miss her, and her tan eggs.
   Suede had a colt, sired by Riptide, on Monday.  Being a first-time Mom, and, having gone away by herself to foal, she apparently was at a loss.  She licked him dry and let him nurse.  When he laid back down, she walked away - and kept on walking, right back to Riptide's herd, and leaving the baby behind.  Pony watchers called the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, and a small round-up commenced.  The little colt was taken to the corral, and Riptide's herd was brought in.  Suede was moved into the trailer with her baby, and they were taken to Chincoteague, while Riptide's herd was released.  The new mom and baby are being kept at the Leonard pony farm and are now bonding nicely, in a box stall and small paddock.
   Little Duckie had a little girl on Monday, too.  She is a very pale tan and white pinto, with Legacy as the Dad.  Only two photos of her so far and a very short video clip.
  As is usual, I've been naming the foals - not that any of the names I give them will stay - but it's for my own identification purposes.  The first foal, a red and white filly, by Legacy and out of Anne Bonny, I call March Hare.   The second foal, a buckskin pinto colt, by Legacy and out of Sweetheart, was born just before an ice storm, and I call him Storm Warning.  Suede and Riptide's sorrel colt looked so lost and alone after his mom left him; I call him Lost Tide.  Little Duckie's filly by Legacy I call "The Swan."   -  Silly me....  but I enjoy it!

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!

Boulder Wildfire in Sunshine Canyon

Boulder has been extremely dry - no rain, no snow.  The drought caught up with us this morning.  A man who had to visit the bathroom at 1:40 this morning, glanced out his window and saw flames on the wall of Sunshine Canyon, to the west of town.  He called 911, the emergency number, and reported it.  Thanks to his call, reverse 911 calls started going out, and over 1,000 house were evacuated.  People and small pets can go to the East Boulder Community Center, and large animals have been evacuated to the County Fairgrounds.
   Beatrice and I awoke to heavy smoke and the smell of burning this morning.  We thought that someone had set a trash dumpster on fire - but could look out the window and see smoke billowing up directly to the west of our building.  So we immediately turned on the local news and found out about the Sunshine Canyon fire.  It's a block to the south, and then 1.5 miles to the west of us.  At this time, 12 hours after the original call, the fire is 20 % contained, and has burned 70 acres...  Luckily, no homes or buildings have caught fire.  Besides fire fighters on the ground, both helicopters and planes have been dropping water and slurry to deter the spread of the flames.  I hope it gets contained completely soon...
   Usually March is one of the snowiest months of the year in, and around, Boulder.  So far this month, we have had 1/8 inch of precipitation - a 6-hour drizzle.  Our usual high temperatures in March are in the upper 40s and low 50s; yesterday we reached 82 degrees, and the regular high temperatures have been in the 60s and 70s.  Today we have a high wind watch, typical of March.
   I picked up a client from the Denver Airport last night at 8:30, and he asked me if I thought it would snow again this year, because he was thinking about taking his snow tires off his car.  I laughed.  I told it was going to snow at the end of this month, in April, and probably the last snowfall would be the second week of May.  He was aghast - and wanted to know if I'd read that in the Farmer's Almanac.  I told him, "Nope.  I feel it in my bones."

Photos of the Sunshine Canyon fire:

 

Moisture!

Wednesday, the high temperature in Boulder was 64 degrees (F); Tuesday, the high was 75 degrees.  It's now 30 degrees and snowing, and today's and tomorrow's high temperatures might be 34 degrees.  The most important thing, however, is the falling snow.  The forecasters have said that we might end up with two inches of snow on the ground.  We need much, much more.  Since the temperatures have been so warm, the snow melted when it first started to fall around 5 o'clock this morning.  The parking lot for my apartment complex is just beginning to show an accumulation of snow, and it has already blanketed roofs and grassy areas.  My morning walk with Rosie has been cancelled, but I'll probably be over at her house for a couple of hours this afternoon.  (The afternoon schedule is a wait-and-see item from her owners.)
   The last few weeks, when I have walked from Rosie care to the bus stop, I've crossed the Peace Lutheran Church's field that is also a playground.  It's been strange to watch the ground shrink and dry up, leaving little plaques of dirt among the dried grasses, and to notice the cracked areas around the plaques getting wider and wider, for lack of moisture.  Then, too, I can see my previous footprints, and watch them settle more deeply into the parched ground.  With the area this dry, I am glad that we have snow coming down.  If it had been rain (which I prefer, being from the South), the ground would have been too dry to be able to absorb the water, and there would have been an over-abundance of run-off, taking the top layer of soil with it.  I know very well that it's silly, but, in a way, I'd love a huge snow storm that would keep everyone at home for a week so that we could replenish the earth's moisture.
    Nedi ran out into the early snow, decided that it was better under the coffee table, and then, when a swirl of snow covered him (even there), he decided to come back in.  I haven't seen our local squirrels, but the smaller birds have been visiting our bird feeder, and the local raven family has just appeared to visit the Vietnamese dumpster.  I think I'll work on family genealogy today....

Cold and Rain

I just added a pound of diced ham to the crock pot of beans simmering away, and I also added another two cups of water to the mix.  The beans have been simmering for two hours, with a good sprinkle of coarsely ground pepper and a dash of lemon zest.  Can't wait for this evening!   I'll have a left-over slice of pizza for lunch, along with a salad.   And I'll be sewing tablecloths today, also.
   The forecast for today was cloudy and cool, with a high of 40 (cold, compared to yesterday's high of 80).  They said the rain and/or possible snow wouldn't arrive until after 4 this evening.  It was 38 when I got up this morning; an hour ago it was 35 and misting rain.  I think our high temperature was at midnight.  The clouds were hovering just on the tops of Bear, Green, and Flagstaff mountains this morning, then dropped down to the tops of the Flatirons.  Now the Flatirons are invisible, and I can see 2 to 3 blocks away from my balcony, but no more.  We're getting socked in.  (And this kind of weather makes me want to curl up and sleep...)
   I've "rescued" the ivy from the balcony, but think I'll let the honeysuckle stay out overnight.  If it continues to be extremely cold, I'll bring that in, also.  Nedi wanted to go out this morning, but didn't stay long.  Now that the balcony is wet, he wants out again.  I was mean and said he couldn't go out. With the weather cold and damp, Rosie's walk was cancelled this morning, which I pretty much expected.  I might not walk her tomorrow, either, depending on the weather and how she feels, but I do have a date with her tomorrow night, so her parents (owners) can go out and relax.
   Originally, I was to pick up some clients from the airport on Saturday, but they've been delayed, and will return on Monday, so I have vehicle access until then.  Which means that Beatrice and I might go up into Rocky Mountain National Park this weekend...  We'll have to see what driving conditions and weather are like.
   I hope your Thursday is great!

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....

Heavy Spring Snow; Creator Wins Arkansas Derby

Well, it started out as rain Friday morning; turned to snow Saturday morning, switched back to a snow-sleet-rain mix yesterday afternoon and evening, and became snow, once again.  The folks up the hill at NCAR, NOAA, and NWS say that Boulder has received 17.1 inches of snow as of 7 a.m. this morning.  That's not counting the rain that fell for 18 hours before the snow - and that's not counting the snow that is continuing to fall….  I've been out banging brooms against tree limbs and bushes, trying to keep the limbs from breaking.
   I took Donn's Touareg home to visit the cats this morning - and was very happy I did.  When I returned to Lynn's, I found that a very large tree limb had broken and was lying where the Touareg had been parked.  It would have easily taken out t he windshield, not to mention damaging the hood and motor….  Glad I took the VW home for a couple of hours!   Also, when I returned, the neighbor across the street was shoveling his walkway, and informed me that his power was off, as were two of the other neighbors'.  I have power at Lynn's - but I don't know if it's reserve from the solar power, or if we just weren't affected by the transformer blowing.
   Christine came home last night to shower and change clothes before leaving for her boyfriend's place again.  She asked me if I had the keys to the Lexus, and I told her that I hadn't seen them since I arrived.  she looked around, then went digging in her Mom's coat pockets and found the keys.  So she took the Lexus last night, and left the Prius.  But I'm really happy I took the car out of the drive to go home this morning.

    A grey colt sired by Tapit won the Arkansas Derby yesterday, but it wasn't Cupid, the betting favorite who is trained by Bob Baffert.  Steve Asmussen trained Creator, another grey son of Tapit into the winner's circle yesterday.  Gettysburg, the Pioneer of the Nile colt, blazed  the first mile's fractions.  Creator was last in the field of twelve, at one point almost 16 lengths behind the leaders.  But Creator ran from last up to first place, and won easily.  Suddenbreaking News and Whitmore, the two geldings in the race, finished second and third.  Creator was sent off at 11 to 1 in the betting.  Cupid, who had trailed Gettysburg through the first furious mile, tired and finished tenth in the field.  Eleven of the twelve starters finished, with Luna de Loco pulling up.

Welcome the Rain!

Our snow-pack, up in the mountains, is at a little over 100%, which is great.  But I certainly welcomed the rain that began to fall last night, and which has just begun, again.  Even with several inches more snow-fall than usual last month, we still need more precipitation.  It's been very windy, and the topsoil is extremely dry.  This light to moderate rainfall is wonderful - not enough to cause flooding, but enough to dampen and slowly penetrate the top strata of soil.  The farmers need this, livestock in pastures need it, and our wonderfully varied wildlife need it, too.
   Bertrando, our local male squirrel, has been eating Brazil nuts while perched on the top of his telephone pole this morning.  He left a few minutes ago, just before the rain began to fall.  I need to re-fill the bird feeder - the critters (birds and squirrels) have eaten half of the shelled sunflower seeds in just a couple of days.
   Friday, while walking Rosie in a treed residential area, I was amazed at the surround-sound calls of nuthatches.  I felt as if I was in the center of a flock numbering more than 50 - and they didn't stop singing for several minutes.  And even though the nuthatches have a very nasal meek-meek call, I could have easily been in heaven.  It was a fantastic, glorious symphony.
   Just sitting out on Lynn's deck the birdsong is almost overwhelming.  I can listen to robins, chickadees, flickers, woodpeckers, mourning doves, a multitude of sparrows, jays, magpies, warblers, buntings, blue birds, meadowlarks, a few owls, and juncos.  Add the sounds of squirrels, an occasional flight of ducks or geese overhead, and the sound of bees busily buzzing, and I think one has just about found perfection...

Mali, Snow and a Space Heater

One week after the attacks in Paris, an attack in Mali.  I am so sad that the Islamic extremists believe that they must write their history in the blood of innocents.  I wish peace and understanding for every single being on this world.  Since last Friday, each time I see a news report, my mind suddenly starts playing the song "Eve of Destruction" in the background of my thoughts.
  It was bright, with a few clouds out early this morning.  I got the cats and chickens out over at Dellwood a little before 7 this morning, so hopefully, they'll have a little bit of good weather.  In the last twenty minutes, the sky has gone grey and it's begun to rain.  We're supposed to have snow this afternoon and evening, and a low temperature of 14 degrees.  We'll just have to wait and see if the forecasters get today's weather right...  And they are calling for more snow on Thursday, which is our (America's) Thanksgiving Day.
   Beatrice and I went out seeking a space heater for the living room yesterday.  Our apartment is on the second floor, and under our place is covered, but open, parking.  There is an apartment above us.  But the HVAC vents are all placed just below the ceiling in every room, so, since heat rises, we really don't get a lot of heat down where we are, even when the heater is running.  Our solution? A space heater.  We found a very nice one at Home Depot for $99.  We considered getting one with a remote control, but it cost $80 more - just for the remote feature, and then the batteries were not included.  We decided we'd rather get up and down from our seating rather than spend an extra $80.  It's an infra-red heater, but looks like a cast-iron gas-log fireplace/stove.  It has all kinds of safety features, and it puts out a great amount of heat, even when it's on the lowest warmth setting.  We're quite happy with it.
  Well, the sun is out again, in the east, but I can see clouds and mist forming along the tops of the farthest mountains in the west.  We'll have to see what develops.

Oh, Yeah..... I Live in Boulder

I guess that since I'm nearing 60 years of age, I can blame things on my memory now...   That, and the fact that I've only lived in Boulder for 11 years,now, and before it was mostly Florida and Virginia.
   Yesterday afternoon, Beatrice and I decided to take a little drive.  It was a second day of dreary grey and a continual light rain.  We did our grocery shopping, but still wanted to "get out."  So I decided we'd drive up Fourmile Canyon to Salida, and on to Gold Hill, then take one of the county roads to the Peak to Peak Highway to Nederland, and back down Boulder Canyon.  It was 48 degrees (F) and dripping rain, as I said before, here in Boulder.  Boulder is a little bit higher than Denver, "the Mile High City" - but I didn't even give it a thought.
    We had a wonderfully delightful drive, driving along narrow,winding paved roads in Fourmile Canyon and from the Peak to Peak back home.  The rest of the drive was also delightful, spooky, and eerie.  It was foggy in Fourmile Canyon; and they are still recovering from the Great Flood two years ago, so some houses were still damaged and the road wasn't really good.  Then we headed up to Salina, where they had a huge fire four years ago, followed by the Great Flood two years ago.  I realized I hadn't driven up that way in about five years...
    We drove past side barriers and bits of broken pavement until we hit the unpaved roads.  About mid-way through the hamlet of Salina, the local Climb bus passed us, headed down the canyon.  There was snow packed around the bottom of the front windshield.  Then we started passing snow on the ground beside the road.  We were in an all-wheel-drive vehicle, so I didn't worry.  There were times when we could barely see 40 feet in front of the car, due to the fog; then it would suddenly lift, and we were looking down on top of fog covered valleys.  Visibility was poor when we reached Gold Hill, and the temperature had dropped to 36 degrees - but, then, of course, we were well above 8,000 feet.  (Duuuuhhhhhh!)   We ran in and out of snow flurries as we drove along 20 miles of muddy clay roads, looking at the architecture of the homes, the various types of gates and fences, and a very few head of livestock.
   Reaching the Peak to Peak, Beatrice chose to head back to Nederland, instead of north to Ward, so we drove along a road we know very well in summer sunshine. Yesterday, though, there were patches of thick fog followed by clear areas.  It started raining again when we reached Nederland, and we drove back down Boulder Canyon, looking at the levels of Boulder Creek, and commenting on hikers and bikers we passed.  I twas a great afternoon, but I need to keep in mind that I do live at the foot of the Rockies....
   Tomorrow we plan to drive along the Highway of the Fourteeners - a 19-mile stretch of road that passes by ten mountains that reach over 14,000 feet.  (And I do have a map this time!)

Huge Storm in Denver

While there was a tremendous storm in Denver yesterday afternoon, right at the height of rush hour traffic, Boulder escaped with clouds, thunder and lightning, and a few drops of rain.  We did have threatening clouds from about 3 p.m. until well after 10, as storms passed overhead and dodged around us.  Nedi spent most of the time curled up inside his closet hidey-hole, while Lovey went back and forth between my lap and the window.  We didn't even have enough rain to dampen the grass thoroughly.
   Denver, on the other hand, had torrential rain, lots of funnel clouds, and lots of hail.  Depending on where a person was located in metropolitan Denver, they got anywhere from .25 inches of rain, to 2.25 inches of rain in less than an hour.  Most of the hail that fell was the size of quarters, while some areas saw hail the size of golf balls.  Multiple funnel clouds were spotted in various neighborhoods, and photos were taken.  Straight-line winds knocked trees down, and/or  broke them in half.  Because of the deluge of sudden rain, there was localized street flooding - and the local creeks and rivers overflowed their banks again.  The hail stripped leaves from trees, and decimated flowers and gardens.
   Yesterday was Bike to Work Day throughout Colorado.  A lot of businesses had set up refreshment tents along bike paths, in parks, and in other open bike-riding areas.  They had served folks on their way in to work in the morning, and most were still set up to offer water and refreshments for the ride back home.  Most of those tents and pavilions were destroyed by the rain, hail, and wind yesterday.  Weather forecasters were begging people to find cover and stay there until the storm was over - and also warning that it might take several hours for traffic to clear enough for people at home to drive into the downtown area to pick up the stranded bicyclists.

Tree toppled in Commerce City

 Leaves, hail and flooding at Williams St and Colorado in Denver

Colorado Blvd in Denver

View from office building near Cherry Creek in Denver yesterday

Random Thoughts

I thought I was losing my mind yesterday - was discussing how all British and American thoroughbred horses trace back to only three stallions with a friend.  The friend was amazed and wanted to know the names of the horses - I was easily able to say the Byerly Turk (or Barb) and the Godolphin Arabian.  I knew the other horse was also known as an Arabian - but it took me 30 minutes to be able to say "the Darley Arabian."  Since I have had that firmly implanted in my brain since I was at least 8 years old, I decided that my memory was going.
   My sister called me last evening and stated that  her reading glasses case turned up empty.  I knew immediately exactly where they were, so I returned them early this morning.  She had left them on the kitchen counter at Ba and Bob's on Tuesday.  I walked downstairs, saw them, and placed them in my stack of things to bring back to Boulder with me today.  So.   Am I losing my mind/memory, or not?
   Still awaiting news on the apartment - Beatrice and I will have brunch at Turley's and then she'll visit with Cyrano and Pounce while doing her laundry today.  I'm committed to spending time with Rosie while Joel and Nancy go out to a dinner theater production tonight.  I will begin cleaning the apartment this weekend, as I move items out and into the storage unit.
  Have almost finished reading the latest Kathy Reichs' mystery.  Have a new Gideon Crew novel to read by Preston and Child, and then the first three books about Vlad Taltos by Steven Brust - that should give me brain fodder for a few days.   -  My regular medication causes extremely vivid dreams.  I'm still trying to figure out why I dreamed that I walked into my bathroom and saw the tub was full of greyish water with a nasty soap scum on the top, and a giant-sized dead ring-necked pheasant (in full breeding plumage) floating in the end farthest from the taps....   Anyone have any ideas?  It was just weird.
   We've had a lot of rain near Boulder and around Boulder - we haven't had any sluicing downpours, but just scattered showers here and there.  However, Fort Collins, Loveland, and Greeley, to our north, and Denver, Evergreen, and Colorado Springs are having a lot of flooding...  Boulder Creek is running high, but the Cache le Poudre River, Bear Creek, Clear Creek, Cherry Creek, and South Platte River are all overflowing their banks....   Multiple roads and streets are closed in quite a few cities and towns on the eastern side of the Rockies today.  No rain is forecast for this weekend, so maybe we can dry up a bit.
 

Bits and Pieces

The head and chest cold that hit me Thursday is starting to subside.  My nose runs and my lungs are full of gunk, and I keep coughing stuff up, but I no longer feel as if my head will explode each and every second.  Now the question is when will the sun shine and when will it get warm?  It's been raining for the past week, and the temperature have been running about 20 degrees (F) below normal.  It's 8:20 a.m. MDT, on May 20, and it's 36 degrees outside.  I'm in my apartment wearing a T-shirt, jeans, wool socks (and sneakers), and a cotton sweater - and I'm still chilly.  A large part of this is due to my cold, I know.
  Surfer Dude, my favorite Chincoteague pony stallion, had his death publicized in the New York Times yesterday.  It's odd how the love of millions of people can make a single pony famous - especially in death.  I bet his foals that are born this year bring high prices at the annual Auction of foals during Pony Penning at the end of July this year.
   My local horse track, in Aurora, (Arapahoe Park) will begin live racing on Friday, May 22.  They offer betting on races daily, and the live racing card will feature thoroughbred, Arabian, and Quarter-horse racing.  I just might have to go visit sometime soon.
   All the colts that ran in the Preakness Stakes on 16 May returned sound and in good shape, except Danzig Moon who had heavy coughing spells for 48 hours after the race.  Possible starters in the Belmont Stakes, run over the distance of 1.5 miles, with all three-year-old colts carrying 126 pounds, include:  American Pharoah, making a try for the Triple Crown championship;  three colts trained by Todd Pletcher, Madefromlucky, Carpe Diem, and Materiality; Mubtaahij, the horse with international connections; Tale of Verve, who finished second in the Preakness; and new-comer Conquest Culinate.  We'll see who is actually running as the 6 June running date gets closer.
   And, finally, both of Zenyatta's colts, Cozmic One and Ziconic, are on John Sherriffs shed row at Belmont Park.  Cozmic One ran poorly in his first race - finished last in a field of seven.  I think he was just having a good time, out playing, in the afternoon.  Hopefully he'll develop the need and drive to finish ahead of other horses.  Ziconic has just finished his breaking and training at Mayberry Farms in Florida.   Think the younger can teach the older what racing is all about?

Saturday Ramblings

Well, well, well....   It's a deep subject; except in Colorado.  I was able to get Lola and Cooper walked without rain pouring on us, between 5 and 6 this morning.  Started to rain again at 6:30; but I had taken care of the ABCs, had fed and loved Seek, had fed and medicated Tugger, and arrived at my place to let my kits outside before it started falling again.  I know that we need the rain - I just loathe grey days without any sunshine.  The following photo is of Boulder Creek at the Broadway underpass yesterday afternoon (the shadow is Broadway); the Boulder Public Library is to the upper left of the picture, behind bushes and cars in a parking lot.

I think you can safely say that we have standing water on the roads - this is a car driving straight down a street in the appropriate lane:

This photo is of Confluence Park in Denver and shows a man in a kayak passing a four-foot tall trash can and five-foot tall sign.  The Platte River is high....

In case you haven't seen a nightjar, the type of bird I rescued earlier this week, here's a photo of one:

And yesterday, Tipsi came into the house with a mouthful of prey - a 20-inch long Plains Garter snake that kept twisting and turning upon itself.  It played dead when she dropped it on the floor at my feet, but I could see the tail was twitching a bit.  Once I had Tipsi distracted, I picked up the snake and carried it out into the garden, where I released it.  Five minutes later, it was no where to be seen, so I'm pretty sure that Tipsi did't cause any lasting damage....

I need to bundle up and go outside to cover the raised gardens  - there are sprouts up in each and every bed, but they don't need  to have 2 to 5 inches of heavy wet snow fall on them tonight, or early tomorrow morning.  Then I need to water the indoor plants - and check to be certain that Lola hasn't left me any "presents" in the house....

   Here's hoping your weekend is drier than mine!

Odds and Ends

There was a pretty heavy downpour last night, and parts of Norwood Avenue were under standing water this morning when I went to feed and love Seek.  My sweater smelled like Pounce, and Seek let me know she didn't appreciate the scent of a male cat in her house.  After visiting my kits,  I stepped out the south door of the apartment building and looked at Boulder Creek.  It is rising, but it's not at a level that makes me concerned - yet.  Already fed and walked Lola and Cooper, and fed and medicated Pounce and Tipsi, so I have a little while before I'm due at Rosie's.  Maybe it'll stop raining and I can walk her.

This handsome colt is an extreme rarity on a thoroughbred track.  His name is Koda Chrome, by Blue Eyed Streaker, out of A Black Beauty by Atticus; and he's trained by Tom Drury.  His sire is one of two stallions in the thoroughbred registry that carry the overo coat gene.  This three-year-old made his racing debut at Belterra Park in Ohio yesterday.  He was in a speed duel for the lead, and ended up in third place.  Jack Van Berg trained his sire.
   The Grand Jury was cancelled last night, so I was able to watch the next-to-last episode of The Blacklist  - along with next week's teaser where Elizabeth tells Red that she "remembers everything" about the night of the fire (and possibly, all of her own personal history?).   That episode teaser is tantalizing.  SO glad that the show has been renewed and that they have made Hisham Tawfiq a regular co-starring cast member.  Dembe Zuma is an extremely interesting character!

Wild Weather

Well, Boulder County is under a Winter Weather Watch for the weekend, with  anywhere from 2 to 28 inches of snow predicted, depending on your altitude.  The higher you are, the more snow you'll get.    -  At least it isn't the tornado outbreak that caught Oklahoma yesterday...  My prayers are with those people.
   South of us, today, Colorado Springs had a hail storm that brought more than 4 inches of the ice, and completely closed down Interstate Highway 25 in the North-bound direction:

This ice has melted and roads are now closing due to localized flooding - but not I-25.

Monarch Pass had snowfall overnight, and is expecting more;

 

And, north of us, near Fort Collins and Greely, the Poudre River is over flowing it's banks, closing parks, walkways, and roads: