What a beautiful morning! A gorgeous sunrise through clouds, a nice breeze, birds singing, squirrels chattering, Boulder Creek burbling along, and a nice 6 mile walk - what more could one ask for (besides winning the lottery)? The kits are fine, but we had a broken night... Lovey kept wanting reassurance when a couple of small dogs were yapping off and on in the Millenium's back parking lot several times during the night; and Banichi brought me his shoestring (freshly dipped in the water bowl for each presentation) at least 4 times that I remember.
Am doing some early clean-up at home, then off to visit DeJa at 10 a.m. - his owner is too far along in her pregnancy to be able to pick him up, so I'll get him downstairs and out to potty this morning. Then Kathy and I will get together this afternoon to discuss plans for an up-coming party at her house on 30 August. - And I just found out that my niece wants to run a Bed & Breakfast; with the Snow clan behind it, it might turn into a family-wide business!
Monday, August 4, 2008
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Live Bird Presents
We actually had a tiny rain shower a few minutes ago! And, with the cloud cover we have, it seems that we might get a little more rain soon. I haven't seen lightning, but I've enjoyed listening to the thunder rumbling for the last hour or so.
Lovey and Banichi celebrated my homecoming this morning by bringing me (one each) a live bird... both were in good enough shape to release them to the wild again - and both flew off, chirping excitedly - they had escaped the sure jaws of death!
Ricky-roo, the young male squirrel, has grown tremendously - and has become a little uncomfortable having to travel between my two kits to get to his peanuts. I think that may have to do with a new cat in the complex; he's a very handsome black and white youngster (not quite a year old) named Zaoul, but generally called "Kitty." He comes by and wants to be friends with my kits, but Lovey and Banichi get all territorial and hiss and scream at the poor guy.
Since I haven't been home much at all these past four weeks, I need to get busy and clean the apartment again - Lovey likes to roll and play in dirt, and brings a great deal of the outside back in with her; Banichi likes to roll in grass and on concrete, and frequently brings empty bird seed hulls inside on his fur. And, of course, there are regular things, like laundry, dishes, and de-frosting the freezer to do as well.... At least I'm home with my kits!
Lovey and Banichi celebrated my homecoming this morning by bringing me (one each) a live bird... both were in good enough shape to release them to the wild again - and both flew off, chirping excitedly - they had escaped the sure jaws of death!
Ricky-roo, the young male squirrel, has grown tremendously - and has become a little uncomfortable having to travel between my two kits to get to his peanuts. I think that may have to do with a new cat in the complex; he's a very handsome black and white youngster (not quite a year old) named Zaoul, but generally called "Kitty." He comes by and wants to be friends with my kits, but Lovey and Banichi get all territorial and hiss and scream at the poor guy.
Since I haven't been home much at all these past four weeks, I need to get busy and clean the apartment again - Lovey likes to roll and play in dirt, and brings a great deal of the outside back in with her; Banichi likes to roll in grass and on concrete, and frequently brings empty bird seed hulls inside on his fur. And, of course, there are regular things, like laundry, dishes, and de-frosting the freezer to do as well.... At least I'm home with my kits!
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Heat and Home
Wow! We hit 104 degrees yesterday and 103 today. That's a record! And we broke the old high temperature record for today that was set 130 years ago - in 1878 the record high was 100. This was one record I wish we had not broken.
My pet-sitting family came home this afternoon, and I arrived home just before 6 this evening. The kits were frantic, thinking I'd forgotten them this morning. I loved them and fed them, and then took some paperwork for my brother-in-law over to my sister's workplace. Got back home and loved them some more. Had a fresh fruit salad for dinner - too hot for anything else.
In the morning I can get back into my home routine - up early, walk, feed the birds, squirrels and critters, take care of business on -line, and check the news. My change in meds is making me cranky - so I apologize to anyone and everyone if I seem a bit short-tempered. I am aware of it and am fighting it.
My pet-sitting family came home this afternoon, and I arrived home just before 6 this evening. The kits were frantic, thinking I'd forgotten them this morning. I loved them and fed them, and then took some paperwork for my brother-in-law over to my sister's workplace. Got back home and loved them some more. Had a fresh fruit salad for dinner - too hot for anything else.
In the morning I can get back into my home routine - up early, walk, feed the birds, squirrels and critters, take care of business on -line, and check the news. My change in meds is making me cranky - so I apologize to anyone and everyone if I seem a bit short-tempered. I am aware of it and am fighting it.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Hot August; Pony Swim & Auction News
Today is our 19th day in a row with a high of 90 degrees or above. Driving to the apartment from the east (I do like that Prius!), I could see that Long's Peak no longer has any snow cover; a few of the highest of the Indian Peaks still have snow on their shoulders, but it's steadily growing less each day. We are expecting highs in the low 100s today and tomorrow, with about 7 to 10 % humidity - that just sucks the water out of you.
The Pony Swim went well on Wednesday; they swam about 150 head across the channel this year. And, like last year, they sold 75 ponies on Thursday. The big difference was in the bidding - apparently the economy is hitting even those folks who want Chincoteague ponies. This year, the firemen raised $104,625.00 for the 75 ponies - and that is down $73,000.00 from last year's auction. The highest priced foal this year went for $9,500.00, while last year's highest price was $17,500.00. I remember when you could purchase the ponies for $25 apiece, and sometimes the Fire Department couldn't sell all the foals they offered - people just didn't want them. The swim back to Assateague is happening this morning - probably at about this time... that's fun to watch too, with less than half of the usual crowd (35,000+ this year).
My kits are excited to see me when I arrive home for a few hours these days. I'll be back for almost a week at home before I head off again - then I'll be in North Boulder with Hila, the chickens and the organic gardens again. They are a fun and relaxing group to deal with - Hila is very laid back, the chickens and rooster are quite tame, and the produce from the gardens is absolutely fantastic! Looks like I'm scheduled to be home for 13 nights this month - and that makes me a whole lot happier than the 6 nights I was home in July!
Kolhbi, Suki's grandson and the Sammie I'm sitting for, is even more hyper-active than his aunt Boo - which I didn't think was possible. Nikki, the German shorthair pointer, is a complete and total love - it's too bad that Kohlbi sucks on her ears all the time - it makes petting and loving her a very gooey effort. Abby has been a big love, too, sleeping on or beside me any chance she gets; Shadow is feeling much better than he was the last time I had him - he's charging up the stairs at a dead run and then climbing the door jamb of the laundry room up above my head. Boris and Natasha are interesting - Boris is extremely extroverted, takes whatever he thinks should be his, chases the dogs, and lets Kohlbi use him as a pillow. Boris is also a very long-bodied cat; he looks like he has about four extra inches of spine. Natasha is also long, but she is very petite otherwise - and the the zeta of the group - everyone bullies her. She is very loving and willing to be held at any time - but the other cats get jealous.... Ah, me....
The Pony Swim went well on Wednesday; they swam about 150 head across the channel this year. And, like last year, they sold 75 ponies on Thursday. The big difference was in the bidding - apparently the economy is hitting even those folks who want Chincoteague ponies. This year, the firemen raised $104,625.00 for the 75 ponies - and that is down $73,000.00 from last year's auction. The highest priced foal this year went for $9,500.00, while last year's highest price was $17,500.00. I remember when you could purchase the ponies for $25 apiece, and sometimes the Fire Department couldn't sell all the foals they offered - people just didn't want them. The swim back to Assateague is happening this morning - probably at about this time... that's fun to watch too, with less than half of the usual crowd (35,000+ this year).
My kits are excited to see me when I arrive home for a few hours these days. I'll be back for almost a week at home before I head off again - then I'll be in North Boulder with Hila, the chickens and the organic gardens again. They are a fun and relaxing group to deal with - Hila is very laid back, the chickens and rooster are quite tame, and the produce from the gardens is absolutely fantastic! Looks like I'm scheduled to be home for 13 nights this month - and that makes me a whole lot happier than the 6 nights I was home in July!
Kolhbi, Suki's grandson and the Sammie I'm sitting for, is even more hyper-active than his aunt Boo - which I didn't think was possible. Nikki, the German shorthair pointer, is a complete and total love - it's too bad that Kohlbi sucks on her ears all the time - it makes petting and loving her a very gooey effort. Abby has been a big love, too, sleeping on or beside me any chance she gets; Shadow is feeling much better than he was the last time I had him - he's charging up the stairs at a dead run and then climbing the door jamb of the laundry room up above my head. Boris and Natasha are interesting - Boris is extremely extroverted, takes whatever he thinks should be his, chases the dogs, and lets Kohlbi use him as a pillow. Boris is also a very long-bodied cat; he looks like he has about four extra inches of spine. Natasha is also long, but she is very petite otherwise - and the the zeta of the group - everyone bullies her. She is very loving and willing to be held at any time - but the other cats get jealous.... Ah, me....
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