Cold, cold, cold....

Normally the cold weather we experience in Boulder does not bother me - since we lack the humidity that I grew up with, I usually find the winter weather in Colorado invigorating. If I were just in my apartment, that would still be the case; however, I am pet-sitting at my sister's and her heat won't turn on. It's currently 16 degrees outside, with a wind chill of 0. There is 4 inches of crisp, powdery snow on the ground and we expect 3 to 4 more inches by midnight. Oh, boy! When I left Kathy's an hour ago, it was 50 degrees inside her house - and that was with the oven on and one teeny, tiny space heater running on high. I shut both of them off before bringing the girls, Suki & Boo, over to my tiny apartment. I don't want the pipes to freeze or burst at the house; I have sent an urgent e-mail to Kathy and Jim in Peru via the group they are with - I hope they get it and respond! If you're interested in the Peruvian rainforest, check out Amazonia Expeditions at www.perujungle.com - they have a very good website!

The lost cat of yesterday was named Basenji, and he lives with Tim up in A-209. He was extremely relieved to have Basenji back in his custody. My kits have been giving the entire bathroom a thorough exploration, since there was a "stranger" in there. Lovey is curled up on the foot of the bed, and Banichi is sleeping with his head resting on my left forearm while I type... it makes for an interesting hand angle... The birds have just about cleaned out the feeders, so I'll need to refill them and place more nuts out for the squirrels - and I might put a small bowl of kitty kibble out for the fox....

On our drive back from Pomona on that Sunday night - Kathy and I were both slap-happy - we were physically tired from the drive, and had been stressed by Glenn's sudden death and the meeting of a whole raft of "new" relatives (to us, that is).... As we were headed to Nevada for the night, driving west on US 44, we both laughed hysterically at the little gas station and convenience store sign that proudly read "Kum and Go." Then we passed a road sign showing that the town of Bois d'Arc was 5 miles to the north; after a moment, we discussed how the locals might pronounce their town's name - then I asked Kathy (and I swear, it was Glenn that made me do it), how many locals did she think knew the name meant Dark Woods? She said she didn't know.... and about 3 miles down the road, she said, "Wait a minute! That's not what it means!" I started laughing so hard I had to pull over and wipe away the tears. Then we passed a sign stating that both Mount Vernon and Chesapeake could be reached by the next exit, and we wanted to know how we'd suddenly ended up in Virginia - then came the sign for Peoria - and so on. Over all, it was definitely a good trip.

And we have a new baby in the family! Glenn has a new great-grandson, who was named Garret Evan. He arrived yesterday, weighing in at 8 pounds and 8 ounces. Congratulations to the family!!! - My husband's first granddaughter was born 7 hours after he passed away - I have a funny feeling that Madeline will be a lot like Jeffrey; and that Garret will turn out like Glenn!

Amazon Pink River Dolphins

Railroad mural in Nevada, MO

Light snow is falling...

What a morning! I have an unknown cat in my bathroom - another non-descript brown and black tabby, who has been de-clawed. I had just arrived here this morning when Jim, the maintenance man, knocked on the door and asked if I was missing a cat; there was one huddled in the corner of the north stairs landing and it looked scared to death. Both of my kits had been in my lap when Jim had knocked, so I went to look out of curiosity. A very nice, well-kept cat crawled into my lap and hid his head under my arm - so I brought him home and reported him to the new apartment manager. The new manager says a man reported his cat missing last night, so he'll let the guy know I have his cat. (This is the third manager in three months...) No-name is in the bathroom with food, water and a litter box. Lovey and Banichi spent 45 minutes sitting at the door, trying to get inside... the other cat has hidden himself in the back corner cabinet behind the toilet tissue.

I took Suki and Boo for a 5 mile walk this morning - at least I can shed my layers of covering when I get warm - It's snowing lightly here; birds are at the feeders, squirrels are gobbling peanuts and almonds; the fox looked in at the patio door this morning, but it was closed. (I do not want it to get too tame and trusting of people.) Yesterday evening, I had to giggle: Silver, the Weimareiner, started grooming me like I was another dog - licks and little nips with the front teeth to get fleas (!?) and burrs out of my "coat" (which was actually my arm). That means I've been accepted totally....

I'm completely covered with cat and dog hair at this point in time - I need to shower and change before heading back to Suki and Boo's. I have just finished a book on the history of fox-hounds and fox hunting in Virginia; and I've also recently enjoyed the latest Clive Cussler novel in the Oregon series and the latest Sister Jane book by Rita Mae Brown. I'm about to dive into an FBI thriller by Catherine Coulter titled Tail Spin. Then I'll finish up the atevi series by C J Cherryh (again), and it's time to start on Tolkein's most famous 4 again, as well. - Plus, of course, anything that strikes my fancy in the library while I'm wandering...

Happy reading and researching to all my readers!

Red Vixen

The red fox can grow to be 16 inches at the shoulder, 41 inches from nose to tail, and can weigh up to 15 pounds. These are the "norms" for a healthy red - but there are many variances in the wild.

A Fox in the Apartment

I fed Suki and Boo at 6 a.m., having left Silver and Smiley at 5:45; I then took Smiley and Silver to the North Boulder Dog Park and let them play with their usual buddies for 2 and a half hours. I then took them back to Suki and Boo's, while I came home to take care of my kits. I had had a bit of corn pudding left over from Thanksgiving, and had placed the pan out on the patio yesterday; when I got here this morning, I looked out the back window, saw there was still plenty of bird seed and a few peanuts left from yesterday, and cracked the patio door open for the kits to run in and out. Then I sat down here at the computer ... the kits were busy slurping canned food in the kitchen area ... I heard a nice, sharp crunching of dry food by my feet, looked down and saw a young red fox contentedly eating away. I was dumb-founded. I still feel that way... Lovey finished with her shredded meat and gravy and came this way; she saw/smelled the fox and fuzzed up and started to growl. Banichi joined her. The two of them chased the fox out of the apartment and across the yard! I am guessing that the fox had been snacking on the corn pudding and decided to see what else was available....

The weather yesterday was warm but windy - we had a gust recorded at 88 mph in the middle of the afternoon. Today, we're expecting a high of 62; tomorrow's high might be 38 - with snow. We really need precipitation of some sort - normally in November we get 12 inches of snow and a couple inches of rain; this year we got a trace of rainfall and .98 inches of snow. The grasses and fields are really showing the lack of moisture now. I plan on moving the kits into Kathy and Jim's house with me either later tonight or sometime tomorrow - then I hope to get back on track with my blogging and research and posting Kevin's family on the web.

I am alive and kicking...

The photo above is of Ranger, a Gypsy Vanner gelding. He's normally quiet and calm, but can and will kick up his heels if so inclined.
That's kind of like me right now - I hope to get back to blogging normally(!?!?) on Wednesday - right now I'm being run ragged by my sister's trip to Peru and taking care of her dogs on top of the two (Smiley and Silver) that I'm contracted to care for through tomorrow night.... Whoooooffff! I'm running around like mad.