Haze and smoke from the Arizona and New Mexico fires are blowing to the west; we have clear skies, a light breeze from the east, 31% humidity, and it's 75 degrees. A beautiful day! Even though the patio door is open, both kits are inside at this time... they really don't trust Mocha. Lovey is lying on the high counter watching Mocha sleep, while Nedi is in the cat tree, looking out. Rosie and Remy are both getting itchy again - and Nancy stopped giving them the benadryl that the vet advised, so we'll see what's going to happen. Jim's vet advised an interesting combination of human Pantene shampoo and original Pine-Sol (an antibacterial) as an aid to clean the dogs and relieve their itching. For puppies and older dogs, one uses 2/3 shampoo to 1/3 Pine-Sol; for adults in their prime, use a half-and-half solution. Suki, who had hot-spots, is a very happy girl since she got her bath, using the Pantene/Pine-Sol combo.
Odds-n-ends: Just to drive my persnickety neighbor crazy, I hung a tin and wooden cat wind chime from one of my old bird feeder hooks, and a wild air spinner thing with a prism in it from another. .... The Wallow wildfire in Arizona has burned over 607 square miles as of lunch time today. .... The Boulder County Emergency Operations Center just announced that we might get "minor flooding" from Boulder Creek, but that they do not expect any flash floods this season. (Hooray!) .... Talk about weird! About 25 miles north of Ottawa, Canada, a car hit a 440-pound bear, which sent the bear flying into an on-coming car. The bear hit the windshield directly in front of the driver, killing her, and her 40-year-old male passenger (in the back seat), before flying through the rear window to its own death. - In other words, when you're driving your car in rural Canada, beware of flying bears, deer and moose!
Ten colts are challenging the winners of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness in Saturday's Belmont Stakes. Some have faced Animal Kingdom and Shackleford in either or both races, and then there are a couple of new faces. The race has a Post Time of 6:35 EDT; all colts carry 126 pounds, and they will race for 1 1/2 miles (probably the first and only time they will be asked to run this distance) in Elmont Park, New York. These are the post positions for the Belmont, with a D indicating the colt ran in the Derby, and a P showing he ran in the Preakness: 1: Master Of Hounds (D); 2: Stay Thirsty (D); 3: Ruler On Ice; 4: Santiva (D); 5: Brilliant Speed (D); 6: Nehro (D); 7: Monzon; 8: Prime Cut; 9: Animal Kingdom (D,P); 10: Mucho Macho Man (D,P); 11: Isn't He Perfect (P); 12: Shackleford (D,P). Of the 12 colts in contention, 8 ran in the Derby, 4 ran in the Preakness, and 3 are new faces. Animal Kingdom has been made the betting line favorite at 2 to 1. The purse is $1 million.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Wild & Wonderful Nature
A furcifer timoni chameleon from Madagascar
This is (really) a Great Snipe. They have been known to fly non-stop from Sweden to sub-Saharan Africa in two days' time.
A time-lapse photo of the eruption of Chile's Puyehue volcano, showing the self-produced lightning.Tuesday, Tuesday
It's only 84 at them moment, with 6% humidity and a nice breeze (with gusts up to 40 mph). The Flatirons have been hazy all day due to the smoke from the Arizona and New Mexico fires - but I can still see snow on top of Niwot Ridge and on the Indian Peaks. The local weather folks say that those of us who live along Boulder Creek can expect "high water" within the next week. At least we are lucky and had all that rain in May, so things are green and growing; not dry and sere, as things are in Arizona and New Mexico. - I spoke with my friend Kathryn, in Gainesville, FL, last night, and found that over 20 wildfires are burning in St. John's County alone. Yowch! And I just saw that the high temperature in Minneapolis, MN today was 102 degrees. Can you say global warming and climate change?
Mocha has decided that she loves sprawling out on the love seat - the kits are all hissing at one another, but that's the extent of their conflicts. Lovey slept next to my head last night - I wonder if she was guarding me from a Mocha attack? Nedi has been a lot more demonstrative, and always wants a cuddle. They all get lots of love. I think I'm spending more time loving the kits than I spend doing anything else... but that's OK with me.
Two bats found flitting around in the early morning hours have tested positive for rabies, so we have that alert out now, too. - And Darcie, who lives in Githens Acres, saw the coyote trot by her front door at 6:15 this morning. She chased it, shaking pennies in a tin can. It ran.
Mocha has decided that she loves sprawling out on the love seat - the kits are all hissing at one another, but that's the extent of their conflicts. Lovey slept next to my head last night - I wonder if she was guarding me from a Mocha attack? Nedi has been a lot more demonstrative, and always wants a cuddle. They all get lots of love. I think I'm spending more time loving the kits than I spend doing anything else... but that's OK with me.
Two bats found flitting around in the early morning hours have tested positive for rabies, so we have that alert out now, too. - And Darcie, who lives in Githens Acres, saw the coyote trot by her front door at 6:15 this morning. She chased it, shaking pennies in a tin can. It ran.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Western Scenes
View of the Flatirons this afternoon
The Elk River flooding in Grand County, CO
Smoke rises above haze at the Wallow Fire in ArizonaSmoky Haze
It's a very hazy day here - 92 degrees, winds from the south at 7 mph, and 7% humidity. The kits are on the patio, except Mocha, who is prowling the apartment. My kits slept on either side of me last night, almost as if they were guarding me from an imminent attack from Mocha - it was cute, but warm. This past Friday, Nancy said to take the red kids over to Kathy and Jim's - since Rosie was getting steroids, the possible pollen allergy should be OK. Both Rosie and Remy were very itchy all Friday and most of Saturday, so today we walked over to the Elks Club and chased squirrels in their ball park. We returned to the house 55 minutes later, and Remy was starting to drag his right hind a bit. I'll have to see what the report and requests are in the morning. Lynn left me a message regarding 5 sets of dates that she wants me to care for the house and Tessa and the kits... I need to check previous commitments before I can tell her yea or nay.
The reason it's so hazy here is that we (Colorado) have a few small wildfires burning again, plus the smoke from the 5 big fires in Arizona. The Wallow fire has burned and is burning over 365 square miles, and is 0% contained. Another fire, farther south, has burnt 156 square miles and is 5% contained. There is an uncontrolled fire near Lake George in Park County, CO that is helping the haze. The Colorado Department of Health has warned that those people with heart problems, respiratory problems, and the very old and very young should not spend more that 5 minutes out doors due to the smoke particulates. - On the other hand, the Elk, Colorado, Big Thompson, and Cache le Poudre Rivers are flooding their banks. The Elk and Colorado are on the other side of the Divide, but the Poudre and Big Thompson are located to the north of Boulder County....
Versus and NBC have announced their schedules for racing coverage from Belmont for this Friday and Saturday. Versus will show "Classic Belmont Wins" from 4 to 5 p.m. EDT, and two live races, the Grade 3 Poker Handicap and the Grade 2 Brooklyn Handicap, from 5 to 6 p.m. on Friday. Saturday, Versus will start the coverage with undercard races from 3 to 5 p.m. EDT; NBC will take over live coverage from 5 to 7 p.m. EDT; and then the Belmont Follow-up coverage will be on Versus from 7 to 7:30 p.m. EDT. - Multiple races were named that will be covered live, but no mention was made of the Acorn Stakes for the fillies that will be run on Saturday.
The reason it's so hazy here is that we (Colorado) have a few small wildfires burning again, plus the smoke from the 5 big fires in Arizona. The Wallow fire has burned and is burning over 365 square miles, and is 0% contained. Another fire, farther south, has burnt 156 square miles and is 5% contained. There is an uncontrolled fire near Lake George in Park County, CO that is helping the haze. The Colorado Department of Health has warned that those people with heart problems, respiratory problems, and the very old and very young should not spend more that 5 minutes out doors due to the smoke particulates. - On the other hand, the Elk, Colorado, Big Thompson, and Cache le Poudre Rivers are flooding their banks. The Elk and Colorado are on the other side of the Divide, but the Poudre and Big Thompson are located to the north of Boulder County....
Versus and NBC have announced their schedules for racing coverage from Belmont for this Friday and Saturday. Versus will show "Classic Belmont Wins" from 4 to 5 p.m. EDT, and two live races, the Grade 3 Poker Handicap and the Grade 2 Brooklyn Handicap, from 5 to 6 p.m. on Friday. Saturday, Versus will start the coverage with undercard races from 3 to 5 p.m. EDT; NBC will take over live coverage from 5 to 7 p.m. EDT; and then the Belmont Follow-up coverage will be on Versus from 7 to 7:30 p.m. EDT. - Multiple races were named that will be covered live, but no mention was made of the Acorn Stakes for the fillies that will be run on Saturday.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Mocha Settles In
Well, it's Sunday evening and I have Bruce Willis in The Fifth Element on TV. Lovey is curled up on the bed, Nedi is here on the desk poking about, and Mocha is in the kitchen, under a chair. When Mocha and Lovey first met face to face yesterday, there were a few kitty screams and paw swipes. Then, for the next three hours, Nedi just laid and matched stares with Mocha. Now they all go their own ways, with an occasional hiss. Mocha is very laid-back, enjoys being loved and brushed, and eats like a horse. Coffeepot told me she was Himalayan, so that's what I expected.... Mocha is, mostly, a light creamy brown, with a little bit of orange highlights; her chin, neck, chest and belly are white, as are her feet. She has medium length hair, and is about 7 years old. Coffeepot and Lewis (his son) adopted her from the Boulder Valley Humane Society 5 years ago. Coffeepot told me she never makes a sound - therefore, we were both surprised that she started meowing back to Lovey's meows. So I now have a kitty chorus, with Nedi singing the highest notes of all.
I called Sombrero Ranch yesterday and asked my 4 questions... yes, they provide slickers on the saddles in case it rains; yes, they do provide riding helmets; yes, you can choose to ride without a helmet, or use your own; and, finally, they will provide horn bags to carry water bottles in, since we're going for a 4-hour ride. Yahoo!!!! I am sooo looking forward to being on horseback again!
Things have been interesting around here today - just before lunch, a woman was riding her horse in the National Forest above Nederland, when a dog appeared on the trail and spooked her horse - once the horse started bucking, the dog tried to attack the horse's legs (according to the rider). She went off and struck a tree, having to be taken out by the Patrol and an ambulance. The dog's owners', according to the rider, showed up on ATVs a few minutes after she fell, but refused to give her their names or any aid. They did say the black and white Spaniel-type dog was theirs. Dogs are allowed off leash in that area of the Forest, but are supposed to be under voice and/or sight command. The Sheriff's office is now hunting for the dog and the owners. .... And, just after 2:30 this afternoon in Niwot, champion farrier and blacksmith Jim Quick's smithy shed exploded. Quick is well known throughout the Western states and Canada as one of the best farriers in the entire world. He had been working in his smithy until 2 p.m., when he turned everything off (he'd been working with a propane torch on a commissioned piece of artwork), and went to meet with a friend in his house. About 30 minutes later, the smithy shed blew up - destroying everything, including many antique tools made by past masters. Quick was due to compete in a world championship competition in Alberta, Canada next month.
I called Sombrero Ranch yesterday and asked my 4 questions... yes, they provide slickers on the saddles in case it rains; yes, they do provide riding helmets; yes, you can choose to ride without a helmet, or use your own; and, finally, they will provide horn bags to carry water bottles in, since we're going for a 4-hour ride. Yahoo!!!! I am sooo looking forward to being on horseback again!
Things have been interesting around here today - just before lunch, a woman was riding her horse in the National Forest above Nederland, when a dog appeared on the trail and spooked her horse - once the horse started bucking, the dog tried to attack the horse's legs (according to the rider). She went off and struck a tree, having to be taken out by the Patrol and an ambulance. The dog's owners', according to the rider, showed up on ATVs a few minutes after she fell, but refused to give her their names or any aid. They did say the black and white Spaniel-type dog was theirs. Dogs are allowed off leash in that area of the Forest, but are supposed to be under voice and/or sight command. The Sheriff's office is now hunting for the dog and the owners. .... And, just after 2:30 this afternoon in Niwot, champion farrier and blacksmith Jim Quick's smithy shed exploded. Quick is well known throughout the Western states and Canada as one of the best farriers in the entire world. He had been working in his smithy until 2 p.m., when he turned everything off (he'd been working with a propane torch on a commissioned piece of artwork), and went to meet with a friend in his house. About 30 minutes later, the smithy shed blew up - destroying everything, including many antique tools made by past masters. Quick was due to compete in a world championship competition in Alberta, Canada next month.
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