Belmont Stakes, Epsom Derby

It's a wet, soggy three-day weekend and I'm at home.  This is the first time in 5 years that I haven't been house-sitting on this weekend; seems strange.  But that's OK - I have plenty to do to get ready to move.  This is also the weekend of the Boulder Creek Festival, and Monday will see the running of the Bolder Boulder 10 K race, right in front of my apartment building.  Brother-in-law Jim is supposed to be running this year, but between the weather and Kathy's illness, I don't know if he'll actually participate or not.
   It's now two weeks to the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown horse races.  This race is run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, over a dirt track with all of the three-year-old entrants carrying 126 pounds for a mile and a half.  For the majority of these horses, this will be the longest race they will ever run in their entire life.  Originally, horse racing consisted of races that were between four and six miles long.  There were so many entrants (as horses didn't begin to race until they were 4 or 5 years old) that the races were run in heats, and the horse that was declared the winner of the race ended up running that distance two or three times in one day.  It was a matter of stamina over the long haul.  Today's horses are bred for their quickness at much shorter distances.  Ah, for the "good old days" of 350 years ago....
  American Pharoah is back at Churchill Downs, and is training there for the Belmont Stakes.   It looks like Frosted will be joining him in the starting gate, as well as previous contestants Carpe Diem, Tale of Verve, Frammento, Keen Ice, Madefromlucky, Materiality, and Mubtaahij. Two new runners look to be Conquest Curlinate and War Story.  I will be very happy if we can celebrate a twelfth Triple Crown Champion this year.  And - if you're interested in the breeding of American Pharoah, check out this article in The Blood Horse, "Hail Hooper, Hyperion":   http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/91940/hail-hooper-hyperion
   At Belmont, it seems that Ziconic, Zenyatta's second foal, has a liking for the flashy Spanish Walk that was his mother's trademark:

And in England, the Epsom Derby will be run on 6 June at Epsom Downs.  There are currently 16 horses entered,, and the early betting favorite, Golden Horn, will have to be a supplemental entry at a cost of 75,000 pounds, if he is to participate.  Another possible supplemental entry could be the filly Found.  These 16 colts, in no particular order, are currently pre-entered: (1) Moheet, (2) Carbon Dating, (3) Best of Times, (4) Storm the Stars, (5) Pour Moi, (6) Epicuris, (7) Prince Gagarin, (8) Great Glen, (9) Elm Park, (10) Giovanni Canaletto, (11) Rogue Runner, (12) Zawraq, (13) Gleneagles, (14) Hans Holbein, (15) Kilimanjaro, and (16) Jack Hobbs.  The Epsom Derby covers 12 furlongs plus 10 yards, or 1.5 miles and 10 yards, The colts are all assigned 9 stone, or 126 pounds.

Recent Colorado Photos, Plus a Water Spout in Tampa

Trail Ridge Road is the highest paved road in the United States.  The US Forest Service and the Colorado Department of Transportation have been working for the past 6 weeks to have the Road cleared in time for Memorial Day, it's usual Opening Day.  It's not going to be open on Monday this year.

Visitor Center on Trail Ridge Road yesterday, 21 May 2015

Engineer and plow driver stands beside banked snow on Trail Ridge Road, 21 May.

A water spout photographed at Tampa Bay, Florida last week.

One of many riverside parks in Denver, Colorado today, 22 May 2015.

Flooding in Denver, 22 May 2015.

The Cache la Poudre River is rising in the Poudre Valley, near Fort Collins, Colorado.

Breckenridge, Colorado had an eight inch snowfall last night...

I Am Moving

Yes, I am moving out of the apartment that has been "home" for nine years.  The man who owns the building has decided to put everyone on a month-to-month lease, and has major renovation plans in mind.  He's decided that my apartment is the one to start with, so I have 30 days to move out.  He believes that by renovating these 500-square-feet studio apartments, he will be able to charge $1500 per month in rent, and get it.  I'm afraid that I didn't impress him with my reaction - Diet Coke sprayed out of my nose from bottled-up laughter.  This is the lowest-rent apartment complex in the city of Boulder.  The owner has increased the rent to $800 per month; this includes water and sewage, trash pick-up, and electricity.  I pay extra for my television delivery and for the use of my telephone and internet service.  There is no air conditioning, nor is there central heating.  There is a radiator strip that has a length of five feet, and is placed directly under the only window in the apartment and alongside the sliding glass door that opens onto either a balcony or a patio.  Your view is either east or west.  There is a tile floor everywhere, except the linoleum in the full bathroom.  There are three overhead lights in the apartment - the entrance hall, the walk-in closet (which one must walk through to enter the bathroom), and the bathroom.  There are three electrical outlets in the main, open area of the apartment, two outlets in the closet and one in the bathroom.  There is a full-size refrigerator freezer (which takes up the electrical outlet nearest the kitchen area), a three-burner ranger, a non-working oven, and a single sink with a garbage disposal. There are two cabinets above the sink and no drawers at all in the kitchen.   -  Having written that out, I'm glad to be moving.
  The only problem is that I do have a small income.  My friend Beatrice (who lives on the second floor in this building) and I have decided to become roommates.  We are seeking a place that has two bedrooms and two baths, and where I can have both cats with us.  We are looking for any place that we can afford that is within walking distance of the bus service here in Boulder, out in Gunbarrel, Niwot, Lafayette, Louisville, and/or Longmont.  I have friends that will help me make any deposits needed, and who will help me/us move.  The biggest problem is the short time-span I have to find a new place.  I'll be busy on the internet, and on the phone, for the next couple of weeks.  I'll try to keep the same phone number, but that can't be guaranteed....  It's all up in the air.  (Which, actually, is keeping me sick to my stomach...)

Spring Critters

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?

Feed Me!

Some of "My" Critters

I have a really nasty head and chest cold at the moment.  I want to get rid of it as soon as possible.  Therefore, I might not blog  for a few days, just trying to drive the cold out.

Cooper

Lola

Pounce

Leofgifu

Rosie

Tess - the gazelle/wolf dog