Well with the Belmont Stakes coming up there is lots of horse news floating around. When I was in Oregon in May, Diana and I had been talking about the "disasters" that are sometimes the fall out of horse racing. Doesn't seem like there are too many straight answers on why or how that is happening. But I just thought I would include a link to a Good Morning America Report that came on today featuring one of our very own veternarians, Dean Richardson. He is actually the one that treated Barbaro. It's so funny to see someone you know on TV.
I came to work early today because my 6 a.m. exercise class was cancelled due to rain (we exercise outside). BUT my computer can't access the network (our internal office network) for some reason, so I am having to improvise. It makes me NUTS!!!!! Nobody here but me, so there is nobody to scream at.
We are leaving for Corvallis after work today. We will stop by to see Kay's new carpet if we get a chance.
Great coyote story! Life on Poverty Rock is nowhere near as exciting.
Well we certainly don't have the exciting dog/coyote tales to tell that Tom and KC have. Wow that must have been amazing and a bit scary to see the coyote "confronting" the dogs. I say scary because a Philadephia person I don't have experience with coyotes and therefore I couldn't tell you the first thing about which behaviors mean what. If the coyote is not running away in a different direction from me, I am worried about what will happen next. What a wimp, huh?
The coyote sounds tall, I did not realize they could be that tall. I was imagining something smaller. Is it uncommon to see them in your area?
Ripe fresh strawberries sounds really nice. You guys are so lucky to have them available already. Strawberries are being sold around here but they just aren't like those nice fresh ones you get from a farmer's market. Have you been eating them? The one fruit I love are cherries, but they are unbelievably expensive around here this year and they don't look so great. I am not even bothering to buy them. Are cherries available now in Oregon, I imagine they are very good.
To answer your question Dee about flying with Sid. Are you thinking that was a good idea, flying on a separate airline? Should be interesting I guess.
But seriously, we tried to fly in the most economical way possible. I had an American Express ticket I could use to fly and then couldn' get a second one on the same airline. So,
we decided to purchase a ticket at a good rate which meant sitting on a different plane.
We will be arriving in Eugene. So at least we get to save some time driving. Since Sid and I are arriving at different times to Eugene, that should be an interesting challenge.
I will need to get back to work since there are so many things to do.
I sure like those REPAK gifts you get in exchange for your work Bop--the loppers shound especially handy. I love the idea of Dee and William working up a bit of a sweat in exchange for weekend room and board!!! And the garden growing under Judi's tender loving care? That's so cool although I don't know how the Farmer's Market managed to get strawberries to ripen so early, especially around your area in Oregon.
I thought I'd share Tom's story of the hounds' adventure at the little ranch this morning (this is essentially how Tom wrote the story, I just changed into 3rd person):
Tom reports that a different dog from the pack gets to stay in the main house (upstairs) each night with Ambassador and Tornado. Each morning he releases the upstairs trio into the main pasture for a morning run. This morning was Kazan’s time to go our with Tornado and Ambassador. Tom says that a few minutes after he let them out the other hounds went crazy.
The 3 in the pasture had come across a nicely-sized (Tom believes male since he was alone) coyote in the pasture and were chasing him to the northeast corner. The coyote made it to the fence, went through the little 6x6 inch hole, then to Tom's amazement stopped, turned upon his chasers, and started what Tom called "coyote chatter" at them.
Ambassador was right there in his face, teeth bared and acting like a warrior. Kazan and Tornado on each side of Ambassador were doing the same. Tom was afraid that Tornado was going to go over the fence so he released the others: Kiev, Nitro, and Challenger. They were down there in a flash, but even with all that fire-power the coyote continued to taunt them from the other side of the fence.
Tom got his gun and started down in “little deer†(a little version of Bop's Ranger) and as soon as the coyote saw/heard him, it took off like a bolt to parts unknown. What strange behavior. Tom says he doesn't think the coyote was rapid as he would have attacked. He was just taunting, seeming to know that the fence was protecting him. He was as tall as Tornado and very grey--allmost blending into the background. Tom says he's sure this is the same singleton he'd seen on several occasions crossing the pasture.
Tom concludes "Good exercise and excitement for all."
I came home with a Black and Decker Limb LOPPER. Bill and Diana are coming down this weekend, so I will have Bill lop some limbs to see how it works. It is electric, I think.
One of the most entertaining days of my life is when I go to repak. I get to meet once again with housewives who also take advantage of repak to get a chance to gossip, prepare delightful dishes in their slow cooking cookers, and of course be eligible for the drawing at the end of the potluck. Few men are around because they are probably employed in the middle of the week, and the ones that do show up, are old, crippled, handicapped, or lazy. They also look forward to the drawings. What will I get today? I will let you know.
The weather here is Oregon weather. Lots of showers, some sunshine, and my, how the weeds love this weather. Judi is really busy, getting her plants to grow, uninterrupted by the threat of weeds taking over.
Sid, have you planted your garden yet?
I am looking forward to ripe strawberries from our patch. There are a lot of green ones! Strawberries, local ones, were at the farmers market. I don't know how they got them to ripen so soon. But then again, the Lebanon Strawberry Festival is taking part this week, so that means LOTS of ripe strawberries.
Well. I had better close and get ready to go to REPAK.
Yesterday, I got ambitious and rearranged the furniture in the little house, washed clothes and bed sheets, shopped for a pair of levis, returned some levis that Tom didn't like of his anniversary present, vucuumed and beat rugs, and saw the super scary movie the Strangers. Today...nothing of such merit except that I have groomed the hounds and clipped their nails, read a book on Muslim history as a gesture towards something useful, and pressured my landlord to get the 802.11n router, which he did. I'm hoping the new technology will enable me to have access to the internet a little more frequently and with a little bit more speed. I also took a nap--that's what reading nonfiction will do to me. Sigh. Just now, I've been working on pictures I took last week when sweet little speedster Zoiboyz Comet won best in field and best hound in the 3-day event. Here's a picture of him getting ready to run with the greyhound and afghan. Today is about 86F, so the hounds are lazying about as well. I think it would be fun to take a picture of Sid mimicking a potato-head on a celery stick. tee hee. Maybe the opportunity will arrive on Dee's 60th.
Here's Comet waiting with Talley the greyhound and Summer the afghan (not imaged) for the start of the final course of the 3-day event. the judges will determine which hound wins the "best of field" and "best of event" in the final course called the "Run for the Bunnies."
Talley, Summer, and Comet wait calmly at the start line for the "talley-ho" when their handlers will release them from their collars.
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...and they are OFF!!!
Comet sees the "bunny" has stopped and begins to set himself to stop as well.
Whew, the race is done. The grey was F-A-S-T, but Comet was fast too and the judges liked his coursing better than Talley's by one point. The afghan chose not to run at all--company too fast, too intense, or perhaps, just too male!
