skunk, walk

Black Kitty?

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It is that time of year once more. The black kitty cats with the charming white stripe are back in force. Last night as Molly and I were walking, at 10:30pm when the temperature finally dropped to bearable, we had the joy of renewing our acquaintance with our fine furry friends.

We came around the corner and there were a not-so-shy pair of these fine creatures

frolicking in the grass and trees beside the path. Of course Molly desperately wanted to go make friends and I just as desperately wanted to leave the area without making introductions. I was very happy that Molly was on the leash so I could convince her to journey on without saying hello.

Another half mile down the path, we ran into a friend and his dog out walking and stopped to chat. Given the friend had undergone the joy of a fully sprayed dog a few years ago, he decided that a return to the homestead might be the better course of action for the evening. As we walked together, what should we see but another skunk scurrying across the path in front of us.

It is the season of the year to keep one’s eyes peeled. The skunks are coming out in force as grub season arrives and they go foraging. It normally might not be too bad, but this year there have already been attacks on humans and animals by rabid skunks in the region.  That means that the normally timid skunks may now charge rather than sauntering off.

The thing that amazes me is the number people who walk within feet of a skunk and think it must be a kitty cat. When you warn them that those kitty cats are skunks, they tend to look askance at you. Maybe their night vision is gone?

In any case, the real question is whether to endure the heat by walking in the light or to endure the risk of skunk by walking in the cool of the night? Which would you do?

music, phantom of the opera, weather

Wet and more Wet

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It was sunny until this evening – a real rarity given the rain we have had for the last four days. Nothing like getting inches of rain in the desert to bring on the flash flood warnings and sucking mud in the fields and gardens. At least Molly and I got out for our walk before it rained again this evening.

It has been amusing weather. Last week Molly and I were walking after 10pm so that it would be cool enough to get our 5 miles in without sweating to death. This week we are walking mid-afternoon to stay warm enough not to shiver in the cool. L reported that they even had snow up in the mountains this morning. In a few words, really strange weather of late. At least our melons and squash in the garden seem to be liking it.

Today as Molly and I walked, I listened to “Phantom of the Opera”, the original London cast recording version. I have never heard another version where the voices of the phantom and Christine are so piercingly perfect. It gives me goosebumps repeatedly as I listen to it. (I also like it because the full soundtrack is just about the perfect length for a 6 mile walk – the music ends just as I hit the front door step, arriving home – no jarring letdown of other music in mid-walk.) “The Phantom of the Opera” is the best music Andrew Lloyd Webber ever wrote – at least in my opinion.

So here is “The Phantom of the Opera” theme sung by Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford, the original cast members from London:

Enjoy!

Murphy's law, oddity

Murphy

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Murphy is alive and well (and seems to be living with me).  You know Mr. Murphy – the man behind the famous law: anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. He and his eponymous law were in fine fettle today.

It all began when Molly and I decided to go for our walk mid-afternoon since the weather was relatively cool. We got just far enough to get sweaty and stinky, but not far enough to get any real exercise, when the cell rang. It was the artist making some prototype logos for the 5k pet walk/run we have coming up. So Molly and I turned back to meet with the artist. I really hope he enjoyed being couped up with sweaty and stinky me across the table from him.

Then I set out to fix the slow drain in the bathroom. It had reached the point of slowness that I was afraid it would overflow soon if I got distracted while the water was running. So I gathered the requisite equipment and got ready to go to town. Guess what? The drain wouldn’t go slow. It was draining perfectly. Nothing I could do would make it revert to it’s slow moving way of only a few hours ago.

I won’t even mention what happened to the hamburger I fixed for supper. Let me just say that Molly the dog dined exceptionally well tonight. The only good out of it is that Molly is sitting here making gooey eyes at me in utter admiration for the fine meal.

With that, I think I will go to bed. Assuming the bed doesn’t up and run away as I try to lie down.

June bug, weather

June It Is

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Yesterday was a typical day except …

The severe thunderstorm warnings started in late afternoon.
The tornado warnings started in early evening
Blogger had troubles that prevented posting and/or commenting

In any case, Molly and I headed out for our walk after the storms passed at 9pm. And then it became clear that this was indeed June. Every patch of lighted ground we walked on was covered with spastic june bugs, natures proof of concept that intelligence is not needed for survival. For those unfamiliar with these beetles, they look like this:

They spend the first couple of years of their life as grubs underground looking like this:

Then they emerge from the ground in June as beetles to feed and mate.

June bugs are really stupid. They and fly to any lighted area and make amazingly loud buzzing sounds as they try to use their wings while laying upside on the sidewalk or up against your window screen. They are so dumb that they often crash on landing and end up upside down, buzzing like mad as they try to get turned back over.

Likewise they like to mate on the ground under lights. Exhibitionist? Maybe. Stupid? For sure. Every bug eater around gorges on them to the point that they won’t touch them any more. And so the rest are safe to mate and propagate the species, continuing on with no evidence any intelligence. They make bugs like cockroaches look like tiny Albert Einsteins.

But the real reason I dislike them, beyond the fact that they fly directly into your hair and face, is the the horrible crunching sound they make as they sit on the sidewalk and you walk on them. They are so dumb they make no attempt to flee – they just sit there and get crunched. At least Molly dog is smart enough not to eat them. Our previous dog, a Basset hound, used to snuffle them up and come home with his jowls full of beetles. Nothing worse than a dog laying on the floor with beetles crawling out of the mouth. Ugh.

Time to listen to some music to get that horrible crunching sound out of my head.

birds, drunks

Drunken Birds?

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My sense of the absurd was grabbed and throttled today by reports of drunken birds falling from the sky down under. In particular, red-collared lorikeets seem to be eating something that leaves them too drunk to fly and/or stand. It is not like a red-collared lorikeet is that inconspicuous of a bird to begin with:

Red-collared Lorikeets
(Credit: Mitch Reardon)

Now picture these guys falling out of the sky and trees drunk. As the original report in the Australian Geographic Journal reports:

SEEMINGLY DRUNKEN AND HUNGOVER parrots are dropping out of the sky in the Northern Territory and experts are at a loss to explain why.

The red-collared lorikeets lose coordination and pass out after eating a mystery food, Lisa Hansen, of the Ark Animal Hospital at Palmerston, near Darwin said on Thursday. Red-collared lorikeets are an NT subspecies of the rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus rubritorquis).

“It happens every year around this season, they lose all balance and we find them fallen out of trees and the sky,” she says. “Unless someone intervenes, they can’t fly and will get picked up by predators.”

Read more: http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/drunken-parrots-falling-from-sky.htm#ixzz0pwQbWM7r

I can’t wait until the crows and robins around here learn which plant leads to intoxication. Think of it – hundreds of crows and robins crashing to the ground all around. The cats would be in seventh heaven. (Unless they decide to hit the catnip instead.)

Drunken birds do happen every once in a blue moon around here when berries ferment on the bushes and the birds imbibe, but it usually isn’t to the point they cannot stand up – it just makes them fly a little funny and poop a lot.

Are your birds hitting the sauce as summer begins (actually winter down under)?

Things Done Right