WAITING

The other day I told SWMBO about something I'd been thinking lately.

It was that as I grow older I keep having to learn how to live my life.

Many things I could do as a younger man I can no longer do.

So I have to learn new tricks to replace them and keep this old elderly body going.

One, that the physician's assistant in my cardiologist's office keeps reminding me about, is to exercise.

He encourages walking, if not every day, at least several days a week.

I admit that I have become sedentary in recent years and often seldom leave the house for days at a time.

So, I saw him the other day, and have resumed my daily walks around the neighborhood.

This morning on my walk I ran across this misplaced object.

It's a small stuffed toy tiger.

Judy had spotted it the other day, lying in a nearby ditch, and urged me to stop and take a picture.

But we were on our way to joint doctor visits so I deferred.

Today I encountered him so I was photographing him when a car stopped right behind me and Lori, from down the block, said "I put him up there the other day, hoping the child who lost him would spot him."

I told her she was a Good Deed-Doer and took one more photo.

If the child who lost the little tiger doesn't see him maybe his mom or pop will see him on this blog.

He's at the corner of Thimble Lane and Knots Pass.

And he looks like he misses his owner.

ON THE HORNS OF . . . AND FRIDAY FUNNIES

All right, already!

Last night I had an email from Baseball Steve.

He gently informed me that the sculpture in yesterday's post was NOT a Gila Monster.

Then this morning Steve in Germany emailed me the same correction.

So I stand corrected.

The sculpture is actually of another denizen of the desert:  a Phrynosoma, or a Horned Lizard.

In this part of the world, they are affectionately called Horny Toads.

So in honor of the double play by the two Steves and their perspicacity and the gentleness with which they corrected your Humble Scribe, I dedicate the first Friday Funny of this week to them.

Hey!  Was that another Horny Toad?

Oh, never mind.

Listen Gentle Readers, profit by your mistakes, have a scintillatingly superb weekend, and always, always, always, remember to keep laughing!

(And I never once mentioned what today's date is.)

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

THROWBACK THURSDAY

Once upon a time, many years ago, I was hiking in the Superstition Mountains just above Lost Dutchman Park.

I was high up in the mountains, at the base of a vertical crag, when I decided to scale it a bit.

I saw an opening above me, grasped the ledge and pulled myself up to find myself face to face with a Gila Monster.

Now for those of you who don't know, the Gila Monster is a venomous lizard native to the Southwest.

Wikipedia tells me it has a sluggish nature and thus presents little danger to humans.

But it is a fearsome creature in appearance and well to be avoided.

Believe me, I let go of that ledge immediately and dropped down the few feet to where I could rest and get my heart rate back down.

I was reminded of that experience today when we pulled up to a hamburger joint in my present town.

For what did I see, in sculptured metal, outside the front door?

Yes, my old nemesis, sitting just as still as he sat on that ledge in the Superstitions.

As I gazed at him, he seemed to have a look in his eye that said "This is MY territory.  Don't mess with me, boy!"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

For those of you who responded to my post yesterday about Muggles, she seems to be doing much better today.

She is eating more, is acting much more animated and cuddles with Judy and asks for attention the minute she lies down.

Thanks for all your kind comments.

And avoid Gila Monsters, unless they are sculpted as art!

A PERSISTENT CAT

This is Muggles.

No, we were no big fans of the Harry Potter books.

I picked the name out of the thin air because of the M on her forehead (only partially visible here.)

It wasn't until later that I learned that all tabbies have this M.

But about six weeks ago our beloved Muggles stopped eating.

She also had developed a nasty cough.

And she began migrating to an apparently chosen spot, under the bed in SWMBO's room.

She grew smaller and smaller as she went day after day without consuming any food and very little water.

We assumed she was dying.

And as much as we hated that and grieved over it, we held back from taking her to a veterinarian to have her "put down".

I told a friend, Tom in France, about it one day in a comment on his blog.

He responded lovingly, having gone through the loss of his dog Molly, like Muggles a member of the family more than a pet.

And yet.

And yet.

Muggles has begun eating again.

And drinking.

She still has the cough.

And she has lost so much weight that she resembles a kitten.

And when touched, her body is like a fur coat stretched over a framework of wire coat hangers.

But she apparently is spending less time under the bed, favoring the top of the bed and it's fuzzy quilt.

She still comes to me for her "petting" when I sit down at the base of the bed.

She still purrs.

She has taken up, once again, her habit of coming into the kitchen and banging the door that she knows is to the cupboard holding the cat food, even though she eats very little of it.

We don't really know what to think.

We had pretty much prepared for her departure from our lives.

Yet she perseveres in living.

What a cat.

Great cat.

Muggles.

May she be, like the title character in the book I brought home today from the library for SWMBO (and I) to read, "The Cat Who'll Live Forever". 

TUESDAY TRAVELS

The only travel I'll write about today is the venture out to my back yard yesterday.

The day began with a beautiful and colorful dawn and ended with a magnificent sunset.

I watched the dawn colors paint the sky but didn't photograph it.

But in the evening SWMBO called my attention to the sky and I did grab my camera.

The setting sun reflecting off the clouds in the sky from a rainy day made it appear as if there was a massive fire just beyond the line of houses.

The colors ranged from golden to red to purple as the sun sank below the horizon.

It was an amazing display of the artistry of Mother Nature's paintbrush.

A MINOR IRRITATION

I have tried, lord knows I've tried.

I have steadfastly tried not to discuss politics on this blog.

But today I am breaking my promise to myself.

Last night's Golden Globes telecast featured a special award to the actress Meryl Streep for lifetime achievement.

When she accepted the award, Ms. Streep took the occasion to criticize President-elect Donald Trump for his speech in which he mimicked a disabled New York Times reporter.

You knew that the incredibly thin-skinned Trump would respond to that, didn't you?

He first tweeted that Streep was one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood and then said she was a Hillary Clinton flunky who "lost big."

Trump went on to say that he never mocked the Times reporter but simply showed him groveling after changing a story he had written about the President-elect.

Okay, folks, them are the facts.

Now here comes my opinion.

First of all while I am no fan of Donald Trump, I get a little burned by the actors and actresses who take advantage of a public microphone at an event honoring excellence in movies and television to express their political opinions.

My view is that if they wish to express those opinions they should do it in a proper place.

Write an op-ed piece for a newspaper, do an interview with a political reporter, but leave what is supposed to be an entertainment vehicle as a place to graciously accept your award and thank the people who helped you win it.

As for Trump, how can he call the most honored actress of our generation "one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood"?

And Streep (Hillary Clinton) didn't lose big.

Let us remind the Tweetster in Chief that his opponent won nearly three million more votes than he did.

And I suspect no one who saw Trump's speech would doubt that he was mocking that reporter.

And what the hell is he doing carrying on one little spat after another on a Twitter account for anyway?

Doesn't he have matters of state to attend to, like forming a government?

How are we to respect a President who has such a tender ego and such silly priorities?

All right.

End of rant and though I know there will be comments I'm going to get back, after today, to my non-political stance on this blog.

Have a nice day, Gentle Readers.

YES, THEY REALLY DID

Gentle Readers, if you didn't believe yesterday's post about the Polar Bear Splash, there is absolute proof in today's edition of our local newspaper.

To see pictures of the madness, click here.