Rapture ready?

the midwest womens festival in the missouri ozarks happened to coincide with the day that some fundamentalist christians predicted an apocalyptic end to the world. well, how on earth does a girl prepare for THAT!? i didn't really think i was gonna be hittin' the heavens that night, however, i did have hope for our friend Beauty/Barbie. i thought such a well loved and well behaved! individual was most certainly gonna get the green light and join the celestial party. so, a friend and i decided to help facilitate that ascension by raising Beauty/Barbie and her parachute to the top of the flag pole...dramatically poised for the rapture! but alas, the next morning Beauty/Barbie was still dangling from the flag pole...damp, exhausted and having mixed feelings about being left behind with us heathens!!!

She's back!

some of you are already familar with my 92 year old friend, harveylee. for those of you new to story hour, harveylee lives in northern ca about 6 months out of the year and the other 6 in waco, tx. her daughter and son in law operate the honey stand at our friday night occidental market and she tags along. so, friday evening is my date night with her. we sit and gab up a storm...and do some serious people watching! The girl is a crack up and we giggle alot. this evening we were talking to a third person and all of a sudden i feel harveylee's elbow nudge me pretty good on my arm...i look at her and she gives me the code which means i am supposed to look where she's looking. of course, i do, but what's unfortunate is that i look at the exact moment the young woman we are openly staring at gets hep to the fact we are checking her out and i have to quickly redirect my eyes northward! i don't think i was particularily successful! the occidental market is an EXCELLENT people watching venue...better than airports or bus stations...well, different anyway!  harveylee was pointing out a particularily short skirt this woman was wearing. you know, the kind that BARELY covers the butt...and it was lace!!! not that unusual for occidental but when you live in waco...well you are apt to see big hair and lots of creative make-up application but not a skirt like that. so, harveylee thought it important to bring to my attention... and then we both cracked up!!!

Live action in gophieville!

as i write, i am also watching a gopher poking it's head up above ground. what an ugly and cute little mug...you gotta believe there's a gawd when ya look at them teeth cuz they certainly were NOT made to look good! the first few times gophie popped up seemed like it was just an investigative mission...and then down goes the plant! no more than a minute later i can barely see the gophie's face as it pops back up because it is completely dirt covered...and i can make out the nose cuz it's moving ever so slightly as gophie breathes out...a living, breathing pile of dirt. back down it goes in a flash and reappears with another pile of dirt on top of it's head...and i am smiling a big smile .

Be still my beating heart!

...just happened to look up from the lavender i was weeding and noticed a critter out in the pasture...far enough away that i couldn't see details but i was pretty sure it wasn't a critter of the domesticated variety. my heart was racing as it always does when i get to see a "wild" one...there's a almost a breathlessness from the excitement...that combined with the sprint inside to get my binocs... and i most certainly was gulping fer air...my heart was thumping hard...all that made me a little woozy and as i looked thru the binocs the critter appeared kinda fuzzy! after my body settled down i was able to see that i was looking at a bobcat...she was leisurely cruizing the pasture (in broad daylight which is sorta unusual fer a bobcat...they like to be more in cognito) but never the less, there she was. she slowly walked to the shade and, in an instant, became invisible. tried fer several minutes to find her but no luck.
whenever i see a wild one i am so grateful...and can feel how their presence lights up what is wild in me...and i remember again. all ways a blessing.

and then there were the baby bluebird chicks! OMG, they were so dang cute. their nesting box has been a flurry of activity...two very busy parents trying to keep their brood fed and a cat or two looking for an hor's derve. never a dull moment as they say...so the last one fledged this weekend. i was sitting outside and heard the little gal just chirping her head off. i watched her fer awhile...she would position herself so that her head and neck were peeking out the hole...and then she and her mama would have this delight-full call and response...it sure seemed like the mama was encouraging her to try and fly...and the chick wanted to but was a little too scared to jump...and so the conversation went. then the baby would withdrawl back into the box, invisible to my eye but still talking! i was getting tickled cuz i could easily imagine what they were saying to each other...plus the fact that she had that comical mouth typical to baby birds...looks like they are smiling the biggest smile! finally i had to go so i didn't actually see her make the leap tho i would have loved to...i would have clapped and clapped and clapped! but, the next day it was completely quiet in the box so i'm thinkin' she gathered enough courage to test drive her new wings.

Leftovers?

As i approached my car this morning the first thing i noticed was that a piece of the plastic shade shield on the top of the passenger window was on the ground. so, i stood there for a second visually taking in the whole car. and it looked like the offending coonies came back for more but were thwarted because the window was closed. and instead of the measured, almost linear path of yesterdays paw prints, the ones this morning were much more chaotic...and in place of just prints there were smears of mud going down the passenger window and door...as if they'd been scrambling around trying with all their might to get in but couldn't and slid to the ground grabbing at the plastic shade dealio on the way down. it's kind of a mud painting on the side of my car. i wish i could have watched the whole thing unfold cuz i am sure it was hilarious.

The sleepy bandidtos!

There are certain "laws" about country living. One of them is never leave yer car windows down at night...fer that is an invitation to the nocturnal ones to party down inside your vehicle.
The muddy paw prints began on the hood, up the windshield, over the roof to...dang it, i left my window down just enough so a small raccoon could squeeze in. I open the car door and am surprised to NOT find a huge mess. However, i did find the wrapper remains of several bags of dog treats that i keep in my car for those unexpected encounters with the canine family...a few crumbs on the seat...and...
i laughed out loud when i saw it/they had also eaten some calming tablets...the visual got me right away...drowsy coonies passed out in some random spot unable to stagger one more step. i'm surprised they didn't just sleep it off in my car!

Friendly neighbor?

Franque, an avid birder, introduces himself to the bluebird chicks!

Trilly's journal

With her permission, Trillium, the three legged (and now blind) cat allowed me to post her journal. This was written during a period of time when her peeps were away and i was taking care of her.

Day 1
here's what i got the long one to do for me the very first day!
lay down on the bed right next to me, brush my long and luxurious furz, rub my belly till i thought i might pass out AND promise me turkey meaty balls.
between you and i, she's a pushover.

Day 2
we met outside and i have to admit. i was glad to see her...let her hold me for a little while...not too, too long lest she get the wrong idea...a certain degree of aloofness and such.
a second promise for turkey meaty balls. we'll see...

Day 3
in my top secret hiding spot till the long one was about to leave. she gave me turkey meaty balls even tho i made myself scarce today :) DEEEEEEEEELICIOUS!

Day 4
now we're talkin'...had a gaggle oh gals over today admiring me. i especially liked the long one's sister called the little one. she brushed me up one side and down the other till i accidently drew blood with a little ol swipe. oops! sat outside to watch it get dark with the long one.
oh, and i'm not braggin' or anything but i did kill a gopher today and left it for the long one to admire.

Day 5
today was mutual grooming day. the long one got out the brush and fluffed my furz till i looked like i'd just walked out of a beauty parlor. well, not exactly cuz when it got to my matted parts i got a little grouchy and finally had to jump off the bed. in turn, i gave her a pretty comprehensive facial. she made some odd facial contortions and complained/whined that my tongue was too rough...but prior to that some seriously needed exfoliation took place.
(translator's note: "ouch")

Day 6
Whole lotta chillaxin' goin' on here today...it was some kinda HOT...and i do mean HOT. had to just take to the shade and think cool thoughts.

Day 7
the long one claims that my furz are especially schmutz filled today and asked me where i'd been. jeez louise, i'm a country cat, not a prissy show cat. and besides, maybe i like that look...aw-nat-u-rail and organic like...perhaps i could even go so far as to say it's a fashion statement of sorts. it's not like SHE just walked off the pages of cosmopolitan or anything.

Day 8
she can't find me...tho she knows i was here cuz my meaty ball plate is clean as a whistle. felt only a little bad cuz i foiled the long one's plans to hang with me this eve.

Day 9
i knew the long one was a bit worried cuz i wasn't around yesterday, so i made it a point to be inside when she came over this evening...meowin' and everything! i could tell she was relieved. she told me it will be either 2 or 3 more sundowns till my peeps get home. i'm not exactly sure how much time that is but i get the sense it's not too, too much longer. PHEW. don't get me wrong, i LOVE the long one in a big way...it's just that i'll be real, real happy to have our pack back intact.

Day 10
i'll tell you what...it was a R U D E awakening. i was deep in the midst of my early evening nap, nestled at the base of the glad-eee-oh-lahs, when out of the blue came a torrential rain. it sure hadn't looked like rain when my eyelids slammed shut a little earlier. when i felt the water i opened my eyes...lo and behold, guess who was was not even 10 feet from me? yep, the long one merrily watering the garden! all was forgiven when, after she saw me, she kept singing my name, bein' all excited to see me. a girl can't hold a grudge under those conditions!

Day 11
i remembered it was the long one's last day so when i heard her i popped out of my cosmic rest area under the cosmos to say hello. a love fest was followed by us sittin' on the porch's warm cement and me havin' a little nappy poo whilst resting my head against her shoe. it's a good life!