The Lost Day

I'm bummed that I already missed a day! I didn't even turn on the computer at all yesterday. I'm making no excuses, but for what its worth, here is a recap of my Monday...

6:30 am - The alarm goes off, UGH! My whole body is sore! I try to be optimistic and chalk it up to the way I slept. I stretch out and hit the snooze button.

6:40 am - Still sore. I had made plans to meet a friend at 8 am and go with her to her riding lesson...I was pretty sure I wasn't going to make it. Too early to call, I doze until...

7:26 am - I manage to get out of bed to call my friend to give my regrets. I don't get sick very often, but I'm afraid this time I have to admit I've got a bug. Back to bed and back to sleep.

9:45 am - I get out of bed, feed the dog, migrate to the recliner, eat a cracker, sip some water and fall asleep.

12:00 pm - The noon news is on and I manage to watch it until the end. Its a good thing Roger is a patient dog, because it is around this time that I realize I haven't taken him outside yet. With great effort this is accomplished. My usual practice of mind over matter is just not working!

1:30 pm - After more dozing in the recliner I migrate to the couch. Roger is right there with some comforting snuggles. He sure makes me smile! I sleep some more.

4:15 pm - I take my temperature. It is 99.8 (my normal is usually below normal). I doze off and on some more.

6:00 pm - I feed Roger his dinner and take him outside without making him wait this time. Back to the recliner, sip some more water, think about NaBloWriMo, but take no action. I mindlessly watch TV in between dozing, without recall of what was on.

9:45 pm - I manage a bowl of Rice Chex and some more water. I think briefly again about NaBloWriMo, but it just takes more energy than I can muster.

10:00 pm - Off to bed after brushing my teeth and taking a couple of Ibuprofen. Of significant note here...I made a conscious decision not to floss. Normally I have a very hard time not flossing. It wasn't always this way, but I can count on one hand the nights I've gone without flossing in the past 18 months.

Thankfully, I slept peacefully through the night, dreaming of kayaking on Lake Tahoe, and awoke feeling 99% better.

Hopefully, this will be the last time anyone will have to read such a pitiful post from me.

Sunday Scenes

Today my daughter and I went to a local festival. We had discussed going to lunch afterward, but we really got a late start, and by the time we'd seen all there was to see we decided it was too late for lunch and too early for dinner. What to do? I talked her into going for a little Sunday drive in search of photo opportunities.

First we came upon a gang of wild turkeys in an olive orchard. (Gang really is an accepted term for a group of turkeys, as is rafter. I found that out here). They proved to be camera shy, so this is the best photo I could manage before the fled completely out of range.



Across the road from the turkeys I spied these wild grapes.



A little farther on we ran into these cattle grazing in the yard of what once was probably a quite comfortable farm house.



From here we checked out a couple of side roads before heading back. We saw a few more turkeys who crossed the road in front of us and disappeared into a thicket, but nothing else really photo worthy. Our happy little jaunt took us right to dinnertime.

Ahhhh! Autumn!

The days are still bright and sunny, but not sweaty hot. The nighttime and early mornings are crisp and cool, but not shivery cold. Some of the trees around town are beginning to show off their bright colors, while crispy, crinkly oak leaves, in their not so spectacular shades of brown and green, are starting to litter the lawn. Each season has its own special offering, but autumn is by far my favorite.

It wasn't always that way, however. When I was a kid it was all about summer, with countless carefree days spent playing outside, usually barefoot. The long, warm summer evenings were perfect for playing kick-the-can in our cul-de-sac. Summers now still mean fun, but the heat has become much more of an issue. These days, playing outside is always more enjoyable if water is involved.

Spring is always welcome after the cold, short days of winter. The fruit trees, dogwoods and wildflowers bloom, the hills are blanketed in my favorite shade of green, and the temperatures are pleasant. The problem with spring, however, is that it passes too quickly. All too soon the wildflowers fade, the hills turn golden and the thermometer soars to 100.

As for winter, it serves it purpose. I don't complain when winter arrives since ours here aren't too harsh or unbearably long. The occasional snow storms we get are always welcomed with childlike glee, despite the havoc they can create. Likewise, I never complain when winter comes to an end.

Time now to savor all of autumn's goodness...let the raking begin!

Skunks and Geese

Surprisingly (or not), I'm already at a loss for inspiration, so here, just under the wire, is one of my favorite jokes....

There were two baby skunks named In and Out. When In was in Out was out, and when In was out Out was in. One day mama skunk noticed that In hadn't been in in a while, so she said to Out, "Out, please go out and find In so he can come back in." Out went out, looked around, and a couple of minutes later In was back in. Pleased, mama skunk asked Out, "Out, however did you find In so quickly?" Out replied, "Instinct!"


And here is my favorite trivia question...

Picture geese migrating in their typical "V" formation. Most of the time one side of the "V" is longer than the other. Why is that?

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There are more geese on that side!


Do I hear groaning?

Please vote for Luke!

Today is the first day of Nationial Blog Writing Month!

I decided to start off with a shameless plug for a Flickr friend who has entered a photo of one of her standard poodles in a contest, the first prize of which is a gift card to Petco. Mary is seeking to volunteer her time and talents to grooming the dogs that are up for adoption at her local humane society, not only so they will look better (hence, more adoptable), but feel better, too. This organization has no volunteers to help with grooming and they are completely lacking any type of grooming equipment. If Mary wins she will be purchasing clippers and other supplies for use only on the shelter dogs. Here's the rub...while the picture of Luke helping to clean up "their" lake is currently in first place, the winner will be chosen by the site's editorial staff from among the top 10 highest scoring entries. Besides votes, they look at viewing and commenting activity and they also track how many times the entries have been shared on social networks. The contest continues throughout the month of October and you can vote once per 24 hour period, and, best of all, there is no registration required! Just click on this link, then click on "Vote for this Entry." It could hardly be easier! Who could say "no" to something so easy and so worthwhile?

Thanks for your time.

Starting tomorrow...

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a master procrastinator! This time, however, I have a valid reason for waiting until tomorrow. October is National Blog Writing Month and I have accepted the challenge of posting every day for the entire month. I cannot promise that every day will be entertaining, informative, inspirational or thought provoking, but it is my hope that someone besides myself will get a little something from my blog. I'm also hoping that by completing this challenge, come November I will find it easier to post more often than once every few months.

If you read this before 7pm mountain time and want to join in the fun, go here --> http://nablowrimo.blogspot.com/

Goats

Today I noticed a herd of goats contained in an area alongside the creek which is part of the wildlife refuge area of our local community college. Of course I had to stop to snap a few pictures. They were completely charming and, for the most part, very calm. There was a time when a couple of the smaller ones got frisky, which enticed a few more to follow suit. They ran around, jumping onto and over logs, seemingly for the pure joy of it. Then a couple of the larger ones had a head-butting incident that was over quickly, with no apparent injury or hard feelings. As I was preparing to leave, we were approached by a woman who had arrived to make a daily check on the goats and she asked me if they had been cooperating. She confirmed what I'd heard about goats, that they are very social creatures. As we talked I learned that were 34 goats in all and their job was to graze down the blackberry bushes that choke out the native vegetation and prevent wildlife and people from accessing the creek. Most of the goats belong to the college and are named after important people on campus. They had names like Doug, Ken, Rich and Gary.

This one is Gary...

This one ic KC, a grandma who has no teeth...

And here's the best (only) shot I was able to manage of the head-butting...
And just in case anyone has been wondering, I haven't abandoned my daly photo project, I just managed to get behind in posting to the blog (now THAT'S a surprise!). I'm eternally optimistic, however, and I have high hopes that I will be able to caught up. Until that time, for anyone so inclined, you can just view them here.