On behalf of the sane citizens of the United States (a group that is apparently small and growing smaller by the day) I apologize for our electoral process.
Please accept my apologies. And these cute pet pictures. (Two of these are not like the others.)
Filed under Cats, Critters, Dogs, Photography, Politics
Out for my late evening stroll (two and a half miles) I was about two blocks from home tonight when I spotted one of my old nemeses. It was digging for grubs in a yard two houses down from me, a good sized critter, black, bushy tail held high, with that bright white stripe prominently displayed.
I was going to simply cross the street to give it a wide berth, but the skunk started toward the street instead and I froze. I’ve read that they have lousy vision, which was fine by me. It waddled across the street and started digging for grubs in that yard.
Down the street was walking a man with two dogs on leashes. He had moved out into the street and over to my side. I was watching the skunk to make sure it didn’t do anything rash, as well as to see if there might be a mate or baby skunks wandering about. As my neighbor got next to me he asked, “Was that what I think it was?”
“If you think it was a skunk, then, yes, it was,” I said.
He reined in the leashes on his dogs, which were now picking up the scent (the skunk had not sprayed, but still…) and getting excited. He moved on past me and I started toward home again.
As I got to the corner to turn for home, another man rounded the corner with two large dogs. I stopped him and gave him the heads up that a potential major problem lie just down at the next corner.
He was incredulous. “A skunk? Here? In the city?”
He must be new to the area, because we can smell them once or twice a month, even though seeing them is more rare. I assured him that I was dead serious, noting that running into a skunk while walking the dogs would most certainly ruin his day.
“Yeah, right,” was all I got for my efforts. He moved off down the sidewalk.
I crossed the street and headed for home. As I got halfway down the block I heard dogs start to bark and could clearly hear a man’s voice yelling, “OH, SHIT!”By the time I got home the first whiffs of Eau d’Skunk were wafting across the neighborhood.
In the stereotypical big city suburban neighborhood where the assumption is that no one knows their neighbors’ names even after living next to them for twenty years, I tried to be friendly and outgoing. You know – “neighborly.” Our now-stinky friend should have had a bit more trust.
Karma, man! It’s a real bitch.
(P.S. – For the record, we do know most of our neighbors’ names for at least the first two or three houses, with one notable exception. Further down the block, if we don’t know the name of the neighbor, we at least know the name of their dog.)
Filed under Castle Willett, Critters, Dogs, Health
(I had to use “schizophrenic”, I already used the roller coaster analogy.)
For almost all of us, every year has its ups and downs, highs and lows, sorrows and joys. (Insert your own dichotomy pairs here – I’ll wait. Done?) It’s a fine line to a certain extent – no one really wants it to be too frantic or hectic, but no one wants it to be too boring and dull either.
2015 might be the most “dynamic” for me in quite a while. I’m not sure that I’ll miss it.
The bad – well, obviously, my mother’s passing last month. I’m glad that we got to see her in July for her 80th birthday,
and given her condition and how it had deteriorated after the stroke, it wasn’t a surprise, but there are still some strong emotions involved.
We had to put down our cat in February,
and our dog a couple of weeks ago.
The house is an empty place without their demanding and cuddly little presences.
On the good side, obviously, the great job I finally found after a long period of unemployment was the highlight of 2015. So far things are going very well and I’m looking forward to seeing what adventures and challenges the new year brings there. Having a regular pay check again is short on suckage as well.
There were three NASA Socials for me this year, to tour SOFIA in February,
see the LEAPTech demonstration in May,
and the fantastic trip to Washington, DC in April for the Hubble Space Telescope 25th anniversary.
That’s a pretty cool trio of events. I enjoyed myself and geeked out a lot.
In addition to the Washington trip, The Long-Suffering Wife and I had three trips in 2015, to Vermont in July to see my mom,
to North Carolina in April to see a friend of hers and a friend of mine from high school,
and to Indiana in September for a niece’s wedding.
In the air and at the hangar, we had a great airshow at Camarillo in August,
saw the Blue Angels at Point Mugu in September,
and had “Fifi” visit us for a week in March.
Getting the opportunity to fly in “Fifi” from Camarillo to Palm Springs was also one hell of a great treat.
I got to meet some of my heroes,
and saw the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum for the first time.
Most importantly, I, my kids, and The Long-Suffering Wife are all healthy and well. This is particularly important since there was one serious scare in particular in early 2014, but so far things are going very well in that regard.
In summary, there were a handful of really deep lows, but there were an awful lot of highs, many of which were pretty stinking good. 2016’s highs don’t have to be quite as big as 2015’s (although I wouldn’t complain if they are) but I could happily live without the really lousy lows.
Call me selfish.
I hope your 2016 triumphs are as satisfying as mine were in 2015, and your 2016 tragedies are more like inconveniences with attitudes.
Happy New Year. Welcome, 2016!
Obviously.
Already the pee-mail is piling up in the front yard from Jessie’s friends.
I don’t know who’s going to read all of that, but it’s not me. And I’m sure as hell not going to try to answer any of it!
Seriously, our thanks to all of our friends and family, those we know face-to-face and those we know only online, those we see every day and those we see every five years, all of whom have been there to support us in the bad times and celebrate with us in the good.
Your kind words and thoughts are much appreciated.
Filed under Castle Willett, Dogs, Family
We got her as a teeny, tiny pup.
The Long-Suffering Wife had a friend who had a litter of puppies to give away.
We went to see them and found this one – the trouble maker!
The one always nibbling at my shoelaces and trying to kill me.
Of course we took her.
She was not always the most dignified of puppies as she grew.
But she got to be beautiful as the brown and tan colors came out.
She was a jumper, so if you left her in the back yard and went to work, she would often meet you when you drove up, ears back because she knew she was in trouble.
She had a couple of memorable run ins with skunks.
When she was young, the ball was her most prized possession.
She only let us use the kitchen. It was her domain because that’s where all the food is, and she knew that all the food was really hers.
She was as cool as the other side of the sheets.
She could be a happy, holiday dog…
…if you didn’t destroy her pride by making her wear these stupid looking antlers.
She was always on the lookout for the dreaded, “Squirrel!!”
The front yard was her domain, where she would sit and survey the passing world for hours.
Toward the end, she was getting very gimpy, having some serious mobility issues.
The bathroom floor was one of her favorite places to sleep, because it was cool on her belly.
She would gnaw on a bone any time – she was vicious to the bones (and the ball), but gentle to everything else.
Front yard domain, in front of “the rock” where I would sit with her.
Sleeping on carpet was acceptable if the air was cooler.
If not, sleeping in the dirt or on the back patio would work just fine.
In her later years, while I was unemployed and home most days, she would lie under my desk next to me for hours on end. I always thought she knew here time was near and she didn’t want to be alone if/when it ran out.
Jessie The Pup was a most excellent dog, the most spoiled rotten & pampered dog in at least Los Angeles, probably the world. She was smart, vocal, and had a bit of an attitude if she didn’t get what she wanted.
Jessie, the Pupster Beast, was a wonderful companion. We love her and are going to miss her.
Sleep tight, big girl. Say hello to the Lucky Puppy for us.
Filed under Dogs, Family, Photography
(It’s another disjointed ramble, I fear, but I’ll try to keep it short.)
I like roller coasters, always have. My kids all learned to love them. Then there are the roller coasters off of the rails without all of the OSHA-mandated safety backups five deep, like going and flying aerobatics in a T-6 or catching a ride in a P-51.
And the Space Shuttle or Soyuz or Dragon or anything else that’s in the pipeline? Bring it on. You need to “man-rate” the SpaceX Dragon. Just put in a sleeping bag and some snacks and I’ll man-rate that sucker for you on the next launch. (Rhetoric, I know, since the odds of being allowed to do that are just about the same as having the USS Enterprise land in my back yard with Kirk, Spock, and friends. But I really would do it. In a heartbeat.)
It’s the mental roller coaster that’s beating me up tonight. Adrenaline’s a wonderful thing (ask for it by name!) and it’s gotten me through the last month, but it might be wearing thin at the moment. Or maybe there’s just too much news about a certain bigoted, ignorant, hate-mongering piece of shit who is running for President. It could go either way.
Getting the job was fantastic! Having my mother pass away, while not unexpected or even a bad thing given her condition, was a blow.
High! Low!
The job’s going great, I loved it my first week! Our poor dog is literally on her last legs, starting to lose her last semblance of mobility, in more and more obvious pain.
High! Low!
Orbital launched a Cygnus cargo vehicle to ISS yesterday on an Atlas V, and SpaceX is hoping to launch their return-to-flight Falcon 9 by the end of the year. Just about anything related to American politics.
High! Low!
I feel like a piece of taffy being stretched just a bit too thin.
Then comes the healing power of music. Just when you need it most, you get “88 Lines About 44 Women” popping up (the unedited version to boot!).
Go ahead. Turn it up, way, Way, WAY up! Sing along.
I don’t know if we’re headed up or headed down on the roller coaster, but as long as we’re singing, I guess it’s better than not being on the ride at all.
Some days it’s all that keeps her alive.
Days just like today.
Trying to be patient.
Filed under Castle Willett, Dogs, Photography
Her days may be winding down, but she does like to go out and survey her territory.
Soon the dark nights will come, and all of this will be covered in Christmas lights! On a daily basis, dusk will come, the automatic switches will trigger, and some nuclear power plant somewhere will have to put another turbine on line to handle the load.
Filed under Castle Willett, Christmas Lights, Dogs
While I spent my day discussing moral outrage (look for me using @momdude56 on Twitter, hashtag #IStandWithAhmed) and trying desperately to avoid having anything to do with the Republican debates, Jessie had much more basic demands on her time. With The Long-Suffering Wife out getting her nails done after work, Jessie has to sit out on the lawn and wait for her car to come around the corner.
Yes, she had been fed dinner (by me). Yes, she had been taken outside (by me) whenever she needed to all day. Yes, she had gotten treats (from me) whenever she begged. Yes, she had dry food (which I gave her) if she was still hungry. Yes, her water bowls had been refilled all day (by me).
But I’m not “mom.” So we’ll just sit here and wait.
Filed under Dogs, Moral Outrage
It’s hot. It’s muggy. Jessie had to go outside to relieve herself and patrol her territory.
I’m sitting at the other end of the yard waiting for her, minding my own business, checking Twitter on my phone. Jessie’s gone down by the porch where the barbecue and hot tub are, just to make sure everything’s secure. She’s a dog, it’s her job.
Suddenly I hear a tussle down there. Bushes rustling, rattling, and shaking, Jessie growling, maybe something banging off the side of the barbecue. I look, but sitting under the patio light and squinting off into the dark I can’t see a thing.
Another round of things being shaken and then here comes Jessie out of the dark, a white ghost, running toward me, her fur in full “puffed” mode. The running part is significant, since she’s really getting on and most days is really fighting to walk with any reliability. To see her running is quite surprising, to say the least.
She tears past me and up the steps, right into the sliding glass door which is still closed. She bounces off, down the steps, stumbles and falls on the patio, then gets back up and starts looking at me, then the door, then the shadows over by the barbecue, then the door, then me…
Remember that look that Gandalf had when he was fighting the Balrog, just before he fell? “Run, you fools!”
I opened the door, let her in, gave her a treat, calmed her down. Then, probably because I’m a guy and definitely because I’m an idiot, I grab a flashlight and go back out to see what’s out there.
As I crossed the yard I could hear something moving in those bushes behind the spa. I stopped about ten feet away and played the flashlight around, but couldn’t see anything.
Every time I would take a step closer, the rustling would start again. When I got about five steps away, it occurred to me that this was the point in the movie where the protagonist (me) gets attacked and eaten by the antagonist (zombie, alien, leopard, killer bunny, and so on). I did not wish to be attacked or eaten, so I backed off. Plus, I had a hunch.
I went back to my seat at the other end of the yard and turned off the porch light, then let my eyes adjust to the dark. I could still hear something moving around back down there. I just sat quietly and waited.
After about ten minutes I could see something moving down there. I snapped on the flashlight and confirmed my hunch.
Mama Raccoon had at least two cubs with her, and they were using the leftover water at the bottom of the spa (from the sprinklers & odd shower we’ve had) to wash their food.
Jessie had been wise. Or terrified, it didn’t matter. I’m guessing that Jessie might have spooked them when they were down in the spa, and Mama couldn’t get back up into the pine trees while carrying the cubs, so she was stuck in the bushes. If Jessie had given in to her canine instincts and barked or attacked, Mama Raccoon would have kicked her ass.
I turned off the flashlight and left them alone to their dinner.
Thank goodness it wasn’t a skunk!
Filed under Castle Willett, Critters, Dogs
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