Living on a Wildlife Preserve

I once had to disappoint an exterminator who came to the door and wanted us to put him on a monthly retainer to come and spray for insects and spiders.
"I like insects and spiders." I told him.
"Several of your neighbors have hired me. I guarentee to keep your house and yard free of spiders."
"This is a spider preserve."
"If you see any between treatments, I'm always on call."
"I like spiders."
He never did quite understand.
But because my home and yard are a wildlife preserve, I can claim anything here for Pet Picture Month. This week I was working in the side yard when I spotted this solitary bee. She was making trips back and forth to this little hole in my fig tree. She would arrive and go head first, perhaps depositing something from her mouth. (It looked like read wax.) Then she would pull out, and back in, probably laying an egg. I came back the next day and the hole was full, and covered over with a piece cut from a leaf.
Now I'll have my solitary pet bee for next year.

Shelley

In addition to Piume, the water turtle, I've also acquired Shelley, a land tortoise. A previous owner was killed in an accident, and a sister kept her for a while, and then was happy to give her to me for my classroom. Shelley's tank was also getting too small, so now that I don't have a classroom to keep her in, I've built a turtle-run by the side of the house. I dug her a tunnel, and now (in our 100 degree heat) she's happy to spend most of her time underground.

Piume

Even when I lived by a lake, my dog wouldn't swim with me. She would fight through thick brush along the shore to stay beside me, but she wouldn't come in the water. But here is a true aquatic companion (okay, she's in the water with me, but she won't exactly play fetch). She's outgrown the tank she's lived in ever since she was a wee tortuguita, so I like to occasionally let the chlorine run low in the pool and give Piume the freedom to run loose for a few hours. One of these days, I have to figure out a bigger tank.

Vicki's Pet Rock

Some of you may be too young to remember the Pet Rock fad, but on our recent trip to Cambria, this one was making goo-goo eyes at Vicki and she wanted to know if we could take it home. I looked at the flight of stairs from the beach to the car and decided we would just remember where we found it, and come back and visit it often. Anyway, for Pet Picture Month, here's one for Vicki.

AFTER

I wasn't sure if I could even get both sisters in the same picture. At this age, they don't pose as nicely as they did as kittens, and Spikie was hissing just to have Pogger this near the food dish. In other pictures from the same series, Spike has a pleasanter expression, and this picture doesn't show Pogger for the gorda she is, but hey, they're both looking right at the camera! So now, have I really sunk to this? I'm blogging about my cats! But wait, there's still another cat, a turtle, a crab, and a tarantula!

BEFORE

To celebrate Pet Picture Month, this is a three-year-old picture of Pogger (at left, I think, though my family may correct me if that's her in the center) and Spike (at right), the two we kept from this litter. Mateo entered them in competition, over at Kitten War, and this is their record, after 1,994 battles: Won: 1271 (64%), Lost: 538 (27%), Drawn: 185 (9%). However, the girls are looking a little ragged now. These days, the chances of getting the two in the same picture are slim, but Pogger is not. I will work on it, and try to post the AFTER shot in a day or two.

The Marimba Tour Moves On

As I continue to unpack the bags from my marimba-centric around-the-world tour...

The evening I spent with Reg and his upstairs neighbors went so well that he decided to join me as I hopped a steamer and set off for Africa. In Zimbabwe, we were scouting for new talent and had the best seat in the house until the lady in front stood up. Reg did sign the two dancers. They'll join his show in New York. It does mean he'll have to send the base player back to the minors.

Then, on Friday, Vicki and I went back to Fresno to help Ignacio graduate from high school. He plans to study Criminal Law, beginning at Fresno C.C., and then transfering to CSU Fresno (although by then, I will hopefully have finished MY degree). He won a Cal Grant to help him do it. Congratulations Ignacio!

On Thursday, I went up to Fresno for procedings before the Federal Fifth Appellate District Court of Appeal, with eight judges present to hear Claire sworn in as a member of the California Bar. If I understood all the legalese correctly, there was no appeal on this one. Congratulations Claire!

A Random Yellow Card Question!

A Random Yellow Card Question!

What would I like written on my tombstone? Hmmm ... What about:

b. Dec. 15, 1949, Los Angeles
d. Dec. 15, 2079, swimming at Cartegena

Here's my honey and our grandson

Whoa! I see I got busy and didn't update my blog for over a month. That, of course, makes me liable for "June is international 'I-went-more-than-three-weeks-without-updating-my-blog,-and-now-I'm-required-to-post-a-picture-of-my-honey' month." So all of you bloggers, check to see how long it's been since you updated your blog, and if it's been more than three weeks, you must quickly do penance by posting a photograph of your honey! Don't put your-self in double-it-after-June-7th jeopardy, at which time it will require a picture of you and your honey kissing! (Some local restrictions--or amplifications--may apply. In China and Brazil, check your local police station.)

Yellow card question

Ahah! Here (maybe) is the yellow card question of the moment: (Which is entirely secondary to the bigger question, "How do I make it stick a yellow card on my blog? And then how do I keep it from changing questions once I have it there? And can I give one, all-purpose answer that will work no matter what question pops up?)

First Experiment: http://bulba.sdsu.edu/cgi-bin/lucien/yellowcards.py

Second Experiment (closer, but I don't see any yellow): If you were given an opportunity to be born again as a different person, what kind of person would you choose to be?

Answer: Well this one is easy. I was and I did, and in my new life, I was a lot like the old self, only better, richer, and more satisfied. I still fall short of what I'd like to be, but I know God isn't done with me yet. There was a time when I would have said I wanted to be born again as the horn section behind Otis Redding. (Ta-ta-ta-ta-tadily-tada. Let me hear it now. Ta-ta-ta-ta-tadily-tada.) I loved the way they were so in sinc with the singer. But now I am insinc with the one who spoke it all into existance. I'm not going to settle for anything small any more.

Reg Kehoe and his Marimba Queens - cww.at

As I continue to unpack from my marimba-centric world tour, the evening we recorded this, Reg and I were just sharing some cold root-beer when the upstairs neighbors started beating on the floor, and he invited them down.

Marimba Ponies- Comedian's Gallop

So where was I for a year? Last March I took off to discover the world's finest marimba offerings. As I unpack my bags, I intend to share these with you. Maybe this will only be my Friday theme. Maybe I won't be able to figure out how to post the links. But here for starters, all the way from Japan, The Marimba Ponies!

The sun never sets, as they say. This may explain what I feel so tired sitting here in my arm chair.


create your own visited country map
or write about it on the open travel guide

Map

create your personalized map of europe
or write about it on the open travel guide
Is this called cutting a swath?

SaltSignature4

SaltSignature4
Originally uploaded by Dad Carroll.

I found this guy in Olinda, Pernambuco, Brazil

Pups

My fox family is now showing four. This morning, under the trees in the back courner of the yard, I saw both adults, and two half-grown pups. I still haven't figured out where they've been hiding up until now, and I didn't get a very good picture, but I think I've seen the whole family now.

Male Gray Fox

Male Gray Fox
Originally uploaded by Dad Carroll.

A couple of stray visitors to my back yard have been the inspiration for taking the next step to foxxy blogging! My first hurdle was overcome when Lucien suggested using Flickr rather than my previous photo server. My second hurdle was overcome when Becka suggested I not attempt anything so foxxy with either of my dinosaur computers, so I will have to do my blogging on Vicki's almost current rig.

Now to the visitors themselves: One night last week, as I was prepairing for a swim before bedtime, our cats suddenly looked like fish when someone drops a brick into the pond. This male fox stepped out from the bushes under the two Sequoia trees. The cats came to stand by my side and we all watched each other. When the fox went back under the tree, I didn't feel like going too far after him in my barefoot tootsies, but made a vain attempt. Then, Sunday after church, I came home to find both the male and a female standing on the back wall. While I watched from indoors, the male climbed high into the oak tree, so I got my camera, and over the next two days, shot about 50 pictures, from which I have chosen six to post here, if you follow this link. I haven't seen them yet this (Wednesday) morning, but the female was sitting on the wall as recently as sundown, yesterday.

Here we are with the Ghost of Jacob Marley.