I heard Mark exclaim "Gagghhh!!! You're really part pig, aren't you, Daisy?!" so I looked out the window. I shouldn't have. What used to be the tri-color new dog in town was now a uniform, dripping mud brown. Worse still, she had convinced Brou to follow her into the mud wallow. So much for the vet insisting that we keep his surgery site clean. Sigh.
With the addition of this newest warm body to the clan of the rat trailer, I was beginning to understand the concept of population stress. I was having a serious lemming moment, in fact, so I rounded up the kitty boys to go hiking in search of cliffs. Ms. Daisy was secured to the grounds but Brou tagged along with us. The cats seemed a little miffed that we didn't leave him behind like we did last time but got over it quickly.
About a mile away from home base, we were hiking along half way up the mesa when a low flying B1 bomber flew directly, and I do mean directly, overhead. Close enough to see some details, loud enough to raise the hackles on everyone in the hiking party. It was awesome! Well, at least I thought so but, then again, I am a gearhead. Brou went berserk, barking and jumping up and down as he loves to do when the low fliers approach. Ming the cat velcroed himself in place, his eyes so big that they were almost glowing, his ears dead-sideways and now looking like two black horns. He laughably looked like a demon having a very bad hair day. But where was Beautiful Dave the Cat? He must have taken off like a jack rabbit because I spotted him some five minutes later emerging from the shelter of a cliff wall a good distance away.
Between the fly-over and seeing several new-to-me flowering desert plants, it was a marvelous walk about. Well, maybe 'the boys' didn't think so but I sure did.
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Humor of the day: (from buddy John E. in Phoenix)
Happy Mother's Day
So, we had this great 10 year old cat named Jack who just recently died. Jack was a great cat and the kids would carry him around and sit on him and nothing ever bothered him. He used to hang out and nap all day long on this mat in our bathroom. Well we have 3 kids and at the time of this story they were 4 years old, 3 years old and 1 year old. The middle one is Eli. Eli really loves chapstick.... LOVES it! He kept asking to use my chapstick and then losing it. So finally one day I showed him where in the bathroom I keep my chapstick and how he could use it whenever he wanted to, but he needed to put it right back in the drawer when he was done.
Last year on Mother's Day, we were having the typical rush around and try to get ready for Church with everyone crying and carrying on. My two boys are fighting over the toy in the cereal box. I am trying to nurse my little one at the same time I am putting on my make-up. Everything is a mess and everyone has long forgotten that this is a wonderful day to honor me and the amazing job that is motherhood. We finally have the older one and the baby loaded in the car and I am looking for Eli. I have searched everywhere and I finally round the corner to go into the bathroom. And there was Eli. He was applying my chapstick very carefully to Jack's ... rear end. Eli looked right into my eyes and said "chapped."
Now if you have a cat, you know that he is right--their little butts do look pretty chapped. And, frankly, Jack didn't seem to mind. And the only question to really ask at that point was whether it was the FIRST time Eli had done that to the cat's behind or the hundredth.
And THAT is my favorite Mother's Day moment ever because it reminds us that no matter how hard we try to civilize these glorious little creatures, there will always be that day when you realize they've been using your chapstick on the cat's butt.