Hanging With The Bulls

 I'm so excited.  These two beauties showed up again last night and graced my back yard.  I've a pretty good idea why they hang out here ... when I left there were four gopher holes in the back flowerbed. Now there are none.  What better pest control could you possibly have?  What floors me is they jump over that 7' tall fence to get in.  Nature sure is fascinating!

Cooper and I hung out on the patio as usual, but only after a quick flashlight journey around the yard.  Even though there have been no skunks around for a year, I'm not taking any chances.  Nor do I want Cooper chasing a fox, or worse yet, a kitty like Jessie used to do.  Cooper picked up many bad habits from Miss Jessie and kitty racing was one of them.  

He ignores the lizards completely, or maybe at his 13 year old age he just doesn't see them.  This is a rare sight around here.  He was about six inches long and not the least bit scared as he caught some rays.  It's been cold the last couple of days.

After some brain games to keep the old grey matter grey and some of that yummy casserole (just as good as when it was cooked), I finally got motivated to repack the rig.  There's lot of stuff that has to go to this rally and little space to put it in.  I downsized as best I could, getting rid of things I really don't need.

I put the very heavy easy-up inside and had no room left for the 30' 50 amp electric cord.  SO ... I unloaded the easy-up, deciding it would have to ride in the back of the truck.  More rearranging came about when I discovered I have a heater vent into this area.  That's good to know if it gets down to freezing.  

With the sun shining brightly, although I could hear the blast of a breeze here and there, I dressed appropriately and headed out for some rays.  You know how it is when you're retired ... sometimes you have to think of something to fill the hours.  Getting toasty warm while reading a book results in a nice tan so you don't blind anyone when you wear shorts in Arizona.  Yes, it's a problem!

It lasted all of fifteen minutes, by which time I was freezing.  We've been in the low 60's, down to the 30's at night.  Try as I might, I just couldn't take that cold breeze blowing 20 mph across my lounge chair.  

Inside, I finished up the binding on this quilt, but not before I sewed my thumb to the edge.  Did that make you cringe?  You should have been me.  I was so shocked, I just looked at it.  Hey dummy, pull that needle out!  I can't even begin to tell you how much pull it took to remove it, followed by copious amounts of blood.  I guarantee THAT will never happen again!!!  

Now injured, I switched the TV over to the Cowboy channel, who had a BullFest going on.  These cowboys ... they have guts where their brains should be.  I get it, it's an adrenaline rush like no other, but the chance of a painful ending is not one I want to take.  See the bull trying to jump over the gate?  These guys are mean mean mean!

One poor guy got hit in the head with a massive horn and passed out while still tied on to the bull.  These guys are the best of the best and still they get badly hurt.  It's like watching a train wreck ... you just can't look away.  I hung out with the bulls for about three hours.  

That didn't last long however, since SOMEONE required attention.  This occurrence happens all afternoon and half the evening.  Cooper's idea of fun is to roll the ball under something, whereupon he barks like he's waking up the dead, and waits for me to retrieve it.  As you can see, he's good at directing me.  This is why I have rugs stuffed under everything from the stove to the couch.

As much as I'd like to get a little more sun today, it's supposed to rain.  I suppose I'll be forced to do something crazy like vacuum the house.  Sadly, I have to go find fuel today for my truck.  I'm sure it's going to be a record-breaker, somewhere close to $300.  Now THAT makes me cringe!!!