Wildlife in a small town.

We don't live in town, but if we did, there'd only be about 1600 people there. But no, even that thriving metropolis would be too crowded...we live a few miles outside of Paonia, on a remote (don't get me wrong...its absolutely the loveliest place you could imagine!) road in the hills, peppered by just a few homes. And lots of deer. And recently inhabited by a huge hawk. The latter is causing me a problem because we have a small dog; one I'm thinking would be just about the right size for a snack, which means every time the dog needs to be 'peed' one of us has to stand right over him to insure he doesn't become an appetizer.
Supreme dog vigilance is a small price to pay for living in such a beautiful and serene spot. However...I was having a conversation yesterday with a local guy who is much smarter in the ways of wild things than I am. Imagine my shock when one of the first things he asked after arriving at the here was whether we saw the muddy bear prints coming up the road on the way to the house. Dopey me, I thought those paw prints belonged to the big dog next door. Turns out, a bear was traveling from one mesa to another, and took the road less traveled...ours.
Here's a pic of the road the bear crossed...the prints got washed away in this morning's rain, and I wasn't going to do anything more than lean out the window to snap this with my blackberry.

I've been completely freaking out, no longer willing to go for long walks in the hills, and now even nervous about going out at night to pee the dog. I am not chicken shit about everything.

There are some combative situations where I am perfectly capable of handling myself. Taking on a classroom full of unruly 3rd graders? Cake. Navigating TSA agents, snotty clerks at airline or rental car counters, making sense of strange cities...not a problem; could do it in heels. Presentation to a hundred self-important graphic design students? With handouts? And Q & A?  Watch me.(past life in territory sales cures many fears) Battling crowds at the half yearly sale at Nordstrom? In my sleep. In fact, with the help of Ambien, I think I  have shopped it in my sleep.
But none of that stuff is any sort of prep for dealing with a bear. On some level, I'm pretty sure the bear has moved on. But animals are unpredictable. How many times have the damn deer waited until just before you're ready to pass before they bound out in front of your car? How many times to we get visited by raccoons or skunks or big scary birds or fox, or coyotes, or mountain lions?
Give me batshit city crazy anytime...I can handle that with far more grace. (Once a horribly unbalanced homeless woman accused me of having sex with her husband in the public restroom in SF...I just apologized and told her I didn't know he was her husband. She left me alone) But you start bringing furry things with big claws and teeth that do not respond to smart-ass and I am totally screwed.
Today I had a doctor's appointment and forgot to bring a book for the waiting room. I passed the time waiting for the doctor reading "Guns and Ammo".(It was that or Parenting Magazine) After looking at all the pretty pictures of guns, I was thinking that if we're going to live in the middle of wild kingdom, perhaps I should learn how to defend myself. But then the next page I flipped to was an article on one type of bullet vs. another type of bullet; and contained all kinds of disgusting descriptions of features and benefits. The features and benefits all involved metal ripping through flesh, and I realized I may yell at something, and maybe throw a rock or two... but don't think I have it in me to shoot at something that's alive.  Maybe I should just focus on learning how to make a really big noise, and take my walks in the city park.  All of a sudden, I'm kind of homesick for a really crowded Hertz counter.

And people say I'm an ass...

Going through old crap & found this...a friend emailed it to me some time back. Perhaps to serve as a warning for me to watch my P's & Q's where family is concerned. (click on the pic if you can't read it)
Today, I resolve to be a bit less bitchy...

Some progressives need a reality check.

OK. I get that a whole lot of the left is pissed at President Obama. Fine. I'm not jumping-through-hoops-crazy-wild over everything that comes out of the WH these days, but I sure as hell am not going to have a hissy-fit, waste a vote and smooth out the road for the Repos and those Tea Party jerk-offs who support them. 

Stop, take a breath and think about angry you are now, and what life would look like with one of these in the White House... 

Look, I would prefer that President Obama handle some issues (the war, DADT, Bush tax cuts) differently.

Here's my big but... as badly as I may disagree with this administration on certain issues, there is NOTHING that will improve by allowing  more Republicans to hold power, or pissing away a vote on someone who doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of getting elected-(Nader...hello?) The fact that by nature, getting  Democrats and Progressives to read from the same page is like herding cats, could make life a cake walk for our enemies. And by enemies, I mean the right wing nuts.  There's an old saying... Democrats fall in love, Republicans fall in line. We should have learned in kindergarten is that while we're not the only ones that can expect representation, if we take stay home, we can expect even less. If you're pissed off, work for a solution, don't refuse to participate. For those who think all candidates are the same- I politely disagree. Here's why... reproductive rights, civil rights, fighting the privatizing of social security, medicare, prisons, public schools, etc., health and safety regulation, worker's rights, are just few reasons to support Democrats- or vote against Republicans. Call me a simpleton, but wipe out all of those, and here's one reason that could trump all the rest. Supreme Court appointments. I don't care what other arguments are made for holding back support. We've seen what the recent Republican Supremes have done to the laws in this country.  Get a clue. And while you're at it, offer up some suggestions, support some viable representation on a local, county, state, and federal level that will move our people forward, not backward. It won't happen at all if you stay home. That's for sure.

sick kitty + sick laptop+ missing kids = no posts.

Bad news...the old laptop died. New one ordered and delivered. Husband (aka: Guardian Angel) set up (YAY!) all the crap I am too stupid to deal with.  
Traumatic Mom news...having to put Visiting Adult Son back on a train to CA so he could return to his real life. He's thrilled; me...not so much. (although no one will hear me complain about getting to watch something besides that damn history channel)
Good news... ailing kitty, Anthony Francisco Fabrisi (official occupation: Extremely Bad Cat- but you can't tell from the pic where he's sleeping peacefully snuggled with his cat family) came back from the vet good as new.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'm a simple soul. Broken computer + broken cat+ returning our son to California  = operating off the grid until the son gets settled, cat is healthy and computer issues are dealt with.
I have immense gratitude for Dr. Vincent  (we call him St. Vincent) in Paonia, CO; who healed our beloved kitty; Josie & Rick at Radio Shack in Paonia; who found what we needed and  made us feel like we weren't living in Siberia,(they always go above and beyond!) and to David, for listening to me scream like a 4-year old when I couldn't get my old system up and running,but more critical than that, providing aid and comfort while I was in denial of having an adult child with an actual life, and having wacko Mom issues.
He set aside my bad humor, ignored the fact that he's missing the kids, too, and in reality, is not all that  fond of my wicked, evil cats who have been known to do bad things to his Hawaiian shirts, plus he put an amazing amount of support into getting broken stuff (including me) fixed.
Other news...someone else will have to decide if it is a  good thing or bad thing... but we'll survive to post another day.