boolie

The Last Leap

I came across this flattened lizard (a tiger whiptail I think) and took some time deciding if I was going to photograph it or not. Finally I changed lenses and took a picture as a tribute to this once beautiful creature as ants swarmed the lifeless body. The lizard had shed its tail, now lying beside it, in an unsuccessful attempt at saving its life. The trail is heavily used by mountain bikers so perhaps it wasn’t able to get out of the way of a bike or perhaps a predator killed it but got scared off before it could eat its meal. Or perhaps a hiker stepped on it, someone once stepped on a newt I was photographing (fortunately the ground was soft and the newt unharmed).

Sorry little one.

Heroes

This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’ But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears.
Zechariah 7:9-11

Let us not delight in the suffering of others, nor celebrate lies and cruelty. We know why assault victims don’t come forward, it is because we are monsters. Enough. We need not be. To those who suffer in silence. To those who suffer in public. To Anita Hill. To Christine Blasey Ford. To those who stood tall, to those knocked down, to those who suffered for us, you are heroes, still.

The Ascent of Boo

On the day we gave Boo his first taste of freedom in the house, I grabbed my camera to document the event and laughed when I saw what was awaiting him at the top of the basement stairs. He had already met Ellie and got along with her from the start so it isn’t as imposing as it looks.

As he scrambled up the stairs, he assumed a submissive pose as he did with all the other pets, as Sam and Emma were at the top of the landing watching him. He sized up Ellie but of course he had nothing to worry about. Ellie has been a sweetheart with both of the young kittens we’ve adopted and the three cats we had when we adopted her.

Don’t Drink the Water

As a child when I learned a saguaro stores water in its body I assumed water flowed through pipe-like structures and was stored in reservoirs. But as you can see from this arm that had fallen off, inside the skeleton is a spongy tissue that holds the water. And because of the way the saguaro processes carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, the liquid is acidic and not safe for human consumption.

The Door to Adore

Sam a week after we adopted him in 2007. He and Emma stayed in the guest bedroom the first couple of weeks, giving the new arrivals time to bond, but he was getting awfully curious about the cat on the other side of the door, a cat he would adore the rest of her life.

This Is How I Found Her

There’s a story here but I’m not quite sure what it is. Trixie likes laying and playing on the crinkle bag so I’m guessing she was playing with one of her shoestrings and fell asleep with the crinkle bag on top of her.

The Woodpecker

An Unexpected Dilemma

I haven’t hiked as much the past month as I’ve been too tired to get up before sunrise and drive to the trails, usually only hiking once per weekend. I didn’t go at all last weekend because some chronic health issues flared up but after sleeping in yesterday this morning I was back on the trails and met this lovely Mojave rattlesnake, a new species for me. But it presented me with a dilemma I hadn’t expected.

It was at the edge of a wide trail and we saw each other from a distance so I was able to leave the trail and give it a wide berth, but a couple of mountain bikers came around the bend and I didn’t know if I should try to warn them. I didn’t have much time to decide and my hunch was they would be best to pass at speed, I figured the snake would leave them alone and in any event the trail was so wide they could stay out of striking range. I was afraid if I tried to flag them down they’d slam on the brakes and end up near the snake and possibly make the situation worse.

Neither of them saw the snake and passed close by but thankfully the snake hunkered down each time and they continued down the trail unaware. The rattler relaxed and made its way across the trail towards me. It wasn’t being aggressive so I backed up even further and let it choose its path, taking a few pictures as it slithered over to a dense bush and curled up in its shade. I’ll have to ask some riders what they would have wanted me to do, some people really dislike snakes so perhaps ignorance is bliss if the likelihood of an attack is quite low.

I Wonder How I Should Introduce Myself to Sam?

Probably a sneak attack is best.

From 2013 after we adopted Boo, we kept him in isolation for a couple of weeks to let him build up his confidence and give the other pets time to adjust. The night before letting him into the house for the first time we let the other pets come into his room. Boo was eager to impress his older brother. Fortunately he did not follow through on his instinct to jump on Sam from behind.

Where Is Boo Sleeping?

Scout loved sleeping under blankets as a kitten but outgrew it and only did it in her later years if she was upset, for example if there had been sustained loud construction nearby. Boo frequently does it because, well, he’s Boo.