I gotta rock

Another Peanuts-themed video, this one courtesy my brother: It's a guitar solo, Charlie Brown

Soaring

Just fooling around with video again tonight. I was grilling some chicken for dinner, hoping it wouldn't storm on before it was done, when I looked up and saw about two to three dozen turkey vultures soaring overhead. They roost in the cottonwoods just upstream from my place, and it's always fascinating to watch them. This video doesn't do it justice and naturally once I got the camera ready, they were heading back to their roosts, but maybe will give you an idea:

Cooldown

It's nice to sleep in on a day off, knowing I'm not wasting the only decently cool hours of the day. Today is supposed to be only about 85, instead of the 90 to 100+ degrees we've been having the last month. So I slept in, and lay in bed for a bit enjoying the sounds of all the birds along the creek -- the cardinal setting his territory, the blue jays calling back and forth to each other. Now I'm just trying to become completely awake so I can get dressed and do something.

It wasn't too bad out last night either, so I went down by the creek and did some work I've been putting off in the summer heat. I trimmed some dead branches from one of the willow trees -- a couple had been hanging down far enough that it was hard to mow around them. No problem there anymore! Of course, the main branch they come off of isn't all that alive either, and as much as it was bouncing as I sawed at the smaller branches, I was a little worried the whole thing might break off and fall on me! It didn't, though. I'll have to take care of that big one, too some time. I spen a bit more time cutting down some poorly placed saplings and sucker branches, too. Today, I'll probably go get them cleaned up and do some trimming on the grass that grew in around them. The creek overflowed it's banks several times this summer, so in addition to all the sludge and stuff it left behind, it just made it hard to get down in there and do the work too. So if feels good to be able to get that done.

One of Mom's friends from out of town is coming up for a few hours to visit and have lunch. They don't get to see each other much, so I might just let them have their time and do my own thing. Or maybe they want me around, I guess we'll see. Mom is getting ready to go off on another adventure with her little trailer, Eggcarto, so she's getting pretty eager to get off her work days and get fully prepared for that. I'll be glad to have some time in the house to myself, although I guess it could get lonely too. Last time she took off, Nipper was still here.

I do miss having a warm, furry body around the house, and it might be about time to get a new pet. I'm not totally sure yet, though. I'll be starting a second, part-time job in a couple weeks that might require me to work a couple weeknights, after my "real" job. Since I live in a different town from where I work, that means I would be out of the house from about 7:30 a.m. to almost 10:30 at night. Doesn't seem fair to do that to a dog. Especially when I don't even have a dog door for it to let itself out. And dogs just don't like being alone for long either -- they need their pack. So I'm considering a cat. But I've never had a cat before, so I'm not sure about that, either. The job is only a substitute position, though, so it might be OK for a dog if I'm gone that long say maybe once a month. Anyway, I have been looking at local shelters' animal lists, and while there are lots of cute dogs and cats out there, I haven't seen what might be quite right. I don't want a puppy or a kitten -- I'm not sure I'd have the time to properly housebreak one, and I'm not sure I have that much energy anymore! Besides, older animals aren't as quickly adopted as the babies, so I'd feel good giving an adult pet a good home. Ideally, I'd like another beagle mix, but I won't limit myself to that, either. I'll just keep watching.

A bad week

It's not been a good time lately for my breast cancer support group. There is one funeral this week (unexpected) and another on the way.

Yesterday we received word that one member, Elsie, died. She had taken ill last week and was in the hospital, started to feel better over the weekend, but then took a turn for the worse. They did exploratory surgery, but she didn't survive the operation. That's about all the details I know of what happened. She was 78. Her sister is a member of our group as well. They were diagnosed within two weeks of each other a couple years ago, if I remember correctly. They both always made the meetings fun. She'll be missed. Her funeral is tomorrow, and I know some of the group will be going. I might try to go, but we might be busy at work, too. There's visitation during my lunch hour, so I might at least go to that.

Last week, we received bad news as well. Another of our members has decided to enter Hospice care. She's been fighting for about two years, originally diagnosed about the same time I was. At first, after her chemo and surgery, things seemed to be going well, but then tumors started appearing in her skin. She went to the MD Anderson cancer center in Texas for about six weeks last summer, tried some experimental drug, new drugs, etc. She's been in a lot of pain, I know, but remained pretty upbeat through a lot of it -- at least in her e-mails and when she was able to come to our meetings. But a few months ago, she wrote an e-mail that wasn't as upbeat, and talked about how her two girls (12 and 5) were starting to come to the realization she might not be around to see them grow up. It wasn't a good sign. And then came last week's news. Her tumors had spread to other organs and were just progressing faster than treatment could handle. She just turned 40. She's fought this pretty hard, and I thought if anyone could beat some long odds, she would be one who could. It just doesn't seem fair.

I work with her sister-in-law. They're pretty close, and I kind of put off talking to her after the news. But Monday morning, I had to ask her about something work-related, so of course it came up. It was difficult for both of us, and we only made it a few minutes before we had to quit -- after all, the day was just beginning. I'm sure we'll talk about it again. Maybe later in the day, though.

Ewwwww!

If I'd been walking on my front walk just a bit earlier, I might have gotten hit by this:


It was a lot wetter/fresher when we first spotted it -- the "splat" area was about as big as both my hands put together.

So anyone got an ID? Turkey buzzard? Mississippi Kite? Hawk? Had to be bigger than a robin.

Snoozer

So last night/early this morning was supposed to be best viewing of the Perseid meteor shower. The viewing was supposed to be best after midnight, so, since I don't have to work today, I stayed up for it. I went out about 1:30, and sat on the front porch bench, where I would have the best view of the northeast sky. I stayed out until I started to get too sleepy, until a bit after 2 a.m.

I saw one meteor. Possibly two others, I can't say for sure. Kind of a disappointment. Although there may have been some clouds near the horizon, and there is a street light near my house, so maybe I should have hopped in the car or walked up the road a bit, where I'd be out in the country.

I guess it wasn't a total bust, though. It was a warm night, and I enjoyed listening to the cricket concert -- what sounded like thousands of them, all chirping in unison. And then there's the occasional sound of a night bird or other critter that makes you think "what in hell was that?" And I did see quite a few stars and other things, too. Up to the north-northeast, I saw some red, twinkley object that at first I thought might be Mars, but then a bit later I looked farther east and there was a red, non-twinkley object. So I'm not sure what was what. Then I saw somethng moving in a northerly direction that at first was fairly bright, but quickly dimmed. I could still follow it for about 20 or 30 seconds, though, so I wonder if that wasn't the space shuttle or maybe the space station.

I was too tired to go look up any info online then, and, well, since I was up so late, I'm still kind of sleepy now. So today's big goal is getting laundry done. My first load is almost done and ready to hang out. Shouldn't take too long to dry today -- it's 10 a.m. and the air conditioner just kicked on. Gonna be a hot one again.

Lost and Found

Finished reading another book -- Alison Winn Scotch's "The Department of Lost and Found." It's a novel about breast cancer. Well, it's a novel about a woman dealing with the affects of breast cancer. I was a little apprehensive about reading this, but it was a good read.

It's the story of Natalie Miller, a 30-year-old senior aide for an up-and-coming New York woman senator (sound familiar? Nah!) when she learns she has breast cancer ... the same day her boyfriend tells her he's seeing someone else and dumps her. While going through chemo and surgery she's got political drama to deal with, being her best friend's maid of honor, and a lot more.

What I liked about the book is that it doesn't really dwell on her cancer. And the parts that do aren't melodramatic or unrealistic. The narrative actuallly takes place between her chemo treatments, so it focuses more on the after effects -- like trying to live your life around the side effects, and how all the downtime and staring at your mortality starts to change your outlook on life and your relationships. And that's what she does. She examines her motives in her work, her relationships with family and especially the men in her life. And she gets a dog (my favorite part of the story).

There were some moments that got me choked up, remembering some of my own feelings in similar circumstances, but really the book is quite hopeful. And there's actually lots to laugh at too. That's surpising, considering Scotch's inspiration for the book was the loss of a good friend to breast cancer. So if you're a survivor -- or know one -- don't be afraid to pick this one up.