Now that the worst of the spam onslaught seems to be taken care of, it’s time to get back to posting now and then. :-> It’s been quite a year already, with no end in sight to the attacks from those who are obviously jealous of people who actually do something with their God-given talents. Along the way, we have also drop-kicked incompetent plumbers, mindless drivers, neighbors brain-dead from massive boom boxes — and others from the lower end of the gene pool – into wishful oblivion.
It’s been a fascinating spring as well. Scorching hot much too early in the season. Early wildfires, some of them arson, and probably more to come. The mallard ducklings are back at the business park, though “they” seem to be removing them within days this year. One family of 15 was almost crushed to death while following “mom” up our long winding driveway. Many drivers stopped as the female debated on when it was safe to cross over to get clear up to the ornamental pond. Others care nothing for human life, with the animal kingdom not standing a chance, were it not for kind Providence in this case. Yes, the family completed their (at least) a mile walk from across a busy boulevard, through the 911 Command Center and on up through the business park to join Dad.
At home, we suddenly have a visiting California Bobcat (Felis rufus). It has the most beautiful rust-colored coat imaginable! The roughly 20 lb animal is not supposed to frequent metropolitan areas, but we are not that far from the foothills that burned last year and the year before. There is little food for a hunter up there now, and he (or she) has been killing young possums who venture out in the twilight and the dark. Besides, our overgrown fishpond provides water, and we’ve noticed a deep depression where an animal of that size could sleep now and then. I’m not sure how the cat gets along with the bands of coyotes who visit the neighborhood night after night! Former neighbors lost small dogs to the coyotes in the past two years, and neighbors down the street have lost several pet cats to the coyotes, who travel in family groups. I expect the bobcat to move on to the rest of its territory very shortly.