Springtime in the Rockies

Two days ago, when I left for work at 6 a.m., it was snowing.  Two hours later, my wife reported that we lost our electricity.  When we lose electricity at the ranch, we also have no water because we have a well and the pump requires electricity.  Of course, we were not the only folks experiencing an outage.  It was widespread.  Because it is late May, and we had 80 degree weather a few days ago, the snow was wet and heavy, and the wet snow broke many tree branches and, apparently, power lines and even poles.

We have a backup generator.  Unfortunately, it requires gasoline and pulling a cord to start it.  Miss Sugar tried to start the generator but was unsuccessful.  So, she wisely left before the snow got worse.  She was smart to do that because shortly afterwards the highway was closed behind her.

Sugar booked a bed and breakfast in town, where we stayed the past two nights.  This morning we came home.  The highway was open, our road was plowed, so we made it back okay.  Our own unplowed lane was tough to navigate, but we made it to the house.

We called some friends who live a couple miles away.  The have been snowed in since Thursday.  They  endured the loss of electricity.  They had groceries.

We now have electricity.  The pasture will be green from all the moisture.   I shoveled off the steps and hot tub.  No one feels sorry for someone with a hot tub.

Life is good.

Do You Want Cheese With That Pizza?

Miss Sugar and I visited a car dealership, where we met an interesting sales person, who was very entertaining.

He is, he told us, 47 years old and does not run out to nab prospects “like the young spider monkeys” who are also part of the sales team.

We asked about a certain vehicle, a Lexus RX350.  Miss Sugar said she would like leather seats.  I said that I think all Lexuses (Lexi?) come with leather seats.

The car salesman confirmed my assumption.  He said, “When you order a pizza, you get crust and cheese without the cheese counting as an extra.  You don’t have to order cheese, but you might have to pay extra for sausage.”

This was a fitting analogy because the salesman has a very Italian name.  Sugar understood immediately because her father is Italian.

I just liked being right.

Dog Park Disaster

So, as a favor to our dogs, my kind wife, Miss Sugar, took them to a dog park.  Because we live on a ranch, those who know us might wonder why our dogs, who have their own river, would be candidates for visiting a dog park.  Well, it is because we had been away from the home place.  We have been camping and, while camping, we have kept our dogs tied up so as to not bother our fellow campers.   So, as I said, Sugar took them to a dog park.

As a preface to describing what happened at the dog park, I will educate those of you who are unfamiliar with what constitutes a dog park.  Note carefully that dog parks are enclosed areas in which unleashed dogs can run and play and fetch, etc.  Emphasis in this definition is on the term “enclosed.”  This is important for obvious containment reasons.

So, as I was saying, Sugar took our two dogs, who are Labrador Retrievers, to a  dog park.  This was the first visit for Beau.  It did not go as planned.  It was a surprise to Sugar that someone left the park without closing a gate, thus failing to, you know, maintain closure of the enclosure, a fact that did not escape Beau’s attention.  He saw his chance to escape and did indeed escape, much to the dismay of sweet Miss Sugar, who watched Beau take his leave.

Now, many dog owners are thinking, I bet, that Sugar should have called her (notice I do not say our} dog.  Those are people who have dogs who come when called.  Beau is not in that category.  Beau only comes when he wants to come.  He wants to come only when there is nothing better to do.  On this occasion, there was, in his opinion, something better to do.  He explored an area new to him.

Sugar cried.  She and Sadie had to leave the dog park to get in the car to try to catch up with Beau.

It took an hour.  She was sad as she worried.  She was relieved to find him.  She was angry that she had to.

Born This Way

Baby puppies and kitties do not run around right away.  Baby horses do.  It is funny to watch a one-day old foal run and buck.  It can have no memory beyond yesterday.  What is it thinking?

I suppose a difference between dogs and horses is that dogs are predators and horses are prey.  As prey, they must immediately be capable of fleeing danger.

But mostly, foals play.

I don’t know what is going through their minds, but it sure looks like it would be fun to be a foal.

What they can’t imagine is that when they grow up the real fun begins.