Friday, October 20, 2006, 06:59
Starry Night
For most of this past week, it has been dark and dreary and cold and windy and spitting snow and rain.
I was very aware that the weather was cold and windy because I had to walk the six blocks from the newspaper office to the university to cover several events. It is easier to walk to the university than to try to find a parking space. Plus, I enjoy the walk. There are so many old, beautiful buildings in that part of town. You really get the sense of old money from the old lumber barons.
In fact, downtown there is a theater constructed of stone quarried locally that had been built by one of the lumber barons for his daughter. Unfortunately, she died before the structure was finished. But fortunately for us, the beautiful, old opulent building remains. Going there for a play or an event is like stepping back in time to the turn of the century. The interior is plush and quaint and when you come out, you almost expect to see horses and carriages in the streets rather than cars.
Anyway, Thursday night the sky cleared off and the stars came out.
I knew it was going to get cold because when I went outside with Pixie in the evening, the thermometer said 20 degrees.
So, when I went down to the barn to give the horses more hay, I figured I'd better take some hot water with me to pour into the horse buckets to make sure they would remain open longer so Isabelle and Kajun could get a drink when they wanted one.
It seems much too soon to be the time of year when I have to carry hot water down to the barn with me at night.
One thing about it, though, in the fall and winter the sky is often so clear that I can see a blanket of stars at night. That was one of the things I enjoyed so much about growing up on the farm. Going out to the barn at night and then coming in when the chores were finished, I could look at the stars in the dark sky above.
In this day and age when there is so much light pollution, I feel fortunate to still be able to see the stars from my backyard. A few weeks ago, a gentleman was telling me that the lights from the Wal-Mart Distribution Center not far from his home are so bright that he can no longer see the Northern Lights.
I'm glad we can see the Northern Lights from our backyard, too. Sometimes the Northern Lights are so bright that the neighbor's rooster thinks it is dawn and begins crowing at midnight.
LeAnn R. Ralph
Wednesday, October 18, 2006, 03:27
A Brand New Game. . .
"There I was sitting by the table, minding my own business when out of the corner of my eye, I saw a string going down the hallway," Randy said.
My husband saw the string going down the hallway on Saturday while I was at the craft sale.
"I followed the string into the bedroom, and what should I find on the other end of it but Sophie's mouse-on-string. And Sophie was holding onto the mouse!"
"Sophie was holding onto the mouse?" I said.
"Yes!" Randy said. "She figured out how to get it out of the cupboard herself!"
All-righty then.
Sophie has figured out to get the mouse of the cupboard by herself.
And oh-boy, has she ever figured out how to get it out of the cupboard herself.
Randy immediately moved the mouse to another cupboard, but that hasn't stopped Sophie from looking for it in the original cupboard. (I have since moved it out of the other cupboard and put it into the drawer, but she doesn't know that, either.)
And now that Sophie has figured out she can open the cupboard door and look in there by herself for the mouse, she is constantly trying to get into the cupboard. All day long while I am working in my office, I hear the cupboard door squeaking as she opens it, and then I hear the crash and tinkle of various items as she knocks them out of the cupboard looking for her mouse.
Randy put the mouse on the string because as soon as we would give Sophie a rabbit fur mouse to play with, she would lose it. Somewhere around here there has got to be a dozen rabbit-fur mice. I don't know where, though. I have moved every piece of furniture that I can move, or looked under other furniture, such as the china cabinet, but I have not found Sophie's mice. I have no idea what she did with them.
At first I thought it was possible that Pixie had eaten them, but I doubt it. The very first time I gave Sophie a rabbit-fur mouse, Pixie picked it up and started chewing on it. I firmly told her "no" and took it away, and now I find that she won't even look at one of Sophie's mice, much less pick it up.
I feel kind of bad about that, too. I had no idea Pixie listened to me so well. I had no idea that a firm "no" would make such an impression on my sweet, adorable, wonderful little Shetland sheepdog. I should have known, I suppose. Shelties are so smart that I think they know what you're going to say before you say it.
I wish Sophie listened that well! Then she would know that her mouse isn't in the cupboard anymore and she could stop looking for it.
In a way, it kind of breaks my heart. Sophie loves her mouse so much, I think she would be an extremely happy cat if we played mouse-on-a-string with her 10 times a day. Although if we did, then maybe Sophie would think the mouse wasn't so much fun anymore. And I don't know about Randy, but I have as much fun as Sophie when we play mouse-on-a-string. . .
LeAnn R. Ralph
