CRY WOLF!

This wolf was shot recently in Drayton Valley, Alberta...which is near Edmonton about 3 hours North of Calgary. The wolf weighs over 230 lbs, smashing the previous record of 175 lbs. Wouldn't want to run into this guy in the woods. Apparently a bear hunter witnessed this wolf chase off a big black bear at his baiting station.

This came to me in an email today. It's turning out to be animal week here at Imagine, since work is keeping me too busy to have any ideas to write about.

Peaceable Kingdom

The email that included these photos had several more, but I have chosen a few that tell the story. The man fed the deer some apple, and the deer seems curious about the people and the dogs, but not afraid. I did notice that in all the photos, the man kept his hand firmly on the big dog's collar, so perhaps he thought the large dog was not as peaceable as the smaller dog.

The deer "kisses" all of them in turn. It's wonderful to see them together. Too bad we can't all just show our curiosity about others, and manage to get along no matter what our differences.

Ear Wax, Fallen Leaves and Cable Remotes

When I get to the point that I can't hear well even with my hearing aids turned up, it usually means I have ear wax in abundance. Tuesday, I went to C*stco's hearing aid dept., to get my ears checked. The manager there, who I liked lots has flown the coop and a woman has taken his place. She checked my ears but neither had any wax, which was a big surprise to me. At the time she checked it, my right ear was completely stopped up. She advised me to see my doctor, who, she said, would put me on some sort of antihistamine or other sinus meds. My reaction: "Oh, joy, just what I need - more meds." She also made an appointment for me to get my hearing tested again in the middle of December, just in case the sinuses were not the cause of the problem. I may cancel that if I see it's not necessary. I took a Cl*ritin tonight. Wish me luck!

***

Our yard men came today to blow 14 days worth of fallen leaves; some of which were still wet from the steady rains last week. Six men, either wearing back-pack blowers or pushing air blowers on wheels worked for at least 40 minutes to corral the leaves into the natural areas of our yard. An hour after they left, you could barely tell they had been here. I wish a front would come in that had winds high enough to blow all the leaves off the trees at one time - but not high enough to blow limbs off or uproot trees. Who do I have to call to order that?

Guess what? The guys blew Stella the spider away! Mr. kenju noticed at dinner time that she was not in her usual spot. I opened the door and saw the remnants of her latest web creation (which really had been a beautiful sight) blowing in the breeze and Stella was no where to be seen. I hope she comes back and I'll let you know if she does.

***

Monday night the cable TV remote quit working. I turned it off in the afternoon and when mr. kenju turned it on after dinner - nothing happened. I turned on the TV and the cable box manually and proceeded to re-program the remote, but nothing worked. I had done it many times before and had no problems, so I called the local cable trouble-shooter for help. Either she was watching a sit-com or she was at home herding her children, but I distinctly heard kids in the background. LOL

I told her my tale of woe; she re-booted the box, to no avail. She told me to return the remote and get a new one, which I did the next day. Guess what? It doesn't work either. Pooh. That means I'll call them back and they'll tell me when their guy can come out to the house and install a new cable box**. I'm sure it will be three weeks from next Tuesday, between the hours of midnight and midnight, give or take a few.....

Update: Glory Be!! The cable service people will be here between 1pm and 3pm today!! According to the woman I spoke with last night, we have "low signals"; meaning a new cable box is in order. YAY!

** My younger daughter will say..."I told you so!" She's been telling me for months that we needed a new box.

Odds & Ends (Again)

I guess if you don't have a baby chair handy, this is as good as any way to help them sit up.....LOL. Works as a teething ring, too.

Want to give me these for Christmas? Aren't they clever? I wonder if they are glass or acrylic? I almost hope they're acrylic so we could use them on the deck around the pool.

Helping Hands! I wish I'd had a pair of those when my babies were newborns. I wonder if they're waterproof.....?

This is clever too, but I don't fancy sitting on it.



OOOOOOOOOOO!! (Sort of creepy)

Animal Antics

This is Brownie; he lives in a flower shop. See that Nab on his foot? He will not eat it until his master gives the okay (or until he thinks you have waited too long to give him the go-ahead).

The argiope spider I wrote about before - mr. kenju named her Stella - still lives on my kitchen storm door. Her web has been destroyed by wind and heavy rains several times recently, but she perseveres and puts out a new web so quickly it will make your head spin too!

Do you like showers as much as this elephant seems to? What a big smile he has on his face!

I had a big smile on my face on Sunday. It was a beautiful day here, and after 4-5 days of nothing but rain, mist, fog, gloom and doom - it was much appreciated. I even did a few chores (will wonders never cease?)

Underground Seuss

I do, I do, I do like beer too !! - but I'm seldom slammed! LOL

I wonder if Horton liked his job? I am assuming he didn't hire the ho for himself, but someone else. A book I am currently reading , about Bobby and Jackie Kennedy, talks about Jack Kennedy's campaign in 1960. There was a man who worked for the JFK's campaign, whose sole purpose was to obtain female companionship *wink, wink* for Jack Kennedy, each and every night (and often more than one at a time). Now THERE'S a book I might enjoy reading. I bet that guy had many, many interesting stories to tell. It makes me wonder who he lined up for Jack when he was in my home town. I met Jack in 1960, but I can assure you I was not one of *the chosen*. I was going to say "chosen few", but apparently "few" was not a concept in Jack's mind - at least not where women were concerned!

Have you ever had the urge to do that? Next time, give that person a badge like I had on the post last Thursday . It's easier than cleaning your shoe.....LOL

APHORISM

A SHORT, POINTED SENTENCE EXPRESSING A WISE OR CLEVER OBSERVATION OR A GENERAL TRUTH (oldies but goodies) The nicest thing about the future is that it always starts tomorrow. Money will buy a fine dog, but only kindness will make him wag his tail. If you don't have a sense of humor, you probably don't have any sense. Seat belts are not as confining as wheelchairs. A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you're in deep water. How come it takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night? Business conventions are important because they demonstrate how many people a company can operate without. Why is it that at class reunions you feel younger than everyone else looks? Scratch a cat and you will have a permanent job. No one has more driving ambition than the boy who wants to buy a car. There are no new sins; the old ones just get more publicity. There are worse things than getting a call for a wrong number at 4 AM. It could be a right number. No one ever says 'It's only a game.' when their team is winning. I've reached the age where the happy hour is a nap. Be careful reading the fine print. There's no way you're going to like it. The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket. Do you realize that in about 40 years, we'll have thousands of old ladies running around with tattoos?(And rap music will be the Golden Oldies!) Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Corvette than in a Yugo. After 50, if you don't wake up aching in every joint, you are probably dead!! Always be yourself because the people who matter don't mind, and the ones who mind, don't matter.