Heat

It's been pretty common knowledge that it's been hot enough around here to fry eggs on the sidewalk.  They stated on the morning news today that Colorado Springs has seen 5 - 100 degree days in its recorded history... until this week.  They've had 3 100+ degree days just this week.  I don't know what's been going on.  But it's been HOT.

Then there are the fires.  Some crazy is running around setting fires.  The worst one devoured 350 homes and killed at least one person in the Springs this week.  They're not used to fires like that.  This fire came right into town.  Over 36,000 people evacuated.  What a crying shame.  The area burned was just so pretty.

But nature finds a way to heal itself.

The other day Les and I were walking up our road.  Lucy, Mindy and Brutus were doing doggy stuff about 50 yards ahead of us.  Suddenly I look up and there's a deer standing between us and the dogs.  She looked at us, she looked at the dogs, said, "Oh, crap," and scampered back down the side of the hill.  Lucy... ever the huntress... saw the deer and took off running after it.  We didn't see her for a few minutes, but then she returned quite winded.  She obviously didn't catch the deer, but she sure had fun trying.

With the heat, we decided to try shaving the girls.  Mindy is like me... the cooler the better.  Lucy doesn't seem to mind what the temperature is.  As long as she has food and someone to scratch her ears, she's content.

Mindy ready to take a bite out of an unsuspecting ear.

Mindy after her haircut.

I knew Mindy would look different because her undercoat is so light.  But take a look at the before and after pictures!  She turned white!  That whole afternoon she pouted... like she had been violated.  But I do think she's more comfortable now, though.

Tomorrow night we're hosting a "Pre-Op Shindig," for our friends.  It started out being just a couple of friends, then we just kept inviting more and more.  So it should be fun.  We have so many more good friends here than we ever did in California.  I'm not sure why that is, but I'm not complaining.  The people here are genuine.

Les's surgery is on Monday.  Please say a prayer that all will go well for him.

Tenants

Our last tenants moved out of our duplex early May.  Then we had to have it cleaned and the paint touched up.  That took about a week.  And we've been advertising it on Craigslist ever since.  We've shown it several times.  Always the same response, "Oh, it's so cute!"  Or, "It has so much character."

Finally, last Friday I got a call from a man who wanted to see it right away.  After staying on the phone with him so that I could walk him through, turn-by-turn, on how to get here, he arrived 5 minutes later.  (It's a good thing Trinidad is such a small town.)

He walked through the apartment and then asked, "OK, where do I sign?"  I explained that I would need an application first, and we worked out the security deposit and rent.

He sat at Les's desk to fill out the application since he wanted to move in that day.  When he was done, I entered his info into a landlord's website where I can pull his credit history and for $6 more, I can also pull any criminal history.

I waited and waited for the report, then discovered that they had sent an email to him for confirmation that it was OK to give me his reports.  So he gave the OK, again on Les's computer.  He gave me the deposit and the rent and I handed him the keys.  I told him that I would get the lease together shortly.  He went next door to check out his new home.

A couple of minutes later, I finally got his report.  Lots of credit.  One collection, no big deal.  But then I got to pages 3, 4 and 5... the criminal background part.  OH MY GOD!!!!

Rape, rape, failure to resister as a sex offender, more rape, rape of a child, in states all across the country.  I started shaking.

I called Les who was at the shop.  I told him that I needed him home NOW.  Do not chat with neighbors, do not stop to take the trash out... HOME NOW!!!  Then I asked Andy to come with me because I needed to address this monster in the guise of a mind-mannered man shorter than me.

I showed him the credit portion, pointed out the collection from Chase.  Then I got to page 3, 4 and 5.  I was speechless as he went back to page 1 to explain the collection from Chase!  What?????!!!!!

"At this point, I couldn't care less about that!  What about this??!!" I exclaimed.  He said, "Well, that's not me.  I've never been to Virginia.  Never been to Washington State."  

If it were me being accused of such things, you'd have to pry me off the ceiling with a shovel.  

I told him that there was no way I would rent my place to someone like that, and if it truly wasn't him, that I'd need him to march right down to the Sheriff's department and I wouldn't give him the OK until I got clearance from the Sheriff.  And, "Oh, by the way... I need my keys back."

He said fine.

He left, and I had a hunch that I'd never see him again, so I took his deposit check down to my bank to see if they could verify funds and make sure that the account wasn't closed, or stolen, or something stupid like that.  The check was good.

Then I got a call from the sheriff saying it was the wrong person and that my guy didn't have any record.  I decided to drive down to the station, though, because I wanted to see a badge and a uniform before I'd believe it.  It was true... common name.

So we now have a mild-mannered, shorter than me, man living in our duplex next door.  So far... no trouble at all.

Spinach

So I went over to Brutus's house to put him back on his chain after our walk the other day.  (Sniff.)  Ben was there in the yard and said that Brutus (Aries) waits for me by the tree where I come around for him.  He gets so excited because he loves his walks.  We take him probably 5 times per week.  He sure has fun.

Anyway, I asked Ben how his garden was doing and he said, "Oh, it's great!"  I asked him if I could see it and he showed it to me.  He said that he has tomatoes, onions, spinach, cilantro, chilies, and squash.  I looked -- I could see everything but the spinach and I could see this big patch of weeds in the middle.  I asked him where the spinach was and he pointed to the patch of weeds and said, "Right there.  Oh it's so good!"

I didn't have the heart to tell him.  And since he's obviously still standing, I guess they're not poisonous.

Oh well... what you can do?

Life has been rather stressful around here lately.  June has certainly sucked so far.  Les was out of commission for about 3 weeks after working on the road up in the canyon.  He was on his feet for 2 days straight while the grader went up and down the road, digging up rocks, then directing the gravel truck on where to dump the gravel.

He came home stiff from a motorcycle ride a week or so prior to that, then with the road work, it knocked him on his butt.  He couldn't stand, he couldn't sit, sleep, lay down -- poor guy.  He was miserable.  So we made an appointment with the spine center and went up to see them a couple of days ago.  He'll have back surgery as soon as we can get his paperwork in order.  He has recovered from this bout of sciatica, but since it comes back every 3-4 months, it's best to get it taken care of.

Then I was having problems and wound up in the ER a week ago Monday.  After a bunch of tests, I got the results and don't have cancer... huge relief.  But I will still need to have a hysterectomy.  Not sure when that will happen.  It depends on Les's back surgery.  I'm ever so slightly irritated that this couldn't have happened in my late 30's after I was done having kids, but again, what you can do?

That's a favorite saying of my friend Ruza Zivkov as she speaks to me in her thick Bosnian accent -- What you can do?

Summer

Summer is upon us.  The cicadas are clicking away at their monotone love song.  They shake and rattle and click away loudly.  Sometimes, as I'm hiking along the trails, they scurry away when I brush past a tree near the trail.  They startle me a bit with their rattling like a hollow rattle at the end of some serpents' tail.   Mmmmmm.

The lobby of our hotel.

Last weekend Les and I went to Santa Fe.  I love Santa Fe.  We stayed at the El Dorado just off of the plaza.  Then we walked everywhere.  We strolled the plaza numerous times.  We walked to dinner at our favorite restaurant, Rio Chama. 

Santa Fe is magical.  We strolled leisurely down streets that are literally centuries old.   Felt plaster walls that had seen Spaniards and rebelling Indians and wars and now peace.  Unfortunately, there are many, many tourists.  But it still has such a feel of peace and harmony.

After dinner we were lead back to the Plaza by beautiful music.  There was a marimba band, of all things!  A group of young people playing hand-made marimbas of all sizes was rocking out to African inspired melodies.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNQgXHJ1Nek We sat and listened and watched all of the beautiful people.  We looked in the shops with all of the exquisite Southwestern Jewelry. 

We stayed Friday and Saturday nights, then headed north on Sunday.  We stopped in Taos and walked the plaza there.  Then headed east.  We considered spending an extra night out, but decided against it.  We drove through the mountains toward home, stopping in Cimmaron New Mexico on the way.  There's an old hotel there... the Saint James.  It was built in the 1800's and was host to many people passing through.  Outlaws, cowboys and lawmen stayed at the St. James.  They had pictures of some of their guests and stories.  I liked the story about the cowboy that was being obnoxious.  Some other cowboys challenged him by betting him that he couldn't ride his horse along a 6 foot wall.  He somehow got his horse up there but then someone fired his gun, spooking the horse.  Both fell off the wall and both died. 

After the undertaker went through the cowboy's pockets, he reported back to the judge.  He found a pearl handled pistol that the judge gave to the sheriff.  His clothes and boots were given to the undertaker and the $40 in his pocket the judge confiscated for himself.  (For his trouble.)  Then, he was buried at the town's expense.

Old west...

I love it here.

A storm on the road home from Cimarron.

Santuario Guadalupe - Santa Fe

Marimba Band --  "Polyphony Marimba"

Santa Fe

Dogs

So... one thing I never thought I'd hear myself say, I said this morning.

"Lucy, get down from that tree!"  She chased a squirrel up a tree.  Can you believe it????

Brutus enjoying our walk.

This morning as we were preparing for our usual morning walk, I decided to go get Brutus.  He now comes with us 3-4 times a week.  He has blossomed into this happy, frolicking kid on our walks.  He loves the girls.  And I even saw him initiating play this morning.  He still doesn't have a clue what his name is -- no matter which name I call him.  His given name from his family, "Aries," or my name for him... "Brutus."  Every once in a while he humors me by coming to me when he knows I'm calling him.  But if he's out of sight, he will usually come when I whistle.  And he's no trouble at all getting in and out of the car. 

I ran into the woman of the house at Safeway the other day.  She said to me that she wishes Ben, her hubby, would just give the dog to me.  They never had a dog before.  Then their son brought home this German Shepherd and now guess who's saddled with the dog.  I believe that they mean no harm, they just don't know any better.

I talked to Ben last week about the fact that Brutus has lost so much weight.  They had no idea that he was getting skinny.  So I suggested that they take him to the vet.  To my surprise, they actually did!  I was amazed.  So maybe my interest in this beautiful creature has piqued their interest in him, too.  I don't know what the vet said, yet, as I haven't seen Ben.

Last week my mother came to visit.  We had such a good visit.  She flew to Denver and my brother, Larry, picked her up at the airport.  The next day they stopped in Colorado Springs to see DJ, then they came down here.  She had never seen our place before. 

We visited for a few days, then we drove to Wichita, Kansas to meet my sisters, Linda and Janet.  They took Mom back to Iowa where she has another apartment.  She gave up her apartment in California and will now live in Iowa.  Her lease on her apartment is up in July and she will then move in with my sister, Linda.  Linda just bought a house and has spent much time fixing preparing it for her family.  Mom will have a room that will have enough room for a bed, a chair, her dresser and her TV.  She should be very comfortable.

Mom enjoying our sitting area

 It was really nice to see my family.





Brutus and the girls frolicking

Trinidad Standoff

So one of the things that our friends warned us about prior to our moving to this little hamlet was the Trinidad Standoff.  Of course, he didn't call it that... that's just my name for it.

One will notice upon arriving here in Trinidad that things tend to slow down a little bit.  People drive slower.  People talk slower.  The lines at Safeway move at a casual pace because the checkers always ask about ones' cousin or brother or some such relative.

The Trinidad Standoff is a phenomena that takes some getting used to... if you ever get used to it.  It happens when two or more cars reach the stop sign at more-or-less the same time.  Even if someone was at the sign way before you get there, they may still wait and just let you go ahead.

This morning as the girls and I were driving up to the property, there were 2 cars ahead of me at the stop sign.  They did their obligatory, "You first," to be answered by, "No, you first."  They sorted it out and we all went on our way down the street.  But then the lead car stopped where there was no stop sign, to allow someone in oncoming traffic to turn left in front of him.

So even when you clearly have the right-of-way, politeness takes precedence over safety and traffic laws.  I guess a move like this would have been scary in California, but here in Trinidad, most drivers move so slowly that accidents don't happen all that often.  (Knock on wood.)

There have been a few times when I've become frustrated with the Trinidad Standoff.  I've come up to stop signs with 3 cars coming from various directions that are already stopped at the sign.  They do the "You first" thing and then no one moves!  NO ONE MOVES!  So I decide, "OK, if you won't go, I will."  And I pull out into the intersection because as my wonderful hubby has said, "Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way."  Someone has to make a decision and it may as well be me.

Maybe in a few more years I'll be a willing participant to the Trinidad Standoff.  But for now... I just don't have the time.

Writing

I've been wanting to sit down and write.  I've had musings going through my head for several days... but nothing cohesive.  Little bits of stories here and there... nothing much interesting.

Brutus, Lucy & Mindy

I've been having "Schultz" moments now and then.  I sure miss my beautiful boy.  But yesterday as I was leaving our driveway, Mindy and Lucy in the back excited about going for their daily walk, I decided to take my new friend, Brutus, with us.  Being a male German Shepherd, I immediately took to him.  Love those German Shepherd dogs.

I drove around the corner and into the little courtyard area in the middle of our block.  That's where the parking is for 10-15 homes on our block.  And that's also where Brutus lives.  The lady of the house was sitting on her back porch enjoying the beautiful spring morning.  I introduced myself and asked if I could take their dog for a run.  She called hubby who said, "Sure... no problem!"

Now here's a dog whom I had never seen off of his chain in the back yard.  He was frightening when I first met him.  Snarling and snapping with those huge teeth.  After I turned my back on him he finally calmed down.  And  it has taken much patience and many visits to get him to the point he is today.

So I unclipped his chain and led him to my car with my girls inside.  He hopped right in no problem at all.  But he stayed toward the back of the car not at all sure of what was going on.  He was so cute as I watched him in the rear-view mirror... sitting there against the back window of the car.  His head hit the slope of the roof which pushed his ears down at comical angles.

Brutus riding shotgun

The girls didn't pay to much attention to him.  They handled the situation perfectly.  Then when we reached the property, I opened the back of the car and everyone baled out for a frolic.

He enjoyed our walk so much.  He seemed a little aloof and unsure at first, but quickly got into the groove.  As we hiked up one of the trails, the girls naturally went far ahead of me.  They usually do that... they run ahead and come back, then leave, then come back.  Brutus followed them, but I was amazed to see him come back to see where I was, then he went off again.  He did that twice in less time that the girls ever did.  That was also a Schultz thing, he kept a close eye on me.

We all enjoyed the warm, spring weather.  Such a beautiful day.

When it was time to go our guest hopped into the car.  But this time he didn't want to sit in back.  He wanted to ride shotgun.  I tried my best to get him to go in the back, but he wasn't having it.  So I let him sit in front.

It was really hard putting him back on his chain.  There in the back yard... no companionship... no one to love him.  Of course, I love our girls.  But I have a special place in my heart for German Shepherds.

Mindy & Brutus behind the shooting range.