Parker's First Minor Mishap

  When we're sitting on the back porch with Parker, she likes getting down on the concrete and chasing a pinecone that we toss. She returns it every now and then but prefers to keep it for herself and chew on it.

 An even more important pastime is chasing insects. When I had her out a night or two ago  she was fascinated by lightning bugs and would stand and watch them flit by. But even more fascinating are ants ambling across the concrete porch.

 She likely is eating them. But she met her match when one large carpenter ant and she crossed paths.

 See that little black thing hanging down from her nose as a slight left angle? It's the carpenter ant.

 Here's a closer look ...

 The ant pierced her nose with its vice-like jaws. The bites can be painful. Parker didn't seem in any great  pain, though. She whimpered a bit was all.. Tom tried to pinch the ant with his fingernails but the ant, still quite alive, refused to let go.

 So I held Parker, managing to keep her head steady, while Tom lit a match, blew it out and then applied the hot tip to the ant's head. The ant immediately let go.

 That's the ant and the burnt match.

 Parker quickly went back to sleep and wasn't any worse for the wear.

 For safety's sake, Tom applied a bit of antibiotic to the pup's nose. A couple of day's later all is well.

 

We Welcome Parker Home

  Yesterday morning Tom and I both received a Facebook notification from our friend, Gail Parker. She said the exact dog we've been looking for was available. These are the two pictures posted by the breeder in Covington, Ohio ...

Credit: Teresa Taylor

 The female schnauzer was just over seven weeks old. Though a pup might have been a stretch for me - and I was against getting a dog at the moment - I went along with Tom to see her and it was love at first sight. How could I leave that sweet face behind?

 The puppy was born April 29, 2023 to Kalee (sire) and Boaz (dam). She was assigned AKC # RN39293402.

 Here's Tom holding her for the first time:

 We arrived home late yesterday (about 7 PM) with the pup ...

 She slept much of the way home on my lap. Tom drove. At first she whimpered a few times and seemed to realize she was leaving her mother and brothers but soon settled down.

 Here she is in the house for the first time. We quickly found our spots on the sofa.

 And I suppose that'll be our favorite spot for many years to come.

 I went to bed last night about 10:30 PM and Tom suggested I take her upstairs with me and see whether she'd sleep in the bed. She seemed to find a spot between our two pillows to suit her and she was soon fast asleep. Tom came to bed at 1 AM but she barely stirred.

 I got up with her at 3 AM to see if she needed to potty. She did. On the floor. I cleaned that up, sat down with her a while on the sofa and then headed back to bed.

 This morning  she seems rested and satisfied.

 And so a new future begins ...

Kurt Vonnegut Museum * Library

  One of Tom's favorite authors is Kurt Vonnegut. I read only Slaughterhouse-Five and found it a hard go and really not to my liking. But I know the man is held in  high regard and so I had an interest in visiting the Kurt Vonnegut Museum * Library in Indianapolis.

 In fact when we returned from our  recent vacation Tom suggested we stop. Trouble was, it was Memorial Day and I was certainly tired after all the miles. So we held off.

 A few days ago Tom said he ordered two tickets. The museum was offering free admission on Juneteenth (06/19). So we made the hour and a half excursion yesterday.

 It was a rainy morning in the Dayton area as we headed west but the showers became less and less as we neared Indianapolis and the day there was mostly cloudy but dry.

 The museum encompasses three floors. Many of the letters shown framed on the walls are not originals but copies and that was a bit disappointing. But I suppose theft is a real concern. Vonnegut must have kept every rejection letter he received.

 This framed artwork (Tom said it was not a photograph) is simply exceptional.

 Anyone who read Slaughterhouse-Five will recognize this quote at once.

 These model airplane hang above a WWII display.

 This mural was painted directly on a wall. It's spot-on.

 This explains the "*" symbol. It's used in the name of the museum.

 Dr. Jakobi Williams gave a talk on censorship in education. It was a standing  room only event and lasted well beyond the 45 minute schedule.

Hummers at the Feeder

  Last year Tom bought a new hummingbird feeder, an ant guard and a bottle of nectar concentrate, I put it up about a month ago and things have been really quiet. Then, about a week ago, Tom was at the kitchen window and saw a hummer flitting by. It didn't drink from the feeder but was probably just checking it out.

 Then it was my turn to see a hummer fly by and I grabbed my camera in time to provide proof.

June 10, 2023

But  yesterday a hummer came and stayed long enough to take a sip ...

June 14, 2023

 This one seemed less skittish and gave me time to get my camera (which I now keep in the kitchen) and get a few shots.

 This is probably a female ruby-throated:

 This one kept an eye on me the whole time I was taking pictures. She sipped all the while but would never turn her back on me. Often she moved to the far side of the feeder.

 But later I found another sitting there - not sipping at all - and she had her back to me. Was it one and the same?

 In any case, we're glad to see they've found the feeder and that they're making us of it. Hummingbirds were one of mom's greatest joys.

Vacation - May 16 2023

  Tom and I left Pinehaven on May 16 bound for Driggs, Idaho, Google Maps put the distance over 1650 miles one way. We opted to go via a "southern route" and return via a northern one, mostly to see new territory each time. The two routes closely paralleled each other.

 I can say up front that on the trip - which ended on Memorial Day (May 29) - we travelled 3290 miles. My 2017 Chevrolet Cruze averaged 42.0 mpg for the entire trip. What's not to like about a car that gets hybrid-like mileage and didn't let out a whimper for the entire trip?

 Though I'm calling this trip a "vacation" it also had a serious purpose: a memorial for Tom's brother, John, who died unexpectedly in early November 2022.

 So on that Tuesday morning we got an early start and headed west. I used  Android Auto for the entire trip and though it got us there and back, I can't say I'm entirely happy with it. At times I was downright angry. Not that it ever left us astray - it didn't - but because at times it didn't lead us at all. Disconnecting when we stopped to rest or get gas, it often refused to do anything. It'd take my voice prompt and then go silent. Was that due to a poor Internet connection? And there needs to be a way to tell it we're stopping for gas, or to rest, and to stop the voice prompts to get back on track!

 I have wanted to see the Gateway Arch in St. Louis since it was built. Tom remembered it when he took a bus west and figured we'd go right by it. We didn't. Nevertheless this was the glimpse I got as Tom navigated I-70.

 And I believe these are views of the bridge as we crossed the Mississippi ...

 We had lunch at a Cracker Barrel near Effingham, IL, always a good idea. Great veggie plates!

 

We stopped that night at a Quality Inn near St. Joseph, MO ...

 The room was very nice and not overpriced compared to much of the competition. This is a chain we'll keep an eye out for.

 So day one netted over 600 miles.

Vacation - May 17 2023

  Wednesday morning we started for Nebraska and it would turn out to be a stormy day. At one point the sky opened up and our view out the windshield looked as though a sheet of white paper had covered it. That's no way to travel - and it didn't last long - but we were lucky there were so few on the road.

 What an angry sky! I fired up my "Weather & Radar" app and saw that many of the storms were dropping sizeable hail. We stayed out from under those, but only by chance.

 Nebraska (like South Dakota) seems to have no end. We spent the entire day crossing it. Much of it is wide and open, too, and we knew we had to be careful and have plenty of gas in the tank for the hours ahead.

 The day ended in Laramie, WY. We stopped at the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Monument to rest our legs.

 We stayed that night at the Laramie Valley Inn.

 And we walked about town a bit (which was undergoing heavy road construction) and had our supper at Subway. Clearly this is a college town.

Vacation - May 18 2023

 By late Thursday we were approaching our destinations: Driggs, ID. But first we passed through Jackson, WY where many of Tom's family live. The mountain "pass" between the two is somewhat dangerous but a beautiful view is to be had at every turn.

 Most of the higher elevations are still covered with snow. And the snow is collected in deep drifts in the valleys, especially where it's protected from direct sunlight.

 We managed the entire trip without a single mishap (though one lens fell out of my eyeglasses and we had to locate a Walmart to have it repaired). That good luck ended just as we arrived in Driggs. Right downtown a truck threw up a rock and smacked my windshield creating a "bullseye".

 I called Safelight one day while I was there but the only repair shop I could find was in the southeast part of the state. We seemed hundreds of miles away. So any repair has to wait for our return home.

 We arrived at the home of Trevor and Amy Buhler where we would spend the next four nights. They've purchased land east of their current location and are building a yurt on the property. Tom's brother helped with clearing sage for the turn-around and Tom's nephew, Coulter Buhler, has helped with construction.

 This is at an altitude of about 9100 feet and I could tell that my breathing was more difficult. It's also a mile higher than I'm used to so the sun is brighter and more intense.

 The yurt was a kit and it's quite impressive.

 Amy (l-r), Trevor and Tom discuses the structure.

 John loved working with found metal and this sculpture on the property is one of his. John was Trevor's father.

 This is where we stayed in Driggs.

 The Buhler's have StarLink so we had great internet and streaming TV.