Rain, Sun, and Pikachu.

I had heard that there was a botanical garden within reasonable driving distance for us, so this Saturday we packed up the dogs and paid the Clark Botanical Gardens a visit. This was the first time we'd taken the dogs anywhere out in public with the exception of the PetSmart doggy training classes.

Oscar and Felix did remarkably well, especially since the place was practically deserted. There were however some guinea hens and a large white peacock that kept taunting them, saying "come and get us Felix, come and get us Oscar, the best part's in the rump."

The 35 acre garden was pretty amazing for what is supposed to be the west texas wasteland. We took only a few choice, highly scripted, photos.

This was under a waterfall, but the extremes of light and dark confused the camera.

We didn't get any plant-life photos, but if you like that kinda stuff, archivists can do more than just archive.

That night there was a really fun storm that came in. The rain was horizontal, the wind knocked stuff over, and we got to see lightning strike just yards from our front door. The bolt was pink.

While searching for hors d'oeuvre recipes online, we stumbled upon Pikachu Hors d'oeuvres. The page is set up as a delightful little satire of a scientific journal article and it was just too strange not to share.

Not so scary after all, and yet so much scarier.

So I was sitting on the floor sorting laundry and Oscar trots up to climb over the clothes and find the perfect spot in my lap. I take a second glance at him and have a horrible moment of deja vu. His mouth is swollen on one side. Something bit him. DAMN! We just killed that snake the other day, don't tell me there's another one and we have to go through this again! Well after a more thorough investigation, I realize there are no holes in has face and he seems fine. Whew.

This got me thinking, though. This is exactly the stuff I used to be so scared of when thinking about adulthood and responsibility and all that crap. I think I've learned more living out here in the sticks than I realized. For a long time I was really scared of the thought of owning a house. Apartment living was so nice in that someone else always had to fix the broken fridge or air conditioner or kill the bugs. This house (though we rent it) has given us a little practice. We have fixed some of the stuff around here ourselves and it really wasn't a big deal. I even installed a toilet tank on my own! (this is M talking, I once broke a toe just walking past my bed....I'm not so handy) Anyway, I figured that if we can handle fixing problems in a house so old that no knows its age, there's not really that much to worry about. It only took 27 years to come to this realization!

But it also gets really scary when I think about things that are a little more important than tile or faucets. The puppies are our next step on the long road to kids and it may sound stupid, but they are giving us a little practice. After deciding that Oscar was probably OK, all I could think was "I'm so glad we don't have to go through that again." And it wasn't the interruption of a favorite TV show, or the expense that so vividly rushed back from my memory. It was the worry and fear that stayed with me. I wasn't ready to lose a dog I'd only known for six months. Jeez, we sure get attached quickly! It turns out the scary stuff comes wrapped in a cute little creature. It's not the daily things like house training or making sure there's enough dog food that is hard. It turns out the hard part of responsibility is worry, panic, regret (I should have killed that damn snake months ago when I had a chance) and being able to take a step back when you know something could go really wrong. Man, that's big. And these are dogs, not kids! I think I'll take another 27 years to think about this some more.

Basketball and Revenge
(a slightly disturbing image (only to people nicer than me) appears at the end of this post)

Way back in the dogblog beginning, we wrote about bringing the puppies home and watching the Rose Bowl game a few short days later. All of D's Rose Bowl inspired jumping and yelling (if you saw the game no explanation is needed) really freaked out the puppies. They didn't have much run of the house at that time, so they did their best to hide from him. Well, I fear they may have had flashbacks recently. This was their solution to D's jumping and yelling during the NBA playoffs:




I was happy to provide a safe, if incidental, haven for them. Since school's been out for a week and a half now, I've spent more time sitting in that chair and the dogs seem quite happy to camp out under the desk whenever I sit down. Can you guess where they are right now? It's so nice to have a warm fuzzy little body warm your feet in the winter, but the temperature has recently passed 100 degrees for several days in a row. Please guys....no foot warming is necessary! No I already feel bad for complaining. They are very sweet little dogs.

What makes me feel even more guilty is our upcoming trip to South Padre. There are no dogs allowed in the house we are occupying at the beach. Yesterday D and I checked out our vet's boarding situation and set up the dreaded neutering. Their first boarding experience will include the chopping off of balls! What kind of pet owners are we?!? I know they are just dogs, but we just can't help but feel bad for leaving them with strangers that happen to perform surgery. Sorry dudes!

Now, on to revenge. Today our rattle-y friend came out of its hole for a snack and D happened to look outside just as the snake made his appearance. Not long before this, D had rigged up a little slip knot near the snake hole so it wouldn't easily get away before we could chop it up. After some quick but careful thought, D ditched the noose and got the ax.

Now, D has a gentle spirit so this was a little tough for him. I swore revenge after Felix was bitten and am happy to report that snakey is now in two pieces somewhere outside our fence. But D feels bad for killing him. Wish I could say the same. I spare spiders, non venomous snakes and even scorpions, but that rattlesnake just had to go. As D has the good back and good aim, he had to do the dirty work. Poor guy. If you don't like seeing snakes in two pieces don't scroll down. There is no blood or gore, but I want to give you fair warning.






Felix is avenged:


























If you look, you can see the snake kept moving for a while. Eww! Anyway, don't try this at home......unless you have a rattlesnake living under your house. Yep, that's our kitchen wall in the upper left corner. No, really.

Real Quick:

1. Felix got better the very next day, and the swelling was gone the day after.

2. According to Gerry, all plot synopses on the back of DVD packaging is wrong. Case in point: The Big Lebowski DVD refers to the dude's rug as a "carpet that made the room "hang together."" What the fuck?!

3. I recently found a leg hair that tied itself into a knot. It reminded me of a time that I dropped a nickel at Economy and it landed on its side.

4. Had dinner with Ben Barnes here in Albany. He showed an interest in M's future career. It was a fascinating evening.