Ouch!!!

A young man I occasionally mentor got home yesterday after a bout with kidney stones. His reply to my text inquiry how he was feeling,

“No, I feel like death. I’ve been bucked off horses, ran over by trucks, maced, tased, punched in the face, fallen from trees…..I’ve never felt pain like this. I was crying like a baby at the hospital, like a baby!”

I’m thankful I’ve never had that particular problem. I know some readers have. A neighbor down the hall, a once vigorous and robust man, is hobbling around with a cane after a prolonged bout. He’s been hospitalized four times in the past year.

This young man has had some ups and downs. Two weeks prior to entering the Army, he was a passenger in a truck wreck which messed up his right ankle. His son is autistic. He is the youngest in a terribly dysfunctional family.

I hope this is behind him. He is a sober, hard working family man. An entrepreneur, he works for himself. He and his wife are, simply put, good people.

 

MidAir Collision

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ph7OR6C90w&ab_channel=blancolirio

A  parachute equipped Cirrus floated down and the occupants walked away. Amazing!

Morning Walk

Nice morning for a change. We’ve now had two days without rain. The wetlands we walked past this morning have standing water bank to bank. There are a lot of blackbirds living there and it is soothing to hear their chattering as we walk by. Later, they will keep the bug population under control.

The lenticular clouds are back indicating a wind shift to our more common pattern.

Vulture row, aka designated smoking area, had the neighborhood watch in place. They observe everything, having nothing better to do, then gossip.

Yesterday the Coven was gathered playing their Wahoo game. Not a face mask in sight. Seems the building manager has given up enforcing Emperor Polis’ decree.

An assignment yesterday took me past the town of Keenesburg. Coming back on Road 49, at the intersection with Highway 34, an accident had everything blocked except one lane headed north. Ah ha, says the local knowledge guy, I’ll just run up to the Airport Road and head north to my next call. Yeah, that route is down to one lane for paving. Jumped off on one of the unpaved roads and got around the jam, adding twenty minutes, and twelve miles, to my trip. One benefit was Banner had his head out the window enjoying the new smells.

Such an exciting life that dog and I lead!

Tools for Sale

 Part of an upcoming estate auction in Hugo, CO – High Plains farm country.

Nothing exotic or unusual; just a lifetime collection of  tools used by a farmer.

What gun grabbers rarely seem to grasp is inner city gang bangers are a miniscule sliver of firearms users. These are tools, used with a purpose.

We can only speculate how many children and grandchildren learned to shoot with these; how many varmints were dispatched, and even how much meat was put on the table.

How sad there are no heirs to keep them.

Eyesight issues have put an end to my shooting except for self defense. I still keep up with, as Old NFO says, “Minute of Bad Guy”, practice.

I do get a lot of auction notices that occasional cause acute nostalgia attacks.

Wingman for a Dog

Whenever Banner is in the blog, the stat count zooms. Seems I’m a wingman for a blasted dog! My handsome visage and sparking personality is ignored.

At the dog park most of the regulars know his name. Me? Eh!

In our ninety unit senior apartment building he is the Ambassador of Smiles. I’m tolerated. Keeping score one day, I counted twelve different people who petted him.

Our morning routine is his breakfast, then out back to the plaza/lawn area. Business taken care of, it is inside to the commons area where the “Treat Lady”, aka Coven Leader awaits. After several treats and some quality petting, I’m allowed to return to the apartment for “my” breakfast and coffee.

He has competition for treats.

After a brief nap, he will allow me to take him on our morning walk. On nice days he prefers to take this nap on the deck in the sun, or, wherever he pleases, especially if it is in my way.

Walking, unless we change routes, he soon becomes bored and just trudges along. More than one neighbor has pointed this out. Eyes are everywhere around here. Many are quite pleased to be advocates for Banner and advise me on how to treat him.

One of our afternoon walk routes takes us by a few homes with children. We are required to stop so they can pet him.

I’m loath to even think how he is spoiled when he spends time at my sister’s house.

He savages chew toys. Items like rawhide chews he will eat completely in ten minutes.

Overall he is a great companion and I believe I won the dog lottery. We are 1 ½ year into our relationship. He has had exactly one accident in the apartment.  He rarely barks.  Now he has me fairly well trained, things are going well.

Please understand he is Bruce Banner, not the Incredible Hulk Banner. He is, for lack of a better description, a wimp!  He remains terrified of tile floors and Chihuahuas intimidate him.

My apology for the weird pictures. I’m still using Windows 7 and Blogger doesn’t like that.

Spring - Maybe

 We’ve had several days of rain. It has been a soft ground soaking rain, not gully washing, but farther out in the plains it hasn’t been so kind.

Along with rain comes mud. I’m glad I’m retired.

The city should do some selective pruning before some of the trees leaf out.

We’ve had such a mild winter the old agriculture boy in me is glad to see the rain. Still, more snow is possible. My sister points out gardeners should wait until Mothers Day for planting seedlings to be safe.

Tis' a Privilege to Live in Colorado