I can do random

In fact, random thoughts are what I do best. And one such thought has been "who designated Tuesdays as random in blogdom?" Well, thanks to Captain Dumbass, today I found out that it is apparently Keely, the Un Mom.



So, let's start in this direction and then circle around, I guess. Oops, that might be too much planning for randomness! Which makes me think of something else- my total inability to plant flowers in anything other than straight lines. I'll have a flat of marigolds and plant them hither and yon, then stand back and see that I have merely placed them in offset rows. My brain insists on seeing patterns I guess.

Where I meant to start was with the hens. Haven't lost any of the new ones yet. Did you notice the qualifier? Yes, the barred rock that was hurt when Floyd bit the dust finally succumbed to her (apparently internal) injuries. Darn. So the hen count stands at 10, plus the rooster-that-may-disappear-if-he doesn't-wise up.

We were warned by his former owners that he had attacked the man, yet would eat from the lady's hand. He was all bowing and scraping to us the first few days, while he scoped out the situation. Then, after bringing out scraps for his flock, J turned away and the rooster attacked. Ameranth warned her father in time for him to deflect the first charge. Unarmed, J held his foot out to ward off the rooster, who flared his straggly neck feathers and shifted his head from side to side, like Steve Martin doing the King Tut dance.

There were two more encounters, but J had armed himself and the rooster seems to have conceded the Cock of the Walk title to him. We still hear eerie sounds once in awhile from the rooster, soft high-pitched cries which sound strangely like the music in a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western, just before the showdown.

The Un Mom's post today mentions zombies, which is a subject that comes up surprisingly often in our household. Sectaurs, Ameranth and even Shoeshine have an inordinate amount of "zombie facts" in their strange brains, as does their father. I take no credit for this, he can have it all! Besides the movies, which we all know should be considered documentaries, not science fiction, J has a handy book (courtesy of Sectaurs, I believe) which exposes the weaknesses of zombies and gives helpful hints on how to survive an attack. I rely on their expertise to save me if hell freezes over when the zombies come. I think the fundamental rules are run (zombies are notoriously slow shufflers) and have a two story tower, since zombies can't climb. That, and from what I've seen on TV, have a shotgun. Check on the weapon, no tower yet.

Life with three dogs here has been....interesting. Two people walking the three dogs is reminiscent of road trips with 4 kids. No one wants to be in the middle and they bite and snarl if one 'accidentally' bumps the other. Boomer had to go back to his Gentle Leader since he was abusing his collar privileges.

You'd think we were torturing him! It's just a strap behind his ears and fairly loosely around his muzzle. The leash hooked under his chin cuts his pulling power and makes the dogs tuck their head instead of stretching it out. He spends half of his walk rubbing his face on the ground trying to get it off. Rosie accepts hers patiently, good girl.

That picture of  Anna looks a little squished- it's partly the angle and mostly her- She takes funny pictures for some reason. She is an only dog and has some issues with communal living. Such as being fed and expected to eat all of her food at once or lose it, spending a large portion of the day in the yard, and being left behind when Ameranth leaves the house. She makes me remember Ms M's complaint years ago about the cousins all being sent downstairs to play while dinner was being fixed: "You locked us down there like dogs!" (we did not lock the door). 

It just started pouring, so I guess my hope that the sun would burn through the overcast today are doomed. No, wait a minute. I looked out the west window and I see..blue sky and puffy white clouds? Hmm, interesting. 

I had an unexpected physical done yesterday and passed. Yay me! And by unexpected, I mean that I totally forgot that I made this appointment a year ago, until the Dr's office called me Friday. And by passed, I mean the Dr didn't yell at me for gaining weight, didn't find any suspicious moles, and irrigated one ear so that J isn't mumbling any more! I know, how great is that?

I was looking for one more picture to finish up with and saw this one. The umbrella had been in the corner of the porch for a year or two and that really bugged J. So he got a deal on an umbrella stand, got the table out of the shed and assembled it all out back so we have shade when we play bocce, or more often, just gaze at our yard.  Good job, J.