Goin' Home

Thanks again to all of you who have kept vigil for the little baby in Flagstaff. I am happy to report that he went home with his parents a few hours ago. YEAH!!!!



Soundtrack for all these baby posts has to be James Taylor's Sweet Baby James.

Lani's Friend

I have no idea how people can do it. I'm talking about disposing of animals as if they were garbage.


A friend of ours just got a Dobie Fellowship. This means that she gets to live in J. Frank Dobie's house out on his ranch. The ranch is on the outskirts of Austin on the end of a gravel road. There are houses and other businesses on the road but it dead ends at the entrance to the ranch. When our friend and her husband arrived at the ranch, there was a dog hanging around the gate. No one had been living at the ranch for a few weeks at least. This means that the only people to go there were the grounds keepers who go out once a month to check on things and mow the grass. Our friends left for a few hours. The dog was still there when they returned. It was obvious that someone had dropped him out there because they no longer wanted him. After putting up signs, posting on craigslist and contacting the local shelter to see if anyone was looking for him, they decided to adopt him. They call him Punkin' because of his color.



They had a few obligations to attend to so Punkin' is visiting with Lani for a few days.



I ask you, how could anyone discard this sweet six month old boy?

Thirteen Reasons to Live with a Dog

1. Dogs always make me laugh. Our deal with Lani is that she makes us laugh and we pay for everything she needs.

2. Someone is waiting for you when you get home.

3. A good reason for leaving a boring party is that you have to go home to let the dog out.

4. If you collect enough dog hair, you can stuff a pillow. I could have probably stuffed three small ones or a very large one by now.

5. Your yard will be safe from squirrels, deer and other wild life.

6. Sometimes the dog is the wild life.

7. You will always be warned whenever someone goes by on a bicycle or on foot in front of your house.

8. Ditto if someone pulls into your driveway.

9. You will most likely get to know your neighbors. People are usually comfortable commenting on a dog and conversations can continue on to other topics.

10. You get taken on walks frequently.

11. Free fertilizer for your yard.

12. You get to watch them sleep. There is no better picture of contentment.

13. You get unconditional love.

Can You Help This Horse?

Or do you know someone who can?

Please take a minute to read this post at Guilty with an Explanation.

What I Saw

Stephen and I have been thinking about clearing out of Austin. We love the town and all our friends here. Howver, Austin has gotten to be a much bigger place than either of us is comfortable living in. It would be different if we could live a half an hour out of town and be able to be in the country or if we could drive for a half an hour and be out of town. As it is, it takes at least twenty minutes to get downtown or anywhere else we want to go from out place in the south part of town.


One of the reasons for my trip to Santa Fe was to check it out as a possible place to live. It is about the right sized town. You can pretty much get or do anything you want or need there. The climate is nice. It may get a little colder than I like in winter but the mild summers make up for that. The best part is that you can be anywhere in town in about fifteen minutes. I am sure that it takes a little bit longer during peak traffic times but not nearly as long as it takes here. You can be fifteen or twenty minutes out of town and be in the country, beautiful country at that.


One of the areas that we have been thinking about is Pecos. My friend and I drove down there and the first thing we saw there was a horse that was out and eating grass right in the entrance to the village. That has to be a good sign.


I did not make very many pictures. Here are a few on the Pecos River near its head waters.

Sound track for this post: Jerry Jeff' Walker's Leavin' Texas

Oops!

I have come to realize that by my asking for prayers for the baby, I may have inadvertently spread worry and concern about him. These feelings are natural to all of us in these situations. However, since I believe that we get what we concentrate on, I am doing the very best I can to envision him as a healthy and whole child. A child who laughs and smiles at his parents and who is thriving in this world. I ask that you join me in seeing this vision.

Peace to all.

More on the Little One

Our little guy is fighting a nasty infection. We had hoped that he would be home by now but that is not going to be the case for some time now. Your continued prayers and good energy are appreciated.