Coming in from shoveling the other day, The Sprite announced that a rabbit was living in our side yard. Sure enough, the signs of habitation appeared over the next few days—rabbit tracks in the snow, nibbled bushes and rabbit pebbles [not to be confused with…anything, hopefully]. Glancing out the window while getting ready for work this morning revealed evidence of foul play in the back yard. As I stood there trying to sort out the pieces, The Sprite came up behind me. There were rabbit tracks and then patches of blood on the snow.
“What are you looking at?”
She saw it before I could close the shutters or distract her. “Oh.” She said. Just “oh” and then silence. By now the rest of the family saw it too. On the way to school, we tried to figure out what had happened. There was no body, no sign of a struggle, no evidence that it had been dragged away. Was it a crow? A hawk?
“Maybe it was a wild cat, like they have in the jungle.” She offered.
“Like a lion or a tiger?” asked the Flash. “I don’t think there are lions or tigers in Buffalo.”
“No”, she said, “you know, regular cats without owners.”
“I don’t think they have those types of cats in the jungle” he replied.

The mystery remains unsolved and, as it has been raining all day, will likely remain so.

It’s getting light earlier and staying light later. We have definitely turned the corner on winter. There are some who are glad to see it go and others who just wish it would go on and on. Apparently, there are some who feel that they have been denied their share of winter. There was a prediction of snow for the desert where The Glamorous One lives but here, as Paul Harvey used to say, is the rest of the story, as told by our guest from the SouthWest:

It was all a cruel tease. No doubt master-minded by some sadistic cult from one of those snow-rich states. At first it was, “Heavy Snow at All Elevations – Everybody Buy Milk!”. Then it was “Snow at Selected Elevations – Is Anyone Going To Be Wanting Bread?” Finally it was, “Okay We Lied – Go have A Beer”. And because there was NO snow in the forecast today – at all! – we’ve had snow intermittently throughout the day( but it’s just the horizontal kind passing through on its way to somewhere else).

So there was poor Andrew, reduced to standing out in the wind and crumbling blocks of Styrofoam to create a pathetic (yet surprisingly realistic) “snow storm”. Katie and I drove as far up Carr Canyon as the van would go (unpaved road/steep incline/icy/no traction)(bad idea possibly) and gathered up a cooler full of snow. There you are with your embarrassment of riches. and here we are. just plain embarrassed.

So, all of you NorthEasterners, think about THAT the next time the flakes appear.

My father-in-law was reputed to have yearned for a dog hair sweater. To that end, he saved bags of the stuff—dog hair, not sweaters. Dusty, Chief, Archie—a variety of breeds and colors contributed to the potential project over many years. When my in-laws moved from Long Island, all of it was thrown away. Well, I’m here to tell you that his lone voice crying in the wilderness is solitary no more. Who knows, maybe some day everyone will be wearing dog hair couture but at least for now, there is a way for the cognoscenti to fulfill their dreams.

It is very annoying that my comments option has stopped being an option. It is a further reminder of the other things I have been meaning to add to my site but just haven’t gotten around to yet. Like curtains! And throw pillows!