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59 and a shrike and a cat
Aug. 14th, 2018 06:42 amSunday I turned 59 years old. The day was rainy but not raining. I walked on the Chisholm Trail in Plano. I went to Weight Watchers, where my weight was neither up nor down. I walked in Shawnee Park, where I saw a Loggerhead Shrike, my 99th Collin County species this year. I
had been surprised that this was my first, as I see one just across the border in Dallas County at Heritage Park almost every week.
I ate catfish at Chicken Express. I watched a snippet of a legal seminar about the exoneration of a wrongly-convicted man. I walked in Glendover Park. My wife had to work all day, so I checked in with her at her office via telephone.
In the evening, I had dinner with my brother, his wife, their son and their son's girlfriend. We ate at Little Hunan, a modest Chinese place in Plano. I was surprised that they got me presents--bongo drums, a collection of harmonicas, and some sketch paper for birding enclosed in a monogrammed loose cover.
Sunday night we had an adventure. We had been hearing curious sounds all weekend. We thought we had a cat just outside our window. Sunday evening my wife saw we had a cat in her office. The cat, a handsome black number wearing a collar, hid out under a desk. Eventually, when I tried to coax it out, it ran into our dining room and hid under the odd French furniture piece that serves as our china cabinet.
I tried to convince it of my honorable intentions, but it understandably was skeptical. Ultimately, we left out water and closed off our bedroom and office doors and blocked the way upstairs. Then we went to bed. The next morning, while Beatrice and I were having breakfast, I thought I heard a sound by the doggy door. I could not find the cat. My hope is that it went out the doggy door, and not that it is still hiding somewhere. I feel pretty confident that it left. But we'll see.
I am grateful that Beatrice is now an older dog, or Beatrice might have been more concerned about the cat. Other than letting me know that she sniffed something odd, the whole event left her unphased. I suppose days of rain made our hour an appealing stopover. Better a cat than a bobcat, I suppose.
Monday I worked a solid day. I walked at lunch in Dave Sanford Park. I walked after dinner in Glendover Park. I found the right used camera on sale at eBay. I may sell off a camera i already bought, but we'll see.
Today, Tuesday, I have business travel to do. That will be easy, but it will take much of the day, between check-in, a one-stop flight, and a drive from the airport to a destination an hour away. I packed for the one day trip in a neat little bag that my wife's step-mother got me for Christmas, years ago.
had been surprised that this was my first, as I see one just across the border in Dallas County at Heritage Park almost every week.
I ate catfish at Chicken Express. I watched a snippet of a legal seminar about the exoneration of a wrongly-convicted man. I walked in Glendover Park. My wife had to work all day, so I checked in with her at her office via telephone.
In the evening, I had dinner with my brother, his wife, their son and their son's girlfriend. We ate at Little Hunan, a modest Chinese place in Plano. I was surprised that they got me presents--bongo drums, a collection of harmonicas, and some sketch paper for birding enclosed in a monogrammed loose cover.
Sunday night we had an adventure. We had been hearing curious sounds all weekend. We thought we had a cat just outside our window. Sunday evening my wife saw we had a cat in her office. The cat, a handsome black number wearing a collar, hid out under a desk. Eventually, when I tried to coax it out, it ran into our dining room and hid under the odd French furniture piece that serves as our china cabinet.
I tried to convince it of my honorable intentions, but it understandably was skeptical. Ultimately, we left out water and closed off our bedroom and office doors and blocked the way upstairs. Then we went to bed. The next morning, while Beatrice and I were having breakfast, I thought I heard a sound by the doggy door. I could not find the cat. My hope is that it went out the doggy door, and not that it is still hiding somewhere. I feel pretty confident that it left. But we'll see.
I am grateful that Beatrice is now an older dog, or Beatrice might have been more concerned about the cat. Other than letting me know that she sniffed something odd, the whole event left her unphased. I suppose days of rain made our hour an appealing stopover. Better a cat than a bobcat, I suppose.
Monday I worked a solid day. I walked at lunch in Dave Sanford Park. I walked after dinner in Glendover Park. I found the right used camera on sale at eBay. I may sell off a camera i already bought, but we'll see.
Today, Tuesday, I have business travel to do. That will be easy, but it will take much of the day, between check-in, a one-stop flight, and a drive from the airport to a destination an hour away. I packed for the one day trip in a neat little bag that my wife's step-mother got me for Christmas, years ago.
