Insights from The Magic Tutu

Have you heard of the 3/50 Project?

 My friend, Glena, who operates our local version of The Country Register newspaper, told me about the 3/50 Project.  It's just the medicine every local economy needs to help keep money right here -- in our local economy -- rather than seeing it go away.  Click this link for a short overview of  The 3/50 Project 

For years, our Chamber of Commerce has asked folks in town to "Support Your Local Merchant" -- and now this movement has started to help folks across America to do just that.  We live just 25 minutes from Las Vegas where every possible item ever created is available.  But since I'm a "local merchant" myself, I've always tried to do all of my shopping right here in Boulder City where my dollars will recirculate right here in town.  If I spend money in Las Vegas, Las Vegas benefits.  If I spend money on line, who knows who benefits!

I thought Friendly flew the coop!

I have 3 topics on my mind today. (1) I searched everywhere for Friendly yesterday (she's my dove with a broken wing).  I put her in the backyard to visit with her friends, went inside to wash the breakfast dishes, came out 20 minutes later, no Friendly.  I looked in the pool, in my neighbors yard, under every bush, looked in the trees (thinking she may have flown the coop).  I prayed she'd flown away but deep inside thought she was breakfast for a roaming feral cat.  Gloom took me over and I saw how attached I've become to the little dove.  Then Desi went into the front yard and saw her playing with one of her dove friends under the pine tree!  The gloom vanished instantly.  Interesting to see how a little hurt dove has taken over my life.

Topic (2)  Haley brought her kittens over to my house for a coffee party this morning.  They're 5.5 weeks old.  You may be tired of reading about doves and kittens on my blog lately but that's my life right now :)   Their personalities are developing as fast as their chubby tummies.  After the exhaustive effort to climb way up the kitty condo, they were tired.   Look at those tired faces.  Haley put them in a basket to carry them home.  Yum.

Topic (3)  Interesting to watch economics in action.  Example: I buy a lot of cat food but lately have been buying less and stretching each can to feed 3 cats instead of 2 cats.  Everyone is probably doing that which has meant less cat food sales which means cat food prices are going up.  Today I'm going to PetsMart

to buy cat food and will probably faint at the new, higher prices.  Logically, it seems that if people are buying less the cost should go down so they'll buy more.  But it's not working that way.  Just a mini-example of what's happening across America.  I should have listened more in Economics 101 and I probably wouldn't be so shocked. 

A nice Father's Day

We didn't make it out to Father's Day breakfast as planned.  Instead we played with the kittens and babysat Friendly.  Somehow Friendly (the dove with a broken wing) made her way thru the gate that encloses our pool again and jumped in the pool again when I tried to pick her up.  This makes the 4th time she's jumped in the pool!  She had to go into her cage again after that.   I snapped the photo of the kittens out on Haley's lawn.  This was the first time the kittens have been outside.  Double click on their photo to enlarge it so you can see how cute they are.  Chubby tummies.  

Haley gave Desi 2 bars of soap from an organic company called Lush.  I took this photo of them looking at the Lush newspaper that lists all of their products.  Right before I snapped the photo they asked, "Is this for your blog?"  Since I starting blogging no one is safe!  Ha!

Look how strange the soaps are.  The greenish soap is olive oil soap and actually has olive chunks in it.  The blue soap is a sea salt, peppermint soap that smells fabulous.

Desi's Father's Day was complete with phone calls from Julia & Desiree (his daughter & granddaughter in Connecticut), a phone call from Sean (his Godson), and a call from our "adopted son" Justin.  Thanks to all for making it a nice day for Desi.

Friendly -- the swimming dove

Well, Friendly jumped back into the pool yesterday.  I went into my backyard to check on her and she was swimming.  This is the 3rd time she's jumped into the pool.  Haley thinks she's suicidal because of her broken wing and the reality she'll never fly again.  I scooped her out of the pool with the net and put her in a larger cat cage I had in the garage.   Didn't have to drive all the way to Pets Mart yesterday because I remembered this perfect cage I already had on hand.

We're on our way to Father's Day breakfast and while we're gone Friendly and her new cage are in the backyard  under a big, shady tree.  I can't leave her wandering the yard anymore if I'm not home.  Also, ChiChi (Desi's favorite feral) is on the prowl and he would love to pounce on Friendly.  So the cage it is till later today when all the ferals are sleeping.  Friendly's bird friends are flying around near her new cage and eating birdseed.  She wants to get out and socialize.  Just what I need -- a dove with a broken wing.  I shouldn't complain.  I could have a son in Iraq.

Friendly -- the travelin' dove

I realize Tehran is about to explode.  100 families will be foreclosed upon today.  Water has been shut off to fertile California farmlands in order to save the 2" endangered minnow.  And right here, in my backyard, Friendly still has a broken wing.  That, however, has not stopped her from leaving the relative safety of my backyard and walking over to our neighbors yard.

Yesterday, Desi and I went out to our local Coffee Cup diner for breakfast.  I left Friendly in my yard with her other bird friends and told her to stay put.  I came back 2 hours later and couldn't find her.  I thought the feral cats hauled her away.  I wondered if she could have maneuvered her way thru the gate?  She did.  And there she was under a bush next door.  I brought her home and put her in the kitty cage where she had to stay the rest of the day and night.  I let her out into my backyard about a half hour ago so she could eat birdseed and visit with her bird friends.  Today I'm going to Pet's Mart to buy her a BIG cage so when I have her confined at night she doesn't feel so claustrophobic.  My life has come down to babysitting Friendly.  While I'm typing this I'm also watching Fox News about the protesters and police clashing in Iran.  What a blessing it is to live in America.

Friendly Dove

The dove saga continues.  Remember I fished Friendly (that's her name) out of my pool after she escaped the feral cat attack that broke her wing?  She dried off in a kitty carrier case over night and the next day I placed her in my yard to see if there was any hope of her flying.  No.  She ate birdseed with her friends and walked around the yard and fell right back in the pool!

I fished her out again.  Back into the kitty case. She dried off again and now the routine is this:  she wanders my backyard during the day for a few hours (I babysit her thru my kitchen window) then she spends the night in the kitty case to be safe from roaming ferals at night.  I know now that Friendly is a "she" because a boy dove has been courting her by bobbing and cooing.  She doesn't like him.  She has a broken wing and doesn't feel good.  Early evening she lets me pick her up and she goes right into her safe kitty case to spend the night.  

I'm so glad I still have grass in my shady backyard in spite of pressure to go "desert landscape".  Yuck.  My feeling is that with all the obscene water waste over the hill in Las Vegas, what does it matter if I have a lawn?  My water usage is invisible compared to the waste in Las Vegas.  So I'm keeping my lawn and I'm watering it every day this summer even tho our city sent out a notice that we could only water twice a week.  That's how they're trying to force people to remove their lawn and go "desert".  OK.  I'll water twice a week when Las Vegas -- the water guzzling capital of the world -- starts to cut back and stops sucking so much water out of poor Lake Mead.  And besides, Friendly likes to relax on the grass in the shade.  Ha!

Company

We had company this week.  One person -- a longtime friend -- was invited.  The other person popped into our Theatre last night right before a show and surprised us.  And it was the best surprise.  They both knew we lived in this little town and knew about our Theatre...sort of.  The show we presented this weekend was the year end dance recital for the dance studio I owned for 27 years.  The new owner still presents her year end shows here and this was a tap, jazz, rock 'n roll, Broadway extravaganza that included about 200 children.  Big fun!  People in our community who regularly support our Theatre love what Desi has created here but our visitors have never seen what we do.  So to them it was quite the experience.  They loved it.  This funny sign hangs in our Theatre office and is so apropos.  We love small town America and it was fun to see our friends (who live in big town) applaud and appreciate what they saw and felt here.

Look how big the babies are

Haley's kittens are 3 weeks old.  Look how big they are compared to their birth photos a few posts ago.  This little one has a sibling the same color and almost identical in markings but the sibling wouldn't pose for a photo.  We're sure the father of the black & white kittens is Big Daddy -- a fluffy solid black feral cat that we trapped , neutered and released after he went on a mating spree this Spring.

We can't figure out who the father is of these two Siamese-looking kittens.  We thought we'd neutered all the Siamese-type ferals in the neighborhood but I guess we missed someone!   These two are so chubby and feisty. The little one with the white dot on it's nose hissed at me during this photo shoot.  Very funny.  

Our oldest cat, Bear, is 17.  He lives with Haley and her menagerie of cats that includes cats of all ages.  At one time Bear was the King of our neighborhood.  Now he's the Old Man.  When he was the King he dominated every cat who had the audacity to trespass into his territory.  Now poor Bear is surrounded by an assortment of neutered feral cats and.....the kittens.  

Another baby has been rescued

This little fellow was found very weak at only 6 weeks old after his mother died from an infection.  One of the other mothers in the herd must have been nursing him a little otherwise he would have died after 2 days.  Now he is thriving in the nursery at the Sheldrick Foundation and has other little orphans to play with.  Click on this link to read the fascinating story of his rescue.  http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/asp/orphan_profile.asp?N=204

It is always heartbreaking when a mother elephant dies because it's usually due to 

being slaughtered for her ivory tusks. However, this case is equally sad. If you are 

new to my blog you'll see that I am mesmerized by orphaned baby elephants and

often post news about rescues. I hope you enjoy these stories, photos and also the

watercolors that I've posted on the left hand column below. There are so many 

things I love about life and babies of all species fascinate me. I was blessed to

raise several kittens in my life and one human -- Haley -- she's my favorite baby.