This n' That

We drove to the river Friday with plans to do some mowing and general clean up. On the trip down we clipped along fairly quickly.  There wasn't a lot of traffic and no major road construction. I was beginning to feel pretty sleepy when a red truck blew past us. It had to be traveling at least 80 miles per hour.

What I saw in the pickup bed made my eyes fly wide open.  A beautiful border collie, obviously full of border collie excitement, continuously paced back and forth. He'd put his front paws on the side of the bed and watch, then run to the other and do the same. Sometimes he even jumped on top of a tool box installed right behind the cab where he balanced precariously.

It was frightening! All I could think about was the driver swerving or slamming on the brakes. That poor dog would be skidding to the pavement in a heartbeat.

I pulled out my camera and took some pictures for documentation, planning to send that guy straight to court if the dog got hurt.  Pardon the fuzzy-muzzy nature of the photos since I used a telephoto lens in a bouncy truck through a dirty windshield.

Eventually the guy turned off the highway and disappeared. 

You may have noted that he had no license plate on the vehicle. I suspect if he'd been caught that the fine for failure to display a valid license plate would be greater than any punishment for animal endangerment.

Why do people think it's okay for a critter to travel in such unsafe conditions? I just don't get it.

Meanwhile, I had a little surgery on Friday for one of those lovely basal cell skin cancers...my third time...aren't I lucky? It was a small spot, but they taped me up enough to look as though half my nose had been amputated. I get to take off the monstrosity today for a tiny dot-size bandaid. It will look much less dramatic, but be way more comfortable.

Aren't I lovely? Sunglasses hide slightly swollen eye. Shots of anesthetic tend to make a person puffy, and since I'm already the reigning Queen of Poof...well, the results simply aren't pretty.

So here's my advice. Beware all you bronzed beauties! One day those delightful sun-filled, sunscreen-less afternoons may come back to bite you!

Like a Horse and Carriage

We had a bird's eye view of the Santa Parade on Saturday, so I took a window shot of one of the Main Street carriages. A lovely big Old English Sheepdog is lounging on the driver's seat while a beautiful draft horse (Percheron, I think) patiently pulls the carriage up and down the wildly uneven brick street. Neither cars, people, or the weather seemed to rattle him a bit.

The clip clop of hooves makes it easy to imagine an earlier time. Not so much hustle in those days. At least not as far as transportation goes. A leisurely pace made sense. After all, neither people or critters move with the missle-like motion of a car. And that's okay in my book.

When was the last time anyone on horseback got a speeding ticket?