My Vacation to the Front Lines

I flew into BWI last night. The Warrior Princess and I are visiting my family in Virginia. There's a big fight going on between my mom and her sisters. One of the aunties lives here with mom. I love them both (I'm estranged from the other sister, she's a mean wack job). So I walk the balance beam, careful not to make either mad. Doesn't this sound like fun? People always want to know why I live so far away. Hahaha, I'm smart that's why. Actually it will be fun to visit with my sibs and to jump on the metro and see D.C. with WP.
We will make the very best of it.

Return of the Pomchi Plus Summer Fun, Lizards and Toads, oh my?

This is Ignatia, AKA, Iggs enjoying the summer heat and her personal lettuce planter:


The fire-belly toad tank needed cleaning so here's a look at them. I think they are beautiful and they call to each other in what can only be described as mellifluous yet somewhat haunting tones. The blue anoles (one is shown on the left) are the tank mop up crew. They run around and eat the extra crickets, mealworms and beetles that the toads miss. I know Rose probably has these running wild all over in Florida! Rose, I hope you appreciate the mass of insects these guys slurp up!























Here's the summer fun part:


The ever-creative Test Case and his friend set up their own version of the old Slip'nSlide for WP and her BFF to enjoy. The big guys even used it but I was threatened with certain death if I posted any of that!

I have really been cranking out the housework that I like to get done every summer. I'm giving myself a break today and my favorite furfriend, Maggie is visiting today. She is the puppy my daughter babysat for ten days and she has not forgotten or stopped loving us. My how she has grown and you can see how she has lost her fluffiness.

Someone Punched Me in the Head

or maybe it just feels that way. Dental surgeries have been checked off the list. To the baby-faced endodontist (root canal) I say "Well done, sir. You may look like you are only 14, but you really know your shit."
To my own dentist (extraction & bone graft) I say "Thank you for not scrimping on the novacaine or vicodin."
In other news, Mama Duck abandoned her nest and thus the embryos have perished. The nest was in a singularly awful location. I learned much about duck nesting behavior from my research into this matter. It seems that up to 85% of mallard duck nests fail. Mother ducks often need a year or two in order to get it right. Ground nesting birds are subject to greater predation rates, so a success rate of 15% is all that is needed to replenish the population. The sad reality of nature is that we must accept what cannot be changed *thanks to Ann for reminding me of that*.


How about those Sierra Nevada Mountains? Beautiful and as of last weekend still covered with a bit of snow. This is a view from about 8,000 feet near Silver Lake from the back of the Goldwing. It was a glorious day.


I love the fact that I live close to these mountains.