Coyotes, Blue Snakes and Christina

Haven’t blogged for awhile, but that’s not because my life has slowed down. To the contrary, it’s sped up, what with trips almost every weekend to the country. Not to mention Mary’s granddaughter coming from kindergarten every afternoon.

We’ll start with the country. For the last month and a half, my master and mistress have gone to their place in Bandera County on weekends in conjunction with some renovation work. They have cleared out rooms and sorted through the 30 years’ worth of accumulation in closets, bookshelves, cabinets--you name it.

Luckily Mary made time to take me down to the creek every day, so I’m a happy camper. Except for when she takes me too close to sunset. Mary seems mystified when I suddenly race up the hill towards the house as dark approaches. Well, the reason can be seen in the photo she took just a couple of miles up the road: a trio of coyotes strung up by a rancher on a fence. On our place, I can smell the crafty devils and feel especially vulnerable at day’s end.

To make matters worse, a couple of weeks ago Maverick saw an indigo snake down by the creek early in the morning. These large (and I do mean large) constrictors also known as blue snakes are harmless to humans and are appreciated as rodent removers. But hey, I’m about the size of the cottontail rabbits that live up there, and the thought of those squeezing serpents give me the creeps.

As to the granddaughter’s after-school visits, at least I don’t need to worry that she wants to eat me for supper. Christina does, however demand all my mistresses’ attention. Young folks make me nervous so I’m just as happy to be ignored. So when Christina’s here I bed down and wait until her mother picks her up after work. Then I go back to claiming all my mistress' attention to myself.

Miracle on the Hondo

A couple of months ago I wrote about my mistress losing her prize Alain Mikli eyeglasses on Hondo Creek. It happened when I fell into a sinkhole and in trying to save me, Mary’s classy shades went into the drink.

Well, a miracle occurred this weekend at our country place, where the water level has now dropped: Mary’s son, William, probed with his foot and found the glasses resting on the bottom of the offending sinkhole. They were crusted over but Dr. Maury Diskin at Today's Eyes, the store where she bought them, was able to clean them up with of all things, rubbing alcohol.

Here’s another happy story. It’s about a beagle named Trooper, owned by a former mayor of San Antonio and his wife--Howard and Margie Peak. “I got Howard a beagle for our first Valentine’s together in 1970,” Margie recalls. “She lived to be 18.” Hooked on the breed, the Peaks adopted another beagle, who lived to be 14. Three days after she died, Margie took all her doggie toys to the Humane Society as a donation.

“While I was there,” Margie recalls, “a man brought a precious eight-month- old beagle. He was moving to an apartment that didn’t take pets. I called Howard and he raced over to the Humane Society to see him…He raced to Howard. Needless to say the rest is history.”

At first, Trooper was a “real rascal,” Margie recalls, “but he has turned out to be such a lovable, sweet little boy. We just celebrated his eighth birthday and he is a wonderful addition to our family.” I met Trooper at the Terrell Hills Fourth of July parade this summer as he stood on the sidelines. I, on the other hand, was front and center in the parade, princess that I am.