World's Ugliest Dogs.........Latest Contest

Two latest contenders for the world's ugliest dog title are shown above. On the left is Miss Ellie, a 15-year-old blind Chinese Hairless Crested who won a place in the pedigree category. On the right is Pabst, a boxer mix, 4-years-old, and winner of the annual contest.

Tough Times

This week has been a tough one for us. A close friend died of injuries suffered in an auto accident. Another close friend lost both feet due to complications from diabetes and continues to fight for his life. Both are long-time friends and words are inadequate to describe losses such as these.

My Honey Locust is No Honey

I love poetry and I love trees. And until I lived under a giant honey locust tree, I believed Joyce Kilmer's declaration that "I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree." Oh, I grant you that on one level, our honey locust is beautiful. Its canopy of green leaves shelters us from the sun and acts as a landing site for the birds contemplating a visit to our feeders.


But three times a year, this tree produces ugly droppings that I abhor! We are just finishing the first offering of ugly little fuzzy things that stick to man-made surfaces like glue. When I finally clean that mess up, round two showers twig-like creations all over the place. By then it is nearly time for the tiny little leaves to fall from the tree. These leaves have the ability to work their way into places that only smoke can go.


I know that Kilmer was right when he said "Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree." But why did He have to make such a messy one, and park it next to me?

(By the way, ignore the date on the photo. You are not having a Rip Van Winkle moment. The leprechauns were playing with my camera. I actually took the picture tonight.)

The Swine Flew

It looks like the animal revolution is widening and it's not just cows who are severing their ties to homo sapiens. Early today, a tractor-trailer filled with pigs overturned on a major highway near Little Rock, Arkansas. Some of the swine remained in the truck but others took advantage of the situation and left. Apparently, they hogged the road so much that commuters had to detour. The State Troopers tried to round up the escapees and that was no small job because the swine could weigh as much as 800 pounds each.

Bovine Revolution and Ogden Nash

I'm telling you, folks, that there is a bovine revolution underway. Remember the story of the cow escaping from a NYC slaughterhouse? (See my blog post dated 5/7/o9.) Now AP is reporting on two cows who left a Massachusetts farm and ran off to New Hampshire. As a former resident of Massachussets, I can tell you the human reasons for leaving Massachusetts for New Hampshire: lower taxes and cheaper booze.

But I'm getting off-track. With cattle escaping all over the place, I propose that Cattle Roundup 101 and Rope Handling 101 be added to the training of public safety officials. This revolution is only going to get worse.....

Ogden Nash addressed the basic information about cows. I wonder what he would say about all of these escapees. Anyway, here is Ogden:

A cow is of the bovine ilk,

One end is moo, the other milk.