Ah!
An early summer morning in the country! – a beautiful sunrise, fresh air, a
cool breeze, quietude …. cows, fresh gopher mounds . . .
BARK
– bark, bark, bark, bark, bark. BARK, grumble, mumble. Bark, bark, bark.
It
was before 6:00 as Mike tumbled out of bed and over to the window to see why
Bess was sounding the alarm.
“The
cows are up here,” he said. (Didn’t I say we hadn’t seen the last of them?)
“How
many,” I asked.
“Five
– six – no, seven. Just standing there looking at Bess.”
Knowing
that she had aroused Mike, Bess retreated, probably to her favorite place on
the front porch where she keeps watch from the chaise. Yeah, some things you just can't fight. We fixed it up
for her with a protective dog mat.
So,
Mike dressed, took a swallow of apple juice, jumped on the 4-wheeler, and headed
out after the cows. When I saw them, the cows were standing on the northern
edge of June’s field near the road. Seeing that Mike was coming after them, they
didn’t stand there long. “Hyah, hyah!” he yelled. When he got home, he proudly
announced that he had earned his cowboy merit badge. He drove the cows through
our property to the neighbor’s and left them heading for home. But – that doesn’t
mean they actually went there or that they won’t be back.
And
then, as I sat at my “desk” (Grandma Ina’s old pantry cupboard), I looked out
the dining room window to the front yard and thought to myself, “I don’t
remember that there were gopher holes there.” Sure enough! – fresh mounds. So,
as soon as I was dressed, I probed the mounds for the hole, found a couple, and
applied the bait.
And
then, as I sat at my “desk” (Grandma Ina’s old pantry cupboard), I looked out
the dining room window to the front yard and thought to myself, “I don’t
remember that there were gopher holes there.” Sure enough! – fresh mounds. So,
as soon as I was dressed, I probed the mounds for the hole, found a couple, and
applied the bait.
With
absence, we lose momentum with the hummingbirds, but I refilled the feeders,
and this morning our little hummer began to partake of the nectar. We rarely
see more than one at a time, but I think there are two.
According
to the forecast, cool weather will continue the rest of the week – mostly in
the 60s with lows in the 40s.
JUST
A WORD ABOUT THE SENIOR GAMES
 |
| Mike is second from right |
I
asked Mike if he would post an update on his participation in the senior games,
but he didn’t want to. He participated in pistol shooting, cycling, swimming (three
breaststroke events), and skeet shooting, but participation was low, so there
was no competition. The senior games are organized according to age group, and with
the exception of skeet, he was the only one in his age group. He was awarded six
gold medals, and a silver and bronze for skeet. Of skeet, he said he didn’t
shoot particularly well, but he had fun. In fact, it was at Mike’s suggestion
that skeet shooting was added to the games this year.
The
medals were generic and given out at the end of each competition. They no longer
host an awards banquet due to expense and lack of attendance. KW
2 comments:
I found the senior games stats in the paper and looked for them each day. Even with few competitors, Mike has his scores and times to be proud of. And I can just see Cowboy Mike herding those cows back home! :-)
Thanks for your interest, Chris. I guess part of Mike's attitude toward the senior games is that he wished to do better. I think the point of the senior games should be that you compete with people in your own age group, not with those younger (or older). The focus is skewed by lack of participation.
Post a Comment