Catching Up

After a hectic week compounded by my body battling the shingles, I rested this afternoon. My big excitement was watching two crows who have moved into the neighborhood terrorize the squirrels. Maybe my sadistic side is coming out, but after years of trying to keep the squirrels out of the bird feeders, it’s nice to have allies even if they are crows. Interestingly, the crows seldom come to the feeders (I think the feeders are too close to the house, but that doesn’t stop the squirrels and deer). I’m also not sure what the squirrel’s beef is with those over-fed rodents. Speaking of deer, one of member of our local her was struck by a car last night out in front of the house, a lovely thing to see on the way to church. Luckily, the city will come by and remove the dead animal.

The scabs are falling off and it looks like my bout with the shingles may be passing. My head still aches occasionally, but nothing like it did. Maybe I’m on the mend; I hope so for this will be another hectic week.
This weekend was a blessing as friends from Utah stopped in. Robert, who has a thing for gravesites, wanted to go to Gerald Ford’s grave, so we headed up to Grand Rapids this Saturday. We spent the afternoon reliving our high school years in Ford’s museum, followed by a stop at his gravesite along the banks of the Grand River. I had forgotten a lot of the things that happened during the Ford administration, such as his daughter hosting her high school senior prom in the White House (and I had to go to a prom in the gym)! Ford was president when I graduated and going to his museum was kind of like going back to high school and reliving those debates about what we’d do if the United States went back into Vietnam to save the South… The photos are taken outside the museum, one is looking across the river at Grand Rapids, and the other is looking at the city reflecting in the museum’s windows.
Another thing that was fun this weekend was visiting the Mackenzie Animal Sanctuary. Mackenzie's is a rescue dog operation located a bit north of here. For my daughter’s birthday party, she had her guest bring doggie toys and treats (instead of her collecting more toys that she doesn’t need). We dropped off a box of toys and treats this Friday and got a tour of the shelter. They do a wonderful job and still have 20 or so dogs they’ve rescued from Katrina as well as dogs that have come in from around the region. They are always looking for donations and volunteers as well as homes wanting to adopt a dog. I was amazed they have simulation rooms that are like rooms in regular homes where dogs are taken to learn how to live inside, and that if you want to adopt a dog and already have one, you can bring your dog there to see if the new dog will be compatible.

By the way, on a sad note, the NCAA basketball season ended last night (at least for me and other Carolina fans).