A Farewell to the Queen

Today we had to put Dolly aka "Tiny Spicy Kitty" down. She was the queen of the backyard and the basement, and pretty nice for a cat. I will miss the neck rubs.

Just so you know, she was not the retarded one. We are pretty surprised that Molly outlasted her, but apparently age caught up to her a little faster.

This is a poem Tara wrote, I think about Dolly. I wil call it

Dolly's Pride

A majestic figure, so quiet, serene
Strutting about on soft silken toes,
Enter the kitten, nay, The Queen!
To grace us with her stately pose.

A simple cat, but to her eyes,
(Bright crystal gems of emerald hue)
A lioness of strength and size,
Ruling her castle, her domain, her due.

A rolling purr and swiftest glide,
The very sound her beauty gloats;
She lies with grace upon her side,
And mockingly preens her velvet coat.

Thus vanity will be her fate,
This tiny cat so proudly vain!
To which some mortals can relate,
Is wisdom's loss, but beauty's gain!

Mark's India Excursion

Mark decided to go to India without me. He got home last week, and got Giardia. I think it's payback for not taking me to India. That wasn't very nice!!

Here are some cool India pictures. He says it was a very scary place, and if you look up scary India drivers there are tons of videos to prove that it was pretty scary. But mostly it was India, so it was just cool.

India Friends.

Just about the coolest tree ever.

The topiary garden

And the scary monkey that tried to take Mark's camera.

No, this one is the coolest tree ever.

Mark at the Hindi temple. Notice he is barefoot. Funny!

A monkey statue. He might be one of their gods, Mark isn't sure.

Fall Fun

Tonight we went to Hobble Creek Canyon to look at and collect leaves. It's a tradition, and with Tara here now I am not allowed to break any traditions. It's a pretty fun one, anyway.

Well, there is a ranch in the canyon right near the campground. We have actually been camping there during a cattle drive and it's quite an experience to be right in the middle of it.

Tonight they were driving the cattle back to their ranch, and again we were right in the middle of it, although this time we were inside a car so it felt less threatening. Here is the video Tara took:


AND, here are a few leaf pictures. We love them!

We like to gather them and bunch them about the house. Mostly above the coat closet. Pretty!