A dog of another color

What a comedy of errors today has been!

This morning I had an manicure appointment here in town (yes, I know . . . it's such a woman thing - well, not always). J also had an earlier appointment with the city building inspector. We had agreed that he would take the van and I would take the CRV. He left for his appointment. A little later, I walked out the door to find the CRV gone but the van still in its place. Unfortunately, we only have one set of keys for the van. I came in and searched for the keys, but didn't find them. Then I remembered that they were in the CRV (due to a very long and convoluted story that would bore you to death), and J had driven off with the CRV.

I called my manicurist and explained the situation and told her that I could walk, but I would be there 1/2 hour later. Thankfully, she agreed.

So, I started walking. The air was cool and crisp with just a hint of winter coming. Even though I walked at a very brisk pace, I was just loving the outdoors. Why would I ever consider driving when I could enjoy the wonderful day with a nice, long walk?

I arrived at the salon, and got my nails done. YES!

As I was walking back home, I noticed a fairly large prairie dog community. I have always been fascinated with prairie dogs.

For those who aren't familiar with prairie dogs, they are small (1.5 kg) burrowing rodents that live in large colonies or "towns". They are highly social creatures with a fairly sophisticated communication system including anti-predator calls.

Because prairie dogs build elaborate towns and expand their towns into human environs, many people find them to be nuisances. But, especially in the front range of Colorado, environmental groups have encouraged preservation of the prairie dog towns. Interestingly, cities have been finding ways to "contain" the towns. This "seems" to be the case with this prairie dog towns. I observed containment measures that seem to be working effectively. The prairie dogs don't seem to mind - they look fat, happy and healthy to me!

To finish the story, when I arrived back at the house, J had just gotten back from his meeting. The poor guy felt so bad about leaving me without wheels. I was laughing as he apologized. I told him what a great walk I had that I would have missed if he had left the keys.

Unfortunately, however, his meeting hadn't gone as well. Even though we have been complying with all the city regulations, obtaining all the requisite permits, the city is concerned about improvements done to the house back in the late 1960's. They may require us to obtain retroactive permits to cover those improvements done by the owner previous to J's parents! (Big deep breath - yes, we love bureaucracy!)

Thankfully, however, all the arrangements for J's mother's funeral have gone along smoothly. Everything is set for Friday morning.

Hope you enjoy my little photo of this cute little guy.