Bits and Pieces

The kittens continue to eat well. The female, who is the runt, had a small sore where her umbilical cord fell off. I have treated it with antibiotic ointment, and they have no other problems. We pray for that to continue, as we have had way too much heartbreak lately.

#1 Son is signed up for fall classes, and the tuition paid. Ouch. Next comes books. Double ouch.

Bigger Girl has two more weeks of work. Today she got to work with the mares, which is her favorite thing to do. She also got to feed and pet the cloned goats. The other goats won't allow anyone to pet them, but the clones are very friendly. Probably from having been handled so much for their entire lives.

There is not much going on around here besides the heat, which continues unabated. Yesterday there was a pop-up rain shower that cooled things off by dropping 2 inches of rain in 5 minutes. Cooling rain is one thing, but drowning rain is totally different.

The new litter box is amazing. After only two days I am in like with a litter box. (Love is a little strong for a litter box.) It is the most clever design. It has its own grate for sifting the clumps when you turn the whole thing almost upside down. The clumps then fall into an easily removed bin to be dumped into the trash. No need to touch the mess with your hands.

Turtle waxing the entire inside of the bottom, lid, and screen seems to have helped, too. No "ickies" have stuck to the sides. I won't know until it is time to do the monthly cleaning whether it will continue to work, but I hope so.


Today is

Fairy Washing Festival -- Fairy Calendar (Do the fairies wash themselves, or their laundry, or is everyone supposed to wash his/her fairy? Do fairies even have laundry?)

Feast of Caligo (The mother of Chaos)

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Theatre and Dance Festival -- Spain, through the 12th

Flag Day -- Venezuela

Independence Day, Niger

National Watermelon Day

Royal National Eisteddfod -- Blaenau Gwent, Wales (Festival of Welsh literature, music, and performance, through the 7th.)

St. Nicodemus' Day

St. Lydia of Phillipi's Day



Birthdays Today:

Jay North, 1951
John Landis, 1950
Martha Stewart, 1941
Martin Sheen, 1940
Tony Bennett, 1926
Leon Uris, 1924
John T. Scopes, 1900
Ernie Pyle, 1900
Elisha Graves Otis, 1811


Today in History:

Tiberius, Roman Empire general, defeats the Dalmatians at the river Bathinus, 8
Columbus sets Sail for the "Indes",departing from Palos, Spain, 1492
John Rut, at St. John's, Newfoundland, sends the first known letter from North America, 1527
Robert LaSalle builds the Le Griffon, the first known ship built on the Great Lakes, 1678
First ascent of Jungfrau, third highest summit in the Bernese Alps, 1811
Harvard defeats Yale in the first intercollegiate rowing race, 1852*
Second Maori War begins in New Zealand, 1860
The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company is founded, 1900
The nuclear submarine USS Nautilus travels beneath the Arctic ice cap, 1958


In fact, it was the first American intercollegiate athletic event ever.