OK, actually the truth about heirloom tomatoes, which is my botanical experiment this summer.
They’re ugly.
The Best Boy, Better Beef, Early Girl and various other beefsteak varieties have been bred over the past few decades to produce the quintessential plump, round, red tomato so favored by Hollywood and 5th Avenue for grocery ads designed to make your mouth water and your wallet lighter. A perfect beefsteak tomato may just as well be Gloria Swanson telling Mr. DeMille that it’s ready for its close-up now.
And then there are Black Plums, Black Krims, and Red Zebras. And Brandywines. And Dark Porter Cherry Tomatoes.
These will not win any beauty contests. If one didn’t know they were supposed to be ugly, I think a whole bunch of these would be plucked and tossed out with tomorrow’s trash.
Ah, but if you’ve ever tasted a Black Plum Tomato at the peak of ripeness as we did yesterday, well, you’ll have a completely new appreciation for this fruit. And yes, it’s a fruit, notwithstanding Ronald Reagan’s insistence that ketchup was a vegetable.
Several tomatoes are turning orange, and some are even turning red in my little garden. In a couple of days it will be time to fry up some bacon and get some really crisp lettuce. BLT – one of the great things about summer and tomatoes fresh off the vine.
Think heirloom next summer when you plant your garden.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Jeeves - a Brandy here please?
And so I found myself last week in Englewood, CO in a quite non-descript shop that I had stumbled across online.
On the internet, it was a gun shop. They had a particular rifle that caught my attention, so I decided to go see it.
In reality, it’s a small shop that happens to carry about 60 or 70 rare firearms. Mostly one-off, engraved, rare, historical weapons that you only see in movies.
And they’re real, not re-productions.
I went to see a Kimber of Oregon Model 82 in .22 caliber. I don’t expect many receiving this to know what that rifle is. Just maybe the finest .22 ever built. Price - $1,250. If you could have seen it, you’d know it was worth it. The salesman even encouraged me to work the action. Smooth as silk.
It was sold in less than 24 hours- went back the next day and it was gone.
And I also saw rare firearms – some of which will never be fired. A Browning A-Bolt .308 with Olympian Grade engraving – even the scope mounts were engraved. A true example of a firearm as a piece of art. Way out of my price range.
The incredible? A 1920’s Holland and Holland double rifle, chambered in .375 H&H. Same firearm used by Robert Redford & Meryl Streep in “Out of Africa”. Price? Was $45,000, now down to $39,500. And I got to handle it.
They also carry Filson clothes, Holmes leather bags, and the best of everything a gentleman might need during a day spent afield for partridges, doves, pheasant or African game. And a leather sofa and chairs to enjoy a cigar and a brandy while one recalls special moments of the hunt.
This is not a place in which one “drops in”. Plan to spend some time there.
Also – they do not carry handguns at all.
Not being able to afford the firearms, I did what I could – bought a pair of Filson boot socks. Gotta do something to make sure a place like this stays in business.
On the internet, it was a gun shop. They had a particular rifle that caught my attention, so I decided to go see it.
In reality, it’s a small shop that happens to carry about 60 or 70 rare firearms. Mostly one-off, engraved, rare, historical weapons that you only see in movies.
And they’re real, not re-productions.
I went to see a Kimber of Oregon Model 82 in .22 caliber. I don’t expect many receiving this to know what that rifle is. Just maybe the finest .22 ever built. Price - $1,250. If you could have seen it, you’d know it was worth it. The salesman even encouraged me to work the action. Smooth as silk.
It was sold in less than 24 hours- went back the next day and it was gone.
And I also saw rare firearms – some of which will never be fired. A Browning A-Bolt .308 with Olympian Grade engraving – even the scope mounts were engraved. A true example of a firearm as a piece of art. Way out of my price range.
The incredible? A 1920’s Holland and Holland double rifle, chambered in .375 H&H. Same firearm used by Robert Redford & Meryl Streep in “Out of Africa”. Price? Was $45,000, now down to $39,500. And I got to handle it.
They also carry Filson clothes, Holmes leather bags, and the best of everything a gentleman might need during a day spent afield for partridges, doves, pheasant or African game. And a leather sofa and chairs to enjoy a cigar and a brandy while one recalls special moments of the hunt.
This is not a place in which one “drops in”. Plan to spend some time there.
Also – they do not carry handguns at all.
Not being able to afford the firearms, I did what I could – bought a pair of Filson boot socks. Gotta do something to make sure a place like this stays in business.
All The Tea In China...
Seems to be in our cupboard right now. Ok, not only China, but Ceylon and Great Britain and Sri Lanka as well. During our trip to Denver last week, we found a new tea shop and also went to 2 of our favorite specialty food stores.
The new tea shop: Capital Tea on S. Broadway in Denver. I found an online coupon – two small pots of tea, two sandwiches or salads, and two dessert pastries (scones, shortbreads, etc). Paid $15, and had a wonderful time. And an excellent lunch. TLMK opted for the Selimhill Estate Organic Darjeeling (FTGFOP) that sells for $39.38/lb. I chose a First Flush Castleton Estate Darjeeling (FTGFOP) which sells for $126/lb. She had a salad, I had a gourmet grilled cheese sammy (Edam, Gruyere and White Cheddar on Rye). And shortbreads for our dessert.
And of course, their tea selection is two pages long. We left with 4 different types of tea and some tea accessories. A very relaxing time in the middle of a rush rush day.
Lipton tea will probably not be found in this house. Her Loveliness will now be bringing her own tea to various restaurants.
The List of what we now have:
Jasmine Pearls (hard to explain, but a very soothing/relaxing tea that TLMK likes before bed)
Selimhill Estate Organic Darjeeling
4 Seasons Oolong
Assam Black Tea
Grace’s Darjeeling 6000 (all from trees grown above 6,000’ elevation)
Grace’s Connoisseur Master Blend Black Tea
Ahmad English Afternoon
Taylor’s of Harrogate Afternoon Darjeeling
Republic of Tea Big Bold Black Tea (limited, only available at Whole Foods. Makes fantastic iced tea!)
We have a few others floating around. And most of what we purchased last week was 2 or 4 oz. quantities.
We have three Mr. Coffees in the house – only one actually gets coffee brewed in it.
“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” C.S. Lewis
The new tea shop: Capital Tea on S. Broadway in Denver. I found an online coupon – two small pots of tea, two sandwiches or salads, and two dessert pastries (scones, shortbreads, etc). Paid $15, and had a wonderful time. And an excellent lunch. TLMK opted for the Selimhill Estate Organic Darjeeling (FTGFOP) that sells for $39.38/lb. I chose a First Flush Castleton Estate Darjeeling (FTGFOP) which sells for $126/lb. She had a salad, I had a gourmet grilled cheese sammy (Edam, Gruyere and White Cheddar on Rye). And shortbreads for our dessert.
And of course, their tea selection is two pages long. We left with 4 different types of tea and some tea accessories. A very relaxing time in the middle of a rush rush day.
Lipton tea will probably not be found in this house. Her Loveliness will now be bringing her own tea to various restaurants.
The List of what we now have:
Jasmine Pearls (hard to explain, but a very soothing/relaxing tea that TLMK likes before bed)
Selimhill Estate Organic Darjeeling
4 Seasons Oolong
Assam Black Tea
Grace’s Darjeeling 6000 (all from trees grown above 6,000’ elevation)
Grace’s Connoisseur Master Blend Black Tea
Ahmad English Afternoon
Taylor’s of Harrogate Afternoon Darjeeling
Republic of Tea Big Bold Black Tea (limited, only available at Whole Foods. Makes fantastic iced tea!)
We have a few others floating around. And most of what we purchased last week was 2 or 4 oz. quantities.
We have three Mr. Coffees in the house – only one actually gets coffee brewed in it.
“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” C.S. Lewis
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Send In The Clowns
Imagine my surprise when I opened up a piece of mail today from a credit card company whose credit card issued to me years ago was cancelled by me years ago.
I girded my loins (how often does one get to use that phrase?) and opened it to find this:
A check made out to me for $0.22.
Yep – 22 cents.
An account that I opened 12 or 13 years ago, and immediately closed when they switched to being an American Express account (worst card in the world).
Now, it’s time for some math.
First, it cost 37.5 cents to mail me a $0.22 check. $0.37.5 in the debit column.
Second: It probably cost GE (oh – maybe I didn’t mention who pays AMEX debts?) a couple of minutes of somebody’s time to enter my retired account number to send it along to another computer. So, still giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, let’s assume someone took two minutes. $7.25 per hour (current minimum wage) divided by 60 (to get a current minimum wage per minute) equals $0.120833 (repitend). Times two.
So, given the mailing cost - $0.37.5 plus Labor - $0.24, (and I’m being generous and rounding down), we’re up to $0.61 so far to get a check for $0.22 mailed to me.
BUT WAIT!!! THERE’S MORE!!!
The computers that had to run the program.
The cost to run those computers.
The printers needed to print the check.
The hourly wage of those who had to monitor and change ink cartridges.
The paper on which this $0.22 check was printed.
The gasoline required to deliver a MASS number of these checks to a Post Office.
The energy required to sort, collate & distribute all these checks to various zip codes using various machines…
Well, you get the idea. Absurdity to the extreme.
I have not yet decided if I will cash that $0.22 check or frame it. The idea of not cashing it and screwing up GE’s books for years is somehow perversely appealing to me.
Not that me not cashing that check would actually have GE accountants worried for years. In the grand scheme of things, I’m just not that important.
Still, perhaps what I got in the mail was… a reality check?
Hmm…
I girded my loins (how often does one get to use that phrase?) and opened it to find this:
A check made out to me for $0.22.
Yep – 22 cents.
An account that I opened 12 or 13 years ago, and immediately closed when they switched to being an American Express account (worst card in the world).
Now, it’s time for some math.
First, it cost 37.5 cents to mail me a $0.22 check. $0.37.5 in the debit column.
Second: It probably cost GE (oh – maybe I didn’t mention who pays AMEX debts?) a couple of minutes of somebody’s time to enter my retired account number to send it along to another computer. So, still giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, let’s assume someone took two minutes. $7.25 per hour (current minimum wage) divided by 60 (to get a current minimum wage per minute) equals $0.120833 (repitend). Times two.
So, given the mailing cost - $0.37.5 plus Labor - $0.24, (and I’m being generous and rounding down), we’re up to $0.61 so far to get a check for $0.22 mailed to me.
BUT WAIT!!! THERE’S MORE!!!
The computers that had to run the program.
The cost to run those computers.
The printers needed to print the check.
The hourly wage of those who had to monitor and change ink cartridges.
The paper on which this $0.22 check was printed.
The gasoline required to deliver a MASS number of these checks to a Post Office.
The energy required to sort, collate & distribute all these checks to various zip codes using various machines…
Well, you get the idea. Absurdity to the extreme.
I have not yet decided if I will cash that $0.22 check or frame it. The idea of not cashing it and screwing up GE’s books for years is somehow perversely appealing to me.
Not that me not cashing that check would actually have GE accountants worried for years. In the grand scheme of things, I’m just not that important.
Still, perhaps what I got in the mail was… a reality check?
Hmm…
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
The Grouch
That is the name that has been given to my latest old vehicle – Mac’s 1978 Dodge pickup. It fits for a couple of reasons. First, Mac used to be known as “The Grouch of the House”, and second, this pickup seems to grouch at doing things one would expect from a vehicle. Like staying in gear when you hit a bump. Squealing like mad when you make a turn before he’s warmed up (power steering pump needs to be rebuilt). Receiving only right-wing talk radio or sports talk stations, since it only has an AM radio and it seems that AM radio has been taken over by either political pundits who spend hours shouting at the rain while offering no positive suggestions, or sports pundits who spend hours shouting at the rain while telling all their callers that they are idiots. Notwithstanding the fact that most of aforementioned pundits have ever held elected office or played sports professionally (I said most – I know there are exceptions). AM radio seems to have no music anymore.
Oh well, be that as it may…
Went out to work on The Grouch this morning. It needs a new speedometer needle, and the bushing on the back of the instrument could use a spray of graphite (what’s left of the needle bounces a bit). It also needed a new lamp for the right front turn indicator. So after TLMK left for work, I went out to move The Grouch onto the driveway and into the shade. He fired right up, and as soon as I dropped him into gear, the horn started blasting. Just for a couple of seconds. Put him back in park and let him warm up. Dropped him into gear and started to back up and there went the horn again. Also noticed the alternator gauge was showing that the battery was charging pretty strong. I’ve suspected for a while that the alternator needs to be replaced. Good thing I have a spare.
So I decide to take it out and run it for a bit to help the battery charge faster. Getting up to speed while going past a school where some gals were having a soccer practice, the horn decides to go off again. This time for about a full minute. It stops, and doesn’t act up again while I get it home and back in the driveway.
OK – let’s take care of a couple of simple things. Replacing a turn signal lamp on a vehicle of that vintage is a matter of removing two screws, removing a bulb, putting a new bulb into the socket, and replacing the two screws holding the whole thing in place. Wrong. The base of the bulb seems to have gotten itself welded to the socket. The glass came out (amazingly in one piece), and the metal base stayed in place. With what looked like a bit of glass that had melted and re-hardened into a bluish blob at the bottom. So that will now require getting a new socket and rebuilding the turn indicator assembly. Put things back together and move on to the next job.
Sit inside the truck and take the dashboard off to get to the speedometer. Pretty easy – I’ve done it before. Ready to fit the new needle to the stem, and… I’ve lost the needle I got up in Cheyenne. I’m thinking many bad words. It’s getting hot out by now, and the cab is no longer in the shade. Fine. I’ll leave the dash disassembled and move it back onto the street until I can get the parts to fix things another morning. Start him up, and the horn starts blaring again. And won’t stop until I turn it off. Now I’m saying many bad words.
But also a prayer, and the next time I start him up, he behaves and I move him to the street without incident. We will meet again in battle another day.
Did I mention I love old vehicles?
Oh well, be that as it may…
Went out to work on The Grouch this morning. It needs a new speedometer needle, and the bushing on the back of the instrument could use a spray of graphite (what’s left of the needle bounces a bit). It also needed a new lamp for the right front turn indicator. So after TLMK left for work, I went out to move The Grouch onto the driveway and into the shade. He fired right up, and as soon as I dropped him into gear, the horn started blasting. Just for a couple of seconds. Put him back in park and let him warm up. Dropped him into gear and started to back up and there went the horn again. Also noticed the alternator gauge was showing that the battery was charging pretty strong. I’ve suspected for a while that the alternator needs to be replaced. Good thing I have a spare.
So I decide to take it out and run it for a bit to help the battery charge faster. Getting up to speed while going past a school where some gals were having a soccer practice, the horn decides to go off again. This time for about a full minute. It stops, and doesn’t act up again while I get it home and back in the driveway.
OK – let’s take care of a couple of simple things. Replacing a turn signal lamp on a vehicle of that vintage is a matter of removing two screws, removing a bulb, putting a new bulb into the socket, and replacing the two screws holding the whole thing in place. Wrong. The base of the bulb seems to have gotten itself welded to the socket. The glass came out (amazingly in one piece), and the metal base stayed in place. With what looked like a bit of glass that had melted and re-hardened into a bluish blob at the bottom. So that will now require getting a new socket and rebuilding the turn indicator assembly. Put things back together and move on to the next job.
Sit inside the truck and take the dashboard off to get to the speedometer. Pretty easy – I’ve done it before. Ready to fit the new needle to the stem, and… I’ve lost the needle I got up in Cheyenne. I’m thinking many bad words. It’s getting hot out by now, and the cab is no longer in the shade. Fine. I’ll leave the dash disassembled and move it back onto the street until I can get the parts to fix things another morning. Start him up, and the horn starts blaring again. And won’t stop until I turn it off. Now I’m saying many bad words.
But also a prayer, and the next time I start him up, he behaves and I move him to the street without incident. We will meet again in battle another day.
Did I mention I love old vehicles?
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Just Because It's June 23
June 23, 2010
OK, so I’m doing some thinking. Thinking about constructive stuff that keeps my mind busy and doesn’t let me think about stuff that really is not good for me considering where I’m at emotionally right now.
To Dad and Mac: bless you immensely for teaching me to build things in my mind before I built them here in the physical world. I don’t know where I got the ability to think in 3-D, but I’m grateful for it and I know when it came to me building things with Dad, he was amazed. He marveled at something that was for me innate.
And Mac would have smiled at my solution to one particular problem a mechanic had with that monster 440 V-8 a few days ago.
These days I’m focusing attention on a few things:
1. Tomatoes (in the ground – see #2 in a minute…) 16 plants, half of them heirloom, 92.7% of them thriving. Right now we’ve got the perfect combination of hot days (gonna be around 100 degrees for the next few days), and cool (around 59 degree) nights. Battling blossom end rot on one plant, but all others are fine.
2. Making the late Billy Mays proud: I have 2 “Topsey Turvey” tomato growers, one filled with Italian San Marzano Roma Tomatoes, and the other filled with “Heartland” heirloom tomatoes and one heirloom cherry tomato. Miracle of miracles – these things actually work! I’ve had to support some stalks with string so they wouldn’t fall over and break!
3. Roses. My “Twin Popes”. I have 2 Jackson & Perkins John Paul II roses that I planted this year. They are struggling. I made some modifications to their bed, and with some divine intervention (c’mon – can’t ask for luck when a rose named for a Pope is concerned!) they will come back and flourish. Some of the most gorgeous brilliant white blossoms you’ll ever see!
4. Music – on a mission to find acoustic versions of classic songs. Don’t have enough to fill a CD yet, but I’m getting there. Thank you Eric Clapton for legitimizing “MTV Unplugged”.
I have about three more projects in my head, always working there and every now and then getting worked on in real life. OK, 4 projects. No, 6. Some of which nobody would be interested in anyway. One involves "Arkansas Stones", another "classic Craftsman". Told 'ya so.
Emotionally: Better to figure out beforehand those things that you can just deal with and make happen in a day, than to try and figure out problems that are gonna be there for a very long time. The big stuff you just have to deal with as it comes. Because it will always be there, and will always present itself unexpectedly. And when it does, you deal with what is presented to you at the time. Old joke, but pertinent here: “How do you eat a whole elephant?” One bite at a time.
Just a brain dump from Jay’s Brain at 6:17 PM on June 23, 2010.
OK, so I’m doing some thinking. Thinking about constructive stuff that keeps my mind busy and doesn’t let me think about stuff that really is not good for me considering where I’m at emotionally right now.
To Dad and Mac: bless you immensely for teaching me to build things in my mind before I built them here in the physical world. I don’t know where I got the ability to think in 3-D, but I’m grateful for it and I know when it came to me building things with Dad, he was amazed. He marveled at something that was for me innate.
And Mac would have smiled at my solution to one particular problem a mechanic had with that monster 440 V-8 a few days ago.
These days I’m focusing attention on a few things:
1. Tomatoes (in the ground – see #2 in a minute…) 16 plants, half of them heirloom, 92.7% of them thriving. Right now we’ve got the perfect combination of hot days (gonna be around 100 degrees for the next few days), and cool (around 59 degree) nights. Battling blossom end rot on one plant, but all others are fine.
2. Making the late Billy Mays proud: I have 2 “Topsey Turvey” tomato growers, one filled with Italian San Marzano Roma Tomatoes, and the other filled with “Heartland” heirloom tomatoes and one heirloom cherry tomato. Miracle of miracles – these things actually work! I’ve had to support some stalks with string so they wouldn’t fall over and break!
3. Roses. My “Twin Popes”. I have 2 Jackson & Perkins John Paul II roses that I planted this year. They are struggling. I made some modifications to their bed, and with some divine intervention (c’mon – can’t ask for luck when a rose named for a Pope is concerned!) they will come back and flourish. Some of the most gorgeous brilliant white blossoms you’ll ever see!
4. Music – on a mission to find acoustic versions of classic songs. Don’t have enough to fill a CD yet, but I’m getting there. Thank you Eric Clapton for legitimizing “MTV Unplugged”.
I have about three more projects in my head, always working there and every now and then getting worked on in real life. OK, 4 projects. No, 6. Some of which nobody would be interested in anyway. One involves "Arkansas Stones", another "classic Craftsman". Told 'ya so.
Emotionally: Better to figure out beforehand those things that you can just deal with and make happen in a day, than to try and figure out problems that are gonna be there for a very long time. The big stuff you just have to deal with as it comes. Because it will always be there, and will always present itself unexpectedly. And when it does, you deal with what is presented to you at the time. Old joke, but pertinent here: “How do you eat a whole elephant?” One bite at a time.
Just a brain dump from Jay’s Brain at 6:17 PM on June 23, 2010.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Gotta Love Words...
Recently I heard, yet again, someone start a sentence with “As sentient beings…” And I thought to myself “well there’s yet another person who likes to toss out an authoritative term to prove our superiority over other animal species.”
OK, I admit I’ve used that term myself in the aforementioned manner. And a while back I looked up the definition of the word. The root word is “sense”, and the definition actually is:
“adjective: having the power of perception by the senses; conscious”
Thus brings to mind the definition as applied to various animals. Since we have lived with cats for about 21 years now, I’ll start there.
Beemer, for whom this blog is named, was extraordinarily sentient. He was three years old before he learned he was a cat, and then only because we brought another cat into the house - Alyssa, who was the runt of the litter and underdeveloped and was not long in this world. Before she was in the house, it was not uncommon for The Beem to follow our morning routine of getting up, eating, getting cleaned up, dressing and getting ready to go to work. Of course his job was to hold the house down by sleeping in one spot all day. But while we engaged in our morning toilette, Beemer would sit on the bathroom counter and clean himself and talk to us. Thing is, we seemed to understand him, and he us. A few years later after my first surgery, Beemer used to just crawl into my lap after lunch and stare at me until I’d finally recline the Lay-Z-Boy and take a nap. With him curled up in my lap. He sensed what I needed, and took good care of me. And even today, Sadie seems to know when I’m sick and will come and stare at me until I lie down, with her parked right on my hip.
Ever watch a border collie work sheep or cattle? Well, a lot of folks will tell you “oh, they’re just trained to do those things, and it’s part of their breeding anyway.” True to an extent, but… Vali and Miss Patsy Montana work cattle very well, and do follow commands (for the most part). But they’ve never been trained to be aware and react quickly when a cow kicks a hind leg sideways toward them (yes, cattle can kick sideways). They’re aware of what’s going on around them – more so than a lot of people I observe – and act accordingly. “Power of perception of the senses” – take the sense of touch as an example. A dog or cat or just about any other animal knows the difference between a touch as in petting, or a touch as in slapping.
Horses – also well trained animals. Jo and I visited a couple of horses that Chuck & I rode for several years – both of them retired because of injuries. Great horses - couldn’t stand to put them down. I walked up to the fence and greeted them - “Hey guys! Have you missed me?” Both of them came over and just nodded their heads up and down. Aware of who I was. Then there’s a time when Chuck missed a loop on a calf and his horse TJ just came to a stop and looked back at him with a “what in the world was that?” look. To be fair, I’ve missed my share of loops too.
And finally, Chuck is convinced that Texas Longhorns have a sense of humor. (Can you tell that when Chuck and I get together we spend a lot of time with animals? Maybe because animals put up with us easier than most people would…) Chuck had a large stock tank in one of his pastures which was located close to the horse corral. One of the morning chores was to fill the tank to entice the herd to come up to water since that pasture has no stream running through it. One morning, the tank was filling, the herd came up, and one of his barn cats jumped up on the lip if the tank to get a drink as well. One of the cows looked at the cat, then just gave it a nudge with one of her horns and suddenly a barn cat was going for a swim! Chuck still laughs about that one.
Animals do have instincts and genetic abilities and behaviors which we as humans have learned to domesticate and use to our advantage. Some would use the term “exploit”, but that’s another discussion. Hunters use phrases such as “that buck just out-smarted me” or “those ducks coming in somehow knew something wasn’t right”. Probably because they’re aware of their surroundings, and can tell when something is out of place. Their senses let them know that.
It may be that we have been given the ability to reason while other species have not - the scientific community’s jury is still out on that one. But as far as humans being the only sentient species on Earth – I ain’t buying it.
OK, I admit I’ve used that term myself in the aforementioned manner. And a while back I looked up the definition of the word. The root word is “sense”, and the definition actually is:
“adjective: having the power of perception by the senses; conscious”
Thus brings to mind the definition as applied to various animals. Since we have lived with cats for about 21 years now, I’ll start there.
Beemer, for whom this blog is named, was extraordinarily sentient. He was three years old before he learned he was a cat, and then only because we brought another cat into the house - Alyssa, who was the runt of the litter and underdeveloped and was not long in this world. Before she was in the house, it was not uncommon for The Beem to follow our morning routine of getting up, eating, getting cleaned up, dressing and getting ready to go to work. Of course his job was to hold the house down by sleeping in one spot all day. But while we engaged in our morning toilette, Beemer would sit on the bathroom counter and clean himself and talk to us. Thing is, we seemed to understand him, and he us. A few years later after my first surgery, Beemer used to just crawl into my lap after lunch and stare at me until I’d finally recline the Lay-Z-Boy and take a nap. With him curled up in my lap. He sensed what I needed, and took good care of me. And even today, Sadie seems to know when I’m sick and will come and stare at me until I lie down, with her parked right on my hip.
Ever watch a border collie work sheep or cattle? Well, a lot of folks will tell you “oh, they’re just trained to do those things, and it’s part of their breeding anyway.” True to an extent, but… Vali and Miss Patsy Montana work cattle very well, and do follow commands (for the most part). But they’ve never been trained to be aware and react quickly when a cow kicks a hind leg sideways toward them (yes, cattle can kick sideways). They’re aware of what’s going on around them – more so than a lot of people I observe – and act accordingly. “Power of perception of the senses” – take the sense of touch as an example. A dog or cat or just about any other animal knows the difference between a touch as in petting, or a touch as in slapping.
Horses – also well trained animals. Jo and I visited a couple of horses that Chuck & I rode for several years – both of them retired because of injuries. Great horses - couldn’t stand to put them down. I walked up to the fence and greeted them - “Hey guys! Have you missed me?” Both of them came over and just nodded their heads up and down. Aware of who I was. Then there’s a time when Chuck missed a loop on a calf and his horse TJ just came to a stop and looked back at him with a “what in the world was that?” look. To be fair, I’ve missed my share of loops too.
And finally, Chuck is convinced that Texas Longhorns have a sense of humor. (Can you tell that when Chuck and I get together we spend a lot of time with animals? Maybe because animals put up with us easier than most people would…) Chuck had a large stock tank in one of his pastures which was located close to the horse corral. One of the morning chores was to fill the tank to entice the herd to come up to water since that pasture has no stream running through it. One morning, the tank was filling, the herd came up, and one of his barn cats jumped up on the lip if the tank to get a drink as well. One of the cows looked at the cat, then just gave it a nudge with one of her horns and suddenly a barn cat was going for a swim! Chuck still laughs about that one.
Animals do have instincts and genetic abilities and behaviors which we as humans have learned to domesticate and use to our advantage. Some would use the term “exploit”, but that’s another discussion. Hunters use phrases such as “that buck just out-smarted me” or “those ducks coming in somehow knew something wasn’t right”. Probably because they’re aware of their surroundings, and can tell when something is out of place. Their senses let them know that.
It may be that we have been given the ability to reason while other species have not - the scientific community’s jury is still out on that one. But as far as humans being the only sentient species on Earth – I ain’t buying it.
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