When Jake and I went on our early morning walk, we encountered a pack of three coyotes. We were walking on the lower bank, and the coyotes ran up on top of the levee and watched as we walked by.
As you may know, Jake loves to lift his leg on tumbleweeds. Currently, the tumbleweeds are green and soft; however, Jake discovered cockleburs on the lower bank. While the cockleburs are also still green, they are nice and scratchy.
Jake looking cool in the car
A short reprieve from the rain.
The clouds were gathering again when I left for the store to get cheese for the cats. It started raining hard again. I sat in the car and did Duolingo until the rain let up enough to where I wouldn’t get soaked walking into the store.
My rain gauge recorded 4/10 of an inch of rain this afternoon, bringing us up to nearly an inch of rain for the month of June.
I found myself thinking about the day I had a “Dead Texan Burger” for lunch many years ago. I was not really into cannibalism back then, and even less so today, but I just couldn’t pass up a dead Texan. I found the notes from my lunchtime conversation with the waitress. I’m not making this up:
Waitress: “What can I get you today?” Me: “I’ll have one of those ‘Dead Texan Burger’ specials.” Waitress: “Very good.” Me: “How did they slaughter and prepare the Texan?” Waitress: “Oh! He was roadkill. We scraped him up off the corner this morning.” Me: “Mmmm! Even better!” Waitress: “Would you like anything to drink with your order?” Me: “Pump me a glass of Coca-Cola, please!”
These lovely young women took my order, pumped my Coca-Cola, and served the roadkill.
As I sat at the table waiting for my order, I started thinking what could be more green than recycling that morning’s hit-and-run, and turning it into the day’s special? I also had a few flashbacks to a couple of old movies from the ‘70s: “Soylent Green” where Charlton Heston was beaten up, and being carried out on a stretcher saying “Soylent Green is people!” I also thought about “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” where the bad guys hit their victims in the head with sledgehammers, hung them on meat hooks to bleed out, sawed them up with chainsaws, and then cooked their victims and sold them as Texas Barbecue. Oh man! I’m drooling like Jake waiting for a pupachino just thinking about Texas Barbecue.
I searched through my photo archives, but I did not find any photos of the actual burger. I remember it looked like any other burger, except it was coated with red chile to help tame the wild taste, and it had a fried egg on top that, I believe, represented a flattened 10-gallon hat. I have a vague memory that the burger was tasty.
Given the fact that my car has been reading the pavement temperatures upward of 120º F (48.9º C) the last few days, and Jake has been showing discomfort with the hot sidewalks and roads, Oriana suggested I get him some shoes.
Jake was not happy with his new shoes when I first put them on him.
But after a walk on the hot sidewalk, rocks and pavement at lunchtime, he decided they were alright after all.
Jake was happy after our mile walk around the block.
Jake waiting to go into the vet’s office. It turns out he has allergies. The vet tech said they had 20 cases of pets with allergies today.
The Sandias and the City of Albuquerque covered by smoke from the Trout Fire in the southwesten part of the state near Silver City this morning.
It was a hot one. The high today was supposed to be 102º F (38.9º C), but on the street it was 117º F (47.2º C) according to my car’s thermometer that records the outside temperature.
I found new Spunk Art when I got home this afternoon.
Jake and I went out for a walk at golden hour. The afternoon breezes had cleared out the smoke that covered the Sandias this morning.
A friend dropped by, and we played guitar for a while. Silver plugged in after my friend left.
Paddleboarders on the Rio Grande
Una señora pato
Blue Grosbeak on blue
So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell, blue skies from pain Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail? A smile from a veil? Do you think you can tell?†
Off Center & Not Even 