It seemed like a normal evening, last night--I went down to say goodnight to my wife, the dog was on the deck and I was finally getting to bed early. I went upstairs and suddenly heard barking, it knew it was Rusty and it was time for him to come in Pretty soon, I heard every dog in the neighborhood barking and this was up around 11:00. I said to Deb that we had better let Rusty in. Deb told me that he would not come in.
Rusty was still loudly barking when Deb told me to grab something and come out. It was about 11:15 and cold rain was falling down. This is the Seattle area, where Mother Nature does not always get the message that it is the middle of May and winter should be over. I could not find my baseball bat but grabbed an oar from our inflatable boat and some shoes and ran to the back yard. Rusty continued to bark and I could see him. He was barking at a bush. There was some kind of animal in the bush. We had flashlights but neither mine nor Deb's could illuminate the back corner of the yard to a point that we could see what was going on. We knew there was some kind of animal in the back yard that was vicious and could not only seriously harm Rusty, but us as well. I was afraid to poke at the bush and after one half hour, Rusty was still barking loudly, undoubtedly waking up every single person in our cul-de-sac. We tried shaking a treat jar at Rusty, but it was no use. He would keep barking at the animal and there was no stopping him. We decided to call the police. Maple Valley is an incorporated city, but contract with the King County Sheriff for police protection. We dialed 911, but the County deputies would not come out. It seemed like a hopeless situation. The animal had gotten out of the bush and was in the corner of the back yard, I ran around to the back of the fence, but I was unable to see what what was going on, Rusty was still barking (he would not stop) and an animal was snarling.
Finally, our neighbors from the corner, Alan and Kim came out. They brought a stool and a more powerful flashlight. They looked down and saw what was happening, Rusty had killed a possum and there was blood and a nasty scene. I went into the bushes, where Rusty was still barking maniacally, the possum was laying on the ground. I shine my flashlight, I could tell it was not dead. Alan took the oar and trapped the possum. Debra grabbed Rusty, who had now barked for 45 minutes straight. I threw a rock at the possum but could not get a square hit. Debra got my baseball bat and Alan came into the backyard and we were able to kill the possum and put it out of it's misery. We put it in a plastic bag and dropped it into a trash can. We bid good night to our heroic neighbors and called the vet. We found out that possums do not carry rabies and there was no need to bring Rusty (who was now panting heavily) to the animal hospital. This morning, Rusty was subdued, but seemingly feeling fine as we all went to work. Thank you to our neighbors, Alan and Kim.
Randy Johnson was able to get his 300th win today as his San Francisco Giants beat the Washington Nationals 5-1
This picture is from Steve's blog. We will put up our own in the not too distant future. Congratulations Steve!
Born in the early 80s, the Sunday night barbeque's became an institution, at least in our own minds. It began when my friend from KYYX, Garry, proud of his Alki apartment, took some bricks and boards with which he had been decorating with, and combined it with an oven rack to make the most unique home made barbecue apparatus that I had ever seen. As the spring sprung, the initial barbecue was held, with a rogue collection of characters, Garry's friends from high school, people we had met on the beach, and KYYX employees. Sunday night was figured to be the best time to get together, as nothing else seemed to go on . The event was always BYOB, (bring your own beverage) and each participant would bring their own main dish. The house would supply homemade potato salad and garlic bread. This event went a little over a decade with various locales (the above picture was taken at my condo in 93) and degrees of participation.
A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away! No not really, it's my brother, Steve and I posing with a pretty horse at the Walla Walla Fair in 1993.
Four Announced Democrats, vying to replace Ron Sims as our next King County Executive, met in Renton for a candidates forum sponsored by the King County Democrats. A full house was present as attendees enjoyed Mexican food and Margaritas, celebrating Cinco de Mayo. A look at the candidates
As this season begins to wrap up, the word is out that the show is being renewed. Yes 2010 will bring us another season of Celebrity Apprentice.
10 years ago, it would have been a stretch to say that anything southeast of the Tri Cities was an afterthought. It was a "no thought". But with the blossoming wine industry in the Walla Walla area, there seems to be much more attention to the surrounding region. The latest controversy, according to the Seattle Times, involves little old Waitsburg. Wine Maker Charles Smith has painted a black and white American flag on his building in the heart of Waitsburg's downtown. The controversy is sure to bring the town some national exposure.
48th District State Representative Ross Hunter became the 4th Democrat to enter the race for King County Executive. The race has become hot since 3 term incumbent Ron Sims was chosen to be Deputy HUD Secretary in the Obama Administration.
