I take Margie to Anchorage to babysit, part one: coffee

Usually, I need to have her there by 9:30. Now Lavina's work schedule has changed, so I need to get her there by 8:30. Pretty miserable. We leave the house about 7:20, giving us some spare time just in case traffic is a little slow. Margie and coffee, as we cross the delta of the Knik River right near the mouth.

A fire burns, cats nap and I catnap as Tony spans two continents and plays with guns

It happened again, kind of like yesterday, but nobody would knock on the door and no church was involved. Late in the afternoon, I got so drowsy I could hardly keep my eyes open. I settled down on the recliner. Anthony Bourdain was on TV, in Spain. I did close my eyes. Two cats settled down on me. Just to my left, a fire burned in the woodstove and it felt so pleasant and warm. Then the world became dreamy and hazy and I am pretty sure I fell asleep because the next time I opened my eyes there was only one cat on me and Anthony Bourdain was no longer in Spain, but in New Mexico having fun playing with guns, Western-style.

The duck who stayed behind

Still walking. By the pond – the one my kids named "Little Lake" when they were small. Remember how Little Lake got churned up by the big ocean boat right after break up? Remember how I spoke of the dogs that had cleared this pond of ducks in past years? Remember how I speculated that there might not be any ducks at all this year? Then please recall the pictures I took of the duck families, swimming about in Little Lake in the spring and through the summer. Recall how those little ducks grew big. The pond is now empty of ducks. They have all headed south, bound for warmer places. Well, not all. I wonder what happened? Did a dog get it? Did children stone it to death and then fish it out? A BB gun, perhaps? I don't know, but such is the lot of ducks and men – and women, too.

What does "day off from posting" mean, anyway?

Oh hell! I just can't seem to stop myself. Here's another post on my day off from posting! It's me, almost right this moment, on my walk. But then, it doesn't really cost me any extra time. I can post while I walk. So why not?

A genius, he is – the greatest genius who ever lived

Jim is, indeed, smarter. Smarter than you, smarter than me – smarter than any human who ever lived. Smarter than any other cat too, for that matter - or any creature. Oh, dear! I lost my discipline. I made another post, on this, my day off from posting. Jim outsmarted me.