This and That Thursday

Not a lot of heavy-duty stuff on my mind this morning.  The week has been filled with a heavy writing load, so I think my brain would like to hibernate for a while.  

I did read the column in this morning's Spokesman-Review about WSU basketball and its alleged basketball team pot/drug problem.  Seems like the athletic regime down there has a mantra of "play now, ask questions later."  

Big game on the line last night, and a third player in not very many weeks got busted just three hours after Monday night's game.

First he was off the team; then, suddenly hours before the big game he was back on the team.  The general public does not know all the facts associated with each of these players' situations, but the general public does operate on perception.

And, this situation seems to be sending a bad message about responsibility, consequences, etc. as opposed to a win-at-all-costs reputation in college athletics----not that we see saints everywhere we look in sports these days. 

Still, it will be interesting to see how this one plays out, not only on the court in Madison Square Garden but also in the law court and the court of public opinion. 

This morning, I also saw that our "Meech" from Gonzaga made the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated magazine.  I don't know if the story associated with the picture would be something Meech wants to share with his grandkids, but still he made the cover in a phenomenal action photo.

In the picture, he's attempting to guard who else but "The Jimmer" in last weekend's game against BYU.  The Jimmer, with his back to the camera and his feet appearing about ten feet in the air, is doing what "The Jimmer" does best---making yet another basket.

I'll be watching tonight to see if BYU continues its run in the Dance. 

Yesterday was one gorgilious day. I used it to finish off a story, run some errands, take my mother for a drive and an ice cream cone in Priest River.  Burger Den stands as an all-time great hamburger joint.  And, the cones were good too.

In between all those activities, I used my time in the sunshine walking the yard,  cleaning up doggie doggie do's.  This is the first winter we've had five dogs---count 'em FIVE---dogs depositing on our lawn. 

Let's see, I'll do some cyphering.  During a usual day, I'm guessing each dog drops about three loads.  It started snowing in November, which meant I was no longer going around with a barn pick each day, retrieving piles and throwing them over the fence or out to the woods. 

That means about 125 days without clean-up duty.  Multiply that by 15 (three deposits per dog per day), and I come up with 1,975 doggie deposits, give or take a few.  

So, you know I've been busy this week.  Can't do much with them until they thaw out of the snow, so at least it's a gradual process, but we're getting there.  

I'm quite pleased to have much more space where a person can confidently take a step without having to go wash their feet in one of the many mini ponds around the yard. 

And, speaking of dogs----these past few days have meant new frontiers in dirty dogs.  I've never seen 'em as filthy as they've been lately, but a little stale smell and slop hanging off their hides doesn't bother them one bit.

They're as happy as ever, although they may start wondering if we've turned totally paranoid with all those recoiling dances we've been doing lately in their midst. 

Of course, they all want to jump up on us and tell us how much they love us.  Debbie came here day before yesterday with her downtown clothes on.  Debbie left looking like she'd rolled in the barnyard. 

Dogs don't understand that people like to wear clean clothes in spite of their fetish for rolling around and playing in the slop.  So, we spend our time talking and watching.  As Bill says, Kiwi catches a person by surprise---always jumping up on one's back.  

It's a dirty time of the year, for sure, but if we're lucky, the rest of the snow will melt, and I can get back to my routine of walking the yard with my barn pick.  And, maybe some day the dogs will smell good again.