A mellow weekend

Friday morning was the coldest morning yet this season, but temperatures rose slowly all weekend long.  The hiking club had its annual Cmas hike/picnic yesterday but I didn't go, despite the weather being in the low 60s.  I need to get back into those fun group hikes again.  I have no intention of quitting the group.  My mojo will return to me soon.  I think once Chip is back to good health, I will be more at ease.

Saturday I committed to helping Chip rehome one more cat, which is why I didn't attend the hiking club's holiday picnic/hike.  I promised Chip I'd help him find new homes for his cats.  This is my fourth rehomed cat!  His failing health has made him realize that he can no longer take care of his 22 (!!!) cats Carol left for him to care for.   Another volunteer from the Tombstone shelter is also looking for new homes and helping me tend to the cats.  We both have agreed that as long as Chip is around, we aren't in a rush to rehome all his cats.  He prefers we rehome the cats slowly, like a few a month until he's down to a more manageable level like eight.

I got to his place at 1pm but only stayed long enough to clean out the cat boxes, refill the food and water.  I avoided chatting with him today only because I had to drive to Huachuca City with the cat and I don't like driving at dusk.  He walked noticeably slower today, with each step a calculated step.  He has to worry about not falling over.  I only wish he would stop drinking.  His other friends have told me his drinking has turned them away from him.

I got home yesterday just in time to walk Zeke along the Connector trail for 1.65 miles. I would have gone farther but I wanted time to walk the other dogs as well.  The Connect trail in town follows a wash for three miles and is popular with dog walkers, joggers and mountain bikers.  Today I came across a dead fox kit, though, lying right off the trail.  It looked like a fresh kill.


Within 30 minutes of arriving home I took the other dogs with Zeke along their usual route along our usual loop walk around the Rancho San Pedro.  The sky wasn't dramatic but I was excited to see the two coyote pups prancing ahead of us.  They are getting big!

Today was more of the same loop and it felt even warmer today.  Are we heading into a warm, dry winter already?  Southern California has more wildfires again, the East Coast had its first snow, and here we are expecting temperatures back into the 70s later this week.  Our deciduous trees in the front yard still have half their leaves, some are still green!  I don't ever remember seeing our trees with leaves on the branches this late into the year.

I'm looking forward to the Christmas break.  I'd like to get some hiking in locally before driving off to Chicagoland on the 21st.