Ferocious Canine vs Wildllife

Spring has sprung and that has brought new birds to the yard. These are the same birds that return every year; at least it appears that way; it's not like they sign a guest register. The returnee's seem to know the area, where the tender new lettuce is planted, how to find the new carrot seeds and where the budding grapes hide. A new development this year is our back porch screen door is open so Boss can go in and out. Twice now curious birds have decided to explore this new space. A loud bang on the window between the porch and house announces the birds arrival. Today it is a curved bill thrasher. He is a rather large bird with a long curving bill, and bright orange eyes.

Now, not a fan of being in an enclosed space with winged creatures flying at our heads we decide to allow the bird to find it's way out the way it came in. But Boss having very little excitement in his life is thrilled at the opportunity to roust the creature. In fact he is licking his lips and prancing at the door to get out. So we decide to give the ferocious canine a chance at bird removal.

He runs pell-mell into the back room barking at the now terrified bird who flies to the highest point in the rafters. Perfect for Boss, Mr .Curvebill is right above his favorite chair. Jumping on the chair seat and then onto the back of the chair Boss is sure he can reach his prey. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on who you side with, a slippery sleeping bag is draped over the back of the chair and as if attempting a slip and slide Boss tumbles to the floor. Not to be discouraged he proceeds to try and climb the brick wall and jump onto the table, but alas for him he cannot climb brick or jump that high.

The bird decides to find a safer space and flies to the top of a globe. Unknown to Mr. Curvebill the globe is suspended from the ceiling on a thin wire. The globe begins to spin and turn like a tilt-a-whirl at the county fair. Mr. Curvebill is hanging on for dear life as my fearless warrior dances beneath his perch. About this time I hear a strange noise. It is similar to the sound a smoke detector makes when the battery is dying only much louder. A very loud chirp seems to be coming from the bird. Upon closer observation we discover this sound is coming from our precious pet. I have never heard a sound like this before from Boss or any other dog. Maybe it is a special bird hunting sound.

It becomes rather irritating and we decide to give ourselves and the bird a break and see if he can find his way out without the assistance of our persistent hunter. The man of the house calls off his bird dog who refuses to budge. He is not ready to give up the chase and what is there to do in the house anyway. I go to the door and with baby talk " here pretty boy" "'come see mommy now" I finally coach him inside. He continues to stand at the door looking alternately at me and the window as if to say "why did you spoil my fun"? After a while I see the bird fly off so I let Boss out he runs bewildered around the back room looking for the creature that earlier had invaded his territory.

Dog memories are long. At midnight I let Boss out for a potty run and he immediately goes under the globe and stares up. Not seeing the bird he continued to sniff corners and gaze at the ceiling until tired and sleepy I demand he come in . He reluctantly returns to the house giving one last glance over his shoulder and a look at me that says "I know he is out there someplace, I will find him tomorrow."

Captain RV

"Hello I am Captain RV. I have everything, big screen TV, microwave, blender, satellite system. I am top of the line no on can beat me. Wait, were pulling into a site. Sigh! Good its been a long day. I need to rest. Hey where are the other RV's ? Not a one in sight. Why are we stopping here? There is something funny parked next to us. It looks small and not very sturdy. It is flapping in the wind. A person is coming out, what could they do in such a small space? I don't see an antenna so no TV, no electrical cords so no microwave. How do the cook? No water line so where do they poop and shower? Is this a new creation, or have we stumbled onto some ancient system. My owners are talking to the people we are parked next to. I here strange words like tent and grill. What are they? The word primitive site is mentioned. What is primitive? I look around and see a ring of metal I don't know what it is for. My owners hook me to a facet and fill my tank, ah that feels good, clean water. We are camped on a lake the sun is setting and the sky is streaked with orange and pink. It is a very beautiful sight. Suddenly a bright flame flares up. What is happening? The ring now has a crackling fire the people are sitting next to it with sticks as I look closer I see meat on the stick their are cooking over that flame. My owners have joined them, they too hold sticks with meat on them. What wrong with my microwave is it broken"? ( to be continued)

New Man

I want to introduce you to the latest man in my life. Not that there has been a revolving door of men. In fact he is the first new man in at least twenty years. But oh what a man! He was worth the wait.

He is the sweetest kindness man on earth. He never argues. Now that is quite a trait for all men I know love to disagree with many things their companion says. He is thrilled when I walk through the door, can't give me enough attention or get enough hugs.

When I am busy or preoccupied he will sit patiently and amuse himself. Then when I am ready to play he is charmed at my interest and will happily take a walk or play games with me.

He is not a picky eater and loves everything I feed him. He never question the food or how it was prepared just gobbles it down and licks his lips.

He was a perfect traveling champion on our camping trip. Sat quietly and looked at the scenery. Did not backseat drive. Was happy to get out and stretch his legs when we stopped.

He wakes me in the morning by nuzzling my neck or a very loud yawn. His jet black eyes gaze into mine and he makes me smile.

He was kind of scruffy when he came into my life but cleans up well. I don't know, I think I like the scruffy look better.

So who is this unbelievable man. He is a four year old schnauzer, his name is Boss.

Mr. Preppy

Biker Dude

Spring Break

For the first time I am going on a Spring Break vacation. In college there were no sandy beaches, jello shots or string bikinis in my breaks. I was pushing motor oil at my local K-Mart. That's right the girl who's only knowledge of the car was to turn the key was hired to work in the automotive department.

My experience there went something like this. A greasy man would come in the store and look around and turn to me and say " is anyone working in here"? I would look down at my blue smock and name tag and think does this give you a clue as I politely said. " I can help you sir". He would give me the once over from my blond hair to my rather large boobs which he would continue to ogle as he replied, " are you sure"? " Yes it's my job." "I need a spark plug for a 1969 GMC truck". I would walk over to the spark plug aisle pull out the chart look down the list and hand him a box. He looks at the box reads the label and stares at me with surprise I can see his thoughts drifting across his face your a girl, a bimbo, how did you do that? He replies "thank you." I'm thinking yeah it takes a lot of mechanical knowledge to learn to read a chart as I replied "your welcome". That was my my wonderful experience in the world of automotive supplies.


As the lucky headed out to Rocky Point I picked up extra hours at work. Rocky Point for those of you who don't live in the Desert is our closes tropical paradise. It's a small town in Mexico on the Sea of Cortez. The sandy beaches are gleaming white and the water is sparkling turquoise. The seafood is wonderful and the fiesta goes on all the time I have been there just not during college or spring break. I don't remember in my younger years spring break being the big deal it is today but maybe I was to busy putting myself through college.


I didn't have enough time or money to wantonly squander it on such frivolities. My wages went for more mundane thing like tuition, books and food. Well I still don't have much money since the recession (depression) cut into state funds and I lost my teaching job. But who needs money anyway. Well a little for gas and maybe for food. You have to eat at home or away so you really can't count food as an expense. Our budget vacation is to go camping.


I have taken the camping gear out of storage and checked for missing necessities. Flashlight batteries had to be replaced but most thing were still ready to go. We plan to travel not to Rocky Point, to old for that kind of partying, plus all that beer, margaritas and seafood can get expensive. We will go to a lake nearby where we can enjoy nature and wildlife the animal kind not the fiesta kind.

Adios amigos! Hello Spring break!

Learning a New Skill

This is a test! Do not be alarmed! This is only a test! A test of the moosh technology learning curve. My computer skills are rudimentary at best, typing is the only class I failed in high school and alas my spelling is not the best. I have worked on it for years but my mind and ears just cannot wrap themselves around those vowels.

So you might ask how and why someone with these handicaps expects to write. Writing is my passion and I have a lot to say. I'm willing to work on improving and removing the things that hold me back. Please bear with me as I struggle in this new venture.

Spelling corrections allowed. Grammar suggestion encouraged. Maybe we can learn from each other: as I understand that is what the blogasphere is all about. My stories, rants, and raves hopefully will spark your spirit and encourage you to follow your own passion.

A New Beginning

For years I have scribbled on scraps of paper, in notebooks and sometimes on whatever was available . What did I scribble? Whatever had caught my attention at the moment. At times I felt lost and lonely and I scribbled out my pain. Other times I was outraged at a news story or letter to the editor and spewed forth my disgust and anger. On occasion I was inspired by the beauty of nature and out came a poem. The tragedy of a real life love triangle led to some Western fiction. Childhood memories stirred creative nonfiction essays. I wrote but never shared.

Then recently I joined a group of people who write. The goal of the group is to provide support and inspiration to each other and foster our budding writing ambitions. This group is what has given me the courage to write this blog. Something I have considered for several years.

I chose Potpourri as the name for my blog because I think that best defines what I hope to produce. Potpourri is a Fench word defined as a mixture of many different thing. It is a cooking term, and a concept of combining a fragrant, eye-appealing blend of flowers, spices and herbs.

This ties in with some of my other interests. Tossing compost is one of my talents as I have been an organic gardener for many years. I am the family Martha creating celebration dinners that rival the spreads at the big local hotel. There is only one in town. My notebooks abound with herbal concoctions and remedies. Baking, cooking, gardening and crafts are all a part of my life.

So here is the plunge. Sink or swim ,I'm going for it. Please join me as we take this journey, a mixture of many different things, whatever catches my attention at the moment. I hope you will share your thoughts and ideas with me. I look forward to hearing from you.