Broken Hearted for Boston

Everyone knows what happened in Boston on Patriots' Day near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. No need to rehash the disturbing details. Most people who know me also know what Boston means to me. I love the city and think of it as my second home. I have made wonderful friends there to go along with all of the wonderful memories.

I've been visiting Boston for many years now. I'm so comfortable there, I can give directions to tourists and recommend places to visit to others. My husband and I got engaged there, then two years later we were married there. It holds a very special place in my heart.

When I heard the news, I knew that I would have friends at the marathon. My first thought was of my friend Paul (@paulrharvey3). Out of all of my friends there, I figured he was most likely to be there. Luckily, I saw him tweeting right away that he was okay. He had been at the race, but left before the explosion happened.

I began going through my "Boston" list on Twitter to see which of my friends had been tweeting that they were unharmed. I was happy to see friends like Michelle (@grrlysquirrel75) and Bonnie (@lilyluwhot) tweeting that they were okay, too. I started to get sick to my stomach though. I didn't see tweets from my dear friend Pecan (@lilpecan) so I texted her. It took a little while, but she responded with news that she had been at the race, but was fine.

I continued to check on friends the rest of the day. I can't describe my relief to know everyone I care about in Boston was safe. I don't know what I would do without any of these people in my life.

This morning when I woke up, I remembered yesterday's events. My stomach was no longer sick, but my heart was. So many of my dear friends are living through these events, up close and personal. I can't be there for them, but I can send positive thoughts and much, much love.

Kansas may be many miles away, but Boston and all of its people are in my heart. We will carry on.

Use Google Reader?

Since Google Reader is going away soon you can start using Bloglovin to keep up with all the blogs you follow.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Going Home

I first began blogging at Posterous. Since they are shutting down in April, I decided to move the few posts I had on that site to this blog. This was originally posted August 31, 2011.

Sebastian Is So Helpful!

I first began blogging at Posterous. Since they are shutting down in April, I decided to move the few posts I had on that site to this blog. This was originally posted August 12, 2010.

Hey Mom, let me hold down this corner for you while you make the bed! I'm a good boy, don't ya think?

Bad Ass Rosie

I first began blogging at Posterous. Since they are shutting down in April, I decided to move the few posts I had on that site to this blog. This was originally posted December 19, 2009.

Things sure have changed since I left Rosie with my parents. Who said he could have a weapon?

I'm Harboring an Illegal Pet



I first began blogging at Posterous. Since they are shutting down in April, I decided to move the few posts I had on that site to this blog. This was originally posted November 9, 2009.

 

I got a letter on my front door today from the apartment complex where I live. I was being accused of harboring an illegal pet, a dog! The letter said that the management/maintenance staff witnessed an unauthorized pet in my apartment.

Well, at first I was angry. How could they make such an accusation? I have two pets, neither of which is required to have the non-refundable pet deposit of $300 and monthly pet rent of $20. They are a guinea pig and a fish. Certainly neither of which could be mistaken for a dog. Then I looked at the sliding glass door to my balcony. There sat Bob Farley. He's a rather large stuffed dog that I bought to take with me when I had my stand at the Farmer's Market selling dog treats. I had to laugh a bit. My thought is that I had the blinds open on the window and a member of the staff saw him. I'm on the second floor, so they probably didn't have a very good look at him, let alone be able to tell that he wasn't breathing!

I intend on going to the leasing office tomorrow morning and bringing Bob Farley with me. I'll introduce him to the staff and let them see that he does not fall under the pet deposit/rent requirements of my lease. I'm sure that I will then have a nice laugh about the entire situation.

Another positive thought is this: If the staff of the apartment complex was fooled into thinking that this large stuffed toy was real, I can only hope that any potential burglar will think the same. Crime prevention through environmental design!

Wild Friends

I first began blogging at Posterous. Since they are shutting down in April, I decided to move the few posts I had on that site to this blog. This was originally posted October 10, 2009.

 

I went to Shawnee Mission Park today thinking I would take some pictures of the fall colors. Plans changed quickly though when I pulled in and immediately saw six deer grazing. The trees could have been blue with pink polka dots for all I cared! I changed my goal to seeing how many deer I could spot.

Shawnee Mission Park is situated in both Shawnee and Lenexa, Kansas. It is 1250 acres, or just under two square miles. There is an overpopulation of deer in the park. Estimates are about 200 deer per square mile. According to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Shawnee Mission Park has the highest concentration of deer in the state of Kansas, possibly even the country. Unfortunately, this has led to problems with the biodiversity of the park. There's also a fear of the ticks associated with deer and the diseases they carry. Soon, the deer will start to become sick because of the overpopulation.

To address this problem, the Park and Recreation Commissioners have held many discussions and received advice from several experts. They came to the conclusion that the safest, most cost efficient and most humane way to deal with the problem was to cull the herd. To do so, they will bring in police sharpshooters after park hours to begin the thinning of the herd. They hope to get the deer down to around 50 per square mile. This will occur any day now, although officials will not say exactly when, for safety reasons. It has not been fully decided what will be done with the deer that are killed, but there is a lot of talk about donating the meat to families in need.

This has caused much discussion and even protest in the community. Some say the plan is cruel. As much as I hate to see an animal killed, I hate even more to have an animal get sick and suffer. I don't like to think about animals being killed for sport, but this is different. There is a real need for the deer overpopulation problem to be dealt with, not just for the sake of the deer, but for the entire ecosystem of the park and surrounding area.

I, of course, don't have to shoot the deer myself. I know I wouldn't be able to do it (not to mention, my firearms skills are not good enough). I can just read about it in the paper or watch a story on the news. My brain can override my emotions about the deer and I can tell myself that this is the best thing for the park and all that dwell there. I just wonder, though, how many of the 31 deer that I spotted today will survive the hunt. The deer are not fearful of humans. Will they run away from the hunters? I was able to get very close to them and although they might stop grazing to look up at me, they did not run away. I tell myself that this in itself is another problem. The deer aren't wild enough any more. But, for today, I enjoyed the fact that I was able to watch them so closely. Who knows how easy it will be to spot them in the future.