Strange Bug

Do you know what kind of insect this is?

I've been trying to find out with no success yet.

Yesterday while trimming brush, I spotted this little fella crawling along at a pretty good clip. I've not seen a bug like this, so puffy looking and that irridescent greenish/bluish color was striking.

I chased him along (no way I could slow him down), trying to get a good photo. After about 10 shots, I let him continue on his way. I don't know where he was headed, but he was certainly making good time!

El Otoño

There is a different feel to the weather now, a cooler crispness in the air. Can summer be over so soon?

The cats are frisky and the desert critters are preparing for colder weather, looking for safe havens. Last night during the first presidential debate, Hoodie caught a mouse. In our house. In the kitchen, to be more specific.

Obama and McCain and the nation's dire economic crisis had to wait while we praised our Great Hunter. He was possessive of his kill, growling at the other cats as he tossed the tiny dead rodent about (showing off, I'm sure).

Paco kept trying to butt in and get a closer look, so Hoodie took his prize into the bathroom, where he tossed and played with it in tighter quarters. Hoodie loves to throw his toys in the air and catch them, over and over. He's done this since he was small, and entertains us with his aerial acrobatics.

He flung the mouse up and it landed in the sink, where it immediately rolled into the drain. Luckily I was there and grabbed it by the tail just as it was slipping away. A lucky save on my part.

Hoodie didn't notice that I dropped the dead critter (uck!) on the floor. He jumped up to the sink and peered down the drain, looking for his lost prize. In the meantime, Paco quickly made off with the dead mouse, running down the hall, through the living room, and onto the porch. "It's all mine!" He was jubilant. Finally Mr. Wizard got it from him and unceremoniously deposited the tiny carcass in the trash can.

Hoodie strutted like the conquering hero he felt himself to be and plopped in the middle of the floor to magnanimously receive our adoration and praise. He loves being the king.

This morning he is still in 'royal mode.' Paco follows him around with bated breath, hoping for another kill.

Life is never dull in the desert, and it is good to be mouse-less once again as the cooler weather approaches.

Paul Newman

January 26, 1925 - September 26, 2008

Remembering the life and legacy of Paul Newman, Newman's Own Foundation has issued a statement. The statement, from Vice-Chairman Robert Forrester, follows:

"Paul Newman's craft was acting. His passion was racing. His love was his family and friends. And his heart and soul were dedicated to helping make the world a better place for all.

"Paul had an abiding belief in the role that luck plays in one's life, and its randomness. He was quick to acknowledge the good fortune he had in his own life, beginning with being born in America, and was acutely aware of how unlucky so many others were. True to his character, he quietly devoted himself to helping offset this imbalance.

"An exceptional example is the legacy of Newman's Own. What started as something of a joke in the basement of his home, turned into a highly-respected, multi-million dollar a year food company. And true to form, he shared this good fortune by donating all the profits and royalties he earned to thousands of charities around the world, a total which now exceeds $250 million.

"While his philanthropic interests and donations were wide-ranging, he was especially committed to the thousands of children with life-threatening conditions served by the Hole in the Wall Camps, which he helped start over 20 years ago. He saw the Camps as places where kids could escape the fear, pain and isolation of their conditions, kick back, and raise a little hell. Today, there are 11 Camps around the world, with additional programs in Africa and Vietnam. Through the Camps, well over 135,000 children have had the chance to experience what childhood was meant to be.

"In Paul's words: "I wanted to acknowledge luck; the chance and benevolence of it in my life, and the brutality of it in the lives of others, who might not be allowed the good fortune of a lifetime to correct it."

"Paul took advantage of what life offered him, and while personally reluctant to acknowledge that he was doing anything special, he forever changed the lives of many with his generosity, humor, and humanness. His legacy lives on in the charities he supported and the Hole in the Wall Camps, for which he cared so much.

"We will miss our friend Paul Newman, but are lucky ourselves to have known such a remarkable person."

Meanwhile, at the National Park

The good folks at the Big Bend Gazette, John Waters and Marlys Hersey, braved the swollen Rio Grande to provide a first-hand look at the flooding in Big Bend National Park. Don't try this at home!

Click here for their story.

Problems Upriver

The following is an article, reprinted in whole, from Frontera NorteSur (FNS): on-line, U.S.-Mexico border news Center for Latin American and Border Studies, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico (It's worth noting that rain is continuing to fall in Mexico and more water may have to be released to prevent further flooding there):


The Ojinaga-Presidio Tragedy

As the border community mourned the loss of Marin and his colleagues, floodwaters from a swollen Rio Conchos watershed ravaged Ojinaga, Chihuahua, and threatened its sister town of Presidio, Texas, across the Rio Grande.

Posted on September 20, 2008

Responding to a flood emergency, three important U.S.-Mexico border officials were killed in a plane crash in northern Mexico this week. Carlos Marin, Arturo Herrera and Jake Brisbin Jr. left El Paso International Airport Sept. 15 to assess flood damage and help coordinate emergency relief efforts in the Presidio-Ojinaga area about 250 miles southeast of El Paso-Ciudad Juarez.

The chartered aircraft carrying the men never arrived to its destination, prompting a search which located the small plane's wreckage two days later. Pilot Matt Juneau and his passengers were then declared dead.

Marin and Herrera were the U.S. and Mexico commissioners of the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), a binational organization charged with overseeing US-Mexico water treaties and boundary issues. The IBWC is also involved in flood control, sanitation and other projects.

A 29-year veteran of the IBWC, Marin was appointed by President Bush to the head the agency in December 2006. Serving since 1989, Herrera was the longtime chief of the IBWC's Mexican section based in Ciudad Juarez. Brisbin was the executive director of the Rio Grande Council of Governments, an association of local governments in Far West Texas and Dona Ana County.

The US section of the IBWC is under the authority of the U.S. Department of State, which issued a somber statement after the ill-fated aircraft was discovered 23 miles northwest of Presidio and 13 miles into Mexico.

Roberta S. Jacobson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs for the State Department, praised Marin's leadership. The official's "expertise and gentle good humor," will be greatly missed, Jacobson said.

Funeral services for Marin have been scheduled for Sunday morning, (Sept. 21) at the Crestview Funeral Home in El Paso.

In a phone interview with Frontera NorteSur, IBWC spokeswoman Sally Spener said that her agency expected an acting US commissioner to be named "very soon." Spener, nonetheless, characterized veteran IBWC chiefs Marin and Herrera as "irreplaceable."

A former mayor of Marfa, Texas, Brisbin was described by several public officials as an effective advocate for rural and small communities in the Texas and New Mexico border region.

"He understood our problems because he came from a small community," said Art Franco, mayor of Anthony, Texas.

As the border community mourned the loss of Marin and his colleagues, floodwaters from a swollen Rio Conchos watershed ravaged Ojinaga, Chihuahua, and threatened its sister town of Presidio, Texas, across the Rio Grande. Rob Ponton, Presidio County Attorney and spokesman for the emergency response operation, told Frontera NorteSur that water levels had reached 28 feet -- three feet higher than those registered during the record flood of 1978.

In Mexico, six dams help control the Rio Conchos as it flows into the Rio Grande. The proximity of Presidio and Ojinaga to the two rivers' junction puts the two towns at risk in the event of flood conditions. Successful maintenance and management of Mexican flood control structures is of vital importance for both Mexico and the US, Ponton stressed.

By mid-September, hundreds of families were evacuated from Ojinaga, a town of approximately 25,000 people, as overflow from the Rio Conchos submerged four neighborhoods in water and destroyed up to 350 houses. Two government-run health clinics were likewise flooded. Traffic on a Mexican highway was halted, and the international bridge connecting Presidio with Ojinaga temporarily closed. Despite strenuous efforts, attempts to containthe Rio Conchos in Mexico fell short.

"Time got the best of us and the work couldn't be carried out as planned," said Ricardo Espinoza, a Chihuahua state legislator for the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). "The (National Water Commission) and equipment operators judged it necessary to leave the work areas for their own safety."

Espinoza later said government agencies and civil society organizations would step up material relief collections and financial assistance for an estimated 1,500 flood victims.

Damages calculated in millions of dollars were reported in Ojinaga, but no deaths were immediately reported in the town. Snakes, spiders and turtles were all spotted haplessly floating in the floodwaters. Swamped with water, Ojinaga's wastewater treatment plant sent sewage spilling into the Rio Grande, according to the IBWC.

On the U.S. side of the border, flooding was initially less severe but still affected farmland in and near Presidio. On Tuesday, Sept. 16, Presidio Mayor Lorenzo Hernandez ordered the mandatory evacuation of about 500 people from parts of the flood-threatened zone. According to Ponton, 100 people were temporarily sheltered at the Presidio Elementary School. The Red Cross, Salvation Army and a host of government agencies were all cooperating in assisting the victims, he said.

On Sept. 18, Texas Gov. Rick Perry issued a disaster declaration for Presidio County and sent a letter to President Bush requesting a presidential disaster declaration that would free up federal funds.

The IBWC reported that various government agencies were involved in an effort to sandbag Presidio and save the town of about 6,000 people from greater flooding.

Spener said that dozens of IBWC personnel were drawn from agency offices in Texas and New Mexico to pitch in with the Presidio operation. Spener ventured that work crews would be on the scene for some time to come. "We're not out of the woods by yet by any stretch of the imagination," she added.

Presidio County's Rob Ponton concurred with Spener that serious work lay ahead for emergency responders. Although water flows were stabilizing by Sept. 19, Ponton said that a rain-soaked Rio Conchos watershed was already backed up with three weeks' worth of excessive water.

Emergency crews, he emphasized, were laboring at a "very intense rate" to prevent a levee break in Presidio. "We're keeping our fingers crossed it won't happen," Ponton said.

The disaster that struck Ojinaga and threatened Presidio was but the latest emergency to severely disrupt the states of Texas and Chihuahua during the 2008 rainy season. While Texans pick up the pieces of Hurricane Ike, the effects of summer floods linger on throughout Chihuahua. In recent weeks, storms forced thousands of people from their homes in Parral, Chihuahua City and Ciudad Juarez. The floods served as another rude reminder that living in an arid region offers no surefire protection against extreme wet weather.

***

Additional sources:
-- International Boundary and Water Commission, September 17 and 18, 2008. Press releases.
-- Office of the Governor (Texas), September 18, 2008. Press release.
-- El Paso Times, September 17 and 18, 2008. Articles by Diana Washington Valdez, Adriana Chavez, Ramon Renteria, and the Associated Press.
-- El Diario de Juarez, September 17, 2008.
-- Articles by Silvia Macias Medina and editorial staff.
-- Norte, September 17, 2008. Article by Angel Zubia Garcia.
-- El Universal, September 15, 2008. Article by Manuel Ponce and Francisco Arroyo.
-- Lapolaka.com, September 5 and 17, 2008.

Vote Early & Often

Reminder:
In order to vote in the November 4 general election, you must be registered to vote by Monday, October 6.

This is for Texas residents, of course. If you live in another state, click here to find your deadline.

You're welcome.

The Rio Grande is Flooding

Mr.Wizard and I took these photos in Lajitas yesterday. Highway 170, the river road, has been closed from Lajitas to Presidio for nearly a week, and will probably be closed for that much longer.


It's been raining here, but that's not what's causing the flood. Water is being released along the Rio Concho, the major Mexican tributary of the Rio Grande. Even with water being released from the Concho's reservoirs, dams and levees have been compromised, resulting in widespread flooding along the river in Chihuahua. We got word earlier this week that Ojinaga is flooded and more than 500 homes in Presidio have been evacuated.


This is the dam at Delicias, Chihuahua, which has been releasing water for a week and will likely continue until the flooding in Mexico (above the dam) stops. Unfortunately, for us that means the water will keep coming.


Here's another view of the same dam, other side.

Damage in Lajitas has been limited to the low areas near the river, including the golf course and several buildings. We had hoped to hike up the river to get more photos, but all the low water crossings are flooded, making a short hike impossible.

Big Bend National Park is not issuing permits to float the river, and Cottonwood Campground near Santa Elena Canyon is flooded. That happens occasionally. The park has also evacuated the Rio Grande Village area near Boquillas Canyon. The campground there is flooded and the water has even reached the employee housing area, where flooding is occurring despite the sandbagging efforts of park personnel.

While surveying the situation, a small plane carrying the heads of the U.S. and Mexico's International Boundary and Water Commission and the executive director of the Rio Grande Council of Governments went down, killing all on board. My dad knew both IBWC commissioners and he had worked with them for a long time in several capacities, making it a terrible personal tragedy as well.

Looking down toward the golf course in Lajitas. The river is actually way off to the right and not in this photo; this is just part of the flooded area.

This is looking toward Paso Lajitas on the Mexican side.

Swiss Army Kitty

Introducing Paco, fierce son of Possum and mini-me of Roamie.

We know this little guy's family back to his grandmother on his mother's side. But his father is of questionable origin.

Grandma was Sukey, a rescue kitty. She gave birth to Possum and four siblings under a house in the ghost town. Sukey was a lean yellow bird-killer with a machine-gun purr and the irritating tendency to be always underfoot. I say "was" because sometime after the kittens were farmed out, she disappeared. When that happens in the desert, it's usually for keeps.

Roamie is another story. He might have been raised by coyotes for all we know. Or javelinas. An apparent desert feral, he just showed up one day and lived on the periphery of our lives for a year or so, knocking up young Possum and constantly tormenting poor Niko. Roamie was quite literally edgy; even after a year, he kept his distance and wouldn't let us near him. If we accidentally spooked him or got in His Space, he would hiss shamefully at us.

Bless his heart, Roamie's since been relocated as a barn cat. I know, I'm usually taking in kitties, not finding another home for them. We were driven to it. Niko, who has alpha cat aspirations, started developing nervous habits so disgusting I can't even tell you about them unless I know you really well. I have to say that without Roamie stalking Niko around here, life is more pleasant for everyone involved.

But, back to Paco ... Here's his very first photograph:

We don't know where Paco and siblings Fredo and Oso were born. As a teenage mother, Possum hid her shame by having her babies and raising them in secret. By the time Possum let us discover her kittens, their eyes were open and they were already scampering about. Possum was a cat that followed her instincts. (Yes, I say "was" because Possum has not come back from a July hunting trip. Not yet.)

As a mother, I have my own theory as to why Possum waited so long to introduce us to her babies. I think they got big enough to start pestering her so much she just needed some outside help. I swear I could see the relief in her face when we helped her discourage the little guys from nursing so she could get back to hunting and start being a kitty again herself.

Little scruffy Paco looks like Roamie's clone. He's a little skittish, but without his dad's sass. When it's his idea, he's a real cuddle-cat. He hunts grasshoppers, lizards, flies, ants and moths. And his brother Fredo. And Niko and Hoodie. Basically, he just goes after anything that moves. I've caught him twice swatting at something on TV.

He's got Possum's eyes. And a strong purr, almost as loud as his mother's and grandmother's. The past two days he's been on a grasshopper-maiming rage, giving the roadrunners some competition.

Still, he's a jumpy little guy. Not a bad trait for an orphan in this war zone.

Hoodie

Thanks to his gentle and independent nature, Hoodie enjoys Favored Cat Status about 90 percent of the time around here.

He's lovable, he minds well, and he comes when he's called ... on his own terms, of course.

I found Hoodie and a sibling on Craig's List before I moved from the city. I was grieving Puck, our old Maine Coon, and here were two precious little furballs! After I got them home however, I discovered that they were much younger than their owner had said. When I tried to contact him, he'd inconveniently disappeared, cold cash in hand.

I was outraged. These poor little critters were malnourished and still needed their mother. They had to be bottle-fed every few hours, bathed at least twice daily, and kept warm and safe. Unfortunately, one of the kittens made it only a few days. I was heartbroken. The surviving kitten held his own and thrived, developing along the way an endearing personality and a Houdini-like trait of getting into–and out of–seemingly impossible situations. We named him Houdini, which was quickly shortened to Hoodie.

I guess I should explain that we're not very good at sexing our cats. When Hoodie was about 7 months old we took him to Dr. Sam, our semi-local vet, to have him neutered. You can only imagine my surprise the following day when I picked him up to find that he'd been spayed. But since he'd always been one to us, we decided it would be easier to continue to refer to him as a he. Poor baby probably has emotional damage. In our defense, he's always enjoyed his privacy.

In this herd of cats, he's our climber. When he's outside, he's often lying around on top of one of our vehicles, in a tree, on the roof of the house, or on top of the table or sitting in one of the chairs. But he does have a hunting streak on occasion and trots up with a mouse or lizard to show off and torment the other cats.

His first year here he tried his darndest to catch one of the quail that come up in the mornings to eat the feed I throw out for them. Quail are smart. They're not easy to catch. None of our cats has ever caught one, although they've all been tempted. Hoodie is the only one who's realized the futility of it all and let the quail be. He's almost as smart as a quail now.

He's also the only one of our cats who can squeeze himself down almost flat on the floor to get under furniture when he wants to be alone. It drives his best bud Niko crazy. (But then again, just about everything Hoodie does drives Niko crazy.)

We also like to watch his big fluffy tail, which seems to have a life of its own, like an elegant snake:

Kind of mesmerizing, isn't it?

None of the other cats' tails are nearly so expressive.

See how disdainful Hoodie acts? Just another part of his charm.

Bet you're wondering how I can keep a white floor clean in the dusty desert. Answer: I don't.

Hoodie's tail serves as a swiffer. Sorta.

Back to Reality

I had designated today as Weed-Eater Day at Lunaloca.

The past few weeks of intermittent rains have encouraged grass growth, even in the desert, and there are areas around here now sporting waist-high grass, lovely green but potentially dangerous.

Why dangerous, you ask. (I know, you didn't ask. I just talk this way to myself. Deal with it.) This far from civilization, the grass can hide snakes (my primary fear) and critters that may be after my cats (no, wait, this is my primary fear). Ripping and shredding said grass to ground level with a whirling plastic string becomes a priority, particularly while it's still relatively mild temperature-wise.

Unfortunately, after a good hour and a half of grass ripping and shredding, rock scattering and yucca maiming, I ran out of line. Looked for more in all the logical places with no luck. I had to resort to calling Steve at work to find out where he may have stashed it.

Rats! I was really looking forward to surprising him later today with a yard that looks like one!

After finding the line (in the third place Steve suggested), I find that I can't get the darn thing apart to get the line in. Even with a wrench. I feel like such a girl. (He told me this would probably be the case, but once again, I really wanted to surprise him in some way, this time with my brute strength.)

Oh well. It's lunch time anyway.

Tomorrow is now designated Weed-Eater Day, The Sequel.

After declaring said weed-eater dead, Niko checks it out. He's not all that impressed.

Ditto for Possum's kittens Paco (top) and Fredo. They have better things to do. Can't stick around.

And Hoodie? He never even knew what was going on.