Quite a team

   I never would have believed this, had I not seen it myself… I heard Kismet coming up through the door from the basement. I turned to see Aki sitting just outside the door. Kismet was carrying a live mouse in her mouth and just as she came through the door, she released it, Aki pounced on it and chomped it (almost) to death in one fell swoop.

   Horrified by what I had just witnessed, I ran to the mouse's rescue and scooped it up in an old towel that was nearby, used to wipe the dogs feet when they come in from the snow. I could tell the mouse was not much longer for this world... But at least it wouldn't be eaten by these two. These two who are now, apparently, partners in crimes against smaller mammals.

   With this new reality, I can only imagine how successful they will be as a team. Each has already caught their fair share of wildlife single-handedly. Lord help the little animals!

Bump in the night

   It has been a very exciting Saturday night… I heard a bump upstairs, went to investigate, and found the kitty scrambling around the bathroom floor. 

   I picked up the trashcan and suddenly, a mousie jumped out from behind it and ran all the way up my arm almost to my shoulder before I could shake it off. I'm not afraid of mice, but it was so sudden and unexpected it made me let out a little scream that surprised even myself. It also drew a crowd:

   Kismet caught him, but the Shibas would have gladly dispatched of him!  Proof that this breed is as catlike as you've heard.

   I took these few photos to capture my mighty hunters, put the mousy in a trashcan, and took him a mile away from the house to release him back into the wild. I couldn't bring myself to kill a mouse, they're too cute. And so are the photos. Squeak!

Smashing my PR—and mental hurdle

   I've been curious for a while, if I could actually run a half marathon (13.1 miles). Last week I happened to be in a leadership meeting over lunch with Mark M, and we talked about races and tris and the Ironman races he has done. Super inspirational. 
   And this week I happened to talk to Theresa on my new team, who has run several halfs as well as the Chicago marathon. She very casually said, "Yes, people will tell you that you need to stick to a strict training schedule, but the truth is, you're a fit human, and you could run a half today. You just have to get over the mental hurdle." She was so matter-of-fact about it, I began to think, "Well, of course—that makes sense..."
   She tried to encourage me to run the KC marathon on 10/19 (which I can't do, because that's the day I start Divemaster training). Today when I headed out, I planned to try for 8 miles... And just kept running. It didn't feel especially difficult, since the weather is cool (I'm a cold-weather runner for sure). I simply kept going. In fact, I was tempted to run the full 13.1 miles just to prove to myself that I'm ready, but it was getting late, and beginning to get dark, and I didn't want to risk injury by upping my mileage too far, too fast. (Which sounds surprisingly smart and responsible—we're still talking about me, right?) I resisted the temptation.

   So what do you know, Theresa was right about me.
And you know what else is super-motivating? Nike+:

   Of course I do stack the deck in my favor by creating my own "power playlist" of favorite songs—which I'm going to need to grow, as this run was long enough that they began to repeat. Still, somehow the right song seems to come up at the right time to keep me going: either a great hook, a driving, beat, or inspiring lyrics (every song on my playlist must meet at least one of those criteria, if not all three). Today Usher's "Numb" helped me out lyrically:

"They say life is a battlefield / I say bring it on

If you wanna know how I feel / Live it till it's gone

I'm just saying that what don't kill, only makes you strong

If you don't recognize what is real—

Then forever is a long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long time..."   

Thank you, Theresa, for believing in me! :)
* * * * * * * * * *

   And... A weird thing happened on my run: I was running through the park in Old OP, and nearly stepped on a very large red-tailed hawk who had just swooped down to catch a squirrel. He took his dinner up to a low tree branch and continued to watch me... so I high-tailed it outta there!

Catching up on Omaha!

   I took a quick weekend trip up to Omaha July 6-8 with Allyson and Scott—my first time at the Henry Doorly zoo! I was shooting with my brand-new Canon EOS Rebel t4i (which, admittedly, I don't even know how to use yet), and Scott borrowed my Sony HX1. We both got some great shots, and I'm working on posting them now. Scroll down to the "blog archive" pulldown menu on the right and select the appropriate date range to see what we captured.

Another morning in paradise...

   I was up and at 'em before anyone hit the pool today, to meet the guys at Reef Marina dive shop for two morning Scuba dives. We saw a turtle, toadfish, angelfish, jack fish, parrotfish and countless more. And tonight will be my first night five, with a chance to see all the predators: octopus, squid, and who knows what else my light beam may illuminate...

Birds on the beach

   Met a couple of macaws on the beach today. And there just happened to be a pro photographer nearby...

Diving with a hot Frenchman?

Mais oui!

What's that you say? How were the fish?
What fish? I didn't notice any fish... ;)

Seriously, though, Stefan couldn't be a better dive master! He & his whole crew were a blast.

House hunting

   Just before going up for my safety stop, I spied this crab, inspecting a potential new conch-house! How I wish I could hang out longer under the sea, and observe all the fascinating creatures longer...

Coatimundi sighting!

   Too bad I only had my iPhone with me... It was dark out, & this was the best I could get, despite being about a foot from the remarkable creature! I did see a few of them during my stay in Playa, but alas, only at night.

The Possum's Paw

   This morning I went downstairs to let the dogs out, and noticed something sitting on the rug—just a couple of feet from the door. I stepped closer, then immediately recoiled from the pungent odor. Someone left a desiccated foot on my deck! At first I wasn't sure whose foot it was, but upon looking closer at the appearance of the toes and claws, decided it must be from a possum. (This was later confirmed when I found a patch of black, dried skin with telltale-colored hair on it. Taylor had found it first, and rolled on it. Are you shivering from sheer grossness? Good. Me too.)

   The paw reminded me of that short story "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs—so I made sure not to make any wishes on it. It's funny how a surprise event can trigger a distant memory. (There are plenty of useful things I can't seem to remember... but old short stories I read in middle school? No problem.)

"It's just an ordinary little paw, dried to a mummy."

   The moral to the story is "Be careful what you wish for, you may receive it"; in other words, our lives are ruled by fate, and there is a penalty to be paid for trying to overcome it. I'll definitely be careful about what I wish for after this not-so-subtle reminder!

Angry Squirrel is Angry!

   Somehow at lunchtime yesterday, we got on the topic of critters, and Ali M mentioned that her boyfriend shoots squirrels... Which, as you might correctly imagine from the delicate ladies of Hallmark, was met with shock and horror (including from Ali herself, a self-proclaimed squirrel fan). It seemed only fitting to present Ali with a pissed-off squirrel drawing. Maybe this will make Evan think twice...

Omaha Zoo: Flocks of Birds

Peacock in hiding

His adorable family! (ARGH! My photo is blurry!!!)  :(

Scott gives Ms. Peacock a wide berth

Stork, sans baby

Flamingo quarrel

Meanwhile, a sweet moment between ibis

Watching from under the bridge

Spoonbill storks and their gangly, pink babies

A very serious-looking snowy egret

Omaha Zoo: Big Cats

Big, beautiful tiger

IT'S SO... FREAKING...HOT...

Zzzz...

white tiger

lion

leopard

jaguar

   But how do you tell the difference between a leopard and a jaguar? I cheated and used this chart, just to be sure.

serval

Omaha Zoo: Bear vs. Bear

   The polar bear. Handsome, charming, and a delight to all, with those big, furry paws and charming backstroke.

   And then there's the Malayan sun bear. I'm sure he has a... uh... nice personality.

Omaha: Desert Dome

   Omaha zoo has some very cool exhibits and many unusual animals that you don't see at every zoo. The Desert dome was a favorite for sure, full of foxes, bats, and black-footed cats; thick-kneed birds, finches, meercats, and hyrax.

the handsome thick-kneed bird

the incredible & incredibly charming klipspringer

I need to research what the dark spot is at the corner of their eyes

saying hello to a beetle

they can fit all 4 hooves on a spot of cliff the size of a Canadian dollar

kookaburra

a grouchy-looking yet adorable burrowing owl

a sleepy and not-so-swift swift fox