August 4 – “The Zoo”

Nathan and April went to Corpus Christi for a day or two.  That means we get to babysit for their zoo.  No.  They took Cailyn with them.  And they even took Abby, the newest addition.  She is a brand new puppy.  Boxer.  Boxers get big.  Really big.  Made me think of another question looming in the family's not-so-distant future on this hurricane vulnerable little island off the coast of Texas.  Who gets to evacuate with Abby?   We did get to keep Scooter.  He's a great Boston Terrier.  Very well-trained, at least around Nathan.  And he plays well with Fritz.  They are like a couple of cousins who get along very well and just don't seem to have enough time to do everything they want to do when they are together.  And Heidi loves to have him over because then everyone leaves her alone.  Scooter's claim to fame is that he is also a great soccer player.  He hikes the soccer ball to himself.  H shoves the ball with his front legs, between his back legs and then chases it down.  The only problem is that the ball ends up a mess, full of slobber and teeth marks.    Yesterday I used the weedeater in the back yard.  I was afraid Scooter would get slapped across the face with the line.  See, Scooter didn't like the weedeater.  He attacked it several times, and he barked at it so much that he inspired even Heidi to join in the complaining.  Fritz, of course, didn't need encouragement.  He didn't really understand completely what he was barking at, because he kept barking after the weedeater turned off and Scooter stopped.    Purple.  That's the beta fish.  Why do they call it a beta fish?  Does that mean it's not quite as awesome as an alpha fish?  Oh, and guess what color it is?  Green.  No, I'm kidding.  It's purple.  We feed it seven pellets in the morning and seven at night.  Seven.  Perfect regimen.   And finally there's Moe.  I never had a guinea pig as a kid.  I guess it was too much like a rat.  So I had no idea what to expect.  April told us that he whistles and makes a lot of noise.  The noise part didn't surprise me.  It's a fat rat, so it had to make noise.  But I was intrigued about the whistle thing.  I didn't hear it for the whole first day.  Then Chris asked me to feed it.  So I got out some carrots and some of that high class romaine lettuce stuff.  I reached into the cage to get the little bowl, and Moe scampered into his hut.  But as I walked over to the counter to put the salad into the bowl, I heard it.  Guinea pigs whistle.  It was not as bad as the demonic screech of that flying squirrel we heard when we evacuated with the Stone family, but disheartening nonetheless when you don't expect it.  And inspirational.  Sure inspired me to hurry up with the food.  He kept it up until he got his mouth full.  Bon appétit.   Proverbs 21:21 says, "He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor."   Father, help me stay focused on pursuing the righteousness and love without worrying about the life, prosperity and honor.  Amen.