The big fight

And no, I'm not talking about the Government "shutdown'.  I am thoroughly disgusted with the whole thing, though I am delighted by Harry Reid showing his true colors.  "Why would we want to do that? I have 1,100 people at Nellis Air Force base that are sitting home. They have a few problems of their own,"  he says in response to a reporter's question on why he wouldn't even consider a Republican stopgap to fund the NIH through the debacle.  Then later, he makes fun of Republicans saying he doesn't care about kids with cancer.  I'm not saying THAT, Mr. Reid... I AM saying that you've shown that in your mind, a paycheck is JUST as important as a human life.  I'm surprised even a paycheck means that much to you, considering all the fat union kickback checks you get.

I have a few fine liberal friends... one of them in particular posted about how great Obamacare is, even as people see their hours cut, their jobs lost, their premiums and medicines skyrocket, and their quality of care plummet.  Then posts later about how sad and silly John "Boner" is to force this shutdown, never mind that he is doing what he is doing because Reid and Nancy Pelosi eliminated legitimate debate when they passed the damnable thing.  I've heard Rush Limbaugh compare Obama's skirting of the laws of the land by executive proclamation and just plain not enforcing laws he doesn't like as "the kind of lawless behavior that you get in a Banana Republic."  And that's true.  Hopefully one day Pelosi, Reid, et al, will get the banana republic they so desire- because you know what happens to politicians like THEM in banana republics...

No, the fight I'M talking about happened last night on our walk.  It takes a minute to get there, so follow along...

This is our hero desperately dragging me along as he chases a squirrel who crossed the trail ahead of us.  Of course, upon getting there, he checked all the GROUNDHOG holes for his quarry...

Darn near finished on the south walk bridge.  Oh, the guardrails?  They were old ones, used to size up the holes for the bolts when the new one is ready.

Still have a little turtle action in the swamp...

That is what you get when our hero finds a groundhog trail and decides to follow it...

And, now they are paving the path across the bunny field!  "Lest you poor joggers stumble upon a stone", I guess...

Now here's where the fight begins.  In one corner, our hero.  In the other...

Preying Mantis!!!!

I pointed him out to Scrappy, figuring he'd do his usual quick sniff and move on.  No, not this time.  He was scared, and approached cautiously at first, amazed at this moving blade of grass before him.  The mantis tried to avoid the battle..

He circled and circled, looking for an opening...

Eventually he tried to pick the mantis up, but when it wiggled, he'd shake his head and fling it.

Crap!  Where'd it go?

Right there, by Daddy's foot!

After about the fifth fling, the mantis was rapidly losing his zest for the fight.  When he landed in yet another good hiding spot, I decided it was time to break it up, figuring Scrappy'd be happy to return to marmot terrorism...

But, no, it was like pulling him from food getting him to move on!  But the battle for the day was done...

Oh, and we saw another squirrel.

My niece just sent me some old photos that for some odd reason I'm going to share with you.

That's yours truly, way back when, being my cool self...

That's dear old Dad, sans PBR, in his favorite chair (this is the one my sister made him throw out to get a new one... and to piss her off, he got a bright orange one)...

And that is my eldest brother, flanked by my two beautiful nieces.  God, was that really 30 years ago?