Hurricane Gustav

Louie is having bad flashbacks tonight. Only three years ago I rescued him from the left lane of I-40 westbound in Albuquerque during a pounding rain storm.

He and his human family had evacuated New Orleans ahead of Katrina only for him to be lost on the highway when a luggage strap failed. Now he's good buddies with all the other bears and critters in the Bears' Home Front Brigade.

He also has played a key role in the rescue of Lightfeather in Travel Schlepp's novella. Should be another podcast uploaded this evening.

Meanwhile, Schlepp, Louie, and other bears have been watching the Weather Channel and hoping that Hurricane Gustav doesn't do too much damage. In the photo above TS and Louie look at the Saturday AM model tracks from the Weather Underground. Louie has seen what a big hurricane can do and he's urging everyone to evacuate as ordered and make for high ground.

Postscript: Turtle weigh in. Terrance came in at 278 gm today, his heaviest weight ever. Its a good thing, too, with only six weeks or so until hibernation.

Terrance Update

We spotted Terrance this weekend after three weeks and he's put on 15 gm. With his discriminating tastes, of course he turned up in the Hidden Garden, the very moist and lush courtyard garden that Caro has created on the west side of the house. Its shaded by the high fence on the south and a 20-year old stubby spruce. My four old cats, Oreo, Yoda, Tigger, and Paco are buried there. After all, it was there private yard when we first moved into the house.

Terrance immediately scarfed down some strawberries we set out for him and he has spent most of the weekend comfortably nestled in among the cedar bark mulch behind the lupines. This evening as the shadows grew long, he ambled off towards the other side of the yard. Eventually he reached the big Rosemary by the Bodhisattva Fountain and seems to have settled in there.