So summer finally arrived to Southcentral Alaska…..the salmon FINALLY started running in time for the locals to flock to the Kenai, the sun started to shine and tan lines from wearing sandals at Care’s Corner have appeared!  Oh, the 70’s feel good! (HOT at times!!)
Bubba and I were lazily resting – he under my recliner/lounger, me right above, getting bum-bumped – he is growing by leaps and bounds. He weighs 22 lbs now!  He almost doesn’t look puppy anymore. He and the cat definitely act like teenagers though – pouting, ignoring requests, and being picky at what time they eat and just what they want: PEOPLE FOOD! And talk about sleeping a lot!!
Back to the story (chemo-brain, y’know) so we were basking in the wonderful day, clear blue skies, delightful breeze and the sun beating down on us. Suddenly, I hear this HUGE rustle in the trees directly across from where I was sitting. My first thought was: Is it the bear or moose that have been hanging around? The second was: I’m sure glad I drove the 4×4 Ranger down instead of walking!  I started to stand up when I hear a THUNDEROUS noise……
HOLY SHAMOLEY!! A HUMOUNGOUS 100 year old cottonwood tree and medium size spruce came CRASHING down over the fork of the river at Care’s Corner, root wads and all!  After my screaming settled (it took well over an hour for my pulse to come down under 120, and my blood pressure under 160/90….I now know what it means “scared spitless”!)
 I cautiously walked down my side of Care’s Corner to assess the ‘remodel’ job. We figure between the work the beavers have been doing, added to the high water  from this year’s  record snow melt reced,  it started  re-depositing the gravel bar that was washed out in the floods of 2004 and 2006, thus undercutting the bank. As I looked closer,  we may have more “natural bridges” across the river. Too bad the high waters washed the other “cottonwood bridge” to get to the other/other side of Care’s Corner, washed parallel to the bank in high water!  We could have finally walked across all sides of our property without wearing waders or waiting for winter freeze and snowmachines!
I headed back up to the house, trying to calm down…….yeah right. That’s when Bubba and Noel, the cat began acting like Tom and Jerry, chasing each other around the house, barking, howls, claws and fur flying. I opened the door to let them take it outside. I turned around to put my sandals on to go referee only to find no sign of Bubba. 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes……panic starts to settle in. I find the cat sitting on top of a wood pile, tail whapping – usually meaning Bubba is close. Bubba? Bubba?? BUBBA? I could hear a whimper but couldn’t figure where it was coming from. A panic call to Bill – he said he was on his way home. By this time I’m sobbing, and I finally shriek at the cat: WHERE IS BUBBA? WHAT  DID YOU DO WITH HIM? Noel bolted for the house. I followed. When I opened the door only to have Noel head for our bedroom, which he rarely goes, now that it is Bubba’s domain.
I hear a whimper, and a bulge under MY brown comforter emerge with a sheepish look…..oops!! SOMEone got caught red-handed! The deal is, he and Bill get the king-size bed, I get the hospital bed next to it give a girl a break, will ya?  A tearful call to Bill to say Bubba was safe and sound (asleep). I guess Noel isn’t the ‘evil demon’ we playfully call him (for now, anyway!)
I step outside to heave a sigh of relief and whisper a prayer of thanks…..to be rewarded with the sunset you see (mind you this is at 11pm Alaska Standard Time!)  As I said: Never a dull moment at Care’s Corner!

OK, so I admit it. I’m old. When almost 3 months has passed by and I’ve not blogged and I’ve hardly known where the time has gone, then what my parents told me is true: the older you get, the faster time goes!
So where do I start since the end of May? How about having a chemo-brain/love moment and letting my daughter say YES to getting dad a PUPPY for Father’s Day?!  First, it was a beagle….whew! That didn’t materialize. (That’s his “retirement dog”!) … then came ‘Bubba Gump’……a St. Bernard/Boxer (with a little ?possible Rhodesian Ridgeback?)  Oh my…A St. Mixner (we say a Boxnard)
The “oh my” may be taken several ways:
OH MY! He’s SOOOO beautiful!
OH MY! He’s SOOOO cute!
OH MY! He just piddled on the carpet (again – we’ll have the cleanest floors yet!)
OH MY! Bill is in Talkeetna during the week so hmmm: wonder who gets to raise Bubba? ( I WAS going to start work on book #2, but scrap that one for now!)
OH MY!! Do I ever love playing with Bubba and walking out to Care’s Corner, and  making a fire in the pit in the evening, making s’mores and even letting him lick (just a teeny bit – promise!) of marshmallow!
OH MY!! My P.T. said that my 3-4 a day 15 min walks have helped ‘find’ my right calf muscle that went missing this last year!! (Naw…it’s all the other exercises I’ve been doing! (Yeah, right Care!)
OH MY!  Am I glad I had chemo………so I could  melt and say yes to Bubba…..and have a loving daughter who knows a daddy (and her mama)  really shouldn’t be without a dog by their side. We had been dog-less  for 14 months  – the first time in either of our lives.
 I have to admit – empty nesting WAS rather nice, especially being able to come and go;  but a MORE than full nest with Bubba is MUCH better!! (Especially as he cuddles around your neck or next to your head and has the hiccups at 4 am!! WHO taught him to sleep on the bed? It wasn’t ME!! (Yeah, right!!)