Each afternoon we can, we hitch up Sunny's tag-along and ride our bikes down to the river, just to see what's (who's) up.  We are usually rewarded with sightings of 1-3 woodstorks (they are just the coolest birds, and they're NOT very common), a couple or 3 flickers (red-headed woodpeckers), great white herons, and often a very large (13-14 foot) alligator.  Well, a couple days ago, we went a little earlier than usual, so we sat on the river bank, just watching the river go by.  We watched a great white heron stalking prey, and we were very still as a great blue came in and started his own fishing expedition nearby.  As the sun went down, the sky & puffy clouds were painted pink and purple, and it was all too serene & beautiful.  All of a sudden, we hear a tremendous ker-PLOSH, only about 100 feet upriver.  What on EARTH!?  OMG, there's Bubba!!  And he's swimming THIS WAY.  And then, all of a sudden, we didn't see him anymore.  We evaluated our proximity to the water's edge, and the slope of the embankement (oh, there was only the *slightest* of inclines there), and we quickly decided there must be a better place from which to observe. 

I scooped up Sunny in my arms & hot-footed it back to the road, where our bikes were parked.  To be honest, I didn't even buckle Sunny into her harness in the tag-along, I just put her in it, hopped on the bike & started pedaling.  I know Dick was right behind!!!  We got up river, ahead of where he'd entered the water, and watched for a while, but we never saw him again.  I guess he was down on the riverbank, looking for that chicken he had smelled. 

The very next day, we had some rain and a bit of thunder.  Actually, we had .9 inches in just a couple of hours, so there was standing water at each end of our street, and the ditch running its length was absolutely filled to the brim.  On her last walk for the evening, Sunny spooked a little bunny-foo-foo, and as he ran by us, across the road and back toward our camper, we heard yet another ker-plosh!!!  Not such a large splash as Bubba had made, but big enough!!!  Sunny & I no longer walk anywhere near the ditch after dark. 

If I get a choice of what I feed the 'gators, it will *not* be my doggie, but I'd certainly be amenable to tossing them an ex-ceo or 2.....anybody heard anything on what THEY are up to now-a-days??  I know Bud owns a mountain estate, just west of Winston, but I've not heard a *peep* about Ken.  I do wonder, though, why he's not come forward with an apology or explanation, or anything.  IMHO, sucker belongs in JAIL, and you'd never get me to believe he didn't know what he was doing.  No one can be that successful and so STUPID at the same time. 

On a sad note, please keep Amy G. in your thoughts and prayers...her beloved Mickey (4 yr old Boston Terrier) suddenly fell ill on Friday, and she had to be courageous and end his misery and suffering.  Amy, I know how difficult that was, but be strong; we know he'll be waiting for you at the Gates of Heaven.  In the meantime, he'll be keeping the angels laughing at his antics.

Well, we do have to work tomorrow (life's tuff!), and I still have a few cleanup chores before I can turn in, so I'd better sign off for now.  Y'all take care and travel safe!!