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[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Today I built a replica of the Eiffel Tower using toothpicks. Unfortunately they were used toothpicks and likely tasted of vienna sausage hence my dogs attraction to them.
The next time I do this it will be with unused toothpicks and placed where the hounds can't reach it.

Ok now that's scary...dogs eating toothpicks.

Um, why were you building the Eiffel tower??

OMG MImi, that looks so wild!- like a giant DNA chain!
GIANT LEECH?! =8-o
I found a giant nightcrawler worm in the soil today while sowing. It was 8" long and fully a 1/4" thick. It was really beautiful, iridescent, and so big and heavy it felt like i was holding a snake in my hand. I really should have taken a photo but was too anxious to finish sowing before the rains came again.

I planted lots of carrot seeds today, and later they became 'besotted' by yet more blasted rain. Luckily not washed out.

[Zen]

That looks like fun.
What did you do to provoke that leech? Did you pull it off? Did it hurt?
Wouldn't you rather be attacked by Cotton Ball Man?

Um, why were you building the Eiffel tower??

I had nothing better to do. I think Snap is on to me

[Biciclista]

That looks like fun.
What did you do to provoke that leech? Did you pull it off? Did it hurt?
Wouldn't you rather be attacked by Cotton Ball Man?

i put my legs in the lake. i felt something that felt like a yellowjacket BEFORE they bite. Then i saw it and pulled it off. it hadn't actually stuck itself on me yet.

[Biciclista]

um, cotton ball man? people will do ANYTHING to get on tv!

[Crankin]

Lisa, I agree with you on the riders who "surprise" you when passing. Thankfully, this has happened to me only once in awhile. I usually say something, too, like, "Have a nice day..." Lately there have also been a bunch of older men, beginning cyclists, who i pass. I always give warning and try to say something nice to them, since I don't want anyone to feel like *I* was being rude.

[Biciclista]

the leech was not a giant. it was about 1.25" long, rather small, actually. It also had an interesting pattern on its back, not like the black leeches of NJ that I remember.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

EEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWW

Not 'cute' like my compost worms at all...

[TsPoet]

Lisa, I agree with you on the riders who "surprise" you when passing. Thankfully, this has happened to me only once in awhile. I usually say something, too, like, "Have a nice day..." Lately there have also been a bunch of older men, beginning cyclists, who i pass. I always give warning and try to say something nice to them, since I don't want anyone to feel like *I* was being rude.

I do the same thing, but the guy I ride with thinks I should stop, he says it just confuses people. I think he's right, they often start swerving, rather than keep a straight line. But, people I pass are weekend riders, families, older folks on 50 year old bikes... Everyone else passes me.

[Reesha]

They'd be a lot cuter with googly eyes, wouldn't they:

[TsPoet]

I'm still shaking -
My 17 lb pug-x, Murphy, was attacked by a man on our walk today. I probably should have called the cops. Murphy is fine, I'm actually impressed with how well he handled himself. We were walking on this little Island jutting off of the Columbia river at 8 am. The island was packed with people fishing. The one stretch with no people, this guy with a big stress-grin and missing a few teeth was walking toward us. He was carrying a long stick with a beer can dangling at the top, and singing about being an American Indian. He was as Anglo as me, and I probably smirked, although I didn't try to. As Murphy and I always do, we stepped aside and Murphy gets behind me. the man marched right over trying to pet him, and announcing very loudly that he was a Native American. I asked him to leave Murphy alone, said Murphy might bite him. he showed me his right hand, with no fingers on it and said "he isn't going to bite them off!" Then he said "I'm a lion then", put his hands up in the air, started snarling, and lunged at Murphy. I body blocked him and started yelling, not a good idea, but it was an adrenalin rush. He started yelling about my dogs being off leash and reporting me - if they'd been off leash, he would have been bitten. I didn't think he had enough of a foot in reality to argue the point with him, though. He kept circling and lunging, I kept yelling, Murphy started growling. My other dog, Finn, started growling and lunging... He finally gave up and marched down the trail yelling about the "F'n white man, think they own everything, but then they give it all to the G**D*** Mexicans" (but he didn't us the word Mexican), and about calling the cops on me for my dogs being off leash, "that's illegal, these f'n whites ruining our land and giving it to the ..."

[Reesha]

Whoa! Well, I'm glad you came out of it ok!

Were there any witnesses?

[Trek420]

OMG. Woah!! I am glad that you are ok.

You did the exact right thing, an immediate reaction.

I don't know exactly what you mean by body block, you got in his way? Bashed into him? Whatever is was you did the RIGHT thing.

It worked, he left, you, Murphy and Finn are ok.

Move
Make noise
Get away when/if you can. If you can't leave you repeat steps 1 & 2 till the nut is no longer an impediment to your leaving however you take that to mean.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Oh that's really scary- how awful, you must be a wreck. I'm glad you and your dogs are ok!

Things like that have happened to me on occasion in NYC- some people are clearly mentally not right. It's very frightening when it happens.
I really think you should report this incident to the police- this guy might hurt the next person he gets goofy with- what if it's a small child he starts threatening? The police should know this guy is doing this- if they get several reports they will step up patrols there at the very least. Perhaps the Dept of social services even knows who he is already.

[TsPoet]

Whoa! Well, I'm glad you came out of it ok!

Were there any witnesses?

No, but people were around, if I'd screamed, someone would have heard.

OMG. Woah!! I am glad that you are ok.

You did the exact right thing, an immediate reaction.

I don't know exactly what you mean by body block, you got in his way? Bashed into him? Whatever is was you did the RIGHT thing.
.

I guess maybe you are right. I've been working with dogs for 5 years. What you do when one dog threatens another is put your body between the two dogs and distract the aggressor. That's exactly how I treated this guy, just reflex. I stood between him and Murphy and got in his face. If Murphy had attacked the man (not outside the realm of possibility, Murphy has issues), I would have got in his face and made him do tricks to distract him. Maybe I should have asked the man to "sit up pretty' - LOL.

Oh that's really scary- how awful, you must be a wreck. I'm glad you and your dogs are ok!
The police should know this guy is doing this- if they get several reports they will step up patrols there at the very least. Perhaps the Dept of social services even knows who he is already.

I guess I should. I thought about finding a non-emergency # and asking if they want me to report such a thing or not. I have enough of a description that they should know him if he's been a problem before, I'd thinking missing the fingers on his right hand would be pretty descriptive. Especially here, we are a small enough area that we don't have a lot of crime.

thanks, I'm feeling better - in fact now I'm sort of laughing over treating the guy more completely like a dog and asking him to do tricks!

[OakLeaf]

Wow, scary. Glad you and the dogs are okay. (And that they didn't have to bite him, which would've created a whole 'nother set of complications. )