Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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Nose to tail — dig out a sweater and coat, possible gloves and a scarf as well. Stretched on the side, legs curled toward the belly — maybe a sweater, definitely a jacket. On the stomach, legs stretched forward — Long sleeves will do. All four legs in the air, belly to the sun — Most definitely short sleeves. Sprawled in a shade sliver, tongue flopped to the side – sleeveless, shorts and flip flops. All one needs do is look to the dogometer to gauge the weather on any given day. And it is pretty darn reliable, unless of...
It's easy to kick the dog; in fact they almost seem to ask for it, eagerly adopting the role of living shadow and always sticking their noses in, wanted or not. In fact, animals in general provide ample opportunity to vent frustrations and sometimes even a convenient excuse to channel hostility. Admit it, after a trying day at work, coming home to a tipped over trash can and a guilty-looking snout covered in coffee grounds can be an easy excuse for rage, especially if one is looking for such an outlet. And on the heels of...
Dog breeds, dog bites, homes for retired K-9s and animal killing contests are some of the animal-related issues that have made their way to the state legislature this year. Regardless of one's stance on animal issues, it's always interesting to take a peek at what our lawmakers' think is important in the non-human spectrum. Here are some of the proposals affecting animals and related humans: - House Bill 63 — Changes to state statute governing vicious animals proposed by Rep. Yvette Herrell, R-Alamogordo, would prevent l...
High steppin', he is all that and then some. Like an emperor in a new suit, he has no idea that from a distance he looks a lot like a toy poodle, and from up close, a lot like a 3-year-old discovered the scissors. Winter is that time of year in which the scruff is allowed to flourish and thick, au' naturel doo's are simply more practical. And it's just downright cool to let the hair grow as it may, especially in an era when "organic" is "novel" if not outright hipsterish. Unless you're a wiry haired mutt-terrier. A couple...
It might have been the closest a city kid would ever get to hearing a real pig when the chord was pulled and the scratchy "The pig says Oink Oink" filled the room. And shaking the can with the holes on the bottom must have terrified the poor cow inside, but it "Moooo'd" every time, the mystery of how the heck they got a cow in a can taking second place to the loud sounds such a little thing could make. The twisted rubber band inside the paper envelope ALWAYS sounded like a rattlesnake, and if you were lucky, scared a few...
Everybody needs to smell a tiger now and then. Why? Because in that split second of imminent danger time freezes, and then suddenly everything starts accelerating. Sheer terror feeds a pounding heart, every nerve and fiber of being goes on alert, and heat rushes to the face — defense and self-preservation sets in. Muscles tighten and coil, the blood starts rushing and it's hard to breath. As soon as the realization that it was a false alarm sets in, trembling takes over as one tries to steady themselves. It takes work to brin...
Sometimes all that is needed is a little perspective shift, after all, no one wants to be part of the 92 percent statistically doomed to fail, especially when making New Year's resolutions and striving to be one of the 8 percent who succeeds appears a realistically challenged endeavor. In fact, of the 45 percent of Americans who make resolutions, more than half will have moved on and accepted defeat by the six-month mark, according to December statistics from the Journal of Clinical Psychology. As such, yet still wanting to...
Mmm... Cheese balls, cookies, dips, turkey, smooth, creamy gravy, stuffing and potatoes, and let's not forget that fruit cake, dense and rich enough to sustain a small country for a couple weeks... Yeah, this time of year things are good around the table, and the table legs. A truly lucky pooch or kitty might even strike it rich and run across an abandoned full plate left behind by a distracted kiddo off to test the new toys. And, like their human counterparts, many a fur ball can be found groaning belly up in some warm and...
If you're reading this, it's safe to say it didn't happen. And it's OK to admit you smiled a little when you woke up this morning — be it a sarcastic smirk because you never believed, or a happy smile because humanity survived. Yep, the delivery of the paper this morning, or the fact that there are fresh stories on the web means only one thing ... Armageddon shmarmageddon. Well, actually, make that two things, because today is also the day of the crocodile. People born today will have the attributes of the crocodile, a...
They have no idea, really. In fact, just a few days ago — when the dry kibble ran out and the bowls were topped off with canned food kept for just those types of emergencies — they thought it was Christmas. And when the cold winds blew and everyone charged through the door only to find their bedding washed and fluffed, they thought that was Christmas too. Come to think of it, they kind of thought it was Christmas not too long ago when that plate was left unattended at eye level. When they hop up on the bed or squeeze their co...
Their evening silhouettes in the upper branches of the trees seem like oriental artwork — so beautiful, one might think it was indeed a painting were it not for the occasional stretch, flutter of wings and flighty hop to a higher branch. You can almost set a clock by them as they lite en masse in the naked fruit tree branches around 4 p.m., transitioning to the inner branches of the dense pines just before the sun disappears 45 minutes later. Hyper-vigilant, even as they dose, the sound of footsteps passing by their hidden ro...
I t seems there isn't much left on the planet that humankind hasn't tried to domesticate, and if not attempting to domesticate, mankind has tried to keep most everything in captivity at one time or another, with varying degrees of success. In some cases, pulling creatures out of the wild is actually doing them a favor by postponing or preventing extinction. In other cases it is done just because it can be done. But captive housing is not to be confused with domestication efforts, which can get a tad bizarre. The list of...
No doubt they sat near the table that day, 391 years ago, watching as the pilgrims smiled and devoured the birds they helped to flush out of the dense underbrush. It is unknown what their names were, but as the only two reflected in historical records, they had just as much to give thanks for — particularly as scraps from the festive feasters fell to the ground, though it's unlikely they cared much about religious freedom. It had must have seemed like a lifetime since they, along with 102 weary travelers disembarked from t...
9-It's certainly the stuff legends are made of, full of loyalty, dedication, and unfaltering focus. Though recognized for having the capacity to display those traits, not many dogs get remembered by name, yet Hachiko is known worldwide. His birthday about a week ago marked the 89th year since the Akita was born and in April, it will have been 78 years since he died. Hachiko isn't remembered for pulling children from a burning building or digging avalanche survivors from an embankment. Instead, he is remembered for, well,...
It lasted three whole days. Three days of overturned spice bottles rolling on the counters and scrambling noises when the kitchen lights were flipped on. Human error started it of course, an error that led to the cage being left open. The first sighting was quite the surprise. Not so much a surprise in the fact it's not unusual to spot the occasional mouse, but more in the sense that they usually don't have black and white spots. Nor is the average mouse 5 inches tall when it stands on its hind legs. As a result, the first...
It took nearly a day to work up the nerve. Intramuscular may not sound so bad to those in health professions, but to a layman reading the instructions on the back of a plastic wrapper, it can sound downright horrific. And it was enough to get the package shoved in the fridge for the evening — a stalling, feet dragging case of, "have to, but really don't want." It's hard to tell how he did it, but the theory was the gelding had gotten a nail stuck in the toe of his hoof, though the offending nail was never located by the t...
Ingenuity and creativity surfaced in those times when it was boring inside on long summer days, yet if you made the mistake of getting caught underfoot you were sure to be given a chore. Out of sight, however, a kid could often stay out of mind as well. Ropes, halters, plant hangers, you name it, they were born of such out-of-sight times, left over bailing twine and countless such hours of sitting in the barn – hours spent braiding and tying. While braiding lengths of bailing twine together to hang a swing from the door of t...
Popping off the ground, the barbed wire flew up and in an instant her legs were planted in the middle of it. And the predictable happened. She stepped forward, her front legs met with the resistance of the wire, then her rear hoof snagged. Her eyes enlarged her breathing quickened and the next few seconds were like those that come after a firecracker is lit and tossed. But the funny thing about firecrackers is you can't run over and check, you just have to wait and see if they're going to blow — And much the same, the wire p...
The next time little Johnny turns his nose up at the meatloaf before him; you can try enticing him by letting him in on a little secret — it's actually sugar beef, infused with gummy bears and cookies. And you won't be lying. Recently, news reports have surfaced that, in an effort to defray record high grain costs, some in the cattle industry have turned to alternative feed supplements to maintain their herds. Don't tell the Trix rabbit, but, cattle growers in some areas of the country are re-purposing sugary human foods t...
When you let your child follow you with the grocery cart, it's usually not a matter of "if," but more a matter of "when" you will feel the inevitable impact on your heels. Much the same, only to a larger degree of severity, having a 900-pound animal stepping in your shadow can be a little unsettling. With nothing but a single, symbolic rope between you and said animal, it is natural to wonder, "what if he takes off?" "What if he steps sideways?" Leading a horse is one of those simple little tasks that are easily taken for...
Sometimes things are just plain misleading. Take, for instance, a BBC video titled "Giant panda does handstand." Oh sure, it's a film following a giant panda around the woods, and yes, he does a handstand, but there's a little more to the film than a cute bear doing acrobatics. To be more precise, the film consists of four action-packed minutes of panda bathroom rituals, which do include the panda doing a handstand — with the sole purpose of positioning himself to "go" higher up on the trunk of a tree. Thankfully, an a...
Sometimes things are just plain misleading. Take, for instance, a BBC video titled "Giant panda does handstand." Oh sure, it's a film following a giant panda around the woods, and yes, he does a handstand, but there's a little more to the film than a cute bear doing acrobatics. To be more precise, the film consists of four action-packed minutes of panda bathroom rituals, which do include the panda doing a handstand — with the sole purpose of positioning himself to "go" higher up on the trunk of a tree. Thankfully, an a...
Everybody loves a tail chaser. C'mon, admit it. You know you laugh when they turn in those tight little circles, round-and-round, over-and-over again at a dizzying speed. Apparently it's "normal" to laugh. Of course people know on some gut level that spinning around in circles trying to catch one's own backside is a bit redundant but there's something entertaining about watching a dog give it all they've got as if oblivious to the fact they already have control of the prey. In fact, a researcher with the Royal Veterinary...
Everybody loves a tail chaser. C'mon, admit it. You know you laugh when they turn in those tight little circles, round-and-round, over-and-over again at a dizzying speed. Apparently it's "normal" to laugh. Of course people know on some gut level that spinning around in circles trying to catch one's own backside is a bit redundant but there's something entertaining about watching a dog give it all they've got as if oblivious to the fact they already have control of the prey. In fact, a researcher with the Royal Veterinary...
For years to come, when Nancy Taylor's name is mentioned people will remember her for all the lives she touched as she worked tirelessly to fill the shelves at the Food Bank of Eastern New Mexico. But as busy as she stayed trying to make sure not one child had to go to bed hungry and that no one in the community was without sustenance, somehow there was still room in Nancy's heart for more. Several months ago, she showed me around the food bank and I was struck by her passion and determination, pleasantly surprised when our...
