Speaking of owls, I had a surprise addition to the neighborhood list the other day.
The 1 year-old woke up at 330 AM screaming bloody murder, and could only be calmed by going for a walk. The only upside to this sleep interruption was hearing a single scream of a barn owl overhead, not a bird I expected anywhere nearby.
Our oldest got it when he was 1 1/2 a couple years ago. No sores on his hands and feet, so it wasn't really on our radar as he developed a fever and almost completely stopped eating solid food for over a week. The pediatrician found a large sore on the roof of his mouth though.
It all came to a head with the first cold front of that fall. It killed our heater so our house was freezing, the baby's fever spiked to like 103 and we spent the night not sleeping in a hotel. We took him to the ER the following day since he wasnt improving. He had rhino and adenovirus, HFM and bilateral ear infections. Nothing really to be done but supportive care.
He recovered soon after that, but it was 2 weeks of misery. Good luck...
This also ignores the giant elephant in the room that no one discusses anymore because we're reasonably worried about our own country collapsing, but climate change is going to fuck all our shit up, especially since the entire world has apparently just raised their hands up in defeat.
Potential new 54,000 acre state park near Kickapoo Cavern SP sounds pretty cool.
https://www.ksat.com/news/texas/2025/10/06/texas-parks-wildlife-working-to-acquire-54000-acre-hill-country-ranch-for-new-state-park/
British naturalists like her and Attenborough always inspired awe and gave me hope for the natural world. They'll both be gone soon, but they outlasted my optimism.
I was supposed to do Minca area and Tayrona NP with some buddies on a once-in-a-lifetime birding trip last August. Right after I committed, I knocked my wife up and decided leaving while she was 30+ weeks into a difficult pregnancy might be problematic.
Now, I'm trying to get my bros to commit to a second once-in-a-lifetime trip, this time to Manizales. Anyone ever been? I'm particularly interested in how renting a car and driving around Manizales is, as well as transportation of choice from Medellin to Manizales.
You know what pregnant women and babies actually shouldn't take? Ibuprofen. But what do you think the fucking morons who cling to this dipshit's every word are going to do when they accidentally drop baby Cletus on his head? Reach for the Advil and fuck the poor kid's kidneys.
My mom worked as a high school teacher for a while and her buddy in the chemistry department blamed affirmative action for denying him a spot in med school. My immediate response to this at the time was "How the fuck would he know that?"
I'm sure he treated all of his students equally...
I roadtripped out there with my buddies and again with my wife in '13 and '16. I remember thinking Oregonians all drove like grandmas compared to the psychopaths in Texas cities.
My wife and I don't speak another language, we have no first-degree relatives in other countries and our jobs as mid-levels don't travel well. Our financial situation makes it basically impossible currently, but that may change in the next few years.
I don't know how or where, and I don't know what it would mean for our kids (3 & 1), but I'm giving serious thought to getting the fuck out of here.
Well, I like to check out by escaping into nature. Unfortunately, I am all too aware that the little remaining nature that exists is being fast-tracked for destruction.
I was aware that the internet was a fucked up place for kids. But my boys are only 3 and 1, and the only other kid I regularly interact with is my 15 year-old nephew, who is at least pretty tame outwardly. Learning some of the specifics of the shit they are exposed to is terrifying.
I'm only 37, but I'm starting to feel old as fuck. The world is becoming entirely foreign to me.