One Hit, One Miss

How hard can it be to keep a hair appointment on a Saturday morning?

Abbey and I had a lovely walk this morning, before the heat took hold of the day. Circuiting the community park, the baseball coaches were doing extra watering and dressing of the field, before the kids showed up to play. There were a few other walkers, as well as the Tai Chi Group and the "Exercise with BIG Swords" Group, on the tennis courts, complete with Chinese music coming from a tinny sounding cassette player/radio that had seen better days, but fit the age group perfectly. Some construction workers were hammering noisily away on a new project right next door to a residential nursing home, at 7 am on a weekend. I hoped, for their sakes, that the patients had less than acute hearing.

Dog duties taken care of, I still had time to drive up the canyon in search of a fresh supply of Bay leaves, to dry and then use as a seasoning. The bay trees start a little higher past the reservoir and then it's just a question of finding a safe place to pull over, not slip down the hill and avoid coming in contact with poison oak.

As I turned out of our street onto the canyon road I saw a small baby bunny off to the side of the main road. There is lushly irrigated lawn on one side, in front of a row of townhouses, and the dry scrubby hillside, interspersed with homes, rises up on the other. The temptation is obvious. I slowed to make sure bunny wouldn't panic and run the wrong way and end up under my wheels. He moved aside but didn't scoot away up the hill, as I'd hoped. 

Ten minutes later, my little car pungent with a bouquet of fresh bay leaves, I rounded the bend on the way back down to see a cluster of worried, spandex-clad cyclists who had halted their ride to see to the bunny. One man had poured some water on the ground next to the baby, but they were obviously at a loss as to what they could do next. They don't include bunny rescue pockets in the aerodynamics of those brightly colored clothes.

The cyclists were thrilled when I stopped and scooped up the little one. His nose was bloody but his limbs were all functioning. He even wriggled a bit in my hands. I thought he might have a chance after all. I gave them my card so that they could call to find out the outcome. My intention was to get him to Animal Services in the town where I was to get my hair cut. The shelter there has a wild life section.

A quick detour back to my house to equip a kitten sized pet carrier, (one I bought when I was raising Sparkles the kitten), with some dry grass for a nest and to dig out a mini baby bottle and get some water into his little mouth, which he took voluntarily. We climbed into the car and headed north. 

My rising hopes were knocked back down as he started kicking wildly in what I assumed was a seizure. He had another one and then was still. When I arrived at my destination the light had gone from bunny's eyes, although he still looked so pretty, I had to pick him up to be sure. I think bunny had a concussion or brain swelling after being hit, or just tumbled at high speed whilst crossing the road. Now I have to break the news to the cyclists when they call, as I'm certain they will. 

A few seconds after sitting in the Salon chair, there was a huge crash outside. We went out to see what had happened. A car had pulled out without seeing another one coming and the second car had been seriously crunched. The driver of the car that was hit was a young woman and the airbag, which had certainly saved her from serious harm had hit her hard, as well as burning the skin on her wrists and arms. She was in tears and trying to catch her breath. We didn't want her to move, of course, but the car was smoking and looked like it was catching on fire. 

I understand that 911 (999 in U.K.) operators can talk and type at the same time, but I really had the impression that the person who answered my call was not immediately summoning help, as she kept asking me the colors of the two cars. I reiterated the need for ambulance and fire and she got the message. The young woman got out of her car and we pulled a chair out of the salon, onto the sidewalk for her to sit down on. She had me call her boss to explain why she was late for work and the police and other services showed up very quickly after that. I grabbed my camera so that she would have pictures to show her insurance company. She didn't have to be hospitalized but I'm sure she'll be sore for a few days. Both cars were eventually towed away and the street was reopened to traffic.

By 10:30 this morning I had a nicely refreshed hair cut and color and was wondering what the heck else the day could bring.