Hairy problems Thankfully, the cold and the rain seem to be held at bay for now, but they certainly left some legacies. Beyond the mold and mushrooms sprouting during Texas's brief brush with the rainy season, all of my animals, reacting to the cold, have begun to shed.

For the cat, this is a fairly traumatic event. He's got longer fur than I have hair, and much, much more of it. The cold also makes him cuddly, which is a bit awkward when he jumps away and leaves a bed of white and gray fuzz.

As bad as that is, however, my rabbit is having a more difficult time of it. He's not a big shedder, usually, but at this time of the year, he's all over the place. I run my fingers through his fur and often get enough to build a whole separate rabbit. Lately, I've been trying to groom him several times a day, running my palms over his coat, and he actually tolerates it -- a big leap for a creature that doesn't generally like people.

The other day when I took him out of his cage and plopped him on my lap for a fairly intense grooming session, I was shocked when he started snoozing. I put him on his back and was brushing his belly, and his eyes went closed, all four feet started twitching and he relaxed. Never, in the almost two years I've had him, has he done that.

Nevertheless, there was my rabbit, even making happy rabbit noises, as I brushed tuft after tuft of shedding hair from his fuzzy little stomach. Of course, eventually he did get antsy.

But really, those five minutes were quite a feat.

Happy birthday Friday to Chad McKee, Lori Akins and Dalton Hestand, all of Denison; Bob Corley, Helen Melton, Homer Whitehead, Jerry Vaughn, Rodney Hines, Elsie Cannon. Helen Melton and Connie Parrott, all of Sherman; Ray Santanelli Lewis of San Bernardino, Calif.; Carolyn Malone of Bonham; Sterlin Blanton of Denton.

Happy anniversary Friday to Royce and Lori Dawson of Denison, 27 years.

Happy birthday Saturday to Rodney Hays of Providence Village; Joelan Ross and Garry Templeton, both of Denison; Pam Bentley, Shannon Doty, Artie Hancock, Cameron Jacobs, Tommie Cross, Lillie Lucas, Veronica Walker and Dale Gene Griffin, all of Sherman; Dakota Clifton of Bells; John Howdeshell of Las Vegas, Nevada; Shirley Arrington of San Antonio; Connie Shaw Le Blanc of Plano; Barbara Scholl Stevens of Dallas; Jerry Cash Romain of Garland.

Happy anniversary Saturday to Robert and Faye Fugett of Sherman, 11 years.