Thoughts on Harry Potter

************SPOILER ALERT************

DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU HAVE NOT READ ANY OR ALL OF THE HARRY POTTER BOOKS

As the seventh book's release date draws closer and closer, I've been wondering if all of the loose ends left to be wound up will in fact be knitted together. What new things will we learn? What old things will be thrown into a new light? Will the various sub plots come together in a stunning conclusion that we won't see coming? With those questions in mind, I have a few more questions that I want answered in the final book.

• J.K Rowling has said that Dumbledore is indeed dead, but she also said that Dumbledore's scenes in the seventh book were particularly hard to write. Does this mean we will get to see him again in a memory or will we get to talk to his portrait in the Headmistress's office?
• Will we get to meet Aberforth, Dumbledore's brother and the bartender at the Hogshead Pub?
• Will the debt that Peter Pettigrew owes Harry Potter for saving his life in The Prizoner of Azkaban finally be paid?
• Will we ever learn what "In essence divided" means, as said by Dumbledore in The Order of the Phoenix when Harry sees Nagini attack Mr. Weasley?
• Will we ever know what that brief 'gleam' of triumph in Dumbledore's eyes was on the night Voldemort returned to power?
• Will Ron and Hermione get together?
• Will Harry and Ginny reunite?
• Will Bill be a full werewolf?
• Will Hogwarts reopen?
• Who will die in the final battle and who will survive until the epilogue?
• What side is Snape on?
• Is Voldemort just a 'red herring' masking the true battle between Harry and Snape?
• Why did Snape kill Dumbledore?
• What memory was Dumbledore revisiting the night he and Harry went to the seaside cave?
• Will Stan Shunpike ever be set free?
• Will Neville avenge his parents and kill or otherwise incapacitate Bellatrix Lestrange?
• What, if anything, will we learn about Petunia Dursley?
• Will Harry find all of Tom Riddle's remaining Horcruxes?
• Is the locket in Number 12 Grimmauld Place Slytherin's locket?
• Is R.A.B. Regulus Black and was that why he was killed, "on Voldemort's orders"?
• If R.A.B. was Regulus Black, did he make Kreacher drink the poison while he stole Voldemort's horcrux, which might explain Kreacher's seeming insanity?
• Will Harry defeat Voldemort?
• Will Harry kill Voldemort and split his soul?

Five O'clock and All's Well

I've just finished (for the day, there's more to do tomorrow) cutting the grass. The amount of time required to do so has been steadily increasing as the area I cut gradually expands in leaps and bounds. I've now incorporated the fields, the old garden field, the area around the log cabin, and the area in the far back corner that was previously an overgrown wilderness until I showed up with a push mower and a branch cutter. As a result, it is now almost impossible for me to finish mowing the lawn in one day's time. The fields, I am quite sure, had not been cut since I last cut them almost one year ago! But they've never looked better, and I'm hoping that with continued disturbances (i.e. mowing) I'll be able to weed out all the unwanted plants and have a nice verdant lawn.

Rebecca and I got our hair cut yesterday. I've not had my hair cut by another person in over three years, but I had a hair style that I wanted, and Rebecca was willing. The rest is history. The lady who cut my hair used a razor, and I love the effect. My hair is so light and flowy and flippy now! And shorter than I've had it in a long time.

The dogs found a large bone yesterday, and after examining it, Rebecca said that she thought it the right size and dimension to be a human bone. I looked at it and thought she had a fair point - it was the top of a large tibia bone. But just to be sure, I got out my Forensic Anthropology book and compared it to the page of tibia bones often confused with human bones. After a quick comparison, I concluded that the bone was in fact from a deer. The experience, nevertheless, was quite interesting.

After giving Zeus his Methly Sufonyl Methane (MSM) pills to help with his hip dysplasia, I must say that the improvement is obvious and dramatic. Two days after I started the regimen, Zeus jumped on me. Jumped up, onto me, putting all of his weight on his hind legs, and he didn't whimper or whine once to indicate he was in any pain. And now almost a week later, I have to say that it looks entirely possible he will make a full recovery. Amen for that!