A combination of computer problems and a Donald Trump-induced lethargy convinced me to give this blog a break for eight months, but now I’m back, although probably not on an every-week basis as I was for 10 years. To keep going I just have to remind myself that there are more important things to think about than The Donald.

Here’s an example. My neighbors and I have been seeing far more jackrabbits this summer than in previous years. Neighbor Carol Horick wonders if the abundance is an indication of there being fewer foxes around. There does seem to be a smaller fox population this summer although last week I heard both coyotes and a fox after dark, so the rabbits’ predators have not totally disappeared.

The behavior of young jackrabbits toward each other parallels the behavior of young deer. Like fawns, rabbits at play tend to chase each other in circles around my fields, kicking up their heels in excitement. Moreover, at feeding time, rabbits and deer comfortably graze side by side. Neither seems to worry the other.

Nor are deer the rabbits’ only dinner companions. In this photo by Lynn Axelrod, three rabbits and a quail dine together on the hillside above our kitchen.

Along with the deer, rabbits, and quail, raccoons are daily guests. Here four raccoon kits try to squeeze into a bird bath on the railing of our deck. They’re roughly 20 feet above the ground, so a fall would entail a painful landing. But although they do stumble around at times, I’ve never seen a raccoon fall to the ground. (Photo by Lynn Axelrod)

Getting back to Trump. (It’s hard to steer clear of him these days.) San Francisco Chronicle columnist Willie Brown, the former mayor of San Francisco and former speaker of the California Assembly, last week wrote that Trump’s political “movement” is not really part of the Republican Party but rather the start of a third party.

As I recall, the most successful third party presidential candidate in US history was former Republican President Teddy Roosevelt. In 1912, he picked up 27 percent of the vote as the candidate of the “Progressive Party,” which was referred to as the “Bull Moose Party.” If Brown is correct and Trump is likewise forming his own party, I suggest we refer to it as the “Bullsh-t Party.”

Fleecing, à la Trump: A story going around the county begins with a man getting into the shower just as his wife is getting out. Suddenly the doorbell rings, so she wraps a towel around herself and goes downstairs to answer it. When she opens the door, their neighbor Don is outside. After looking at her attire for a moment, Don says, “If you drop that towel, I’ll give you $800.”

The wife thinks about this for a few seconds and then drops her towel. After looking her up and down, Don hands her $800 and goes home. When she returns to the bathroom, her husband asks, “Who was that at the door?”

“Just our neighbor Don,” the wife replies. “Great,” says her husband. “Did he mention the $800 he owes me?”