Out & About

By Ruth Lepper

Mickie is at it again! The tabby cat is besting his all-time record in the sport of gopher-catching.

Bobbi Zane and Gregg Sallee are keeping count. Since Mickie chose to move in with them in the fall of 2000, the feline has claimed 156 gopher trophies.

Mickie checks the gopher mounds every morning and if hunting is slow, he stalks the neighbor's property.

"As long as Mickie is at work, this hill should be gopher-free," says Bobbi.

Mickie is already up to 30 for this year and there is still another month to go for gopher season.

Fourth of July parade has become more than a community event. Founding father Jim Mazzone says the crowd has grown to somewhere between 12,000 and 15,000 over the parade's 13-year history. And there may be more people coming to town this year.

The parade - often called the "biggest small town parade" around - draws about 70 entries from as far away as Calexico. Popular announcers Betty Birdsell and Scott Kinney attract the largest audience to the stage area at Main and C streets.

Pre-parade festivities begin around 10 a.m. with the parade starting at noon. Local re-enactment groups provide a western flair with shootouts in front of the bank. The Triangle Club's chorus entertain with familiar songs and some youth groups may be dancing on Main Street.

Tracy Turner, president of Julian Merchants Association, is encouraging Julianites to head down the hill to Ramona in August to take part in the annual Country Fair Days. She's looking for people to enter crafts and other exhibits as well as signing up for a booth to sell their wares. Julian Merchants Association will have an information booth during the fair.

A special booth will showcase artistic talent from the backcountry. Anyone who can knit, sew, do woodworking, create

soap or candles and make other crafts can contact Tracy at

(760) 765-4758.

There also will be judged contests for canning, baked goods, photography, science projects, agriculture, horticulture and wine and beer-making, with winners taking home blue ribbons and prizes.