Zombie Raccoons

Zombie Raccoon by Shutterstock

Honest, it’s true.  Police are getting reports of Zombie raccoons near Youngstown, Ohio.

Raccoons are out and about during the day, are standing on their hind legs, and terrorizing residents.

Rather than the start of the zombie apocalypse,  the raccoons most likely have distemper.  This might be a good time to make sure all your pets vaccinations are up to date.

This should go without saying, but You know how people can be.  If you see an animal acting in an unusual way, just keep away from it.  You can get all kinds of things from animals, like rabies.

Other conditions you can acquire from your pet includes common infections:  hookworm and roundworm, salmonella, Psittacosis (parrot fever), Lyme disease.

If there is a zombie apocalypse remember, something sharp to the brain stops them.  What you really need to be afraid of, are the people.

I have to go now, it is nap-time for my kitty, Shadow.  She needs my lap.

 

Busy? Not so Much.

A Ramble.

It is a snowy, blustery day, but warm enough that there is no accumulation on the ground.  Terrific.

I have swept and mopped, dusted and polished, scrubbed and scrapped, fluffed and folded.  I have also watched a bunch of TV, checked everyone on Facebook, deleted a bunch of emails, and sat with my little Shadow on my lap.  Just the mention of my sweet black cat brings a smile to my lips.  Me and my Shadow.  You would never know I have another cat, Blue, and a Boston Terrier named Brutus Buckeye who does accompany me on walks.

While doing these things my head was a buzz with ideas.  These are the same ideas that keep me from a good nights sleep.  Ideas that sound really great, until I actually give them attention.

Today those ideas include a family saga that my Dad thought I should write.  Not just the random pieces I heard growing up, but a real story, based upon actual events, that I really know very little about.  All of the people who could tell me details have passed.  A large historical family saga seems completely beyond my abilities.

The house, the one that caught fire, had to be gutted, and has been sitting empty since mid December, finally is ready for inspection of its new wiring.  When you buy a house from someone who thinks they can do everything themselves, and codes are only for other people.

Some very creative solutions, that are illegal, and possibly dangerous, were found within our walls.  Such dangers as bare wires inside a wall with just a little electrical tape to keep things together, or faux grounded outlets (outlets lacking any grounding) near areas of water usage.  The new wiring is ready for inspection and will meet all codes.  Codes which really are for our protection.

I can hear someone thinking that communities can really get picky with their codes, especially when the exterior is concerned.  Live in a historic district and you will really know the pressure code can exert on a homeowner can be worse than the pickiest of homeowner associations, but these codes ensure the maintenance of historically valuable architecture.  Fortunately, I live in the country.  Nobody cares about historical accuracy and general cosmetic stuff, but safety is the concern.

There were also at least ten blog ideas that flitted through my brain, but those are gone.  I live most of my life in the comfort of my own brain, full of stories, and ideas that I just can’t get out to share with anyone else.  There is too much going on.  As I jump from one thing to the next, ideas disappear into the hidden corners of my mind.

Write it down you say?  Ever find those notes later and ask yourself, “What?  What ever possessed me to think that’s a good idea? Nobody cares what I think about that!

Politics?  I don’t even want to hear about politics, why would anyone care what I think.  CNN, FOX, MSNBC, CBS, PBS… all have better sources and, people more politically educated than I.  Recently, I stick to the major local networks, and PBS.  I just want the news.  I can make my own political determination about it, and so can you!

Our house?  It is coming along, agonizingly slowly.  I do not want to bore you with counter choices and flooring.  I like it.  I will share pictures as available.  I can’t wait to see the results of all this planning.  It has been emotionally trying at times.  Repeated moves, make me feel like a couch surfer.  Sleep disruptions, general anxiety, and overall stress is the rule of the day.   We are in a nice place, and have what we need, but I am plagued by stress over my own klutziness and worry over pets and the damage we may cause.

Interpersonal conflict.  No.  Either to personal, or to mundane.

I could just write about my cat.  Shadow is curled up on her stand in the window.  Just a warm little body who plants herself on my lap whenever I make myself available.  Her silky fur, and gentle purr are soothing.

Give your pet, or someone you love, a little attention.  It is a great stress reliever.

On Being Displaced

Being displaced sucks.

Sure, I focus on the good things.  Living in the Residence Inn Marriot was fun, with halls to walk when it was cold outside, a mini gym, a saltwater pool and a hot tub.  Who doesn’t love a breakfast buffet laid out for you everyday, and the three times a week dinner brought in by local restaurants.   My physical activity offset my inability to control my meals, and I am sure my nutritionist was frustrated by my lack of responsiveness.

We were finally found a rental in Slippery Rock, Pa.  A college town.  A college rental, empty of students till the start of the next semester.  Or landlord, desperate for anybody to pay rent for a few short months, gave us a lease after requiring a hefty pet deposit and insurance against pet damage, also welcomed our Boston Terrier and two cats.  We are within walking distance of every restaurant the town has to offer.

The cats cause stress.  The cats were pretty good at my daughter’s home.  Some minor scratching my daughter assured me she could handle.  The last two days at the hotel the cats poked holes in the leatheret dining chairs.  To the cats’ delight, the rental furniture provided at the house include the same type of  dining chairs.  Now I wonder, how many of these chairs will I end up buying.

Most of our furniture survived.  We were able to get one cat-stand out of storage, nicely cleaned and oderfree.   The scratching posts are packed away someplace.  The cats favorite chair is in storage.  Fortunately, Brutus has his bed.

We have begun replacing the stuff destroyed in the fire.  But every day presents a new challenge.  Every day we have to  compromise  in how we do things, because our stuff is in storage.  The meat thermometer is in storage, but I remember cooking by knowing the weight of a meat and estimating the time for appropriate doneness.  Bless the Red Cross for providing us with blankets, because all our extra blankets are in storage.  I have very warm thoughts for the Red Cross while snuggling under my blanket.

We camp.  We have had many moves.  We know how to make do.  But it is so nice, to be in your own home, with your own stuff, doing things the way you like, without worry about how it affects others.

 

 

Freedom

  

Bean the Wookie

Awakened at 4 a.m. needing to tend to personal things.  The grandchildren are visiting with their two-month-old Wookie, who needed to be let out a short time after that.  Wookie is growing up and decided to go for a run.  I had to laugh at my granddaughter chasing after Wookie and bringing him back to hook him to the leash.   It confounds me why everyone thinks their dog will just stay by their side because of love!

Love has nothing to do with it.  A dog has got to be a dog.  If a dog can get its way, it becomes the top dog, the alpha dog, numero uno!    Some people know how to train a dog to stay with them, but I don’t.  My best reasoning says to keep a dog tied to you until it is at least two years old, and has learned to come to you when called, no matter where he is or what she is doing.  A tether helps with this also, as a small tug helps the dog to respond appropriately, but don’t forget the loving.  Treats also help, and include playing with their favorite thing as well as food treats.

Hubby either doesn’t understand this, after many years with many different dogs, or he just doesn’t care.  Many people believe it does no harm to let a dog just run free a little bit.  They explore, never really go far, and come back happy.  In fact, running seems to be essential for some dogs.  If you have ever tried to contain a beagle, or other hunter, you will understand.  These dogs live by their nose, and if they pick up a scent, they have just got to go.

Unfortunately for our dogs and for Hubby, continual conflict with neighbors over our unleashed dogs has caused me considerable stress, which I pass right to Hubby.   As I’ve told my neighbor who called me while I was out of town to tell me where my dog was, “I have more luck training the dog, than I do my husband.  Obviously, I’m not very good at either.

I am seriously distressed by the things people create to keep dogs from even their mailbox poles.  Nasty, cutting things with the intention of hurting an animal.  Poison in a tempting wrapping to punish both pet and owner.  People, really.  For a few dollars, you can buy a spray keeping animals away with an unpleasant, but harmless odor.  Reapply as needed.

And there are other hazards, like people who want to walk off with your adorable pet.  There are cars to dodge and wells and sewer grates to avoid.  There are dangers in the world.

Is a tiny, constricted life the kind of life any creature wants?  Let’s continue to explore and experience the world we live in.   Let’s live free and bravely, with our pets.

 

By Any Other Name

Shadow, photo by April E. Sutton with Samsung Tablet

My beautiful girl.

Pretty girl.

(thump bump, crash, bang)  Grace!

Vampira.

Killer!

My sweet baby.

Mommy ‘s girl.

Miss Thing!

Ungrateful cat!

My shadow.

I am pleased to be the chosen one.

 

 

 

Borrowed Time

Here is our little old lady, resting after a long night.  It has been a rough week with several sleepless nights.  Penny is a miniature pincer, a little overweight, deaf, 13 years old, and in the sunset of her life.

Min pins are known to be high-strung animals.  If you have never owned a min pin, you may not know what I mean my high-strung.  Penny has lived up to the high strung reputation of her breed.  Intensely curious and clever there is hardly a place safe from a min pin.

Penny could levitate from the floor to the back of the sofa without a perceptible exertion.  In her younger years, she was found on kitchen counters or even the table.  The sight of a treat or a leash is completely overwhelming, as she runs in circles, her tail waging her entire body, jumping and crying with delight.

Finally Penny realizes there will be no treat (or walk) until she sits.  Responding to the request, she bounces up and down to run in a little circle until expending enough energy that she can, with great effort of will, hold herself to one spot on the floor, showing she can behave in a ladylike manner, as long as we insist.

Her days of jumping onto the back of the sofa, and being found in the middle of a table or up on the counter are long gone.  Penny can’t even get up on the bed or the sofa for her favorite activity, cuddling under a blanket, which earned her the moniker of “blanket ho.”  The moniker was given to her by my son-in-law, with ho being short for hound.

On her best nights, Penny will go out once or twice.  On a bad night, Penny pants, paces, cries, barks, and scratches incessantly at the door.  She doesn’t seem to want or need anything in particular, except for Mom or Dad to do something to make her feel better.  Just as we have done with fussy babies, we hold her, rock her, and pat her to try to calm her down.

Sometimes, we even pull her into the bed with us as we did when she was a tiny pup.

4 o’clock in the Morning

Thing One and Thing Two

I would rather be sleeping, but Shadow and Blue have made an all out assault on my favorite chair sitting in the corner of my bedroom.  The sound of  claws grabbing, and the possibility of ripping the fabric woke me.  I  have seen this behavior many times.

It is not that the cats really want to destroy the fabric.  The damage done is incidental to the game of chase and wrestle.  Both cats come tearing through the house, into the bedroom.  The cat in the lead dives behind the chair and pulls itself around the convenient piece of furniture, rather than run across the floor.  In the living room this same action takes place around the sofa or fabric covered footstool.

I have replaced the dust covers on a few pieces of furniture.  The fabric cover under the furniture that finishes the bottom.  The usually hidden fabric has been destroyed in a few places from cats dragging themselves upside-down from it across the floor.

A once beautiful wicker chest, has been sacrificed to the enjoyment, and need to scratch of the cats.  Some clever people have solved this conundrum with protective furniture covering scratching posts as seen on Pinterest.  I  am not so clever.  The forty-five year old basket I received as a shower gift before my wedding is also damaged.  The cheep laundry basket in the closet also has a texture the cats seem to love.   I also have several scratching pads around the house.  I thought this was the cost of humanely having cats.

Letting the cats outside would help the cats find more natural scratching posts, but also expose them to the dangers of the natural world (which I think they can handle), as well as the danger of cars (which the cats can’t handle).  We also have neighbors with very strong objections to cats. I could have had them declawed, and protected my furniture.

Declawing a cat leaves it defenseless if it goes outside.  (A place they work very hard at escaping to.)  Plus, some cats take to biting to defend themselves when declawed.  Also, the idea of surgery on my little kittens feet just made me sad.  So there I was fighting yet another hopeless cause in the early morning, armed with a spray bottle defending the furniture in the dark.

Now it is time to get up and start my day.  The cats are curled up someplace, sleeping. Good morning everyone.

Making Christmas

 

Shadow loves Christmas

Here we are again, making Christmas.  It may not be about roast beast, bobbles, and packages tied with bows, but it is something special, and Shadow loves it all, from wrapping to unwrapping.  Shadow is totally unimpressed with the panoply gifts stacked up around the tree, except as it affords her places to hide.

Today was about buying presents for others, something Shadow knows nothing about.  The cats do bring home the occasional mouse or other gift to keep us all well feed.  Shadow doesn’t know the stress of going to a store for the perfect gift, only to find out it is sold out, everywhere, until mid January.  Shadow doesn’t know anything about finding the perfect gift for someone you love.  Shadow gifts me with a chance to pet her, and knowing we are both content is all we need.

So I can’t give you details, but let me just say that I have the perfect games, toys and art supplies an Oma can find.  I am so excited just thinking about the look of delight on the faces of my grandchildren as they tear into their packages.  That is what gift giving is all about, the excited smiling faces of the children.  Their smiles are all the gift I need from them.

It is a good thing I didn’t find those sold out items I had been looking for.  Instead, each child will be given the perfect gift of love.  Not pricey items, just the perfect gift for each one.  You know what I’m talking about.  The educational gifts, underwear and socks.  (That is what I always tell them they are getting.)  I can’t wait to play with my grandchildren and their gifts at our holiday party.

Now, Shadow and I have some work to do. Some lucky grandchild could end up with a playful cat for Christmas!  Paper and ribbons are Shadow’s favorite things.

Home Again

Our rescue animals Blue and Shadow.  

After a few days with my daughter and her family, we are back home.  The e-mails were stacked up, and unable to bear the stress, I just deleted the bunch.  Was there anything of an urgent nature?  I certainly hope not.  In my experience, I just don’t get really important things through e-mail.

Facebook is another matter.

The wedding plans for my niece are moving forward, and apparently puppies and rescue animals play a major role.  This is not something I understand.  I thought weddings were supposed to be about the bride and groom, and their future.

Citizens are admonishing each other for their reactions in the wake of our presidential election.  Horror is expressed about some political fear or another.  Puppies and kittens don’t seem to ease the uncertainty,confusion, disappointment, and fear.

I love my rescue kitties, plus our Boston, Brutus, who entered our house when his original owner, our son, went over-seas for two years.  I’m doing my part.  There have been other rescued cats and dogs in my life.  They are as cute, fun, lovable as any pure-breed papered dog or cat, and you can get them at a bargain price.  Free is a bargain price.

Caring for an animal does cost money, for food, shots, and necessary medical care.  Having more animals than you have money, time or energy to care for doesn’t create a good environment for man nor beast.  In fact, hording animals, is a severe mental health issue leading to animal abuse, rather than rescue.

I needed the down time of just being with family.  We saw our oldest granddaughter in a musical, let the kids walk the dogs, and even sleep with them if they want.  The youngest little Curlytop is ready for a dog.  Curlytop was the first to volunteer for walking duty, and did not cringe at cleanup.  Curlytop played tirelessly with the dogs, and helped with feeding, and bedtime treats.

The kitties ran out the door as we were bringing our suitcases into the hose.  Ungrateful strays!  I caught up with the news, got a cup of tea with milk and honey, and sat down to blog.

The prompts I missed?  Fish.  Lofty.  Flames.  Or.  (I’m cheating. I know, but I am not the first one to pull this trick out.)

Mysterious Disappearances

Things move in my house.  The matches were gone for days.  Pens disappear. I am constantly looking for my rings.  My meat defrosting in the sink disappears.  Muffins bagged on the counter disappear.  Glasses disappear, or at least get tipped over.  Paper isn’t safe.  Tubes, bottles, bottle caps, and hair accessories of all kinds disappear.

Couldn’t be me Mom, I’m sleeping!

It is as if these things fall into an alternate dimension.  Maybe they fall through a hole in the space-time continuum.  It is a dilemma.  I quiz every living being in the household.  Blue, our gray cat, claims he was outside.  Penny, our little old lady, says she’s been tied up, and what’s with that?  Penny claims it has been days since she’s made any kind of mess at all.  Brutus, the Boston Terror, says he was closed into his crate for the night.  That leaves only one possibility.

“Couldn’t be me Mom, I’m sleeping,” says Shadow.

Even if I’d been watching, I wouldn’t see Shadow do anything wrong.  For one, she is my adorable, affectionate kitty who I claim as a service animal, because she is the one who just makes me so happy when I am sad, keeps me company when I am lonely, and makes me smile even if I get angry.

Of course, even watching her, Shadow is sometimes very difficult to see.  Shadow blends into the shadows, and looks like a hole in the fabric of space-time herself.  Photographic evidence is inconclusive.   Shadow’s dark color absorbs all surrounding light, and her features can be difficult to make out.

For now, I guess I’ll give Shadow the benefit of the doubt.  There is one person I haven’t questioned, and that is Hubby.  Why Hubby would want to put things under the stove and refrigerator, behind the sofa, under the end tables, and give the animals our steaks and muffins from the counter, and knock over all the glasses or onto the floor is a little beyond my comprehension.

What could Hubby be doing with my hair accessories?  It is a mystery.