Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Leaves and Smoke

This one caught my attention the other day.
And this is/was the last clinging leaf on Dad's Japanese Maple.
Smoke is growing so fast. We took him back to the vet this week and he now weighs 2 whole pounds - almost twice as much as a month ago. He has a cough/irritation in his throat and wheezes a couple times a day. The vet gave us more antibiotic for him that does not taste as good as the first one did but he still takes it willingly. Momma cat, Stormy, has a bed in the basement along with a litter box and food and water. She willingly (actually, she demandingly) comes in a few times a day and checks everything out then goes to the back door and waits to be let out. She spent a long time on my lap the other night while we were watching TV. DH had Smoke on his lap and I just picked Stormy up and she settled right down. We had a scare last night before I got home from work. Smoke had been outside and was nowhere to be seen. DH as well as Mom, Dad, and sister Beth were out looking for him with flashlights when I got home. I walked thru the house and out onto the back porch and there he sat at the top of the steps leading to the outside basement entrance. DH was not happy but cheered up after I fed him. Smoke now is wearing a tiny little red collar that will help us locate him in the dark.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in the US. I have both Thursday and Friday off - the result of being a quasi-state worker - whatever holidays the governor or legislature decrees our office gets also. We have been invited to Jen's again. She and her husband do the cooking and we do the eating. Thanksgiving.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Golden Glory

This is in the yard of the neighbor behind Mom and Dad's house.

There are still some gorgeous trees around town. I see them in the morning sun on my way to work and the evening sun on my way home. There was a beautiful multi-color display across the street from the courthouse that included a still mostly green, a mostly yellow, a red and an orange tree for a few days. Looking with eyes only you can tune out the power and telephone lines but I could not find a good vantage point for a photograph.

The weather has warmed again so that we have 50's and 60's daytime and nights are in the low 50's or 40's. Good for the heating bills. We have had some rain recently - enough that my dogs looked like drowned rats (at least skinny Sassy did) after going under the bushes searching for the cats.

I replaced the plastic sheeting on the north end of the porch this past weekend to cut the winter winds. At least this year I did it in reasonably warm weather instead of waiting for freezing temperatures. I hate heights and replacing the plastic involves ladders and walking on the banister and the cement block wall. I was okay going up, it is always coming down that is the problem for me. It takes enormous effort to let go of whatever I am holding on to and move my foot off the surface I am standing on. But I got it done and it should last the winter. I still have the south end to replace, though, and that is a whole different set of problems. I'll think about it later.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Cheshire Cat Proof...

I always knew cats could turn invisible ...

My posting has been lax since Halloween as I have had a kitten with me most mornings and I can't type one-handed. Mouse-clicking I can do with only one hand so I have been visiting other blogs.

Both cats are doing fine. Momma cat is now being called Storm at my DH's request. He just could not call her Bibs. In the picture above she is sitting in front of her cold weather shelter which is lined with a survival blanket that reflects 90% of body heat. The shelter also contains a large wicker basket filled with straw that she snuggles down into. We have hopes of getting her into the basement when the weather gets really cold as she has actually walked into the house and down a few steps into the basement on her own.

Smoke is eating and growing and purring ... oh, can he purr. He snuggles with me in the evenings before going into his shelter in the kitchen as the nights are too cold for a little kitten to be outdoors. He has had two weeks of antibiotics and vitamins and seems to be doing fine.

Sassy still chases Storm and would like to chase Smoke but she is beginning to believe they are here to stay. This morning she was nose to nose with momma cat with no problem. Myste is fascinated with both of them and they let her walk right up to them and sniff and whine at them.

I have to get more dry and moist cat food today. They have eaten a 4 lb bag of kitten food in the last two weeks (well, some of it got dumped on the ground and the dogs were in heaven for a while nosing it out and chowing down). I cook for my dogs but cats have different requirements. And even Smoke is picky about some things - he and Storm love tuna but won't eat whitefish.

I have lost my mind and did not even realize it until this week ... I am feeding this kitten on my kitchen counter. It started when I had to give the kitten his medicine and vitamins and it was just so much easier to do it on my level rather than his. Now he sits on the towel on the counter and just waits for me to squirt the stuff down his throat then turns to the water and food dishes and calmly eats his meal on my kitchen counter ...