How to leash a cat...

Ding is really happy now that the better weather is here.  I try and take her outside more often.  I am rather afraid of her being out without a leash.  She doesn't have front claws, from her former owner, so she can't defend herself... And I found out, she isn't afraid of vehicles.  I was walking out with her, and cars were going by, a noisy truck, a motorcycle... Nothing.  She didn't shy, she didn't run, just looked mildly curious at the louder ones.  Translation, she has no sense of danger, so she isn't going out without someone...

So, get her into a leash.  This is easy, and it's hard.  I pick up the leash, and she's ready to go.  She meows, and runs to the door.  And paws the door.  And meows.

I pick her up, and put her on the bench to put the leash on- and she jumps down and runs to the door.  I pick her up, again, hanging on to the little furball.  She is meowing insistently, and trying to slip through my fingers. 

I put the leash over her back, and she lunges.  I manage to hold her, and put the neck collar on.  This is where it gets tricky.  I have to hang onto her, and snap the chest collar shut.  Now, as far as Ding is concerned, when she heard the neck collar click, that was well and more than enough. 

So, I hang onto any bit of her that isn't in jump mode, which usually is her head or neck, I manage to snap the second collar shut, sometimes after a try or three... Her fur gets in between the latches, and makes it slip back open.

Finally leashed, I grab the door, and open.  To see her lunge, and usually bonk her nose on the screen... Not too hard, but I have to get the screen open quickly, or she meows and looks really annoyed, trying to open it with her paws.  Thankfully, she has no thumbs.

I finally get her outside, and she runs down the ramp, and gallops to the lawn.

And sits down, and grazes.

Yep, crazy.  Fits right in with our house.

Cats, young and... Older. And dogs.

Ding is an "only child" in the house.  She still isn't great buds with Buzz, but Buzz is very laid back, and so they do get along.  Still, I keep wondering, if we could get a friend for her. 

I had thought of a kitten.  She goes bananas when she hears a kitten, on TV or when we have the computer playing a video.  But a video is not a kitten, and I wonder if she would be upset to have a tiny furball, when she has been Princess 'o the House for all her time...

I had thought of a small to medium dog, too.  She grew up with dogs, A Dachshund, and a Retriever, as I remember, so she thinks she's a dog.  Loved Rudee, wanted to run and play with him all the time. 

So I suggested something small.  We eliminated Chihuahuas, neither of us are fond of them, Jack Russells are a maybe, if we got one as a puppy, as they can be a pain, and some don't like cats.  I suggested a Pomeranian, and Husband got a funny look on his face, and said something to the effect that we would need to buy a new house after the play sessions! 

I think "mutt" might be the way to go, as long as we get one that likes cats.  I don't think we will be getting any new pet any time soon, but it's fun to think about.  Actually, so are kittens...

Oh, and we eliminated Great Danes, Marmaduke is fun in the comics, but the first time I have a problem with an animal that's the size of a pony, in the house?  No.

Just...  No.

I am amused at silly things.

Today is the 3rd, where I am... And it makes me chuckle.

Why?

It is the ONE TIME during the month that my watch, which has a date feature built in, lines up.  So the watch goes 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.

The date square is on the section where the 3 would be.  So today, it reads correctly.

Okay, this is from the same person that likes to knit sock "onesies" and see how glaringly different I can make each one, so I have at least a dozen or so socks, that have no relation to one another, except that I knit them.   I amused the heck out of a shoe salesperson when I was trying on shoes, and had a red sock with a white toe, and a green sock with blue-purple stripes.  (I was in a port and starboard mood. For any Harry Potter fans, I hope to do the broomsticks and snitch socks sometime, but those would be a pair...)

I like watching the chickens, and the cats, and describing the actions in very human-centric ways.  I give them dialogue, expression, generally I am the director for a very drama filled animal soap opera... Heh.

So, enjoy your third, and hope you have something that makes you chuckle!

Family and meteors.

Mom and I were taking care of the weekly shopping Friday.  We'd just stopped for a bit, and were chatting about Parents-in-law coming up.  She asked if I knew when they'd be here.  I told her no, they were well on the way, about one state away, I thought, but not sure.

Mom pipes up, "They are probably here now!"

Tickity tick!  The phone let me know Husband had sent a text. 

Just met with parents, they are headed over to friends to stay. 

Uh.  Mom, do you know what the winning lottery numbers are?  

They have been over twice, once to just visit, and once to pick up the phone that was left... oops.  They intend to visit a few more times, and we have the proverbial fatted calf  ready.  If a fatted calf is pig ribs, with bbq sauce, and beans.  They have... very specific foods they like, so it's best to just get it and be done with it.

And in other things...

This morning was the primo for the Perseid meteor shower.  Husband woke me at about 4:30 ish.  I went out, and didn't turn off any of the lights, but just grabbed a chair and looked up.  There was several brilliant stripes of light, and a few little flicks, as well.  The moon is full, or nearly so, so early morning after moon set was a lot better.  I enjoyed most of it.  I was a bit sad not having Rudee dog snoring beside me, but Buzz realized I was outside.

!

Then realized I was sitting, and she could jump on my lap.

!!!**!!!!!!!!!!!***!!!!

I finally let her sit, after the "let's filet our way up a leg to get a seat".  She then decided to go round, and round, and walk up to my hair for a sniff.  So, a bit of a full Nelson was in order, so I could keep my person in one piece, as well as not having cat parts of various sorts in my face.  

No, she wasn't always looking at me... 

She settled right down, after I put her in a teddy bear hug, and she was purring while I watched the flashes.  It was very quiet, there was hardly a noise out, except for the neighbor's gate clicking in the breeze, occasionally, and the ever present ocean like sound of passing traffic from the road.  Then as time past, soon, cows started lowing a bit, the flap and noise from a flock of nearby turkeys, some horses started out pacing the fence nearby, looking for breakfast, and the wild birds started tuning up for the day.

Soon, the sun started rising, and the stars faded.  So, no more meteors, that I could tell.  So, then I rose, put down Buzz, who was getting a smidge fidgety by that point, and started my day. 

I was already up and about, so I opened the chicken house.  It was still pretty dark, and so ZOOOM, all the chickens see the light from the door opening, and run.  Welllll, one chicken was so intense on that, she didn't see/notice ME.  Poor thing did a face plant right into my shin.  She was okay, just dazed a bit, but she definitely seemed confused.  The oldsters were just not real enthused about the extra early wake up call, the youngsters were thrilled.  Both Mon Ami, and Jet Puff were crowing a bit, both, thankfully, are not loud birds.  I am actually surprised, Jet Puff has a nice crow, for a young bird.  Most adolescents have the "voice cracking" unsteady warble when they crow.  He just... Crows!  

I think there should be more meteors tonight.  If I am not comatose, I might have to get up and watch again. 

And have a blanket, or pad, or something for the cat.... Yeeks!

The grand plan for blogging again... Really! Honest!!

So, I have a great plan on getting back into blogging.  Let’s see if it works… 

I figured I needed something to give me the impetus to try for doing daily blogs again, and I was drawing a blank.  Then, after Thanksgiving dinner, we were chatting a little bit about Christmas.  Hmm.

Christmas.
 
Need to get out my Christmas ‘stuff’.  Have to have Husband help me get down all my cups.  My collection of them.  How many do I have, anyway?  Well, as he was getting them down, I have either 27 or 28… So!

I will use that as a jumping off point.  I love Christmas cups, because they are fun, and useful.  So I will work on putting up a photo a day of each cup.  I had one cup I sort of counted as a Christmas cup, I called it “Starbucks' Red”, because I picked up a plain red cup, during that whole controversy on how Christmas-y the cups were, or weren’t, that year.  BUT, the darn thing got a bad chip in it, and so will not count this year for the collection.  Maybe I can pick up a plain red one again sometime in the future.  But the ones I will be showing you are from mildly Christmas-y, to Ugly Sweater, what-was-Santa-smoking Christmas-y, and all in between.

I will blog on the normal doings and nonsense in my life, too, so it won’t just be a picture, but that will at least make me think to do it!  Right?  I hope?? Heh…

The garden is put to bed, all the raised beds that don’t have over wintering items are covered with cloth and leaves, or shred paper.  The llamas are enjoying hay, when they don’t managed to sad eye beg me into giving them chicken feed. 

The chickens are doing pretty well, I lost 4 of the new hatch to a hawk, but it seems to have found someone else to tick off…  Marshmallow had a chick, I called it Jet Puff, it is getting adult feathers, but it is TINY!  I don’t know why, but it is only about a third of the size of the others, and it should be getting some growth.  I don’t know that I care, it seems healthy, and it is feisty as all get out.  I have picked it up to check it, and have yet to get away without being bitten or scratched.  As tiny as it is, that isn’t a horrible fate, but it still gets my attention, if I am not careful.

The cats are fine and fuzzy, family is doing fairly well, and as I think of more things, I will post in the next blog. 

But for now… Good night!

How to weird out kids when you are walking to the store.

(Husband and I really enjoy the Lord of the Rings series, book and movie.  There is a scene where one of the characters, Samwise Gamgee is talking to Gollum about potatoes.  “Pot-ta-toes! Boil them, mash them, stick them in a stew…”  I add this so that the following will make a bit more sense.)

It was a sunny(ish) day, no snow, the roads were clear, and we were out of milk, dog food, and a few other items, and Husband had an item he’d bought ready for pick up in town.  So, we went to the big box store, to resupply.

Said big box store had shoveled the snow into large, dirty piles at the edge of the parking lot, looking like a rather… messy animal had left some items un-buried.  Lovely, white, and new-fallen, it was not!
 
We walked up by 2 children, clad in puffy jackets and gum boots, who were playing climb the hill on the man made drifts.  The Mom and Dad were watching rather disinterestedly, I think they were just glad the kids were out and moving, the way it looked.

We walked, and Husband got the sneaky smile he sometimes gets, and said, in the same tone as Samwise, “ Snow piles, Mash ‘em, squish ‘em,” whereupon we glanced at each other and finished up with, “Put 'em in a stew”, and laughed.

The kids looked up, and then ran, not walked, to Mom and Dad.  Dad looked amused, Mom, not so much.  We walked by, and I was tempted to say “Gollum”, or “Precious”, but since our geek flag flying had such a reaction, I decided just going into the store might be a better bet…  But we were still laughing.

This snow has been not too bad for us, we are in the “finger” of Oregon, according to one weatherman.  They showed a satellite, and Washington and Oregon are white covered, except for a line at the coast, and this small area from the coast to where I am, and a bit beyond.  Which is odd, as about 2 weeks ago, they were getting nothing, and we had snow.  Go figure.  The temperature has been nasty.  I am not used to 16 degree (or less!) temps.  I am happy to say my hand spun wool gloves and scarf are great.  Not as much when they are soaked, however.  I had to carry water out to the animals, and oh, my did it get cold when the water splashed into the left glove.  Let’s just say, I was very glad we had a fire going in the house!

The animals seem to be coping all right, Rudee is doing much better, since we came up with a “heating pad” for him.  It’s actually a seed warming pad.  I guess that would be what a doctor would call an ‘off label use’.  It doesn’t get very warm, I believe 20 or so degrees above what is on it, so it won’t burn him.  The chickens are doing pretty well, they were confused with the snow, and didn’t go out in it much.  I have a Flock Block inside for them, a little extra nutrition, and since they want to stay inside, it also keeps them from pecking each other so much. (The avian version of Mean Girls, I guess…)  The llamas are just fine, they just look at me like I am an idiot when I try to encourage them into a shelter of any type.  They don’t seem to be cold.  They DO like the extra food.  And Buzz, our outside cat, is very happy, as I am feeding her gooshy type food, to supplement the dry stuff.  She has been VERY friendly of late.

So, I hope all you blog friends are doing okay with the weather where you are, and stay comfortable!

L is for Lazy day.

During the summer, my animals seem to luxuriate in the weather.  This is Buzz, my outdoor kitty, enjoying the sun.  The llamas, and even the chickens will lie down, spread out and enjoy the warmth of a good sunny day.

We just had some 80 degree weather, and the animals were turning into organic solar collectors, trying to cover as much area as possible.  Since this kind of weather normally doesn't happen this time of year, I think they enjoyed it even more.  

Then, there is my dog, Rudee, who will lay on his back, feet in the air, snoring.  If someone didn't know what had happened, I wouldn't be surprised that the mistake would be made he was having some severe problem, or had crash landed somehow...

I is for interruptions.

Animals, like small children, can be uniquely suited to causing a simple task to be, well, not as simple.  I think of trying to sweep the floor with the cat around. Or make the bed.  Or do pretty much anything, when said cat is around.

But, this can work with other animals...

Like getting feed from the bin.  I reach in, and there is a chicken on my shoulder, looking in, too.  I carefully stand, so she will jump off.  Not a chance, she just walks up, 'til she is sitting upright on my shoulder, clucking in my ear.  I shoo her, ineffectively, then realize I am hearing munching.  I turn to see the llama has her head in the bin, sampling the chicken feed.  I then shoo HER out, unnerving the chicken, who then flies off.  Meanwhile, I am bumped from behind by the dog, who is feeling very left out of all the "fun".

I manage not to end up on the ground, I get the llama back into the main pasture, remove at least one chicken from the bin, before closing it, throw the chicken food out to feed, pet the dog, then walk back to the house.

Whereupon, Husband casually mentions I have bird crap on my shoulder...

Yep, gotta love the interruptions...

D is for Ding.

The cat that I would never have thought we'd have IN the house.  Husband is allergic.

So, I thought, that was that.

But he found an ad for a kitten. After a couple tries, we took her home. I named her Schrodinger.  No one but me seemed to remember that, and she liked playing will bells, so she became Ding.  This has lead to some not so quality nicknames, Ding a ling, Ding Dong, Ding Bat, Ding Ball... You get the idea.  She ignores all of them equally, so it's not a big deal.

She is a pretty laid back cat.  I think since she was raised with a Dachshund and a Golden Retriever, she is more oriented to "dog" than "cat".  Considering my husband has been known to come up to her and thump her on her back like you would a mastiff, this is probably a good thing!

She does have her cat moments, like the above, where she has figured out how to sit in just a way to maximize coverage of heater vents.  She also loves to bring us toy mice... In the bathroom, or in bed, at 2 in the morning...

But for never expecting to have an indoor cat again, it's been fun.  And husband is okay!  So it works out great for everyone.

Now if I could just teach her to clean her own litter box.

Aminals...

Yes, I misspelled that.  Husband and I say it that way quite often, usually when I tell him I am going to feed.

It has been an off and on winter.  The llamas have been fat and fluffy.  I fed them more this winter, as the grass in our fields don't seem to be coming back quite as quickly, and I have a fair amount of hay, so... Why not?  I have hay fever, so I have taken to putting the hay in a container to carry out to them, but they still seem to be getting used to me sneezing while feeding...

Buzz, she is getting to the point where she will hide in said hay, and is rather disgruntled when I move the tarp covering it to get the llama's breakfast.  I think she is getting old enough that she'd rather just sleep under there until noon, when it's warm, and she won't be as likely to be cold, wet, or bothered by Rudee.  (Yes, Rudee still tries to roll her, but not as aggressively as he used to...)

The chickens are finally getting busy with spring laying.  They are giving me 4 to 6 eggs a day now, and they are filling out, and becoming nice looking hens.  Mon Ami must have a preference for blondes, as most of the young hens are yellow tinted, not red from the Rhode Islands... I don't know if I will let anyone set intentionally this season, but I've said that before, and still ended up with chicks... So, we shall see who wins the battle of wits/wills this year.

Ding has filled out, and is a lovely lady, and not a bit of attitude.

BWAHAAHAHAHAAAHAAAAA!
Ahem.

She and Husband are best buds, but she still follows me around the house, and we have odd little conversations.  She trills, I tell her what I'm doing, or plans for the day, she mews... I am rather happy I wasn't born in the time of the Salem Witch Trails...

Lastly, Rudee.  He did okay this winter, but he is getting to be an old dog.  He is nearly deaf, and I don't think he sees all that much better.  We've taken to cleaning the kennel nearly every day or so, as he really isn't as able to 'hold it' as well as he used to.  I am sort of sad that he is getting older, he walks with a bit of a limp, groans when he gets up.  He still seems happy to get out and walk, for a while, he likes to have breakfast, but he prefers to eat much smaller meals.  He's just getting to be an old guy...  We had to give him a bath a few days ago, because he stank so badly.  He just wandered around, looking confused for a while afterword.

It's odd how time moves on, and you don't notice for what seems like ever, then suddenly, things change.  But, then I look in the mirror, and realize, if he has any thoughts like this, he probably remembers me looking a bit different not so long ago, too...

Happy New Year, and all that stuff!

So, what is it with me and blogging, or, more accurately, not blogging?  In three words, "I don't know".  I can't say I have writer's block, exactly, I have written at least a dozen or so blogs, in my head.  They just didn't go to my fingers, and out the computer.  In fact, when I was at the computer, I would just look.

Yep, the cursor is blinking.

Yep...  (sigh)   (crickets chirping.)

I have looked at Face Book, I didn't write much there, either.  I now have found that I know much more about some of my friends and family than I ever, EVER wanted to know.  Until I found some controls, I found out about the heavy right wing political leanings of one family member, the heavy left wing leanings of a friend, the ultra Christian leanings of another friend, found out another friend checks in with her coven online, via FB.  Yet another lets the virtual world know of his personal proclivities and choices, sexually.

Mr. Chatterbox, when you said I had a good seat in the asylum, you have not one idea how accurate you were!!!

I have been taking care of the animals, we had to finally remove several of the roosters, they had decided to get out of the pen and go, literally and figuratively, all around the house, leaving holes that they dug in one of the gardens, throwing dirt all about, or just... deposits.  I was sort of sad to have to do it, Cop Car was one of the first, and worst, offenders.  But, we have lots of chicken in the freezer now...
 
We had to take some wild turkeys to a local wildlife center, Husband had been walking up to check something for a neighbor, and some (censored) driver just blew through a small flock of turkeys crossing the road, with Husband in the road nearby!  Didn't slow, didn't look to see if there was damage, nada.  Husband and I took the two injured birds to a wildlife rehab place, and we found out they had pretty bad damage, but are recovering...  They were kind of impressed how we'd put them in a kennel deep with hay.  Um. Well, they like to hide, and they are used to grasses, figured it would put them a little more at ease...

After a ridiculous summer, with cracks in the ground that would catch feet, and nearly turn legs, (one crack in the back yard measured about 14 inches deep by about 5 inches wide at one point!), we are now getting rain.  Lots of rain.  All the cracks are closed, and our "half moat" around the house is draining a lot.  In fact, I have to be careful feeding the llamas, as the drainage by the feed area is more than ankle deep, and I really don't care to fall into cold, running water...  BUT, there is snow in the mountains, and we are not worrying about the wells in the area running dry.  So it all balances out...

Husband bought me raised beds for my birthday, so I will be setting those up for use in the spring.  I am hoping to have flowers on the side of the hill where the raised beds will be, to attract pollinators... And hopefully not too many deer.  Meh.

And 2016?  Major plans? Resolutions?  Nothing much.  I am going to scale back on one volunteer group I am with, I have come to the point I still like working on prep for the group, but it's been made clear to me that I am not "necessary", so I have decided to join with some other folks there, and let the proverbial chips fall where they proverbially may.  It will help the ones I am joining with, so they can have some free time, it will help me, so I don't have to lead or round up anything, and will, hopefully, stop the continual headaches I have each year, from pounding my head against what's turned out to be a very hard stone wall...

A-Hem.  "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,"  Yes, Mr. Einstein, I am finally listening.

I am seriously considering joining Nanowrimo, maybe then I will have motivation to get some sort of book like thing written, if I have a set time I need to do it in.  Maybe.  November is sometimes a busy month, however, so I am a bit gun shy.  But, what have I been told, I do my best work when I am under pressure?  So, maybe I need the internet version of a C-clamp...

And, I really need to sit down and catch up with all of your blogs.  CenturyDink is slowing our speed down to the point that we rarely get the speed we are paying for, and sometimes are at near dial up speeds.  So, we get on early in the morning, or late(er) in the evening, and that helps.  Some.

Rudee is doing well, if a little stove up, he is getting to be an old dog, and seems to have arthritis a bit.  He is losing his hearing, and I think might be getting a little questionable in the sight department, too.  But he's still a great dog, and we are working out the problems, to help him out as much as we can.

Ding, well, she has taken over the house, we have learned to cat proof what we don't want her into, and most of the time it works.  (I am SO glad cats do not have opposable thumbs...)  She and Husband get into mock battles, I find toy mice in the strangest places, she and I have conversations that would have me burned as a witch, in another life, and we all get along great.  Now if we could just convince her 4 a.m. is not the time to figure out how the door works...

The llamas are doing well, they will be shorn next spring, but now, the heavy coat they have is serving them well.  And eventually, when I have it made into roving, it will serve me well, too!

Lastly, Buzz is fine, fat (sorta) and so lovely fuzzy.  Her winter coat would put a mink to shame.  She loves being a barn cat, and except for one or two unwelcome visitors (guesses are either other cats or possibly raccoons), she has the run of the area, and seems to genuinely enjoy staying close, assaulting vermin, playing coy with Rudee, then getting scritch time with Husband and I.

So, here's hoping for a great 2016 to all, and may it be a happy one!

An update! No, really!!

Good Heavens, it has been a bit since I last blogged.  Some because the (censored) internet won’t let me on… (I time out, before I can log on to Blogger. Sooo much fun. Ahem. Patience is a virtue.  I am not a virtuous woman, in that case…) Also, because I have actually been doing a bit, and haven’t been on the computer as much.  Meh.

I’ll get there eventually, right?

So, in farm-ity type news, I have four new chicks.  I really wasn’t wanting them, but it’s my red Mama Bird that will stick with it, and so I let her.  Photos at some point, when I can.  The animals seem to be liking the cooler weather, most especially Rudee.  The exception is, everyone is shedding summer ‘fluff’ for winter ‘fluff’, and so it looks like my animals blew up!  I call my place Fur ‘n Feathers Farm, well, at the moment, I have it graphically displayed, there is loose feathers all over the place, some rather bedraggled looking chickens, Rudee looks… ratty, and just drops fur all over the place when he moves.  I ‘rake’ him regularly, to not much effect, his new fur will come in eventually, but right now… Ugh.  I will not mention what Husband and my bathroom floor looks like, as I hate to admit that it’s more OUR “fur” than a certain cat.  Ding, last I checked, doesn’t have 6-8 inch long locks…  The llamas didn’t get shorn this year, we were going to, but decided it was getting late in the season, and we’d shear early in the spring instead.  (When we find a new shearer, the one I used tore up his back and retired, his replacement, not such good reviews… Sigh.)

I went to Shrewsbury Faire.  It was the 20th anniversary.  I have been there 19 years.  Well, I went to the first one, but as a through the gate, paying customer, almost all the rest have been as faire folke.  I didn’t have the best time, there were some definite problems for me one day, but the next day I was able to rest, and my Dad helped out a lot… Like when I managed to lock my trailer with the screen door locked.  You cannot get in, because even if you unlock the main door, it’s attached to the screen.  So, after some creative digging and screwdriver work, we undid everything, and I was again able to enter my portable abode.  I think that was only the third or fourth meltdown that day… Eeeep.  But, I was able to visit with several friends I only see once or twice a year, and tell some stories and jokes to kids, some receptive, some not, so it worked out.

I signed up for a class to be trained a little more on my Neighborhood Watch work, and I even managed a scholarship, which is nice!  It was also cool to find out I know at least two of the teachers, so, I am looking forward to that.  The bit of a drive, not so much, but I guess it might be too much to ask for them to have the class in my hometown, since it’s a statewide thing, and folks are coming from ALL over… It’s at the facilities where they train the police forces, (Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, DPSST), so I am looking forward to some people watching, too.  Especially if there is exercise involved… :)

And, lastly, for now, I have drunk the Kool-Aid.  I, heavily begrudgingly, and with MUCH annoyance, joined Facebook.  I have so many people that I don’t seem to be able to reach any other way, I decided to try the nonsense again.  Facebook doesn’t exactly like how I didn’t answer all the questions, tho, basically, it has my name, and location, and age.  I wouldn’t have put that much down, if I could have figured out how to circumvent it… The ones who need to know, already know, and most of the rest couldn’t care less, if they made an effort.  We shall see what happens.  I found some relatives, and a few ‘real life’ friends that I don’t see much.  I will see about blogging, and Facebooking in the very early AM, perhaps I will be able to get through. (Facebook doesn’t like slow internet, either…)

So, all is relatively well here, and I am going to try getting on other folk’s blogs on Tuesdays when I have a fighting chance of reading them without the whole thing going futzy…

Continuing difficulties, please stand by...

I am about ready to scream.  Actually, screaming would probably be more effective for getting my blog out of late, than writing and putting pics in.  The Green As*-tric company has dogged our internet speed WAY down...  Dial-up speed is about 28.  Well, last I checked on my speed, it has gone as low as 17.  The speed test was even having trouble staying connected long enough to give me the blasted test!

So, I will be doing blogs: a) in the morning, (or saving the blog to Word, and then transferring at a good time), and b) with out pictures for a while.

The second part is what bugs me.  I love sending out pics of my furred and feathered folks... But at least I can (sometimes) read other people's blogs, and SO FAR can write out a blog and post.  Mostly.

But, I will continue to see if I can get this corrected, and let all of you know I am indeed still in the land of the living...

So, as far as all my animals, Rudee is trying to supply the local area with enough shed fur to build another dog... Ding has figured out that she has to SLOW DOWN BEFORE she gets on the wood flooring, or she hits the wall, and then sits glaring at us... The chicks are about fully fledged, even Bullit at this point, (except for the little bald spot on her back), and is just as filled out and feisty as the rest of the group.  Mama Bird found a hole in the fence, and the kids haven't looked back, we now have young birds wandering around the place. No one has found the cat food. Yet...  Buzz is getting a bit on the thin side, I have been trying to give her treats.  Rudee is not helping with this.  Or more accurately he is helping himself. SIGH... And the llamas?  Still llamas, we were going to shear them, but decided not to, as late as it is in the season.

So, that is the quick summary of our little group...  I will try and get some of Husband and my doings next time.  Oh, and I will eventually get to Part 4.  Just... not soon, it seems.

Decals? Maybe not...

I keep seeing the decals people put on the back windows of the vehicle, like this for "Man, Woman, with Dog and Cat."

I thought it would be neat to have those on the back of my little truck.  Then I thought about it some more...

"Man, Woman, Dog, 2 Cats that hate each other, 2 Llamas that domance fight a lot, and 11 Chickens and 1 Rooster."

I have decided that I don't have enough room on the back window of my truck!

Above and beyond.

Sometimes you just know when someone loves you.

Husband is allergic to cats.  We both have allergies, and when we were checked, the doctor made it clear that he has a big time allergic reaction to felines.  I have one to dust and hay.  (Gee, and I live in the Willamette Valley...)  I have been out and about, and on the go, and was finally home for a few days, when Husband said, look, there is a cat on Craigslist.

Um, yeah, that's sort of like saying there are leaves on a tree, in this area, so???

Just look at it.

I did.  A blue point Siamese.  It looked so much like the Jack cat I had.  I smiled, it sure is a nice one... Husband said, call on it.

HUSBAND!  You have allergies.

Call.  So I did.  And she was adopted out.

sigh...

I didn't think too much more about it, until a day or so later, when Husband snorted, then piped up, it's in there again, and grabbed the phone.  Now, "it" was a bit of a mystery, I hadn't seen what he was looking at, and what "again" he was talking about.

"So, I saw the cat is available again?...  Uh huh.  Uh huh.  Where are you at?  Oh?  Is this Sam, perhaps?  Ok, well, we know where you are, and we'll be out to get it in just a few minutes."

Turns out, the cat was called on by someone, who in typical Craigslist flake fashion, said they would take her, then called later and said no, they found one they liked closer, and didn't want that one.  So we headed over.  I thought I recognized the name, it was someone Husband had worked some contracting for some time ago, and we'd sold a tiny bit of property to.  We arrived, and Sam rather unceremoniously dumped the cat into my arms, saying, "You can name her, we just call her Cat."

Oh.

Cat wanted down, so we chatted with he and his wife for a bit, found out there was a family member that was violently allergic to cats (i.e. she would swell up and be sneezing for days...), so they had to get rid of her.

We took her home, and I slept on the couch that night, so she could get used to me. I had a cat on my feet, on my shoulder, tried to sleep on my face, on my back, and curled up by my stomach... It was a long night.  Husband decided we'd try letting her sleep outside the bedroom, that didn't work well, HE could hear the low pitched thump as she'd paw the door.  I didn't want her all over the bedroom.

What to do...

She was fine, if she could see us.  So, we compromised.  She is in a carrier, at night, facing our bed.
She can see us, we don't have to listen to yowling, or pawing all night, and everyone can sleep.

Husband said it was a "just because present".

Yeah, I know, I got a good one...

Presenting, Schrodinger, or Ding, for short~

She loves sitting in the window, and is transfixed when the turkeys go by.  We put one of those painting stepladders by the other door, so she can watch the llamas and the chickens the other direction.  Have to be a bit careful, she is declawed, so we don't want her falling off things, but she seems to fit in fine.

I will have her spoiled in no time.  Oh, wait...

F is for Fun.

Screwy things you do as a kid.  No wonder parents end up with gray hair...

I was about 6 or 7ish.  It had snowed, and I got the bright idea to make a dogsled.  I had the dog, a big love of a St. Bernard named Buddy, I had the lead, a very strong jump rope I tied to his collar, and... No sled.

Hmm.

Dad wasn't home, and the sled was stored in the barn, and as I remember, Mom wasn't able to reach it. (Dad is quite a bit taller than she is, and he tends to put things up over HIS head...) I wasn't going to let this little problem stop me.  I then wondered if I could ride my tricycle in the snow.  It sort of worked.

And so I then decided to tie the trike, to the dog, and then I would have my very own Iditarod.  Buddy sat patiently, wagging his tail, and blowing snow everywhere, while I tied the rope firmly to the handlebars.  And then, jumping on the trike, I yelled for him to run...

For any children reading this, please don't tie the rope to the handlebars.  Please.  It really seemed like a good idea.  It's not.

It was great fun!  For about 5 seconds...  Then Buddy made a sharp turn to the left.  Since the rope was firmly tied to the handlebars, it turned sharply to the left...  Jackknifing it thoroughly, and tipping it over.

You know that term "face plant"?  I think that would perfectly describe my dismount.  Buddy didn't even notice.  He loved to run, he loved snow (except when it would fall from the roof on him, but that's another story), and so he kept going, leaving me to get up and try to chase him down to get my trike back.

Mom, blessedly, didn't have heart failure when she saw this debacle, but did let me know it wasn't to be repeated.  She told Dad about it when he came home, he was wise enough not to crack up, although I did notice a trace of possibly a small smile play on his lips when she finished.

He did get down the sled for me.

But I was told the dog was not to be attached to THAT either...

Phooey...

But hey, at least I didn't try butting heads with a young bull while wearing a football helmet.  I left that one for my Brother-in-law.

His Mom wasn't real impressed, either.

Hungry, hungry kitty...

This is Buzz, the Hyperactive Wonder Kitten, in a (VERY) rare moment where she isn't moving.  (Unless you count eating as movement, but... I could still get a picture.)

This is, however, what you get when you try to take a picture of her (normally) cute little face when you hold the treat bag AND the camera way too close together... 

Seeing this picture, I am very glad she is less than 8 pounds.  This was a tad unnerving- even through the viewfinder...

First sock o' the new year...

I did get a sock finished. ONE sock.  It is the glow in the dark sock, and other than it is rather thick, (I used two strands of yarn, the glow in the dark one was very thin), I think it came out pretty well...  I am going to sew a leather footie on it and make it a slipper.

I am going to make the other sock later, but this one was so close to being finished, I just had to get it off the needles.  I want to work on my Mom's Bridge of Roses socks, I chose dark, earthy brown as the sock color.  The roses will be yellow.  I am going to try and work on it today and tomorrow a lot, as I will be going to the Doctor for my latest checkup on the leg (pleasepleaseplease no more boot!) and the one tech is just absolutely enthralled with my knitting.  It would be nice to show her a more advanced pattern, she has been impressed with my basic knit sock, I want to show her the super stuff!  Heh.

I actually was brave today.  I have been really nervous about going out and handling Rudee again, he is a big dog, and doesn't always clue in that he needs to sit.  (We have trained him, but he has enough alpha in him, that he will "forget" his training occasionally...)  I went out, and let him do the potty thing, and walked him for about 10 minutes.  He got a tiny bit rambunctious at first, but when I told him to sit, and he did.  I think he's just so happy to have me out with him that he's not going to screw it up...

Or something...

Mom got him a new toy for Christmas, he loves "Hedgehog Balls", and now he has one and a spare.  Bright danger orange, so we can hopefully find them...  It is the one thing that he is not fond of sharing.  He isn't aggressive, but if you ask him to drop it, he conveniently becomes deaf.   Then, if you try to take it from him, he turns his head away, (busily wagging his tail, he knows what he's doing...),  but he let me have his toy today, I just dropped it back to him, but I know he was happy to see me if he was willing to share HIS toy.  We shall see how long that lasts.

I walked out to the llamas, and just stood for a little bit.  Dolly walked up, and I just held still.  She came so close I could feel her breath on my face. (Um. Breath mint?)

I stayed still, and she checked me out, as did the others, they just stood nearby, waiting... I didn't have any food for them, and soon they wandered away to graze, but it was nice to be out near them again.

The chickens didn't care.  Somehow, I think chicken's memory consists of  "Food?" "Run!" "Food!" and "Tired."  (Males seem to have "SEX!" as well.  Females with chicks have "Food is here.") If you aren't directly involved with the food, the memory fades...

Yep, that's about it for chickens.  I really wasn't expecting much from them, but it's nice to see them, anyway.

I have been out petting Buzz every once in a while, but have to leave the cane indoors. It freaks her out a LOT.  I have no clue why, unless one of our neighbors has been after her.  I certainly haven't, in fact, I used to play with her with a fishing pole...  Strange.

So, hope is returning that I will be able to go out and do things again.  I don't know when, but this is a step or two  in the right direction!

A "cabin fever" walk, and a serious note on donating.

Went for a walk up the hill today.  It hasn't rained for, oh, 6 to 10 hours, so we didn't have the water running down the hill in a creek.  So I figured it was ok.  And going UP the hill, it was.  However, when I reached the top, there were ponds, puddles, and the UPPER creek was running.  I was already up there, and decided, darn it, I want to walk.  So I did walk, a little.  If hopping over puddles, fording small creeks, and trying not to swamp myself with water counts as walking...  I made it to the 4th lap, before the combination of my ankle acting up, (I think I Tae Bo'd too much yesterday), and the difficulty of staying upright in ankle deep water made me a bit timid, I guess. 

But the thing that ended the merry game, was Rudee.  The neighbor dogs, as usual, started barking once they saw us.  They ran to the fence, and Rudee ran over.  Next thing I know, he's on the OTHER SIDE, running with the other dogs!  I got out my "p****d drill seargent" voice (Thank you for the term, FIL), and called Rudee back.  I wasn't angry at him, just didn't want him to run over to the neighbor's, after all the problems I have had with said neighbors keeping their dogs home!

So, I think I have finally got to admit, I shouldn't walk for a bit, at least laps.  I will still take Rudee out, but we might just wander around the lower pasture, or up and back a few times, because when I need water wings, it's just too wet.  Tae Bo...  Well, at least it's fun, even if I can't have Rudee work out with me.

However.

On the bright side, I hadn't been able to figure out how the dratted mutts kept coming over.  Now I know.  I am planning on bringing up some T-posts and putting them in the way of the hole.  They are diggy little snots, I will put posts there, and the little suckers can dig away.  Hopefully the posts will fall on them!  Then they can check if they have carbide teeth, otherwise, they will have to dig a new hole through the fence.  I suppose I should do it today, we shall see, my ankle is uncomfortable, might be tomorrow.  It will be done, however, now that I know where the hole is, I don't want to make the way easy for either side's dogs.

******************

 And, I don't know if anyone reading is wanting to donate online, but a gent from the SO sent over this article, if you are thinking of donating, you might do some reasearch...  This is from Watch Guard Security.

Unfortunately, it almost goes without saying in this day and age; when some big event or unfortunate disaster happens, scummy malware pushers will jump all over it in hopes of enticing the news hungry masses to malicious sites and downloads. This unfortunate trend hasn’t failed to disgust me yet again with Japan’s recent earthquake and nuclear catastrophes.


Within hours of the first earthquake, scammers had already launched malicious campaigns to lure the worried global audience to phising sites masquarading as aide sites, and had also started massive spamming campaigns targeting donors who want to help Japan.

One of the techniques attackers increasingly use in these situations is called Black Hat Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This is a technique where attackers leverage the same SEO methods marketers use to get their web sites to prominently display with certain search results; only the attacker falsely links popular search phrases to a malicious site. Attackers are aggressively leveraging these Black Hat SEO techniques to tie their malicious phishing sites to the Japanese earthquake disaster. So you should definately be careful when searching for earthquake news on Google and other search engines.
 I have a strong personal tie to Japan. I lived there for four years in the 80s, when I was younger. Many of my childhood memories are distinctly Japanese. So when I hear about these despicable criminals trying to make a buck off a country’s pain… well, I can’t really put to words how angry I feel. That’s why I want to make sure these crooks don’t succeed. As you receive email about the Japan disaster, or search for the latest information, please be wary of the links you click. While I encourage you to help out in some way, you should also be careful of who you are donating to. Finally, tell all your friends about these potential scams. If we all band together, maybe we can prevent these hoodlums from profiting from Japan’s pain. – Corey Nachreiner, CISSP


http://watchguardsecuritycenter.com/2011/03/16/scummy-attackers-preying-on-japanese-disaster-for-a-buck/

 


So, please don't let scum suckers win, donate, but be careful!  One way to avoid fake sites, type in the name of the place you want to donate, ON YOUR OWN.  You can use a search engine (i.e. Google) too, just make sure you have https  on the donation portion of your web page.  (The "s" part stands for secure.)  Or, you can always go "old school" and donate by mail, or through a charity you know and trust by other means.

Not an expert, just something that tripped my trigger.

Thanks!

Getting about, at least...

Well, this morning, Husband asked me NOT to walk the hill.  For any of you that haven't read the blog long, we live on a bit of property on an area called "Spring Hill".  Well, right now, where I walk is a creek.  There is water running down the hill, there is water in a sloggy pond at the bottom of the hill, there is more water in various forms coming from the sky, and making MORE water here, so I will have to go to Plan B for exercising.  Tae Bo, anyone? 

Poor Rudee won't get his run, but right now, he'd be be swimming more than running.  He seems content to stay in his house right at the moment, anyway.  The llamas don't seem to care, however.  They have been outside since birth, as far as I know, I keep the chicken house open for them to duck in out of the weather. Do they use it?

That's snow on his back...

Nah. 

They walk about, out in the rain, the snow.  They do duck under the trees when it hails, but just long enough for it to quit, and then out they go again.  Crazy critters.  The chickens, on the other hand, sit in the doorway, and glare at me like it's my fault that it's raining, or snowing.  Can't please 'em all, I guess.  Buzz the Hyperactive Wonder Kitten just dozes in the hay, when she isn't trying to get into Husband's boat. 

Husband doesn't care for cats. 

At least that's what he said. 

Funny thing, I am no longer feeding Buzz.  Buzz doesn't really want much to do with me, as I move her to get hay for the llamas, and start my truck, scaring her silly, as it's next to the hay.  Husband has been seen walking around carrying Buzz like a baby.  Buzz loves it.  I try, and she tries to do a burnout on my chest. 

I mentioned, gee Buzz is turning out to be YOUR kitty.  With a Spock-like dryness, he responded, like Rudee is your dog?

Touche'.

I thought Husband would lose his adoration for the fluff ball when she started trying to find a warm spot in the boat.  HIS boat. 

Husband's Sanctum Floatorum. 

I really even hesitated to tell him that she'd wiggled her way into the boat, again, when he'd said that he'd redone the tarps and such, because "that cat had made a furry mess on the seat.  I don't want her ruining those seats, they are expensive.  She has hay..." 

My thought, yeah, Husband, if you had the choice between a warm, cloth covered seat, with no one moving you on a regular basis, or loud noises, or a scratchy seat, that sometimes is very loud, which would YOU take?  But I said nothing.

Husband went outside.  I asked him what he'd been up to when he came back in.  "Oh, I was just setting up some boards along the tarp, so the kitten would not go into the boat. The naughty little poop."

I nearly dropped my teeth.  Husband calling anything a 'naughty little poop' is just...

Well, I would have put better odds on the Pope becoming a Buddhist.  Husband now comes in and tells me about how she loves the new food I bought for her, and that her feet were cold when he picked her up, etc., etc., etc...

Who is this guy, and what did he do with my husband???  ; )

I was invited to take a class having to do with CERT.  It was in a government facility, and I was required to do several things, just to sign up for the class. (Questions about nationality, things like that.)  When I arrived, they had to do a check under the vehicle for bombs.  I have gone through this with Husband, when he's had to pick up metal in military facilities for a company he works for, as well as a couple of items we have bought.

So why did the thought of someone checking the undercarriage of my truck make me worry?  Not for me, but for the guy doing the job?  And what the heck would they do if they DID find something???

The next thought, which I never got the chance to ask, was if they ever had trouble with someone having a dropped muffler, or a low profile car.  They were so nice to me, and I was on my best behavior, please, thank you, so on.  I was happy to note, that when I finished the class, one of the guards said it was too bad I wasn't going to be back, and that he hoped I had a very nice day.  (Awww...) 

The class itself was very useful to see the things I have learned, in a situation I wasn't familiar with.  This happened to be training in a facility working with the Department of Energy (yes, we discussed the stuff in Japan.  I didn't understand half of what was said, but they seemed to think that all was not lost.  But that was also Monday...)  These guys were using the training to work out press releases and information to the public (hence the reason I was there, Public Information Officer "stuff"), but it was for a facility, a business, rather than for small groups, or for the Sheriff's Office.  I must say, seeing how a group that I was unfamiliar with, and that had different (but not unrelated) priorities, made this a worthwhile class.  I also learned some different information about, of all things, body language, should I go up and be in front of cameras. (G*d Forbid...)

I managed only one minor faux pas.  I took my knitting bag.  The one with a peace symbol on it.  Ahem.  I noticed the teacher kept glaring in my general direction, when the bag was out.  I could not fathom at first why.  He was polite, but kept asking questions about what I knew on nuclear power and such.  (Not much...)  Then a teeny bell rang in the back of my head.  The peace sign is a symbol for nuclear disarmament.  Oh, s***!!!  Uh.  He was also of an age where there could be Vietnam War things going on.  What do I do?

The next time the teacher came over, I smiled, and turned over the bag.  I said something to the effect that I just loved the present my Mom gave me, and then went on as if nothing happened.  He looked a bit surprised, and then asked a few more questions.  I politely answered them, and then would change the subject to the reason I was there, saying that I was so happy I could be invited to a class where I could see the program I have learned, used in a situation different than I was used to.  I also invited him to look at some of the CERT materials that I had with me.  It seemed to get him down from his grumblies. 

So, I am probably one of the few people to go into a Department of Energy building, having what amounts to a protest sign, and still be accepted!  (Yipes!)  Not exactly the thing I'd planned, but I survived.

What was absolutely fun tho, was almost accidental.  I had given my email address, and it starts "furnfeathers" (Read: fur and feathers).  We had a Fire Chief there, like me, invited to see how a differing group would use the training.  He commented on the odd choice.  I told him I raised chickens and llamas, and we had a long lunch conversation on camelids!  He was interested in llamas or alpacas for his family, and I worked my hardest to bring him to the 'dark side'!  

; D 

He was very interested, as were a couple others, and I didn't get one comment on them being vicious, or even the standard "THEY SPIT" comment.  It was a very nice lunch!

Almost caught up on my house work.  I did laundry and dishes, dumped out the trash (fortune had it that we had no food spoilage from the power outage. Husband used the generator for an hour or so at a time to keep the freezer and fridge going.  He did grouse about the milk not being cold enough in the morning.  I wondered why he started the generator at sunrise...)  Finish a few more loads, and then I will be ready for...

Cleaning out the hen house. Be still my beating heart... 

The thrills never end at Fur n' Feathers, folks!

(Oh. And I gained nearly a pound this week.  I am going to have to do something exercise wise, or I am going to be squeezing into my clothing again.  I am not going to let that happen.  DO. NOT. WANT.)