A Smidge Creepy

I was outside playing with the this morning pups when I noticed four areas of this on the ground below the tree:

I looked at the tree to see what might be causing this mess, and I saw this:

And this:

They've already stripped three branches almost completely bare. When I went out this afternoon, the leaves they were sitting on when I took the photos were gone.

At this rate, the tree is going to be completely naked in a week. Unless the hurricane gets them tomorrow....

Majority Rules

Due to a very generous gift from Mom and Ronnie, I’ve been given the option of turning on the air conditioning. My first thought was to not bother – after all, we’ve made it this long, what’s a few more weeks? However, I don’t run the house as a dictatorship (unless its necessary), so I polled the residents before making a decision. The final results were 6 to 2 for AC (although Duncan voted twice), with 2 abstaining and 1 unclear (not undecided, just unclear). Khar’pern and Per’la were against the AC – they both said they were perfectly fine as they were. Belle voted for the AC, but said it had to be done in moderation, as her bones get creaky if she gets too cold. Loki thought AC was the best idea he’d heard in months. Mikey said it was okay, as long as it didn’t interfere with his sunbeam. Duncan actually voted twice, but I decided to let that slide since he hasn’t been feeling well. Niko thought it would be fun to be cool again, although he was concerned that he’d molted too many feathers to adjust to the new temps. Parm actually voted to be allowed back in the house, but since that wasn’t on the ballot, his vote counts as an abstention. I didn’t vote since I’d have made an even number and might have caused a tie. Reyna…well, I don‘t know what Reyna wanted, because she just spun in circles and barked. By that point, though, we had an obvious majority vote for AC, so I decided it didn’t really matter what she thought. Before bed last night, I turned on the AC for the first time this year. It took all night and part of the morning to cool the house down to the programmed temperature. Now I just have to find a temperature that keeps us all cool but doesn’t leave me sitting on the couch with a blanket wrapped around me. One not-unexpected side effect of the AC is a significant spike in spinning and barking. Apparently, Reyna’s feeling really spiffy now that she doesn’t have to camp in front of the box fan…

Thanks again to Mom and Ronnie, from 5 cats, 2 dogs, 1 bird, and me!

More Updates

Yes, I know I usually do individual posts for different topics, but I haven’t been particularly motivated lately, so here’s another cluster update.

Onyx went to his new home this past Saturday. I have a good feeling about this family, and I’m sure he won’t be returned again. Of course, even if he is, he won’t be coming back here. Duncan is so happy Onyx is gone. I have to admit, I am, too. Its nice to not wake up at 5:15am every morning to the shrieking of an overly dramatic puppy. The house has been so calm and peaceful since he left…

Speaking of Duncan, he is getting steadily worse. I’m so glad he finally gets to see the ortho vet this coming Tuesday. Duncan is no longer standing properly most of the time, and his back end is sinking. He’s walking much lower on his hocks than he should be, and he’s walking lower today than he was even two weeks ago. Paws crossed that the ortho can figure out what the problem is, and that the solution is something that won’t cost a small fortune.

Still no news on the job front, which means still no A/C. The last couple of days have been really nice, but we had several days when Reyna and I were fighting over who got to sit in front of the box fan. Not fighting too hard, mind you, because it was much too hot for anything more than some halfhearted snarling.

In the Good News category, I’ll be getting a new roof later this summer. The insurance company did an inspection and determined that there’s been enough damage to warrant a complete replacement. And the best part is that insurance will pay for the whole thing. That should add some value to the house if I end up putting it on the market.

The last tidbit - Mikey and Per'la finally made up. I caught them cuddling and grooming each other a couple of days ago. Its good to have peace in the clowder.

Unless something particularly interesting happens between now and then, I’ll post a Duncan update Tuesday.

Another Save

Monday evening, I discovered a leak in my roof - a small area of the ceiling popcorn in my bathroom fell off, exposing wet sheet rock. John came over Tuesday evening to take a look at it and discovered that the seal around the vent pipe was useless, but the damage to the sheet rock appears to be minimal. He applied a bunch of goop around the pipe and must have done an excellent job, because the sheet rock was no wetter after Tuesday night's rain than it was before.


Poor Duncan seemed rather concerned about John climbing around on the roof.


Reyna just wondered when he was going to come down and throw her ball.


Thanks again to my cutie pie farmer neighbor friend for fixing the problem!

Its Useable!

The catiary has finally reached the point where it can actually be used by the cats! John came over Saturday afternoon to put on the roof panels and help me with the chicken wire and screen that I couldn’t do alone (the back wall and the top layer). He also added the decorative strips to the door (I put chicken wire along the bottom half) and re-hung it. All of that took a lot more effort than it sounds.

I still have quite a bit to do, but nothing that would prevent the cats from using the space. I do realize that as long as I’m puttering around with the drill, they won’t go near it, the bums. I need to put the strips along the screen edges (and then paint them), do a few minor things inside and out, put carpet on the ramps and add perches. I started working on that yesterday afternoon, but the storm got in the way. Today’s weather wasn’t good for anything but curling up on the couch with a book and a dog. Hopefully tomorrow’s weather will be better. Especially since my roof has apparently developed a leak over my bathroom…

Here's John attaching the roof panels. John's developed a hate-hate relationship with my poor rosebush, which has done nothing but try to defend itself.


Reyna says she's happy with her new playhouse, and she appreciates all the work we've done on her behalf. Little does she know just how much entertainment this will provide...


John trimming the excess length off the roof panels. I realized after yesterday's storm that we should have left a few more inches on that side to help the rain drain off properly. John says he can fix that.

Poor John had to climb up on the roof in order to attached the back portions of chicken wire and screen. He was not a happy camper. I would like point out, though, that this picture was his idea.


Here is the catiary as of Sunday morning. I think the cats will really like it, once they realize the dogs can't get to them. And if they don't use it by choice, I'll dump them all in there and close the window.

Catiary

We’re definitely making progress. Sunday, John came over to work on the roof. As usual, we were outside until well past my bedtime. John made some structural changes to the roof frame and cut the roof sheets. He also built the ramp and a platform/box where the cats can rest and I can put food and water bowls. Of course, all of this meant more painting for me. I got the first coat done Monday morning, and then second coat done this morning. This afternoon, I got the roof screened, which means John can come back over and attach the panels. I also got part of the first section of chicken wire attached before I got tired. So, after the roof, the chicken wire, and the screen, the cats can start using the catiary. I’ll still have a few things to do after that (perches, carpet on the ramp, trim boards), but nothing that would prevent the use of the space.

Bright White

So, the painting has actually been done for a couple of days; I've just not gotten around to posting. I got the first coat on Sunday, second coat Monday, and finished up the storm door yesterday.


Next on the list is the chicken wire and some adjustments to the roof. Then the screen and the roof, the ramp, and a few other odds and ends. With luck, the cats will be able to use this in a couple of weeks, depending on John's schedule and his Honey Do list from Michele.

Getting Closer

This past Wednesday, John came over to trim the catiary posts and build the roof frame. Once again, we worked until after dark. Yes, there is a slight gap on the right, but that is to slope the roof and cause the rain to run off to the left.




Yesterday morning, John and I went to a landscape supply company and got 2 cubic yards of topsoil. Mary came over mid-morning to crop, so I didn’t start moving dirt until about 7:45pm - please note thats “I” not “we” – John wasn’t here. And speaking of John...he bet that I wouldn't have the dirt moved before 7:00pm tonight. Silly man. I had all of the necessary dirt moved by 9:00pm last night.



This morning, after a 5:15am wake up shriek from Tiger, I leveled out the dirt in the catiary to make sure I’d moved enough. I also filled in some gaps along the sides. There’s still some dirt left, and I’ll most likely use that to build the ground up a little more around the catiary. However, that’s not something I need to get done in order to move forward with construction.


Today, if the weather holds and it doesn’t rain, I’m going to paint the frame. Fingers crossed I’ll have pictures of that tonight…

The Catiary In Progress

Construction for the catiary (cat aviary, or Janine's Cat House, as John calls it) is finally underway. John and I worked on it over the weekend, and we've made pretty good progress. Before the pups and I went out of town, this is what the back of the house looked like. There used to be a rosebush between the two bedroom windows, but I moved that to a different location to get it out of the way.


While we were gone, John built the support box that fits around the bedroom window. This will help protect the bedroom from bad weather, as well as give the cats a wider landing for going in and out. The box is attached to the house, so its nice and sturdy.


Saturday, we got started with the boring part (although I'm not totally clear when we'll start the exciting part). We used blocks to provide a level base for the frame. John is checking the level of the string between corners before we start digging.


Reyna's not real sure what John is doing, but she knows that what he SHOULD be doing is throwing her ball.


And just to prove that John didn't do all of the work by himself...


Finally, the blocks are all set, giving us an 8x8 space that the cats will soon be able to enjoy.


John digs the holes for the corner posts. Boy, was he annoyed to find out that the house foundation extends quite a ways beyond the house.


Since it was well after dark by the time we set the corner posts, I waited until Sunday to take this picture.


Sunday afternoon, we were back to work. John got a lot of use out of his saw, and my little wheelbarrow bucket made a handy sawhorse.


Again, we didn't stop until well after dark, so these pictures were taken Monday morning.


Yes, the screen door is attached, even though there's no screen yet. But we needed it up to finish the frame.


John will be back over soon to trim the extra length off the corner posts and build the roof frame. I need to get some fill dirt, paint the frame, and attach the chicken wire (to keep the dogs out and the cats in) and screen. We have to build the ramp and I think there are still a few other minor things to be done. I also have to decide how much of a roof I want to have to provide shelter for the cats. If the weather holds, we might actually be able to have it cat ready within a couple of weeks.

Busy, Busy

Yesterday was a long day. We were up early (before the sun, even) and headed out about 8:00. Duncan and I dropped Reyna at rehab and then headed to Cary for a 9:00 appointment. In Cary, we got Duncan’s brand new cart. After oohing and ahhing over the cart, we were off to Pittsboro for training. We were at Claire’s by 10:30, only to discover that Duncan’s harness wasn’t finished. Unfortunately, there’s not much we can do with a cart if we have no harness. With luck, the harness will be done this coming week, and then there will be many pictures of Duncan and his new cart. We worked on our sheep herding, with occasional breaks to work on the harness. As we started out of the arena to do some tending, Claire and I realized that Duncan was limping. Again. After he’d seemed completely fine for over a week. Watching Duncan, it was easy to see that he was pacing rather than trotting (unwilling to move faster and put more pressure on his right front leg), and he quickly lost almost all focus on the sheep. At that point, we called it quits.

Duncan and I left Claire’s at 1:30. On the way home, I called the vet and snagged a 3:30 appointment to get his leg checked. We were in Raleigh about 2:30, so I stopped at the nursery to get some catmint plants (can’t have too much catmint, as far as I’m concerned), and we made it to the vet shortly after 3:00. Unfortunately, they put us in a room with an extremely comfortable chair, and I suddenly realized how tired I was. Duncan and I both dozed a bit waiting for Dr. Berry. She confirmed that there’s not a bone or joint injury, and she agreed that he most likely pulled a muscle. Duncan is now on not-quite-crate-rest and an anti-inflammatory for the next 5 days. After that, we just see how he does. We did find out that Duncan has lost a little weight since October (a good thing) and is now down to a svelte 111 lbs. We made it back to rehab just before 4:30, picked up Reyna and headed home. John and his friend, Travis, came by shortly before dark to check my truck (I’d called him that afternoon about a fwapping noise coming from the front left side). Naturally, he found the problem – the cap thingy on the center of the tire was coming loose - and then they left to go watch a fashion show at a local western gear store. The pups and I were settled down by shortly after 8:00, and I was sound asleep on the couch by 8:30. I woke up around 11:30 and managed to drag myself to bed.

We were up early again today, but on our own – no help from the alarm clock. After breakfast, Reyna did something rather unusual – she hopped up on the couch and took a nap. Once she woke up, she actually stretched out and rested her head on my lap for a while. She was even somewhat cuddly. It didn’t last long, but it was nice. I ran a few errands, took Reyna for the first of her two walks, and then started doing yard work. I got a few new plants in the ground – a thornless blackberry bush, a raspberry bush, several catmint plants, and a gardenia (haven’t had much luck with those, but we’ll see what happens). Paws crossed that everything lives. “Thrives” would be good, but I’ll settle for “lives” at this point. During Reyna's second walk, we stayed in the yard and walked laps rather than going out on the road. Reyna was on leash so I could control the speed and direction, and Duncan paced along right beside us the entire time. The pups and I are about ready to have dinner and settle in for a relaxing evening. Tomorrow – more yard work.

Oh, on a somewhat related note, the ticks are definitely out. I woke up at 2:00 Thursday morning to discover that the itchy spot on my leg had legs of its own. Nasty little things.

Thanks For Stopping By

Its a good thing I took pictures of the baby wrens when I did, because those birds are gone. They vacated the nest a mere two days after I took the pictures. Who knows, maybe I'll get another round of feathered visitors next month.

New Life

There’s a wren nest in the back corner of my deck, just under the roof, that’s been used every spring for the last four years. This time, though, I was actually able to snag a few pictures. I had to break out the telephoto lens and stand in a somewhat contorted position to get them, but that’s okay.

Here’s Mom (or Dad) with part of dinner. If you look closely, you can see the babies in the nest. They blend very well.


I realize the bird’s butt isn’t the most attractive thing to see, but the focus of this picture is the four open mouths in the background. For such little things, they sure are loud.


For some strange reason, Duncan has decided that he just has to chase Mom and Dad every time they fly out of the nest. He looks so pleased with himself, I don’t have the heart to fuss at him. And the wrens are more than capable of confusing him. The other day, he was chasing one of them and it flew into the open space on the propane tank, under the lid. Duncan must have looked for that bird for five minutes, never realizing it flew out the other side. Duncan’s even started standing watch on the deck, sitting under the nest and just waiting for someone to fly out. I’ve never seen him this focused on anything before.

No Gore, I Promise

Some of you may recall the battle Duncan and I fought last summer against the moles that invaded my yard. Well, the nasty little critters are back. They took full advantage of the dogs being gone the week I was in Canada and redug their many tunnels. When Duncan got home, he went right to work, destroying as many tunnels as he could find. The moles got a little carried away over the last few days, since the ground is soft from the rain. I’ll be picking up a couple of containers of mole repellant this afternoon, so hopefully I can convince them to go somewhere else. Like to my neighbor’s yard. Where poison has been put down. In the meantime, though, Duncan has taken his duties at Yard Protector/Mole Eradicator very seriously. So seriously, in fact, that I got home from work yesterday and found this in my back yard.


Ugly little thing, isn't he?

Duncan even showed me the hole that he dug the mole out of.


Granted, Duncan has destroyed parts of my yard almost as effectively as the moles have, but at least I don’t have to worry about him killing my rosebushes.

Handicapped Accessible

John came over Saturday afternoon to build Reyna’s new ramp. He got to the house at 3:00, made a quick run to Lowe’s and Papa John's about 8:00, and we were finished a little after 11:00. This came just in time, too. Reyna's had a rough few days and has been limping quite a bit. John mentioned a couple of times that she was worse than he'd ever seen her.

Here’s a “before” photo of the deck.


After considering what would need to be done to the support boards if we wanted to keep the steps, we decided to just get rid of the steps completely.


John dug a hole for the end of the support boards. Duncan wasn't sure if he was supposed to help or not, so he decided to guard the pile of dirt.


"Mom! He's touching me!" John decided to have a bit of fun with Duncan and a tape measure, but Duncan didn't find it quite as funny as John did....


Reyna and Duncan, both watching John work.


Reyna was very pensive the entire afternoon and evening. I think she was concerned about how she was going to get back in the house.


Every now and then, Reyna would go over to doorway and act like she was going to try and jump up onto the deck. She acted upset that I wouldn't let her try it, but I don't think she really believed she'd make it all the way up.


John used cement to brace the supports and the bottom rail post. I’m pretty sure the ramp isn't going anywhere any time soon.


Almost done! I'd told John we had to have a hand rail (mostly for my benefit) and pickets to keep Reyna from taking the shortcut and trying to jump on and off the ramp halfway up instead of walking all the way to the end.


And here it is, the finished ramp! The ramp is 8’ long, so the slope is fairly shallow. All that’s left to do is paint the railing white to match the deck and stain/waterproof the ramp.


Thank you, John, for spending your Saturday afternoon and evening doing this! I'm so grateful, and I know that somewhere in her doggy brain, Reyna is, too.

They Come, But They Don't Like To Stay

Update: John has informed me that he did not drop the groundhog, he just put it down very qiuckly.

Early Sunday afternoon, the pups and I went outside to play. Duncan immediately went to the back left corner near the rose bushes and started checking the fence. He was so interested and focused that I started looking at the fence. The first thing I saw was a couple of areas along the back that I thought were mole holes into the yard. On closer inspection, I realized they were holes dug by something trying to get out of the yard, but with no success. By this point, Duncan was nosing around one of the rose bushes, so I went to see what was so interesting. I saw a grey fluffy body beneath the bush, and my first thought was “Oh, crap! The neighbor’s cat is in the yard!” Then I realized the tail was all wrong for a cat. And then I realized I had a groundhog stuck in the fence.


By this point, Reyna realized Duncan and I were looking at something, so she came over to check it out. Thinking the groundhog was just wedged under the fence, I tried moving the bottom edge of the fence a bit to see if that would help, but it didn’t. That’s when I figured out that the poor thing had tried to go out through one of the openings in the fence, rather than underneath. Checking the area, I could tell that his intended exit point was where he’d originally come into the yard. There was a hole dug there, with the dirt on the outside of the fence.


I got the dogs inside, since they were bugging the groundhog (plus, I was afraid if it got loose it would do some serious damage to one of them, and another vet bill really isn’t on the list of things I need these days). And then I called Trusty John. We talked about snipping the fence, but I was worried about hurting the groundhog worse trying to get snips between its neck and the fence. So John said he’d come on over and help. I went back outside to see how it was doing, and found that he’d flipped over onto his back.



John came over, and Operation Groundhog Rescue commenced. John didn’t want me taking pictures of him, so there aren’t any of the rescue. He managed to slide the groundhog’s chubby cheeks back inside the fence, and its head slipped free. And that’s when John got curious. As he was looking at the groundhog, it started struggling and bit him (John was wearing gloves, so no damage was done). When he dropped it, the poor thing was still on the wrong side of the fence and clearly confused about how to get out. He finally got back to the rose bush and crawled under the fence (its original plan, I’m sure). That little groundhog probably broke the current groundhog speed record, running away as fast as it could. With luck, it’ll tell all its little friends to avoid the yard.

Duncan was devastated to realize his new buddy was gone. I’m sure he would have hugged it and squeezed it and called it George. But Reyna probably would have tried to eat it. Since then, every time we go outside Duncan runs to the corner to see if his friend has come back. And Reyna has decided that if Duncan is looking at something at or near the fence, she has to go look, too. Because you never know, something interesting might be there.