212 - Woodpecker

Mike and I were in the living room with Gracie while the other paw walkers slept in the mancave. Gracie was exploring a little, getting some time out of the kennel, which is new. She settled on the arm of the couch and we were just relaxing when we heard a loud bang... another bird hit the window. I told Mike I saw it sail off to his left and it was probably still on the ground, so he looked and it was there... a little woodpecker.

We got a towel and he picked it up and held it until the shock wore off and it could fly away. In the meantime we snapped a lot of pics because when do you get the opportunity to hold a woodpecker?

We didn't know if it was dying, stunned or had a broken wing at first.

It started to get a little more active so we started to hope it would fly

Sharp claws... they didn't hurt until you start trying to pry it off and then the little needles start to dig in

Beautiful bird

Feathers on the window

And then when Mike started to put him on the birdhouse, he took off. A happy ending to the story. :) I wonder if he'll remember us. He was terrified at first and then he got a little more comfortable, but I'm sure he'd really rather have nothing to do with us.

By the way, woodpeckers eat magnolia seeds. Ask us how we know. ;)

Gracie is a lot less yellow and has started to spot clean. Mike went after her with the Furminator, which was not her favorite thing. She was conflicted... purring and growling at the same time. She tolerated it and she needed it. She looks strange with bits of her fur still short from the hospital stay. She's eating with gusto and a little bored of the kennel so I've started letting her out for little bits of time to explore but have to keep an eye on her so she doesn't find a hiding spot.

211b - More pics

211 - Silly pics

Alms for the poor?

You find Bootsie in the strangest places

...some of which might get him in trouble...

Last night I looked around and saw a Gracie-ball

A Bo-ball

A Walter-ball

And a Bootsie-ball

This morning Bo went fishing

We're watching Kris Angel. He's crazy. I have no idea how he does what he does and probably don't want to but it's entertaining. After this it's gonna be a get-things-done day... we need to get Mike packed up, unload the truck and finish laundry. Those are the goals. We'll see if we make them.

210 - Lebanon

Went to Lebanon today so we could pick up a hard plastic box for Mike to ship his things in. Also got a locking doorknob for the basement... won't really keep anyone out if they've gotten into the basement but it will at least delay them and maybe the noise they'd make getting through that door would alert me. Not that I feel like that's going to happen, but it doesn't pay to get too comfy.

Found a good Thai place... not as good as the one in Guntersville or Cookeville but it wasn't bad. It's an option. Also found a cool army surplus store. I always want to get one of everything when I'm at a place like that, but ultimately we just browsed and decided we'd come back later.

Gracie purred yesterday. It's been a couple of weeks since I've heard that and it's one of my favorite sounds. She has also started to stand up when I reach in to pet her, to meet my hand and push into it. And I no longer have to tempt her to eat at all, she nibbles throughout the day and drinks as much as she wants. She hasn't been cleaning herself, probably not producing much saliva yet, so another promising step forward... she has started to lick little spots here and there. I'm so happy that Mike encouraged me to give her more time. There was a day when I was considering having her put down because she was dazed and weak and sitting in her own urine all the time. Him telling me to give her more time is what ultimately led me to bring her home and take care of her here. It's made all the difference.

That's about all there is to say... I'm too sleepy to think of anything else...

209B - More birds

Blue bird and woodpecker

209 - Pics

Seeing lots of blue birds in the yard. They entertain the cats, which in turn entertains us. I threw some bird food on the ground near the magnolia tree to attract them and it seems to be working.

Mike managed to catch a couple of the birds and this gorgeous tree. I think the golden yellow is becoming my favorite. I love red and orange, but gold just really stands out.

Bo-Bo the Destroyer. I will decimate you!

Another pretty bird

Gracie is looking much better today. I didn't even have to hold the can and encourage her to eat, she just dug in. She seems less yellow, she's consistently using the litterbox, and today she is acting more like herself. The wobble was concerning me and she didn't eat as much yesterday so I had to force feed her last night. I also think she's The only one of us who enjoyed that was Mike... she makes a funny face when she's getting the food down. :) Anyway... I think we're on the right track. It's going to take a while to get her back to full health, but she's trying and that's the most important part.

This is her snarfing down the food.

And this is another bird.