213 - Snow (and other things)

The bluebirds are really spectacular this time of year (bluejays, whatever the case may be).

This calf is so pretty. He's almost like those blue-grey cats. And the way the weeds lay it almost looks like he's been appliqued.

The kittens in their Charlie's Angel poses

So this is how our morning starts, although I typically wouldn't let the kittens in until I was ready to put the food down...

I start making bowls of food... mixing Bo's bowl of two cups dry and half a container of wet food. We have to mix it really well or he snarfs down the wet and leaves the dry. Then I refill his water pitcher. After that I move on to the kitten's food, mixing whatever wet food Gracie didn't eat the day before with some kitten chow. All the while the kittens are weaving between my feet, trying to climb the cabinets and generally milling around in anticipation.

 

Then Bo gets to lick the spoon. You can see by his crazy eyes that this is a task he enjoys.

And then all hell breaks loose: http://youtu.be/Jg2fm9Xh7tY

You may notice that Bo is wearing his sweater today. That's because we had a small snow flurry this morning. The upside is that it didn't stick AND it's so cold that Bo is uninterested in lingering outside to play, he just wants to get it over with and get back inside. The downside is that it's gonna be a cold day to smoke some brisket.

Yesterday we took Gracie back to the vet. TMI time... her doodoo is sticky right now and she is covered in fur, so things had accumulated back there. It was no more than a couple of days, but it was beyond my abilities to clean without hurting her. I tried. Because of the acid content of her urine, and the dampness of the poo, some of her skin was peeling away and I felt that they had the tools to do it more quickly and painlessly than I was able to... she's been through enough... The vet was excited to see her again, apparently she'd called and left a voicemail checking on her progress. She said she rarely gets to see improvement like this and was really happy to see the yellow going away and the brightness returning to her eyes. She said when she left to come home, Gracie was about 5 lbs, when we weighed her again she was 7.6 lbs. Still has a way to go, but that's good progress. I'm proud of my girl.

On the way home we stopped by WM because not a day goes by that we miss a trip to WM... or so it seems. Anyway, that's when we got the smoker. It was inexpensive, and bbq out here is just not cutting it, we wanted to smoke some brisket. And Mike got a video game he's been waiting for. And kitten food.

Also, we had more fun with Bo. He is an endless source of entertainment... he is afraid of straw noise:  http://youtu.be/s77fF-UIGXA

And he gnaws his paws: http://youtu.be/gs94dzkj4IM

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.