This week starts with Sunday morning, Nov 28th, and with wildlife in our front enclosed yard (4’ fence). John looked out the kitchen window and a doe was nibbling on the bottom of our mountain ash tree. He was concerned, because on the front porch under the roof was an open bag of black sunflower seeds he has been giving the birds. Good thing she didn’t find it. He took a couple of pictures of her and then tried to scare her away by “shooing” from the bathroom window. She didn’t react. I was standing at the kitchen window and saw she wasn’t leaving. I slammed the window and she sailed over the fence right behind the white Subaru. The ease with which they jump fences will never fail to amaze me. She stuck around outside the fence and he went and threw her some apples. I suggested that was not good, that she might interpret it as a reward. I think she did, because she was still hanging around behind the back of the car after eating the apples. So he went out and shooed her off to the neighbors and let Meghan out for the morning run. He was coming back for the others, when she returned, or another came, and he had to run that one off too. [Others come and go — 14 is the most counted at one time. ] Finally, he got all 3 female Brittanys out the door and into the pasture, and came back for Dan, who has to be on a retractable leash. John was going to feed the horses and exercise the dogs.
I fixed myself an apple fritter and was just sitting down beginning to eat it, when he came back in the front door. That was too soon, and I said, “What’s wrong?” He walked on in with a small kitten in his arms. It is a yellow one about the same size as the one we had for 5 days several weeks ago. This one has a very thick coat of hair but is boney. He or she (we haven’t checked yet) was cornered in the barn by Annie, our youngest Brittany. John rescued the kitty and brought it in to me. It was scared and not wanting to be held. John still had all the dogs outside and needed to get back to them.
He asked me to sit and hold the kitty till he returned. Before John gave him to me, I put on gloves and a coat, and sat with it in my recliner. He calmed down and actually started to close his eyes. I was rocking him in the recliner but holding him tightly and then petting his head and talking to him. The temperature is up to 31 now on our front porch. He was beginning to accept my lap, but I didn’t want to let go of him. When John got back from exercising the dogs, he looked for the little crate we had had the other kitty in, but couldn’t find it. So, he got a bigger one from outside and wedged it into the space on top of the washing machine. I put the kitty there, and “he” was happy to go. Then I found some dishes for water and put some canned kitty food in with him.
Later in the day, he ate the food, and John gave him more. He ate that. I gave him more, and he ate that. He’s now had about a ½ can of kitty food, small sized can. When it’s gone we will switch to a larger can of cat food.
Don’t know if he has drunk yet, but he has water in a small bowl and a little litter box. He can’t be more than 8 weeks, and has a VERY thick coat of hair (with being outside in sub zero weather, it’s a good thing.) I hope we can housebreak him and get him to stay with us. He is orange tabby, with white on all paws. We still don’t know his gender. Maybe it is a little girl. Regardless she has a home with us if she / he wants. We’re calling it Sunny for Sunshine, just like the other one who didn’t stay around.
This one’s eyes look better than the other one we had. I think the other was starving and his eyes were large and out of proportion to the rest of his head. This one is not so bug eyed. It also doesn’t hiss at us when we approach the crate. The other one never got over that, and also would lash out with his paw and claws. We had to reach in with gloves on. This one will rest in John’s lap or on the table in front of his keyboard on the computer. They are quite a team.
My Sunday evening Taize’ music service was canceled tonight, so I didn’t have to change clothes and drive to town. Suits me just fine.
Monday – day with kitty and trying to clean off space on a picnic table in the den/dining room to put the crate for kitty. Not making very fast headway. There is so much dust on everything and then it has to be sorted. I can only work for so long and have to sit down and rest. I did leave after lunch to go to my exercise class. (Now at the end of the week, it is still not completed). Too much other stuff going on.
Tuesday, home with intentions to clean off the table and counters some more, but never got to it till late. John went alone to town (it snowed all day) for supplies for us and for the kitty. I needed meds. The kitty needed food. I spent time on emails on the computer, and talking on the phone with friends. John has sat with her in his lap twice today, and every day this week, as it turns out.
Wednesday, will be another exercise class and then in the evening we are going to CWU for a lecture by the new biogeographer. The title of her talk is: “Vegetation Change and Fire History in the Pacific Northwest since the Missoula Floods.”
Thursday will be time to go play music again, and John will go along and we will leave early for the Geography Department afternoon lecture series, at 3:00 start.
We heard a nice talk from another geographer this afternoon entitled: “Global Currents, Local Landscapes: Notes from the Americas and Europe,” but he said it is really, “What I did on my summer vacation.”
Friday was fun and full of parties. I started at 11:30 a.m. at the Adult Activity Center in town. I joined a bunch of people for a potluck, and the center provided lemon meringue pie (baked there by the staff), and a wonderful turkey soup. I took some of John’s applesauce. There were other yummy things people made such as salads, potato rolls, and cornbread. At noon, I got out my violin and joined a lady on her accordion, to play and sing Christmas songs. Before we played, Santa Claus arrived and we were given presents and a number. No one could open gifts till after we played. Then everyone did, and the staff started calling numbers. A person could trade for another gift if they wanted. I traded candy canes for a tine with chocolates and more candy canes in it. Then they took pictures of anyone who wanted with Santa Claus. My friend’s husband was there, and both of us had the same surgeon for a valve replacement (him two years ago and me last year). We had our picture taken so we could take it as a Christmas Thank You card to our surgeon in Yakima.
Then we had our exercise class.
We went back in to the Anthropology/Geography Christmas party, Friday night, and then by the hospital to visit our neighbor who is back in for Pancreatitis and severe pain, to see if they can relieve it.
Saturday could have been a light day, except John had to put in a bunch of work to get the last newsletter of the year out before the Dec 12th Christmas Party of the Kittitas Valley Trail Riders. We won’t be going this year because I have to participate with my music group at the same exact time, at the Rosewood Community Christmas Party. They are treating us to dinner with them, and then we will play for an hour or so, using a mixture of old time dance music and Christmas music.
John did complete the newsletter (48 of them printed, folded, stamped, and I helped him seal them with piece of tape on 3 sides). By the time he finished, it was too late to have the postal person pick them up from our mailbox at the end of the driveway, so he had to drive to town to the P.O. While in town he shopped for needed (and un-needed) groceries.
I suppose I should end this and have John place it out on the blog for this week. Tomorrow is a slow day, except for my going to play music in town in the evening.
As to “Who Knew?” – – – today’s heading – – – that one year after John’s first entry on this site that the activity would still be going on? Happy anniversary to Occasional Updates on Nancy.
Next week will again be full of events. We hope you have a nice week getting ready for the holidays.
Nancy & John