Monday, October 30, 2006, 17:55
Indian Summer?
The temperature was above freezing last night for the first time in a long time. And today it is warm and sunny -- temperatures in the upper 50s or low 60s. And it's very warm in the sun.
It is so warm and sunny that a yellow butterfly was out flying around the horse pasture this morning. With my little kitty cat Juliette right behind it. Juliette's favorite pastime is chasing butterflies. I swear she jump four feet in the air if there's a butterfly involved.
The horses are getting their winter hair, so since it's warm today, too, I put out two pails of water for each of them.
My mother would say, I think, that this is Indian Summer. We've had snow on the ground (a couple of times) already this fall. And she always said that you couldn't have Indian Summer without snow on the ground first.
I have no idea, of course, how much warm weather we will have after this. Perhaps we will have two or three Indian Summers before winter settles in for good. Snow is a good thing because it covers up the mold spores flying around everywhere now. But we maybe don't need a snow cover just yet.
Baby Update -- My little tiny kitten is still hanging in there. She ate between 6 and 7 ccs of formula this morning (a teaspoon holds 5 cc). The first time I put her back in the box, she got out of her cubbyhole by the radio and was wandering around on the snood, yelling at the top of her lungs. I got her out again. She was quite agitated after getting herself all upset. Then she wanted a little more formula. She calmed down after that. I put her back in her cubbyhole in the corner of the box by the radio speaker and she fell asleep.
Last night when I got her out at 1 a.m. to feed her, the little stinker purred the whole time. Purred. Here she was, 5 days old, purring. The first time I heard her purr was on Saturday (just briefly) when she was 4 days old. Her favorite thing last night was to crawl up my shirt and cuddle against my neck and purr.
We are thinking about calling her Phoenix. (At least we *think* it's a she; hard to tell when they are so tiny).
A phoenix was the legendary bird whose song was so beautiful that Apollo the sun god would stop his chariot every day to listen to the phoenix (reputed to live near a well in Arabia). Only one phoenix existed at a time. And the phoenix lived a long time, from 500 to 1,500 years. When the phoenix knew it was near death, it would built a funeral pyre out of aromatic wood and would throw itself into the flames. A new phoenix would rise from the ashes.
The phoenix is a one-of-a-kind bird and represents beauty.
The phoenix symbolizes resurrection.
The phoenix symbolizes long life.
So. We shall see. Perhaps her name is supposed to be Phoenix. It's an awfully long name for such a little kitty. God willing she will grow into her name.
LeAnn R. Ralph
Monday, October 30, 2006, 04:45
Another Update
Baby is still hanging in there. I must say, though, she is not very good at settling down. I think she's lonely. No other kittens. No momma. Just a heating pad and Randy's orange fleece snood and a rolled up washcloth and a small handtowel for company.
Saturday she spent most of her time meowing and roaming around the box, trying to get comfortable. That's when Randy got out his fleece snood to put in the box. The snood helped because she snuggled up with her nose underneath it. But she still wasn't very good at settling down.
This morning she was especially wild. Yelling and getting mad when I had her out and was trying to feed her. Crawling up my shirt over and over. And all the while yelling and crying and yelling and crying.
Finally Randy said, "What if we try putting a radio by her box?"
A radio.
I dug out my combination tape recorder and radio, set it to Public Radio, turned it down to a low murmur and set the radio by the box.
When I put the kitten back in the box, she went back to yelling and roaming around.
After a while, however, all grew quiet.
I lifted the towel over the box, peeked inside -- and saw that she was snuggled up with the snood on one side and her head right by the radio speaker.
She slept all afternoon until I got her out at 7 p.m. to feed her.
When I put her back, she roamed around for a while and cried for a while, until she got back to her corner. Then she snuggled up with the snood and her head right by the radio speaker.
We might be onto something here.
I can imagine how hard it is for the poor little thing with none of her siblings and no momma cat. I suppose that when there are other kittens and a momma, they get used to hearing heartbeats around them, and I suspect that mother cats spend a good deal of time purring when they are snuggled with their kittens. The radio is a poor substitute, but it lets her know she is not alone in the universe, I think.
"Oh, sure," Randy said. "The kitten is listening to Public Radio. She is going to be far better informed than we are! Plus, she got to listen to Garrison Keillor and 'Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.'"
It is better for the kitten to sleep and not roam around. For one thing, I don't think it's good for her to be upset all the time. And for another thing, when she's yelling and roaming around, she is using calories she ought to be using to grow.
The baby is five days old. She probably doesn't weigh even 3 ounces. And she's got two adult humans tiptoeing around the house, whispering, and trying to find something that will give her comfort.
Here's hoping that we all get a good night's sleep tonight.
LeAnn R. Ralph