Thursday, March 16, 2006, 19:54
More Snow!
I knew this was going to happen. We didn't hardly see a snowflake all winter long. But now, after the storm on Monday that dumped 13 inches of snow, it seems as if our weather pattern might be changing. Overnight we got another 4 inches of the white fluffy stuff.
Not that another 4 inches of snow is necessarily a bad thing. The snow will help to recharge the ground water this spring. It's just that I had to get out to go into town first thing this morning to bring Sophie home. And of course, the snowplows were not in any hurry to get at the side roads.
I managed to back out of the driveway. Then it was a matter of "yee-hah! we're sliding now" -- all the way out to the main road. The township patrolmen were not of a mind to do a really good job of scraping the roads after Monday's snowstorm. I suppose they figure why waste the gas and why use the overtime when the snow will all melt in a few weeks anyway. So the 4 inches on top of the barely plowed roads made a teeth-clenching trip out to the highway. The main road, however, was only wet. The rest of the trip into town was fine.
Driving around town wasn't so much fun, though. The main street was plowed. But the side streets were not. I had to park in a snowbank in front of the vet clinic. And I fervently hoped that I would be able to get back out into the street again when I was ready to leave.
Poor little Sophie! When I walked into the back room of the clinic, where they keep the animals who are there for surgery, Sophie slowly lifted her head -- and she looked just awful. Pathetic. Forlorn. Sick.
"Hi Sophie," I said. "Are you ready to go home?"
At the sound of my voice, Sophie jumped to her feet -- and instantly looked a hundred times better. I opened the cage door and was greeted with head bumps and purrs and Sophie walking back and forth under my hand because she wanted to be petted.
I turned to the vet tech. "All right," I said. "What have you done to my cat?"
The vet tech laughed. "She might still have a little of the anesthetic in her system," she said.
I put Sophie into the kitty carrier, paid my bill, and we were ready to go home.
Much to my surprise, I drove out of the snowbank by the vet clinic. Fifteen minutes later, I discovered that the side roads still were not plowed, however, and it was another teeth-clenching trip the mile and a half to our driveway.
When I was almost to my brother's farm, I saw two rooster pheasants camped out in the middle of the road. One moved. The other did not. I had to stop completely and beep the horn. The rooster pheasant in the road took a quick hop into the ditch -- and landed up to his neck in snow. Then he tried to paddle away from the road and toward the fence. At least he was out of the way, and I no longer had to worry about running over him.
Somehow, I managed to make it up around the hill and then up the hill to our driveway -- the same hill that is in the story about riding Dusty to the hayfield in Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows Roam.
When I brought the kitty carrier in the house, I set it on the floor in the living room and opened the door. Sophie shot out of the carrier as if she had been shot out of a cannon. She spied my Shetland Sheepdog, Pixie, and raced over to her to bump and rub on Pixie's legs and to give her head bumps. My goodness, but Sophie was glad to see Pixie!
Then Sophie raced into the bedroom and hopped up on the bed. All of her kitty pals were there. Even Duke, who is half Maine Coon and weighs 20 pounds. For the past two days, Duke has been following me all around the house, meowing. I think he missed Sophie and wondered what was going on. Ever since Sophie was a tiny kitten, she has liked to snuggle up with Duke
Sophie gave each of the kitties head bumps and licks before laying down on the bed so she could purr.
A few minutes later, I brought in a plate of canned kitty food for Sophie. She ate almost all of it, hopped off the bed and went into the kitchen. I set the container of kitten chow on the floor for her. She ate some of that, too.
The vet tech at the clinic was quite concerned that Sophie had not eaten anything this morning. She said if Sophie wasn't eating well by Saturday that I should call and get some antibiotic for her.
So far, so good -- seeing as Sophie has already had one snack so soon after coming home. (Poor little kitty. She hasn't had anything to eat to since Tuesday afternoon!That's one of the things I dislike about taking an animal in for spay or neuter surgery. They have to go for a couple of days without eating.)
Once Sophie was settled in, I went down to the basement and hauled out the snowblower. For the past two days, I have been wading through snow down the lane to take hay to the lower part of the pasture where Isabelle likes to eat her hay.
I won't have to wade through snow anymore. The snowblower and I made quick work out of clearing a path. I should have done it on Monday after the "big snowstorm" but quite frankly, I just didn't think about doing it.
Isabelle thought the snowblower was a good excuse to run around and kick up her heels. I don't think she was afraid of it. I think it just made her feel gleeful.
I also cleared the upper driveway with the snowblower. I figured if I did the driveway with the snowblower, then Randy wouldn't have to get the tractor out until Saturday to neaten things up, if he doesn't feel like it.
So far, it's been a grand day.
It snowed some more.
I got the snowblower started.
But best of all -- Sophie is home!
LeAnn R. Ralph
Wednesday, March 15, 2006, 19:55
Sophie Update
Dr. Halama from the vet clinic in town called a few minutes ago. Sophie came through the spay surgery this morning just fine and was starting to wake up from the anesthetic. She can come home Thursday morning anytime after 9 a.m.!
The vet also said that all of Sophie's blood work was normal, so that's good, too. They like to do kidney and liver function tests and a complete blood count before putting an animal under anesthetic for the first time.
As for me, I've got to go to town this afternoon to get horse feed and kitty litter and cat food for the barn kitties and some other odds and ends. I figure I better go today because the weather forecast is calling for. . .SNOW. Again. The forecasters are saying we might get anywhere from three inches to six inches, starting tonight and lasting on into tomorrow. Doesn't make any sense to be driving 15 miles on snowy roads if I don't have to make the trip. I'll have to drive six miles, though, to get Sophie and bring her home. But six miles to bring Sophie home is different than fifteen miles to run errands.
(Yipee! Sophie came through the surgery just fine!)
LeAnn R. Ralph
