Saturday, July 30, 2005, 06:32
Camping
I finally put up my posters around town on Friday to advertise the three kittens down in our barn that were born to the wild black momma kitty May 1. I suppose I ought to have put up posters before this, except I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to find the kittens.
For the past month, the momma kitty has been taking her kittens out "camping." I think she takes them to the woods across the road, and then I don't see them for a week. The last time she took them out, I had pretty much decided something must have happened to them and that I would never see them again. Every morning, the mother cat showed up in the barn to get some kitty food, but she didn't bring her kittens with her.
Then, just when I had given them up for dead, the three kittens showed up in the barn one morning -- hungry, tired and happy to get some food.
The momma kitty has been sticking closer to home lately. She takes her kittens out for an overnight stay in the woods, but she brings them back fairly quickly.
I'm not crazy about the idea of the kittens staying in the woods. And I know they're by themselves sometimes because the mother is back here, at the barn, eating kitty food.
I'm hoping the long camping excursions are over for the time being. If someone calls about the kittens, I want to know where to find them! Then again, that's why the kittens will be good mousers. Their momma is teaching them how.
LeAnn R. Ralph
Wednesday, July 27, 2005, 18:27
Cut to the Quick
"For tomorrow, expect bright blue skies, puffy white clouds and temperatures in the mid 70s," said the weather forecaster on television last night.
"Ah-caaaa," Randy said. "Ah-caaaa-Ah-caaaa."
"What's wrong with you?" I said.
"Ah-caaaa-Ah-caaaa," Randy said. "I'm coughing. I'll be much too sick to go to work tomorrow."
"You're sick?" I said.
"Yes-- Ah-caaaa-Ah-caaaa. See?" my husband replied.
"Doesn't sound too convincing," I said.
Even though this is turning out to be the most gorgeous day we've had in a month, my husband went to work this morning.
And what was I doing on such a beautiful morning? Attempting to separate my finger from the rest of my hand with a jagged tool.
Three weeks ago, I started trying to get a hold of my horseshoer so I could set up an appointment with him to trim Kajun's feet. He has not called me back. In the meantime, Kajun's feet, especially the right front foot (it's white, and white feet on a horse are always softer than dark feet), has begun to break off. So, this morning, since it was so cool and since we've had rain, which helps soften the hooves, I decided I would try trimming off the broken edges and rasping them down to prevent more pieces from breaking off (at least on the right front) .
I was doing quite well, too, I thought -- until the rasp slipped and scraped across the index finger of my left hand. Seconds later, when blood started dripping on the ground at my feet, I decided I ought to go into the house and do something to stop the bleeding.
Twenty minutes later, the wound was still seeping, but the blood loss had slowed considerably. I put a bandage on my finger. Then I got on the telephone and started calling. I found someone who said he would be willing to trim my horse's hooves although he also said he would put me on the list and that it might be a week or two before he gets here.
I hope this works out. I really do. I'm not sure how much more my fingers can take!
LeAnn R. Ralph
P.S. Sophie Update -- Baby Sophie is doing quite well. She hates the medicine she has to take every morning and evening (antibiotic and a probiotic to help her intestines get reseeded with "good" bacteria). She makes a face and backs away and generally is quite grumpy about it, but we manage. Otherwise, she is coming along and has settled into eating about 30 cc of formula every day (right around 6 teaspoons). She has a temper, too. She becomes quite upset when she's hungry and she's so frantic to eat that I can't hardly get the end of the syringe into her mouth so she can swallow some formula. We have to make quite a few tries before we succeed, and each time, she becomes more angry and grumpy about it because she's hungry. She actually growls and snarls a little bit! On a such a small kitten, it's hilarious, although when she's bigger, it won't be so funny. She eats, and then she plays with my fingers or toddles around on the floor for a while. And then, finally, she's sleepy and ready to go back into her "nest" with Mr. Effelant and her heating pad.