Happy 4th of July — Independence Day

 

I’m delighted to report that most of the people in my neighborhood are refraining from setting off fireworks in these tinder-dry conditions.

 

I heard some last night, but they appeared to be quite far away.

 

It’s illegal to shoot them off this year except in unincorporated Pierce County (where we are), and it’s only legal on July 4th (today and tonight), so every one I heard last night was illegal, but they were very sporadic and widely dispersed.  (Sadly, probably a kind of FU to the authorities…which made them more irritating to me than they would otherwise have been.)

 

I hope I don’t hear many tonight. The Puyallup Fairgrounds may offer a public display. If they do, we will be able to see and hear them from here.

 

My goats fear fireworks

 

The worst thing about fireworks is that they traumatize military veterans with PTSD and animals, tame and wild.  I’m just not into doing frivolous, celebratory things that are detrimental to other living beings.

 

We had  a close call the last time we set off fireworks a decade ago

 

We no longer shoot them off here at home; haven’t for at least ten years. We had a close call the last time we did. That was enough to convince us to leave it to the pros.

 

Two of the fireworks went over on their sides at the same time and flew around the back yard, almost setting the house on fire before one of them hit someone on the chest and the other one headed straight toward the back of our property where there was a dense tangle of brush that would have caught fire had it reached there.

 

Although the lawn was well watered and we had a hose at the ready, we still came close to setting off a catastrophe.  No more.

 

In Other News…

 

 

Rat urine is very odiferous.  I’m going to find a used 55 gallon aquarium and set it up for my rats, instead of keeping them in the Taj Mahal cage I have.  I can keep an aquarium more pristine than I can a cage.  (Unless the rat litter I ordered makes a huge difference. It will be here in a few days.)

 

I found a 55-gallon aquarium on Offer Up for $40 nearby. If I can get that, I will.  (But it has been listed for seven months. I don’t know if it’s still available.)

 

It will also be easier to interact with the rats when they’re in an aquarium. They’re getting friendlier; they know I’m their feeder, so they come over to the front of the cage whenever they see me.

 

They love pasta!  I buy a frozen dinner made by DEVOUR which is a chicken cordon bleu mac and cheese combo.  I share about four teaspoons of it with the rats every time I eat one because they love it so.

 

They also like tomatoes, apples, granola, almonds, lettuce, peas, chicken, corn, and peanut butter.  (Who would’ve guessed tomatoes?  That was a surprise!)  I have a bag of rat and mice food. The other things I listed are their treats…

 

I think my right side drainage tube can come out on Tuesday

 

I have to get permission from the nurse up north, but the drainage is so slight now that it meets the criteria for removal.  What a relief that will be!  Progress toward normalcy!!!

 

The left hand side output is slowing now, too, so I hope that drain will be able to come out by the end of the week.  I want to be able to get into compression shorts and regular clothes again without worrying about pulling tubes out of my flesh every time I need to use the bathroom. Four weeks of being handicapped in this way is quite enough!

 

I wish those of you who are in the U.S. a safe and sane 4th of July!!!