Recently, except for a two-hour interview with Larry Nemecek and his followers about DeForest Kelley on June 11th and my daily walk that averages 11K steps, I’ve been vegging (more or less), coloring in coloring books, reading other books, and watching movies (very few movies, several books).

 

With no writing work coming in and no new book on my mind except for the extended edition of LET NO DAY DAWN THAT THE ANIMALS CANNOT SHARE which Lisa Twining is finalizing for its debut in InDesign, I’ve been coasting, lying fallow, enjoying each day as it passes.

 

I’ve been coming up with an itinerary for when Tracey R. visits with me from August 7th to 13th, including trips to Northwest Trek, Ruby Beach, and the Hoh Rainforest. For the longer trip to Hoh/Ruby Beach, I’m inviting several women friends to join us, if they can get away. I’m waiting to hear back from them on their availability. Lisa has already said yes; Judi and Jessie haven’t responded yet. Jessie recently lost her husband after a years’-long illness, so I don’t expect to hear from her terribly soon. I hope she will feel like getting away when we go; it would probably do her heart good.

 

Patches, my geriatric cat, has begun to caterwaul almost constantly

 

I read up on geriatric changes in ancient cats (she’s at least 20 now), and anxiety, clinging,  and caterwauling are three of the symptoms. She’s still finding and using her litter box, eating and drinking, and physically comfortable but — emotionally– she appears to be a near wreck.

 

She isn’t in pain; as soon as she sees/finds me, and I sit with and pet her, she settles right down, purrs, and she sleeps with me while I read or watch a movie indoors. But whenever she’s awake during the day, if I’m not right there in the same room with her, she wanders around and cries pitifully, as though she can’t figure out where I’ve gone. And she can’t hear me well enough anymore to hear me call out to her. She doesn’t see very well anymore, either.  So, she’s trapped inside her head, wondering what happened to the rest of the world, I guess. How awful that would be!  Yes, cats suffer from senility and dementia, too, but again, she is still reliably finding and using her litter pan and eating and drinking from her food and water dishes, so she’s not (yet–and I hope never!) completely addlepated.

 

 

I’m just beginning to wonder if life for her has become more a burden than a blessing, and I don’t want her suffering emotionally or physically. So, now I’m weighing whether to have her euthanized. So far, I’ve been saying no. I just hope I don’t wait too long and find myself regretting my hesitation. I hope the calming collars and pheromone therapy I’ve ordered will ease her symptoms. They will arrive first thing in the morning.

 

In short, these changes in her behavior are breaking my heart.  She’s making me anxious ’cause I don’t have any answers for her beyond the calming collars and pheromone relief, so I hope they will help her de-escalate. If not, I have to more seriously consider the other, most heartbreaking, option.  Arghhh!  Agonizing. But I’ve had to do it before for other dearly loved pets and for friend’s pets, and I know that at some point, it may become the sole remaining humane option. So, I’m mentally and emotionally preparing myself for that eventuality.

 

I’m still sleeping in my tent under its new canopy most of every night with Charli (my other cat). Patches is always welcome to join us, but she prefers being inside where it’s warmer, so when I walk in during the night to use the toilet, she usually cries out and comes to me, so I frequently stay inside for the rest of the night so she can sleep with me in the recliner, even though I’d prefer going back into the tent.  I sleep sooooooo much better outside!

 

CROCK POT

 

I’m cooking another homemade soup this morning and looking forward to eating that over the next couple of weeks. I always make enough that I can freeze some for later meals.

I will be adding corn, peas and carrots later!

 

CROWS

 

One of the crows I’ve been feeding for years (or an offspring of one of them) has finally decided I’m not very scary. She (he?) flies right down within feet of me, or lands inches over my head on a roof if I don’t make filling her feeding dishes my priority at least a couple times a day. She even lets me stand just feet away and watch her eat now. I’m hoping that by the end of summer she will let me hold the dish while she eats out of it.  She is so close to figuring out that I’m safe!!! Maybe that’s because she watches me picking up my “pet” chicken so often, petting her, and then putting her back down that she is feeling better about me. I would never try to embrace her like I do the chicken, but she doesn’t know that, so I can understand why she’s still a little wary.

 

The other crows remain stand-offish. They must have been treated terribly by the family who lived in this house 15+ years ago, because it has taken one of them this long to realize I’m on-call to take care of them any time they ask.  The former family had a grape arbor and a vegetable garden in the back yard instead of a goat pasture and chicken yard, so I reckon they shooed crows away.  “My” crows keep coyotes, hawks and eagles off the property, so of course I reward them with food. They are my unpaid watchdogs — and they know how to give a raucous, nippy counteroffensive to aerial and terrestrial predators. I love ’em!

 

THE NEW CANOPY

 

We’ve had several windy days here recently, but my new canopy has weathered them. The 30 mph wind gusts didn’t faze it.  I have 25-pound sacks of sand on each leg of the canopy, plus I have tent stakes in the feet of the canopy, and so far, the tent stakes haven’t been pulled out, which tells me the sandbags are holding the canopy tight. I would pull it down when higher winds are forecast, though.  I don’t want to risk losing it and the frame to wind!

 

I guess that’s just about all the news there is for this time.Enjoy the rest of your day!