Musings on a Small Life

Niko got another bird today! At least he ate the head this time, so I had no doubt the poor thing was quite dead before I scooped it up into yet another plastic bag and tossed it into my garage. But I really do have to wonder how dumb the birds are. He's declawed , for heaven's sake! I guess he's just a hunter-extraordinaire. ****** Derry's vet called this afternoon. As expected, the culture and sensitivity test came back negative. So there's nothing further to be done except finish off his pain meds. Which mostly have been ending up on my hand or on the counter anyway. I'm going to ask about Cosequin (for both boys, actually) when I'm there with Nicki on Thursday morning. Derry's still peeing normally, but obviously this will be a "one day at a time" thing. I really hope he doesn't have another bout, but if he does, I'll be calling the vet pronto and we'll go from there. ****** Still lots of pics from Halifax, these were snapped...

So I got home and found that Niko, the neighbour's declawed mighty hunter, had caught another bird and left it, uneaten, on the ground by my shrub. This is what, the fourth or fifth bird now? Plus that one rodent he had for breakfast by my welcome mat one morning in the late spring or early summer, leaving the entrails for me. I debated leaving the bird for him to gnaw on at his leisure, but then realized it would attract vermin.  Off I went to fetch a plastic bag, and I scooped it up, a bit disturbed by the vibration from the bag. Gaaggh , I thought, was it still alive? But the neck looked broken. I put the bag down on the step, crossed my fingers the poor bird truly was dead, then opened up the garage door. Picked up the bag...and heard a buzzing, felt another vibration.  OMG, I freaked out! Screamed my fool head off, at the top of my lungs, and threw the bag up in the air and away from me, to have it land half way down my little driveway. Two big flies flew out of the ...

Before I post a few more pics from the Halifax Public Gardens, I'll give you a Derry update. I think he peed overnight (about 5cm round) and then he did make a smaller clump this AM. Nothing when I got home this aft, though he was in and out of the litter box before he finally went and made oh, about a 4 cm x 5 cm clump. Not big, but not super tiny, either. He really prefers quiet and privacy, and at the time he was in and out of the box in the living area just about every dog in the damned complex was barking its fool head off, making a huge ruckus. This has caused me to wonder if all the barking that one of the neighbour's dogs does every single day , off and on all day , is upsetting Derry too. I think I'll see if PetSmart has any Feliway in stock. Wouldn't you know it, I just threw away the diffuser I'd had for Annie and Nicki (which didn't work for them). But maybe it would work for Derry, at least a bit. I don't want to go with a calming collar becau...

I was plugging away at my spreadsheet at the office yesterday morning when lo and behold there appeared the former co-worker who had spoken so unkindly to me about the care I was giving Annie back in February, the day before I had to let her go. Which happens to be 32 weeks today. I had not seen her or spoken to her in the past almost-8 months and I think she only came up because she must have thought I was away--she was looking for another co-worker who happens to be on holiday this week. So I simply said no, he was gone all week and that was that. No greeting, no chit chat, no pleasantries on either side. And I found it all to be rather anti-climactic, in truth. Because for the past 32 weeks I've mentally cringed every single morning coming in to work, leery of running into her, not knowing if I would acknowledge her, and if so, what I'd say. But reality was utterly impersonal, perhaps even more impersonal that if it had been a complete stranger. And so that's that. ...

I get to work for 7AM as usual today. A building staff member is coming out the main doors as I'm going in, and I say hi, express surprise she's here so early. She's taking her 30-something, skinny, perky self off to the gym to work out, of course. And I'm there with my vanilla latté in one hand, lunch time groceries (which includes chocolate) in another. Let me tell you, the only thing worse than someone young, skinny, genuinely super-nice, ambitious, intelligent and capable is someone young, skinny, genuinely super-nice, ambitious, intelligent, capable and disgustingly perky . At 7-freaking AM. On a work day. I just had to get that out. Okay, Halifax Public Garden pics, part 2. Enjoy!  There's a large pond in the Gardens.... Nope, I'm not done yet with the Garden pics, sorry. More another time.  :-) Universal Blessings, Light and Mercy to All Beings.

Happy Monday, everyone. Maybe if I write "happy" Monday enough I'll feel happy about the start of the week. LOL. But it is a glorious sunny day, 22C, perfect weather to walk home later this afternoon and savour the warmth, while we still have it. Oh, before I post a few Public Gardens pics, I just have to note that around midnight I remembered reason #57 to NOT adopt another cat: hoarking up hairballs at 12AM. Used to be Annie, because of her long fur, but last night it was Nicki, just a wee one. He got brushed then, after I cleaned up the mess and before I went back to bed, and then again this morning before I left for work. It's so rare for him to have a hairball that I don't bother to brush him enough. My bad. Anyway, here you go, some of the many garden pics I snapped on the 14th. Here comes the mate...The enclosure is new-to-me and I was puzzled by it, as all the birds in the Gardens can fly away at will--or used to be able to do so. Lots more to come the...