Musings on a Small Life

Some of you might remember that I bought a new cat fountain in early January. In fact, it was January 4th that it arrived and that I cleaned it per instructions and set it up.  I've been taking it apart (easy to do, albeit a pain in the butt) every six days (not five, not seven, but every six) and cleaning it all thoroughly, including the pump. I came home today, February 1st, to find it had died. No cat fur stuck in it, nothing obvious. Call me crazy, but I don't think that even a cheaply made water fountain should die in less than a month. I don't care the reason, I don't care if I got the only dud sold, I'm not going to spend any more of my valuable time and energy on this, or on any other, cat fountain. I am done with them. I've already had 2 Pioneer Pet Fountains (raindrop type, stainless steel, very finicky and difficult to keep clean) and now this one, all in 2.5 years. Enough. The boys will have to drink static water fro...

We're almost through the first work week of 2018; yay! Current temps in our city this morning: That's -9F with a windchill of -35F, for those who don't use Celsius. I'm very thankful for thermal layers and a toasty winter coat, and I'm sure the boys are thankful for their cosy napping spots. I really haven't been out taking pics this week, except for one lunch time when I walked over to Bellevue House, one of Sir John A. MacDonald's homes, and the one that's open for tours through the spring and summer. That's the only glimpse you can get from the street. A great old home in the same neighbourhood: It looks askew, the fence line is throwing me off! I did get around to clearing the back space last week (we've since had more snow), and both boys went out, briefly, to check their territory on a couple of days that were less bitterly cold.   Look closely at Derry, below, and you'll see a bit of snow on his nose. ...

For some crazy reason, last week I impulsively bought the Pet Pioneer stainless steel raindrop pet fountain for the boys. Neither of whom typically go near running water. Anyhoooo.... It arrived yesterday, so I assembled it...and I don't want to admit how long it took me to get the pump into the plastic casing. I watched three YouTube videos, all of which showed the pump and casing already together, fresh out of the box. But not mine, oh no. And I'm rather inept when it comes to things like that. Finally, after a long time, much cursing and a bit of luck, it went together. So I filled it up and plugged it in while it was on the counter...and had to take it all apart again to adjust the pump down to its lowest level. And then struggle to get the pump back into the casing, aligned correctly yet again. Already it's a pain in the ass. Never mind that you have to change the filter every 2 - 4 weeks. I put it by the patio door, where I typically have a wat...