Fall Is Here

It's been chilly the past few mornings, but when I looked outside this morning before heading off to the chickens, I decided to bundle up.  The forecast had said a low of 24 degrees, but it looked colder out the window.   Jeans, ragg wool socks, a T-shirt, sneakers, my quilted jacket, and a red and green striped pointed hat with elf ears sewn on and a big jingle bell on the end.  A lot of people driving down the roads did a double-take, and then waved at me this morning.  I smiled and waved back to everyone.  Bounced up the steps onto the bus and jingled all the way - made the bus driver laugh.  It was 17 degrees (F) when I left the house, and 27 when I returned an hour later.
   The hens were ready to come out, but their water bowl was almost dry, so I had to rinse and refill it.  I scattered some scratch and beans for them to snack on today.  Carter, the tom cat, definitely wanted to come outside and wander, but Xuxa, the girl, decided to stay inside where it was much warmer.  I'll get everyone back inside again at dusk.
   The bobcat is still around in my usual house-sitting neighborhood.  My brother-in-law was sitting at the dining room table, doing paper work, when he saw a movement on the patio.  He looked out, and the bobcat was investigating the sliding glass door and the picnic table, then it nosed around the woodpile, where the mink lives.  Jim got up to get his camera, and the bobcat went across the yard to one of the big cottonwood trees, and Jim said that it bounded up into the foliage in the blink of an eye - two leaps and it had disappeared.  Since the bobcat has been in the neighborhood for 2 weeks now, I sent out a reminder to folks to keep an eye on their smalls dogs and cats.  I'm pretty sure the bobcat is feeding well off the huge number of rabbits in the area, but so are the fox pair.
   I am not going to any shopping center or retail store today, Black Friday.  I've already read headlines about shootings and stampedes with injuries - so, as usual, I'm staying away from all that madness.

Rosie and Critters

Hopefully I can get back into the habit of blogging every day...  This past three-day weekend was very relaxing, and the cats let me sleep in on both Saturday and Sunday.  Yesterday I walked one dog and stopped by my sister's house to drop off photos from my vacation, and we ended up sitting and chatting for more than 3 hours.  It was wonderful.  Today we have heavily overcast skies, but there is a slight bit of sunshine to the east.  Bertrando is on top of his telephone pole, with a slice of apple, trying to pull in some warmth.  The raven family hasn't visited the restaurant dumpster next door yet, which is pretty unusual for them.  They are usually here eating and partying from sun up until 9 or so.  Lovey is curled up in my bed, and Nedi is asleep in the living room cat tree.
    I feel so much for Rosie and her family.  Rosie is an Irish Setter, and is well over 14 years old now.  She eats well, is very alert when not sleeping, and is doing well physically, except for her hind-end. Her vision and hearing are not what they were, but her nose misses nothing. The vet says she has no feeling at all in her right hind leg, and has only partial feeling in the left hind.  Her hind legs have lost their muscle tone.  She can get up from sitting or lying with a little effort.  And she has no problem walking, trotting, or even making short runs on the ground or floors.  Stairs and steps are her downfalls - literally.  Her rear end collapses and she slides, with her back legs knocking her front legs out from under her.  Then she looks extremely embarrassed and woeful, as only an older dog can...  Rosie gets acupuncture every two weeks, as well as laser joint treatments.  She has developed a thyroid problem, and takes one pill a day for it.  And she's gotten very finicky as she age progresses.  At the moment, her favorite edibles are meatballs from Lucky's Market...  She'll do almost anything for a Lucky's meatball.....   Rosie's young man just had his 21st birthday, and he was reluctant to go back to his senior year of college.  We all are really hoping that she'll be here when he returns for winter break.  She is such a good and loving dog.  I dread the day she will cross the Rainbow Bridge.
    I start taking care of  Charlie, Tinkerbell, and 7 hens today.  Charlie is part pug and gosh-only-knows what else... she is bouncy and full of energy.  Tinkerbell is the very aloof cat; so aloof the housekeeper didn't know she was living in the house, and was very frightened by her appearance one day.  And the hens are out in the rear third of the acre back yard.  I just hope that Blanca will want to come inside the next few evenings!

Chicken Wrangling

I introduced my apartment-sharer, Beatrice, to the joys of chicken wrangling on Sunday evening.  I had spent more than 45 minutes getting the last hen inside the coop on Saturday.  I figured that with two humans, on Sunday, we would shorten the time. Nope.  Beatrice has petted and fed a few of the hens I care for over the years. Of the hens I care for, most of are in a small yard and are easy to lure into the coop for the night, or are easy to catch and carry inside the coop confines.  The hens I was caring for over the weekend have almost half an acre to roam, and there are multiple trees and bushes scattered across the area.  We spent over an hour chasing the chickens on Sunday evening.  Last night, I took a treat and got all but one inside the coop immediately.  The one hen that avoided capture for so long each night is a white Rock Island, and I call her Blanca.  Last night, at least, it only took 20 minutes to get Blanca cooped, as she could see and hear the other hens enjoying the salad I had given them.  I think I'll write a book titled:  In Pursuit of the White Hen .....

Books and Critters

Yesterday and today have been busy - met the Brittany Spaniels' family at 5:20 yesterday morning, and was a passenger to DIA, then drove back home to feed the girls.  Roxie and Finney are fun.  Then over to take care (feed, water, and walk the dogs, and feed and water the hens) of the Chandler critters.  Discovered their Subaru in the driveway has a flat tire this morning - I hope they have a spare.  Spent the night with the girls, and enjoyed the fireplace.  But, after feeding and walkin them, and taking care of the Chandler critters this morning, it was still only 4 degrees (F) when I came home to my place to feed the kits and clean their boxes.  Lovey attached herself to my chest and wouldn't let go, once I sat down.  Nedi explored the balcony for 5 seconds and returned inside.  Taking down the Christmas tree tomorrow - have to find a small box to place all the new ornaments in.  Finished re-reading Betrayer and Intruder yesterday - began another Jack Reacher novel last night, and it's very good, as usual.  Then I'll begin The Bone Labyrinth....
  Beatrice made herself Belgium waffles for breakfast today - glad I picked up milk on the way home from the Spaniels.  Looks like I'll have a pizza while watching the Broncos and Bengals play tonight; I could prepare chicken and broccoli risotto, but I think I'll put that together tomorrow.  It's 3:55 now, and the sun is going behind a cloud that's sitting on top of Mount Sanitas - it'll be behind the mountains in 8 minutes and the darkness will begin again.  I don't like winter, even though I know that the natural world has to have time to prepare for Spring renewal.  I want sunshine and warmth!  Or the sea, at least!

Quiet Two Days

Four inches of fine powdery snow fell Christmas night - major streets in Boulder are clear, but our parking lot is an ice rink.  The dogs and hens on Emerald have been wonderfully cooperative, and Beatrice and I spent yesterday and today (until she went to work), watching The Croods, Centennial, and several Harry Potter movies on the television.  Lovey and Nedi have been very well behaved, except when I left to care for the Emerald critters this morning, when Nedi decided I had abandoned him, and sat outside Bea's door and howled until she got up and loved him.  (My cats - spoiled?  Never!)  Currently, Nedi is curled up asleep on my green sweater, and Lovey is curled up in the middle of the bed.
   Other than going over to Emerald yesterday, everyone stayed at home for Christmas.  I promised four visits each day, and I'm following that...  I'll be headed over there shortly, before I pick Bea up from work.  We were cloudy all yesterday, and had the snow begin to fall at 5 last night; had a few flurries this morning, but it cleared this afternoon, and we're expecting our low temperature to be -5 (F) by morning.  And I'll be out on the sidewalk in front of the apartment at 5:30 in the morning, as I have clients going to Denver International Airport then...  They'll pick me up, and I'll drive the car back to Boulder.  Then I'll be staying at their house, with two Brittany Spaniels until the following Sunday.  I must be out of my mind to agree to stand on the sidewalk at 5:30 in the morning, with the temperature at -5!
   Anyway, with Bea at work, I didn't cook tonight - I ate leftovers from yesterday.  Finished off the maple sausage we had for breakfast, then ate the glazed carrots and string beans with bacon....  We had a home made platter of cut apples and pears and baby carrots along with walnuts, cheese and crackers for lunch yesterday.  Baked a six-and-a-half pound roasting hen for supper, with the carrots, green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, gingerbread and pumpkin pie.  This morning, we read the instructions on the new Belgium waffle maker, and we had home made waffles for breakfast...  One is supposed to throw away the first waffle made, as it might have too much oil in it.  The hens thought that waffle was delicious!
  So Beatrice is off work on Sunday and Monday, but I'll be running back and forth between the critters at Emerald until Tuesday night, as well as staying with the Spaniels for the next 8 days - and I'll start back with daily walks of Rosie and Tess again on Monday...  But that's OK - we both have plenty of books to read, and I'll be coming home twice a day to spend time with my kits...  And then Beatrice gets to start her usual work week again on Tuesday.  I very rarely sit still - and taking care of such a wide variety of houses and pets makes life interesting!

Holidays Equal Busy Times

Sorry for the absence from blogging - I'm usually at my busiest over holidays, and this year is no exception.  While I am not staying at any specific house until the 27th, I am caring for 5 houses, 2 with cats, and one with hens and dogs - but am sleeping at home with my kits.  Lovey is currently standing/lying across my chest, while Nedi was seeing if he could chew through some ornament hangers.  We've been rather cold since Tuesday's eleven inches of snow, with lows at night in the single digits (Fahrenheit).  However, we're having some melt, as it was 50 yesterday and 60 today, in the sunshine.  It was odd - one side of the street, in the sunlight said 60 degrees, while the same corner, on the other side of the street, in the shade, said it was 43 degrees.
   I have been experiencing my annual computer difficulties.  The blasted thing keeps freezing on me, and I have to do an emergency shut down and then totally reboot, causing me to lose what I've just been working on.  I've run all of my virus scans, debugging scans, registry, add-ons and problem solving scans; they all say that everything is fine.  Well, if it's fine, then why does it freeze?
  I'm going to wait for a couple of weeks to go see the new Star Wars movie - I saw the first one on opening day down in Gainesville, and saw the second and third ones at the theater, also in Florida.  I think I saw the fourth one in a theater.  Haven't seen the fifth and sixth.  I'll be going just to see Harrison Ford reprise his role as Han Solo in this one....
   It was crazy at one house earlier this week.  I was staying there, with the dog, while the owners were away.  The lady of the house employs two house-keepers - one comes for two hours on each Monday and Friday; the second cleaner is a single mother and she cleans on Wednesday for two hours.  The cleaner who comes twice a week is Hispanic, and frequently uses her "no speaka da English" as a reason to not follow directions.  The husband of the house-owning couple speaks a Mexican, Peruvian, and pure Spanish dialect.  She pretends she doesn't understand him, either.  She is from a small town, just south of the Mexico-Texas border, so she should understand at least one of the dialects.  Anyway, Modesta worked Monday, as usual.  Heather came on Wednesday, but could only stay for one hour, not two, as she had to clean a house she had missed on Tuesday, due to it being a "Snow Day" for local schools.  Heather asked me if she could come back Thursday, or maybe Friday, to make up the hour.  I told her to come Thursday, as the other house cleaner came on Friday, and that Modesta could be very territorial about the house and her cleaning.  Heather left her payment on the kitchen counter, as she hadn't finished her work.  She called and left a message for the owner, telling her that she was doing two one hour shifts.  The owner called both Heather and me to say that Heather should just take her payment and not work on Thursday.  The owner had to leave a message for Heather.  I called Heather and left the same message.  Then I left the door unlocked, so Heather could get her payment, and I left for 70 minutes to walk a neighbor's dog.  When I returned, I could see Heather's tire prints in the snow in front of the house; but Modesta's car was also there.  As soon as I came in, she started yelling at me about the other cleaner - Heather.  Heather's payment was gone.  I just grabbed the dog and left, because I didn't want to hear Modesta's commentary.  She was upset that another house cleaner was there - and she had come a day early, because she didn't want to have to work at the house on Friday.  The only reason she could get inside was because I had left the house unlocked for Heather - neither of them has a house key.  When I returned 90 minutes later, with the dog, Modesta had left and left me a note saying that she was the house cleaner and she would see me Monday.  In the meantime, Heather called the owner because Modesta had scared the daylights out of her...  The owners came home early today, and it seems that Modesta may no longer be cleaning their house....   Weird.

Deafness and Death

I read with great interest the small news item from the Journal of Neuroscience stating that if a person is immersed, or concentrating, on something visual, they may experience "inattentional deafness" and ignore someone speaking to them.  Just about everyone in my family suffers from this "inattentional deafness" - especially when reading, writing, or creating art.  I thought that most people suffered from it.  The distracting items that they tested people with were books, music, and video games.  I don't play video games, but I do read and listen to music and become deaf to other things in the world around me.
   Both of my parents became deaf when reading, and Dad did it when listening to operas, too.  Both I and my sister become lost in books we're reading, and we cannot listen to music with headphones or earbuds and operate machinery (for instance, driving a car).  We become a part of the story and/or a part of the music - and the rest of the world ceases to exist.  We become deaf and dumb and totally non-responsive, unless we are touched.  Being touched by someone, or something (a cat or dog tongue) will break the spell of immersion.  In a way, it's wonderful - one can escape from the world.  However, being able to escape so easily sometimes makes one avoid responsibilities.  I try to never do that, although I once did....
   I blogged about the death of Gladys, the Rhode Island Red hen the other week.  The owners of the hens and cats returned home Monday afternoon.  Tuesday evening, as it grew dark, Jan was puttering around the back of the garden, with the hens in close proximity - they were on the look-out for treats.  As it became quite dark, Jan led the hens back to the coop at the front of the garden.  Usually the hens are happy to hop inside once it's dark, but they didn't want to go in last night.  Jan closed the front door, which had been open all day, and picked the hens up and placed them, one by one, inside the main nesting box.   When she went out this morning and opened the front door, she expected the usual parade of clucking hens to appear.  She found, instead, Dagma, dead and covered in blood at the front threshold.  She opened the lower side door, and a huge raccoon ran past her, hissing.  She opened the top door and saw that all of the hens were dead.  She's going to give up chickens for a while....    And I can't blame her.....

Vikings - and Life

I was a television slut Thursday afternoon and evening - I watched nine full hours of Vikings on the History Channel.   They had a marathon showing of all the episodes of this season (eight), plus the airing of the new, ninth episode.  The last episode for this season will air on Thorsday, April 23.  And, yes, I meant to misspell Thorsday.  I can revel in my Viking forebears for another week, knowing that the huge group of wonderful actors that brings Vikings to life, will be getting together again (for the most part) in June in lovely Ireland to film the fourth season.  Time has been twisted - after all, it is a fictional show, and the old Norse sagas can't be documented -  but, unless there's a big trick and twist coming in this last episode, it will diverge greatly from the Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok.   But that's OK - this is a wonderful series to watch for the language, the costume, and the fighting techniques.
   We had about four inches of wet snow fall Thursday; yesterday, rain was falling in Boulder onto melting snow - but on the drive to Denver International Airport, fields, pastures, mesas, and mountains were completely snow-covered; there were huge banks of cotton-wool fog; and several highways were closed due to accidents.  The rain and sleet continued to fall until mid-afternoon; then the sun appeared for a few hours, but it began raining again last night.  It was raining this morning when I went home and visited my kits, and was changing to a rain and sleet mix when I headed over to Dellwood to care for the hens, fish and cats.  Xuxa was not happy that I wouldn't let her outside this morning - but I'd rather her and Carter be inside and safe (and upset with me) than have them outside in miserable weather.
   I'm currently back at Tessa's, having taken care of my kits, the critters at Dellwood, doing my shopping, and feeding the critters here (plus walking Tessa).  Tessa and I visited Rosie last night for an hour, and will do so for 90 minutes tonight.  I now have reservations for my vehicle lease for my vacation in July and August, and I have also purchased bumper-to-bumper accident insurance.  The rest of the family purchased their plane tickets last weekend - flying en masse from Denver to Washington National Airport and back.  I'm following the same itinerary, but I'll leave a few days before and follow them home a few days later.  My friend Beatrice will be looking after my cats while I'm gone - and as they both like her, it's wonderful.  She's still not used to Lovey trying to climb her like a tree - but I think I'm the only one used to that habit.
   I'm catching up on missed episodes of NCIS and Person of Interest this weekend, and I did duck into the library and find two new books to read - one's a new mystery by Margaret Coel, and the other is a new Clive Cussler book.  I also picked up a copy of  Thundercloud by Preston and Child, realizing that I haven't read it in over 13 years….
   Hope you have a wonderful weekend!  We'll be getting much needed moisture.

Snow!

Weather-wise, Boulder has had a great few past weeks.... Highs in the 60s and 70s (F), breezes, no rain.  But that's also a problem because we are an arid area, up against the mountains.  The snow pack, which we depend on for water during the Spring and Summer, has shrunk greatly.  We are getting a respite from the dry weather over this next week.  After a week of warmth causing me to pin my hair up, the snow began falling at six o'clock this morning.  The snow melted as it struck my face on the way to the bakery this morning, and I could see wet spots from flakes on the sidewalk as I walked home.  The grass in the back yard is now covered - and the squirrels are looking wet and raggedy.  I put out extra nuts and dried fruit for the squirrels this morning, as well as seed for the birds - and I will do so again tomorrow.  The weather guys say we'll get between 3 and 17 inches of snow by tomorrow night.  I'd rather just have rain - but we need the moisture, so I'm not complaining.
  I returned the books to the library yesterday, but I didn't have time to pick up any more to read...  I'll make do with old favorites here at home for the rest of he week and weekend.  I closed all the open windows on the chicken coop at Dellwood last night, not knowing whether we'd get rain or snow - or when it would start.  I've let the hens out this morning, and, besides their scratch, gave them broccoli and sweet potatoes.  They have a sheltered area at the front of their coop, and there are several other places they can seek refuge in around the yard, so I'm not worried about them.  (It might be hard to round them up this evening - but that's later...)  I decided to leave Carter and Xuxa in the house today, so they're a little upset with me.
   Lovey and Nedi stepped out onto the patio this morning, then came back inside.  That's normal for Lovey, but odd for Nedi.  The poor little boy has a nasty head and nose cold - he really likes slightly warmed broth, and it helps him get rid of nose congestion, so he's getting the royal treatment.  Since he's not feeling his best, he's been snuggling as much as possible - so I have him on one side of me and Lovey on the other anytime I sit down or lie down...  It's very comforting and nice - except when Nedi begins a sneeze string that lasts for more than three minutes.  Then it's wet and messy; but he's my little boy, and I love him no matter what.

Critters and Adjustments

I had to keep dosing myself with meclazine yesterday, as my vertigo decided to make a big come-back.  Thank goodness you can now get it over-the-counter instead of needing an MD's prescription  - I'd much rather pay $4.99 for 24 than have to pay $36 for 20, after a visit to the doctor's office.  My left inner ear has gone fuzzy again, but it usually clears up in a few days.  No pain, no hearing loss, just loss of equilibrium; made it difficult to check the hens' laying boxes yesterday.  Carter and Xuxa were having a wild and crazy morning when I appeared to give them breakfast this morning - the throw rugs were everywhere except where they normally rest, and they were having a blast chasing one another upstairs and downstairs.  The hens were happy to get out this morning, and something had tried to get inside the coop last night.  The blue tarp that lies over the brown thermal blanket had been moved about quite a bit on the west end of the coop, but no damage was done.  It was probably one of the local raccoons looking for food and a warm spot to hunker down.
  The kits are curled up on the end of my bed this morning, and I'm waiting for the CSU Rams to appear in their Bowl Game at 1:30 this afternoon.  I have to admit I'll probably switch over to the Redskins game, once they kick off.    We had blue skies yesterday afternoon, with nice sunshine, and I hope that happens again today; but the mountain areas to our west are supposed to get 1 to 2 feet of snow by tomorrow night - great for the skiers and snowboarders.  The forecasters still can't say whether Boulder will have a white Christmas, or not; but it looks like we'll have snow just about every evening beginning Monday.  For Christmas Day itself, some computer models show a trace of snow that night, while others show 10 inches falling throughout the day.  We'll see.  We need the liquid - in any form; rain, sleet, or snow.  I just don't want to have to travel too far by foot in it - ice on the sidewalks is treacherous here.
  Carter, Xuxa, and the hens' owners were due back from their vacation on Friday evening (Boxing Day), but with Jim in the hospital in Antigua following a ruptured appendix, I'm not sure when they will return.  That has added some quirks into my schedule from Christmas to New Years...  I don't want them to rush home due to me - I want Jim to recover before he flies back home - but my schedule was made with me thinking that I wouldn't be stopping by their place 3 and 4 times a day after Friday...  Now I'll just have to wait and see.  I can squeeze them into my bookings, but it will make for rushed visits to multiple places.  -   That's just me complaining, people...  I have to grouse a little every now and then.  -   I just want Jim and Jan to return to the States in good health, and able to continue their normal lives.
   I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!