My sister Mary called to tell me her cat Shaman had been been sprayed by a skunk. She said it wasn’t your regular gee-the-cat-stinks story. Oh no. This is OUR family. She knew she’d have to give Shaman a bath. She prepared the traditional skunk scent removing bath of tepid tomato juice, scooped up the
Read MorePets & Animals
Don’t tell me he’s harmless! He’s still big
I joined the chicken co-op here at the farm and the “girls” are laying eggs like crazy. I have Tuesdays which pretty much keeps us set with eggs until my next stint. I have a history with chickens. If you haven’t read my blog about being the alpha chicken, you can find it here: I’m the
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Hey buddy, move that car
The half-moon had that hazy summer heat aura, giving the sky a misty glow as we rode home at 10 PM last night. The air was scented with something flowery and we were in the Miata convertible. We rounded a corner only to brake hard, gasping at the green glowing eyes of a black dog
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Moe Saves the Family
The night after my first marriage there was a terrible tornado. So tempting to draw an analogy here but that would be a cheap shot. It was a small wedding in my parent’s backyard in June. It was a balmy, wildflower scent wafting, sunny day. But the next day was Midwestern hot and humid with
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Danger: Bored Creative Kids
My older brother was always getting into trouble and dragging me along with him. Worst of all was the cat and the laundry chute incident. Our house had two floors and a basement. In the hallway on the second story was a laundry chute for dirty sheets, towels, and clothing, all of which came out
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Help! Help! A Murder of Crows!
My friend Lucy had an unfortunate run in with a batch of crows. They don’t call a flock of crows a “murder” for nothing. Here’s proof. As she squealed into her parking space at work one morning, Lucy hit and killed a crow scavenging through fast food wrappers. Suddenly, a hundred angry crows surrounded her
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Mayday! Hummingbird Bomber at 2 feet!
The hummingbirds are back looking around the porch for their feeders. We enjoy watching the hummer wars as they fight over the nectar and the territory. Hummers are beautiful, aggressive little monsters and in full summer it’s like a battle zone of tiny intense soldiers vying for the prize. When we sit out on our porch
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Coworkers: cats are lousy ones
I’ve been talking to my cats Zim and Jack several times a day. I consider them my coworkers since I’m home more what with Covid-19 social distancing and moving my coaching and Sister Circles on-line. Zim and Jack are crappy coworkers. I’d be calling HR about their harassment but I am HR. They demand food
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Riding the Updraft
I drive by an active limestone quarry on my way home. It’s common to see 20 plus vultures sailing on the updrafts from the stone pits. I figure it’s the one beauty in a vulture’s life: to be sailing in the sunshine on the updrafts. Ken says we might want to be worried about the
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Sweating With the Kitties
We have 2 cats: Zim and Jack Pumpkinhead. Sadly, some of our family developed cat allergies so the kitties got demoted to permanent outside status. Jack doesn’t mind being outside because he’s a former stray who has never been inside although he knows that inside is where the cat food lives. Zim is unhappy about
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