Merry Christmas to Icarus, apparently!

This is the fountain that Bret and Amanda gave me for Christmas.  It is battery operated and sets on the counter by the bathroom sink.  It has a few rocks scattered on the base.  At one time it had more then a few, but here is the deal...Icarus thinks that this is her personal water fountain.  When she pops up there on the counter, which can be any time day or night, I am expected to switch it on so she can lap the water.  Like this:

If I am not there quickly enough she will take her delicate little paw and slide a rock over to the side and on to the counter.  Then she will take that same little paw and whack it and send it flying across the room.  Some times she drops them in the sink and then tries to get them out of there.  That makes noise that gets my attention.  So my question here is whose Christmas present was this, mine or the cat's?

This is the busiest cat I have every seen.  Sometimes when I am in the kitchen I will feel eyes on me.  When I look up that cat is invariably hanging down over the top of one of the cupboards watching me.  She will stay in that position until I forget she is there and then drop down and land on the counter behind me.  That is always good for the old cardiovascular as well as cleanliness in the kitchen.

She reads book!

Helps me with my blog!

Has long talks with Daisy!

And naps with Elvira!

Early in the morning and early in the evening, I go out to do my chores.  I am, of course, accompanied by two dogs and a cat that thinks she is a dog.  Course lots of time I arrive at the fowl house to find her already waiting for me there.  She waits on top of it.  She does not seem too alarmed when I explain about the fox.  When we come back to the house she runs ahead as the dogs like to ding around.  She hides behind a bucket by the gate and leaps out at them as the come trotting by.  Never ceases to scare the dickens out of them. 

Night time will find her either sleeping on the other side of the bed, or setting in my window if the moon is bright.  Have no idea what she is looking at out there, but I do know I sure sleep better with the two dogs in their beds at the bottom of the bed and the cat over there sound asleep.  One consolation there is as long as she is there I am confident she is not out some where getting ready to bring me my breakfast of a mouse, centipede or some other of God's creatures to brighten my night time hours.!

Thanks to the Wiccan for giving me a cat that fits so well into my lifestyle!

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I am just as serious as a heart attack!

Here I am having a visit with my geese.  There are 13 of those feathery fowl now.  This summer I did away with the pond and bought a really big stock tank.  My thoughts along that line were that it would be much easier to keep clean.  It is definitely easier.  And they love the thing.  Course I had to build them a dirt berm into it and a platform to give them footing to get out.  And in the digging process I screwed up my foot and neglected to go to the doctor so when I do get around to that I will probably have to have it amputated.  That is alright.  Easy come easy go.
So I had reason to be on the Southside a  week or so ago and happened upon a house which is currently being put on the market.  Full basement, 2 bedrooms up and 2 down.  Laundry down.  Patio. Storage shed with electric and cement floor in the back yard.  2 Car attached garage.  And neighbors.  Located on a cul de sac, so low traffic.  3 blocks from my friends Kay and Frank.  And the price is right.  I could sell this place and buy that one and put enough in the bank to live on for probably the rest of my life.
Now, I am thinking about this very seriously.  Yard work would be minimal.  Kitchen is a bit dated, but so am I.  The appliances are all new.  So is the furnace.  Only draw back is no outside fowl are allowed in the city.  Imagine the neighbors when I pull up with my stock tank and 13 honking geese!   If I could get lucky and find someone to buy this place that would take the geese and promise to never sell them, or eat them, or let the fox eat them, I would be headed for town in a New York minute. (That means really fast!)
Winter is coming on and I am sure at some point it is going to snow.  The pond will freeze.  The geese will run out of feed and all kinds of problems happen out doors.  I do not like winter.  Pueblo is not as bad as Hutchinson used to be.  We are kind of in a hole here and severe anything is just not the norm.  But if I was in town, I could just stay in the house.  Well, I still have to shovel the walk.  Except there I would have to shovel the driveway, my sidewalk and the one in front of the house. Here I just mash it down.  Cities have rules.  I forgot that.
So maybe I will just wait a little longer until I am really old and I can go into the Assisted living.  Hmmm.  Wonder if they will let me bring the 2 dogs, cat, 2 looms, machine quilter, embroidery machine, ebay crap.....
Guess I am going to be cursed with living forever!

Wouldn't it be great if we could keep the kids little forever?

I guess probably the hardest thing for a mother to do is nothing.  There comes that time in a child's life when Momma can't help.  It is called reality.  They must make their own decisions and follow through.  That is where my son is at this moment.  His doggie has lots of problems that are not going to go away.  So.  The hardest thing in this life is to decide to euthanize a beloved pet.  Our pets never hurt us.  They give unconditional love and they do it every day, all day long.  They may not feel well, but they love us.  I can not remember how many times I walked in the vet's office with a dog, or cat, or bird, and walked out with my arms empty.  It never gets easier.  I always thought some day I would get used to it, but I never have.
I do think that I am a better person because of the animals that have gone through my life.  So tonight while I am sad, I am proud that my son can do what is right and know that he will be a better man.  More understanding because he has loved and lost.
Some one wrote a piece once.  It is called the Rainbow Bridge and it tells it just like it is.

Rainbow Bridge

There is a bridge connecting heaven and earth
It is called Rainbow Bridge because of its many colours

Just this side of the Rainbow Bridge there is a land of meadows,
hills, valleys with lush green grass

When a beloved pet dies, the pet goes to this special place
There is always food and water and warm spring weather

The old and frail are young again
Those who are maimed are made whole again

They play all day with each other
There is only one thing missing

They are not with their special person who loved them on Earth
So each day they run and play until the day comes
when one suddenly stops playing and looks up !

The nose twitches !
The ears are up !
The eyes are staring !
And this one suddenly runs from the group !

You have been seen, and when you and your special friend meet,
you take him or her into your arms and embrace
your face is kissed again and again,
and you look once more into the eyes of your trusting pet

Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together, never again to be separated

Author Unknown

This has brought me much solace.  Peace Little Oliver.  

Icarus and her little habits are driving me nuts!

Here is the Icarus cat.  As you can see she is helping me write my blog.  She knows I do not need these notes.  I am going to write about her and she is right there in all her glory.  I lay back in my recliner to meditate on life and rest my eyes for a brief moment and she comes out of no where and lands on my chest with her paws on my face.  Then she "kneads" my chest.  I wake up in the night with her perched on my shoulder.  That is a very weird sensation!

Right now I am setting her gripped with terror because I do not know where she is.  I do, however, strongly suspect that she is off hunting.  Soon the doggie door will snap and she will bound in with (hopefully) a dead bird.  Such is not always the case.  Sometimes it is a centipede flailing around in her jaws.  Sometimes a live bird which she lets go and then tries to catch again.  Once it was a snake.  I have had a gopher, grasshoppers, mice, something I can only hope was a mole.  Not as good as Boots who was an avid hunter and once brought me a Hawk!  Do not know whose eyes were bigger that day, mine, Boots' or the Hawk!  I do know the cats hunt for my food because they love me and feel they must take care of me.  I, in turn, furnish this feline with a place to live, a continual supply of cat food, fresh water, dogs to play with and a pillow in the office window so she can watch the birds at play.

Icarus thinks she is a dog and that is good.  She goes out with me to do chores and works in the garden.  She wrestles with Elvira and some times Daisy.  She runs across the yard and lands on Elvira to get a free ride into the house.  Ok, enough about the cat.  I am off to do something that I am sure will be in contrary to what she wants me to do, but such is life.

Icarus at work!

 This is Icarus!  This is my calico cat that loves me to distraction!  It is about 5:00 AM and we just got up a little bit ago.  See, what you do not know, and can not see because I can not take a picture of us in bed is that I sleep on my side and she sleeps on my shoulder!  At some point I will wake up enough to push her off my arm.  She then puts her nose against my nose and gives me tiny licks. It is at this point I remember where that tongue has been and cover my head up.  She will then content herself with laying with both front paws on my hands and we drift off again.

Now I know you people out there are wise in the ways of the world as well as the workings of the feline creatures we call our friends.  And indeed, they are our friends!  Icarus does not go out and catch mice simply to be catching a mouse.  She knows I am incapable of catching one, so she does it for me. 
She  loves me!  Now I have told you the sleeping arrangements here, so tell me this......what goes on while I am sleeping?  I can only hope she does not think I want dinner when I am laying there with my mouth agape snoring.  That could be a very rude awakening.  And she does not know that I have never eaten a centipede!  I am afraid to tell her for fear she will misinterpret that as meaning I am feeling adventurous and might like to munch on one! 

 Now you see her reading her notebook here.  How she gets in that little hole between the monitor and all my very important notes I wish I knew!  The modem is back there and apparently she knows that I need to leave that plugged in so she leaves it alone.  The cursor catches her attention fairly easily as does the letters marching across the screen.  She puts her nose right on the screen and I can come up with some interesting writing if one finger wanders.  I tell myself she is reading what I write!  I am very glad I kicked in the extra money for the larger monitor so she could see better!

I came home the other night after dark and saw two sets of eyes out by the duck house.  You know how big those eyes look in your headlights!  I thought it was a couple mountain lions, but it turned out Icarus had a friend over to scout out the place.  It was the neighbors calico, so she is keeping good company!  She goes out to the fowl house with me every morning and evening when I do chores.  One morning she thought she might like to sneak up on one of the ducks.  Goosey Gander seen her and came up behind her!  When Icarus spotted him she shot about 8 feet straight up in the air!  Never have a camera when I need it most!

Now I will give you a few facts and then get out of here.  Calico cats are to the best of my knowledge always female.  Cats are very clean animals especially when you take into consideration that they go in their litter box for their toilette, walk across it and then proceed to lick there feet.  Then they want to come and kiss us.  Cats can be devoted to us and still remain completely independent.  Most aloof animals on the face of God's green earth.  While cats and dogs seem to be mortal enemies, mine will all sleep on the same pillow.  Icarus got her bluff in early!

I do know the name Icarus comes from a Greek God or something of the male persuasion and was someone that flew to close to the sun and melted his wings.  She was actually named by a "person of interest" who is no longer in my life, but I left her named Icarus just to remind me of why he is no longer in my life!  So, I am out of here, but on my way out the door, I want to share with you what someone shared with me.....

In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king!

Just think about that!

Elvira the dog and Icarus the cat are having a nap!!

Every body and every thing gets along in my harmonious little home, be it human or web footed, or four legged.  I have my office on the upper level of my house so I need to go down a short flight of stairs to get any where except bed.  In the office I have 2 big pillows for the dogs and this small bed for the kitty.  No one has any particular sleeping place assigned and it is not at all unusual to see 2 animals sleeping on one of the pillows or one of the animals in this cat bed.  It is rather unusual to see 2 animals in the cat bed though.

This is Elvira the dog and Icarus the calico cat.  Aren't they cute?  Daisy is over on one of the pillows.  I could not resist this shot.  Now you should know, that if I decide to set it the recliner and put my feet up, the first thing that happens is Icarus jumps up on my chest and lays down.  Then Elvira jumps up and lays on my right arm.  Daisy, not to be outdone then plops on my legs.  Elvira will reach over and smack the cat on the head several times trying to get a reaction.  Reaction is usually for me to stand up because the whole concept of the recliner is then lost.

When I go outside to either let the waterfowl out or put them in, I am also accompanied by this menagerie.  If I go down to sew, they each have their place in the sewing room.  Weave and the same thing.  Never guess what happens when it is bedtime!

So there you have my social life in a nut shell.  I get more unconditional love in one day right here at home then most people get in their  whole life through.  All my little animals came from either the pound or some where that was going to end up in the pound.  I always thought I would like to have a Standard Poodle, but pound never seems to get them, so I am happy with my bunch of little ankle biters!  What they lack in size they make up for in devotion.



The killer cat and the feathers I get to clean up!

See that cat there?  That is Icarus, my calico.  She is peering under the treadmill in hopes that the bird she brought inside might accidentally be under there!  See all those little things on the floor?  Those are feathers the bird neglected to take with it when it escaped the clutches of this evil feline!

More feathers in the hall way!  The bird is probably getting cold and scared long about now!

Here we are in the kitchen/dining room.  By this time I am getting a little tired of taking pictures and am in search of the vacuum cleaner.  I have already taken the dove outside and put it up high.  I know there is virtually no chance of survival due to the cat fever aspect of the ordeal it has just endured, but hope none the less springs eternal in the human breast!

Ok, now the mess is cleaned up and the cat is looking at me funny.  I know that cat's bring us treasures like mice, birds, snakes and centipedes because they love us and they think we are stupid and can not catch our own food, but come on guys!  I let my cat watch me eat and at no point has Icarus ever seen me devour any of that stuff. Now if she could go out and bring me home a side of beef we might be talking here, but she does not.  It is all this stuff that I have to clean up and dispose of properly.  (Yeah, like there is a way to dispose of dead wild life in the kitchen properly!

But as long as I have a doggie door and  a cat, I am sure I will have this little problem from time to time.  I have talked to her and she just flips her tail, looks over her shoulder and walks off with a little swish.  This is the same cat that will wake me up in the middle of the night while perching on my shoulder and giving me tiny little licks on the cheek.  God only knows what she had dropped in my bed, but I do jump up and look, just in case she thinks I need a midnight snack!

It takes special people to love cats and I guess I am one of those people.  She rules the two dogs with a disdainful glance and they just watch her walk away.  So for the next 14-15 years I know I have a companion and I also know I do not have to worry about eating!  Lonely?  The local animal shelter is full of these furry little creatures.  Just call my friends at the Pueblo Animal Shelter and I am sure someone will help you find a special one!

And my life is full and rich...

This is the Daisy dog. She has not had a bath in over a month!

This is the Elvira, Mistress of the night dog. She just had her bath and she is very pretty.  I look around at my life and I see that it is very good. I have the Cherry Tree right outside the office window, the Redbud blooming in both the front yard and the back yard, the Flowering Pink Almond, Lilac's  and tons of the pretty little yellow flowers all through the grass. Now what more could one woman ask from life? The companionship of the doggies is enough to satisfy any longings I have on the cold winter night. Barely enough room in the bed for me to sleep!

I have a car to drive, a roof over my head, clothes for my back, and food for my tummy.  I have friends and my church for a social life, a mind to think , and a marker at the cemetary that is already engraved. Can you think of anything that is missing? When I bought my marker, the guy at Imperial said the date of my death would be engraved later. I tried to talk him into helping me just set a date and we would work from that, but the guy had no sense of humor. In his line of work I think I understand that.

So, just wanted to share that with you while I had it on my mind.  Dogs come and dogs go. Cats come and the owls eat them. The duck flock is slowly thinning itself and I am sure the geese will follow suit.  A couple years ago I had 36 ducks. Now I am down to 21. It is called the cycle of life.  I have friends who are concerned that the world will end in 2012. First it was 1984, then 1999, then 2000, and I am still here. See, I read the Bible and I like the part about. "No Man shall know the hour of my coming. There shall be 2 people working in the field, the one shall be taken and the other left behind..."

So I shall set here with my doggies, very patiently waiting. In the meantime, I think I will do a lot of living and there is a lot needs doing out there. Think I will go find some to do.