Animal Parade

Harry was chasing Violet around the house, and even though I called his name to get his attention, he kept chasing Violet.  Walter wanted in on the chase, too, so he started chasing Harry who was still chasing Violet.  First time I ever saw that....

Creaky Knees

My right knee has been giving me some pain, so I got a brace for it, just like the one for my left knee.  I haven't tried them both on at the same time though.

When I was strapping on the knee brace, I stood up, and Dan, the guy from durable medical equipment, who ordered the brace for me, said "What was that?"

I said, "That was my knee creaking."  Every time I got up, my knees creaked.  It was funny to me, but he looked at me like, Can you believe how loud your knees are?"

Flowers

There are no more flowers in my house.  My birthday was almost three weeks ago, so that means there are no little clear puddles of throw-up with pieces of ferns in the puddles.

But I did step in dog vomit yesterday.  I couldn't figure out why Walter wasn't sitting on his rug.  When we get the leash, he knows it's time for a walk, and usually he sits on the rug right by the door.  Yesterday, he just would not sit on the rug.  I realized why when I stepped in the green vomit.  That was from the minty bones he ate - supposed to help his dental health, but no more minties for Walter...

This was the first whole day with out vomit - yay!  Another birthday celebration!

Birthday Present

On the first day after my birthday, one of the cats gave me a present:  he threw up on top of the filing cabinet.  Don't worry - no pictures, although I have to confess, I did think about it.  It's the first time a cat ever did that.  And then I found two more spots in the house where he threw up.  One of the messes had little bits of green in it.  I thought, of course, he's been eating grass.  And then I thought, wait, he doesn't go outside.  And then I thought, oh yeah, he's been eating the ferns from my birthday flowers.  Lovely...

What the Raccoons Did, Part II

We have a hummingbird bush in the backyard.  It's beautiful, with red blossoms that are just perfect for the hummingbirds' long beaks to dip into for the flowers' nectar.

This is the first year it's grown so big that it almost covered the whole window.  There's a bird feeder hanging above the hummingbird bush.  And therein lies the problem.

This is what the bush looks like:

You can see the bird feeder here:

Well, some generations of raccoons that visit our yard from the nearby swamp, are smarter than others.  It took a long time for the present raccoon family to discover the bird feeder, which is the reason that our hummingbird bush grew so large.  But now, every night, they are in pursuit of birdseed.  They learned to climb the branches of the hummingbird bush and pull themselves up to the bird feeder.  The branches aren't too strong, so damage has been done:

You can see that the branches cracked and broke.  But now it's harder for the raccoons to reach the bird feeder.  I haven't yet seen how they get into the bird feeder now that the branches are broken.  Maybe they learned to do what previous raccoon generations have done:  climb up on the roof, reach under the eaves, grab ahold of the chain holding the bird feeder, pull the seed tray up to the roof, up end it on the ground, then jump back onto the ground to eat all the seeds.  The first time I saw that, I thought, "Wow, we have really clever raccoons."  I wish I had caught the whole process on camera.  I think I need one of those wildlife cameras.  Hey, that would be a could Christmas present!

Birthday Goat

Not everyone would get excited about those two words.  I do though.  Again, anyone who knows me is not surprised.

I have been looking at these metal sculptures in the yard of a flea market for years now.  Every time I drive by the flea market, I look longingly at all the different critters.

I went out to eat lunch with a friend, and on the way home, we stopped at the flea market.  It was closed, so we couldn't go in.  It didn't even occur to me that I was hinting about what I'd like for my upcoming birthday gift.  I pointed out the different goats, roosters, zebras, pigs, flamingoes, and giraffes.  Then we got back into the car and drove home.

Well, my friend told me that I needed to come visit her so I could get my birthday present.  She and her husband were going on vacation and wouldn't be in town for my birthday.  I told her, "We can wait until y'all return from your vacation."  She said, "Oh, you really need to get your birthday present before we leave."

So yesterday, I stopped by her house on the way home from picking up Harry's medicine at the vet.  She and I sat down and talked, and I must have really needed to talk because normally, when I see a present that I know is for me, the first thing I want to do is tear open the gift wrapping.  And this was a huge gift bag.  We talked until I'd gotten things off my chest, and she said, "OK, open your present."

I unwrapped the green tissue paper, and lo and behold, it was a metal goat!!!!  I told her that I didn't see how she could outdo what she'd given me last year, but this was exactly what I needed.

Look, he's even smiling!  Adorable, right?

She asked me what I was going to name him.  I said I didn't usually name inanimate pets.  But then immediately, I thought of a name:  Theophilus.  When I told my husband the goat's name, he said, "William Theophilus."  I asked, "Why William?"  He said, "It's long for Billy."  Ha!  He is so clever.