I Finally Saw It!

I have been trying to catch the raccoons in the act of raiding the bird feeder, and I finally saw it tonight, with the help of Walter's sharp ears.  His cries alerted me to the raccoons right outside the kitchen window.

I saw one of the raccoons jump up onto the window ledge, and from there, he made a flying leap onto the bird feeder above him.  The tray of the bird feeder went straight up in the air because of the raccoon hanging on one side of it.  I saw the bird seed spill onto the ground.  The raccoon held onto the bird feeder tray with the grasping paws of his legs, and then he jumped onto the ground.

I saw him do this twice.  Now I just need to get the proper equipment to take a video of it so you'll believe me!

I Am Getting Braver

Usually when I see a critter inside the house, one that does not belong, i.e., gecko, lizard, frog, toad, snake, etc., I scream and call for Wayne to grab whatever it is and throw it outside.

Well, I saw a gecko, screamed, yelled for Wayne, but I was worried he wouldn't get there in time and that it would hide, and that would mean worrying all night that it might jump on me, so.... I got a Kleenex and carefully wrapped it around the little gecko.  It took a couple of tries, with accompanying screams, but I finally caught it and threw it outside.  Who knew I'd be getting braver as I aged?

Raccoon Treats

I made some praline bars, a recipe I got from the newspaper.  I made two trays of them, but the one closest to the heating coil at the bottom of the oven - all of those got a little "crispy," i.e., burned...  I hate when that happens because I hate wasting food.  So I figured the raccoons wouldn't mind crispy praline bars, after all, why wouldn't they like graham crackers with melted butter and brown sugar with pecans?

Well, I put all of the praline bars into two paper plates and left them out on the patio.  Sure enough, the next morning, every single one of them had been eaten.  Christmas came a little early for my raccoons.  Wonder what they're leaving me tonight....

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...