The week 12 tallies are in. The Photo of the Week with the most hits, likes, shares and/or comments is Smokey at 17 with a total of 31 points.
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Category Archives: animals
Health Check ~ Smokey
It’s hard to believe that my Mr. Cranky Pants aka Smokey is 17 years old. The average age for a house cat is 13. Of course as you get older things stop working like they did when you were a kitten.
And so it is with Mr. Smokeymon. I always said he was like a little laid back Jamaican “mon”. He was always so calm and purrfectly friendly but as we know, with age comes “Crankiness” and Smokey has shown himself to be a bit more short tempered than in his younger days. Hisses are more common toward his roomies but he still likes me, his human. In fact he has become very possessive of me.
He is the cat that has to be in the same room at all times. He has begun to get a little senile and when he finds himself separated loud yowls disturb the peace until I can either get to him or get his attention. Then they stop immediately and turn to loud , rumbling purrs.
His annual check-up rolled around this week. He’s lost weight. At one time he was a rolly poly 13.5 lbs. but over the last couple of years he’s steadily lost weight (Wish I could say the same for me) until he’s now down to 10 lbs. 10 oz. Even so he can still make the other 2 cats in the house “toe the line”.
Because of the weight loss and our past scare with possible renal failure we ran blood panels. On the renal side he’s stable, very little change there. The vet also checked his thyroid, all the numbers were within normal range. Finally they took his blood pressure and found that to be fine too. For a very senior cat he is doing well.
(Meanwhile I was in sticker shock at the size of the vet bill!)
Even so the doctor suggested we follow him closely now with follow ups every 3 – 6 months, also switching to a senior diet.
With luck and my wallet,my creaky old pussy cat will be around for a number of years to come.
Photo of the week ~11
The week 11 tallies are in. The Photo of the Week with the most hits, likes, shares and/or comments is Wildlife at Oliver Mills (feral kitten) with a total of 31 points.
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Is Spring Trying to Arrive?
Monday, March 10 and I awoke to another snow storm. The snow was melting over the weekend and all but the snow piles were gone. Dirt and ground was snow free.
I sighed and went about my morning routine resigned to taking more pictures of snow but then it stopped and a weak sun tried to peak out. A little later I looked out and that new snow was gone! All melted away even if clouds had won out over the sun.
Determined to find something other than snow for my project 365 challenge I grabbed the camera and set off.
Everyone says how pretty spring is but not this early. It’s pretty depressing. the snow banks that are left are dirty. Trash lines the sides of the roads where it’s dropped out of the melting snow.
Trees aren’t green yet and with no sun everything is dull.
Eventually I found myself at the herring run at Oliver Mills in Middleboro. A gaggle of Canada Geese were browsing the hill above the river. Two pairs of ducks were swimming below the fish ladder.
Other than that it was quiet. I was struck by how different it looks when there are not trees to block the view.
I took a small road that runs above the site to try capturing the views that are normally blocked.
As I was snap-snapping away a movement caught my attention. It was a gray kitten and he was running like his life depended on it. Probably does most of the time but not from me.
Then I saw this little black spot. I looked closer and realized there was another kitten, a little black one, and he was staring at me as if to say I dare you to come closer. Of course I had to try. I inched my way a half step at a time. Slowly I got close enough to photograph him. He was still staring at me.
At that point a big delivery truck rumbled past and I looked away to step out of it’s path. After the truck went by I looked back and the kitten was gone.
I went back to the car and sat for a bit to see if either of them would come back. I didn’t see them again but my patience was rewarded by my first sighting of the year of a great blue heron. Spring must be on the way!
The Real Reason To Go To Gatlinburg
I touched on this yesterday in my post about Cade’s Cove. When all the moonshine and whiskey, train rides and Dollywood are said and done, the real reason I want to go to Gatlinburg is the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.
The Park Services page turned out to be an awesome resource for planning my visit. Since I’ve been struggling with arthritis and recovering from my spill in San Diego, I don’t know how much stamina I’ll have for hikes. I hope to be able to do some but it’s too soon to tell. My right hip still acts up quite a lot. Just in case hiking is not an option the website lists the auto tours.
An auto tour of the park offers a chance to see panoramic vistas, cascading mountain rivers, weathered historic buildings, and majestic forests stretching to the horizon.
We know there’s one though Cades Cove but there’s a whole list of others:
- Cataloochee Valley
- Newfound Gap Road
- Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail
- Upper Tremont Road
In addition, the book Smokies Road Guide covers main thoroughfares and scenic backroads in the park. This book and the self-guiding auto tour booklets listed above are available at park visitor centers and online. Self-guiding tour booklets are also available from dispensers at the start of the roads they cover.
I have my National Parks Pass and my “Passport books” to get stamps but there’s no entrance fee to the park anyway! Yup one of the most visited parks in the US is free.
I’m heading to the park in the spring. Anytime is beautiful in this park but the Great Smokey National Park is knick named the Wildflower National Park. Spring and summer are renown for spectacular displays of wildflowers along roads and trails.
And along with the wildflowers are wildlife. The Site offers tips for wildlife viewing. Some are standard like view early or late in the day but I especially liked this advice: Viewing wildlife in the Smokies can be challenging because most of the park is covered by dense forest. Open areas like Cataloochee and Cades Cove offer some of the best opportunities to see white-tailed deer, black bear, raccoon, turkeys, woodchucks, and other animals. The narrow, winding road of Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail encourages motorists to travel at a leisurely pace and sometimes yields sightings of bear and other wildlife.
I’m so ready to go check this out! I’m polishing and cleaning the camera, lenses and filter. I hope I can get some photos that come close to the beautiful ones I get to see when I search online.