Fall is in the Air

Posted on September 12, 2011September 12, 2011 by Dusty Roads

Yes Labor Day has come and gone and with it we reached the traditional end of summer. It seems strange that it could be so hot and sunny one day and the next have a nip in the air but that’s New England for you.

The nights have been very chilly even though the days are warmer, not hot. These are beautiful days. Warm enough not to need a jacket so you can still travel “light”. One of the things I hate about winter is the way you have to bundle up to keep warm.Those extra layers make me feel like a stuffed sausage..barely able to move. Hopefully we still have a month or so left before we have to break out those winter clothes.

There’s a beautiful moon right now. I think they call it the Harvest Moon. Like I said, the nights are cool but that makes for good sleeping weather, no need for air conditioning when an open window lets the fresh air in.

Driving into work I noticed that the air temperature is cool enough in the morning to create the fog layer on the river.

I love those wispy mists and the effect they have on the landscape.

Those billowing clouds mark the location of the brooks, rivers, ponds and lakes of the area giving away their hiding places in the valleys and glens.

Spring and fall are the only seasons we get that effect.

We’re not quite into leaf peeping season but the signs are there. Some of the trees are getting a hint of color foreshadowing things to come.

Squirrels and chipmunks are busy gathering in the last seeds of summer getting ready for the sparseness of the winter months.

As I stood admiring that full moon tonight I mentally checked off items from my summer bucket list. There’s more on it than crossed off but there’s still time to try to get a few more things in. I didn’t get to Salem. Remember I was going to take the Harbor taxi. I don’t know if it’s running now but I can still drive up there and October is a big month for Salem. Maybe I should really try to fit a day trip in.

Apple picking season is upon us too along with the Fair Season…Marshfield Fair & Topsfield Fair come to mind and I know there are others. One of the biggest is the Big E in Springfield Ma. That runs from Sept. 16- Oct 2. It’s a bit of a hike but it might be worth a day trip.

I have this feeling that I should take a day trip to Narragansett RI. I don’t know why. I just have it in my head. I’m not even sure how far it is from here or how to get there but RI is just a few minutes away from Taunton and RI is tiny. So how long a drive could it be? I bet it’s an easier day trip than the Connecticut River trip I took last March!

All in all I think there will be plenty of things to do and places to see before I head off on my next vacation in January. You can be sure I will share them all right here! 🙂

9-11

Posted on September 10, 2011September 10, 2011 by Dusty Roads

We will never forget!

There are many memorials to those we’ve lost in war or tragedy. From the ruins of Pompei to Pearl Harbor to the Oklahoma City Memorial. Each and every one as well as the Vietnam Wall and all the others move me. But the one that strikes me with the most horror and vivid memories is Nine Eleven.

It’s the one event that I had a front row seat for. It is burned into my memory and my emotions as if it had just happened.

I remember getting up that morning and turning on the television for the news. There was video of smoke pouring from the Twin Towers. As I watched fascinated the first tower crumpled. I thought it was a trailer for a movie, it couldn’t be real. Things like that don’t happen here. But then the horror hit me. It was real and it was happening right before my eyes.

I was stunned…numb. I stood in my robe with my eyes glued to the TV screen. I couldn’t think. I could barely breathe.

Most of the rest of the day was a blur of emotions. But the image of those planes and the blue sky and the smoke will be with me forever. It’s the day America lost its innocence and I don’t think life has ever been the same again. It was the day civilians became the victims of a terrorist war. It was the day my generation learned the hard lesson that other generations had learned before.

The Older generation knew from Pearl Harbor that evil and danger can invade but that was wartime and it was before “my” time. This was real, this was close, and this was a different kind of atrocity.

September 11th marks the death of innocence, New York, Pennsylvania, the Pentagon.

September 11th immortalized acts of heroism in the face of terror.

I will always remember September 11th.

WE will always remember!

Taking Responsibility

Posted on September 9, 2011September 9, 2011 by Dusty Roads

I saw a great quote while I was on Facebook the other day.. I reposted it as my status and I’d like to address is a bit more here.

“I’ve arrived at this outermost edge of my life by my own actions. Where I am is thoroughly unacceptable. Therefore, I must stop doing what I’ve been doing.”
Alice Koller

What caught my eye about this quote is that I need to accept responsibility for where I am in my life and if I want something different then I am going to have to change or make changes. That’s something I am slow or even resistant to doing.

I may not be happy with everything in my life but I am content and as secure as I can be in these uncertain times. But some changes need to be made as retirement is looming on the horizon and I am not ready financially. Don’t get me wrong, I am more than ready mentally! 🙂

So I am stuck “working for the man” in a less than satisfying position just to pay the bills. Granted there are many people less fortunate than I am who would give anything for my position and I am not unaware of this. So I need to get myself motivated to develop other skills that will open doors to another alternative.

Health: Oh I have been so lazy! I have let myself go. As I have gotten older I have exercised less and eaten more. The result a very rotund body accompanied by joint aches and pains and other weight related illnesses. This is definitely within my power to correct. I can get myself off the couch!

There are a lot of benefits to getting in shape. I can get back to activities that I’ve put on the back burner…scuba diving, kayaking & canoeing, and hiking to name just a few. I do a little hiking and I use the term hiking loosely. It’s more like casual walking. The flume gorge hike was a good example of how out of shape I’ve gotten.

So the bottom line is that I need to address my current skill level and get myself to the gym. Since I’ve put it out to the public like this I guess I’ll have to live up to my goals now.

Just think, with a nice slim figure that’s not just thinner but stronger too, I’ll be able to have all that many more adventures to share with everyone here.

That was then:

This is Now:

Where will I be in 6 months?

Day 2 of the Great Kitty Collection

Posted on September 8, 2011September 8, 2011 by Dusty Roads

Well It’s day 2 of the so far fruitless pursuit of a urine sample from Smokey.

I’ve decided that I am not going to bother separating the cats. Yesterday was too stressful on all 3 of us. Rocky still isn’t eating which is not good for cats. When I got up (earlier than normal) I checked the cat litter hoping to get to it before Smokey let loose a flood but no luck. The Litter with special pellets is now sitting in the middle of the living room so I can keep an eye on it. I have to make sure Rocky doesn’t use it.

Of course Rocky is the cat who is showing interest not Smokey. He keeps going over and sniffing it. I keep calling him away. Of course that’s the way it’s going to be. If we aren’t successful today I won’t get to try again until next week because of my work schedule. It might be easier on all of us if I just take Smokey to the vet after all.

How Do you collect Bodily Fluid from a Cat?

Posted on September 7, 2011September 7, 2011 by Dusty Roads

As you know if you have been following this blog recently, I have a sick cat. Actually I have 2 cats and one of them was having excessive bathroom issues. Hmmm. The problem was that neither I nor my pet sitter had been able to catch the culprit in the act so I didn’t know which one.

Don’t get me wrong. The culprit was very clean. He wasn’t missing the litter box or anything like that. It was just there was so much volume that there were not puddles but lakes in the box when I’d go to “scoop” it. That kind of thing can be a sign of kidney disease, diabetes or thyroid just to name a few. All are very common in senior cats.

Smokey is 13 (as best we can figure out) and Rocky is 10. That meant that they were both considered seniors and were both candidates.

$400+ later and a couple of stressful visits to the vet for blood tests and the results were in. Rocky was fine but Smokey had elevated levels. Don’t ask me which levels. I couldn’t spell them even if I knew what they were. But I do appreicate the vet telling me and not “dumbing down” the results. The next step is to collect a urine sample for more testing.

I’m sure most if not all my readers have had to “pee in a cup” for their doctor at one time or another. Sometimes it isn’t easy to “go” on demand but at least we can understand why we have to do it. How do you explain to a cat that you need him to “pee in a cup”?

My vet had 2 options. One was to bring him in and they would keep him in a cage until he decided to “go”. They said sometimes it can take up to 3 days because the cat will “hold” it in since he is in a strange environment.

Option 2 was for me to take a little kit home and collect it myself. (Fun).

First problem..I have 2 cats in a 1 bedroom condo. Isolating one is not easy. The current set up is that the “Kitty commodes” are in the closet next to the human bathroom as the human bathroom is so tiny there’s no room for litter boxes in there. If I close the bedroom door then one cat will not be able to get to their bathroom.

So I made a trip to Walmart for a Mini-kitty pan ($1.98) and put the pellets from the kit in that. I then got water and cat food and put all of that in my tiny bathroom. I next caught my poor, trusting kitty and dumped him there too and closed the door. Starting his solitary confinement.

Special "Kitty Pellets"

About 2 hours later I need to use the facilities so I figured it would be a good chance to check on Smokey. He was on strike. He hadn’t touched his food , water or his “special” litter and the bathroom was getting pretty stuffy and warm. Time for an alternative.

I pulled out the “Kitty walk” tunnel and moved the food and water to one end and put the kitty litter in the other end. Smokey was in the middle. I located this by the open slider in the living room. Now Smokey could see outside and Rocky and I would be there with him. No isolation this way.

Within the first 1/2 hour Smokey had flipped both his water dish and the kitty litter box and was hunkered down for a good sulk. I refilled the water and scraped up the little pellets and put them back in the litter box but did not give up. Smokey stayed in the enclosure. He just gave me evil kitty looks.

Ok two hours later the water and litter are both upside down again and Smokey is huddled in a lump in the middle of the Kitty walk. I don’t think this is going to work.

The last idea I can come up with is to drag one of the litter boxes into the living room for Rocky. Close the closet door so Smokey can’t get in to use one of the other boxes. I emptied Smokey’s favorite box and pulled that out and set the “mini” box inside it. I gave him fresh food and water and showed him the box. He is now confined in my bedroom. He has a window, my bed, a chair, cat toys, food and water and the Special litter box. Rocky is on the other side in the living room.

I didn’t count on Smokey having an accomplice to escape captivity. Rocky can open anything. All of my cupboards have child safety locks to keep him out. The tri-fold doors all have stools or something in front of them because he can open those too. Anyway, within 10 minutes I see 2 fuzzy bodies come racing around the end of the couch and the bedroom door is open. It was the Great Kitty Escape!

I caught Smokey and returned him to the bedroom. I then closed the bedroom door and stuffed a dust cloth in the door so it would stick. Hopefully “Houdini” cat won’t be able to open that.

Success…sort of. Rocky started to work on the door right away. When he couldn’t get it open he turned into a maniac cat. He raced around the living room yowling. I guess that was his way of venting his frustration. Right now he is standing on top of his cat tree with his tail whipping back and forth in aggravation.