Well, I didn’t get the job at the animal shelter. Even though it was a minimum wage job, over 100 people applied (says a lot about the economy in Waycross) – I was lucky just to be one of the 20 selected for an interview. On the one hand, it’s probably a good thing that I didn’t get the job, as part of my duties would’ve been assisting in the euthanasia of feral cats. On the other hand, I have literally NO money. Kyrgyzstan was definitely worth it, but unfortunately, now I am really, really poor. I can’t even afford to turn the gas on in my house, and as I have gas heat and a gas stove, that kinda sucks.
Meanwhile, I’ve been filling my days by taking care of animals. We don’t pick up Honey (“my” horse) until Friday morning, but there’s still Merlin (mom’s horse) to feed and ride. Merlin – a gorgeous white Arab – alternates between being wonderful and being simply ornery. When you ride out on him he can be stubborn – he doesn’t like to leave his “security blanket” field behind. I’ve been riding him regularly, trying to get him past his stubbornness. It’s actually been a lot of fun… until this morning when I couldn’t catch him at all. And as soon as I gave up and sat down, he wandered right over, rubbing my nose in it. Boo.
Me, riding Merlin on Saturday
Mom on Merlin
He *is* beautiful!
Mom had told me that I could catch him by sneaking the lead rope behind my back then slipping it around his neck. I was told that he would then walk easily to the barn. Hah! We stood there for a good 30 minutes.
As soon as I sat down and put my feet up, he wandered over to the barn!
Last night when I went out to the field to feed Merlin, two scrawny hunting dogs wandered up, a beagle and a hound dog. They’d probably simply gotten separated from their hunters, but as they were so skinny and pathetic looking, I went and got them some food. They were waiting for me when I went out there this morning. I may have just acquired two more unneeded – and stinky – canine friends. They smell like they found the rotting carcass of something and rolled in it.
Speaking of stray dogs, remember the starving pit bull puppies I found when I was home around this time last year? Well, the girl dog (Brownie) ran off sometime during the past year, but the boys Brinny and Blackie are still around. Brin has been a bit of a trouble maker – running off and getting picked up by the animal shelter and biting an old lady who lives down the street from my mom. This means that he now has to be a house dog, in order to keep him from getting into trouble. You’d think having a pit bull in a house full of cats would be nothing but trouble, but he’s *wonderful* with the cats. As soon as I get some high-speed internet going, I’ll upload an adorable video of Brin licking the head of one of the cats, and a hilarious video of a different cat intimidating him into a corner. Anyway, Brin always goes out to the field with me when I feed and ride Merlin, and he loves just running around out there. Hunters (they’re not supposed to hunt out by my mom’s land, but they do) are always leaving behind bits and pieces of deer and hog carcasses which Brin LOVES to pick up and run around with. We’ve had some arguments over whether or not he’s allowed to bring decaying hog spines into my car! I hope he gets along with Slinker and Stinker, assuming they stay out there.
Brin :-)
What else? The Bishkek cats are doing wonderfully here in Waycross, and the local cats are starting to adapt to their presence. Additionally, Daddy Cat (who must weigh 35lbs by now), Mary Cat and Alley Cat are shoving the Bishkek Four aside to get snuggle-space next to me on the bed. Meanwhile, the house is surrounded by numerous semi-ferals who show up for mealtimes, demanding fodder. I swear I’m in competition with the animal shelter.
Alley Cat
Heelix
Look how much of the shyrdak Alley Cat takes up...
...now look how much of it Daddy Cat fills!
These two cuties, Tabby 1 and Tabby 2, are semi-feral
This morning it was pretty chilly in my house, and I turned on my two space heaters (since I can’t run my gas heat) and about an hour later, half of the electricity in my house shut off. I assumed that a breaker had tripped, but when I checked them, they were all still “on.” So, we called an electrician who came out this afternoon. Turns out that one of my breakers *had* switched off, but had remained stuck in the “on” position. Sigh. But, while the electricians were at my house, I got them to crank up the thermostat on my water heater (hot showers!) and install a new, non-flickering light on my front porch.
Meanwhile, I’ve been filling my days by taking care of animals. We don’t pick up Honey (“my” horse) until Friday morning, but there’s still Merlin (mom’s horse) to feed and ride. Merlin – a gorgeous white Arab – alternates between being wonderful and being simply ornery. When you ride out on him he can be stubborn – he doesn’t like to leave his “security blanket” field behind. I’ve been riding him regularly, trying to get him past his stubbornness. It’s actually been a lot of fun… until this morning when I couldn’t catch him at all. And as soon as I gave up and sat down, he wandered right over, rubbing my nose in it. Boo.
Me, riding Merlin on Saturday
Mom on Merlin
He *is* beautiful!
Mom had told me that I could catch him by sneaking the lead rope behind my back then slipping it around his neck. I was told that he would then walk easily to the barn. Hah! We stood there for a good 30 minutes.
Last night when I went out to the field to feed Merlin, two scrawny hunting dogs wandered up, a beagle and a hound dog. They’d probably simply gotten separated from their hunters, but as they were so skinny and pathetic looking, I went and got them some food. They were waiting for me when I went out there this morning. I may have just acquired two more unneeded – and stinky – canine friends. They smell like they found the rotting carcass of something and rolled in it.
Speaking of stray dogs, remember the starving pit bull puppies I found when I was home around this time last year? Well, the girl dog (Brownie) ran off sometime during the past year, but the boys Brinny and Blackie are still around. Brin has been a bit of a trouble maker – running off and getting picked up by the animal shelter and biting an old lady who lives down the street from my mom. This means that he now has to be a house dog, in order to keep him from getting into trouble. You’d think having a pit bull in a house full of cats would be nothing but trouble, but he’s *wonderful* with the cats. As soon as I get some high-speed internet going, I’ll upload an adorable video of Brin licking the head of one of the cats, and a hilarious video of a different cat intimidating him into a corner. Anyway, Brin always goes out to the field with me when I feed and ride Merlin, and he loves just running around out there. Hunters (they’re not supposed to hunt out by my mom’s land, but they do) are always leaving behind bits and pieces of deer and hog carcasses which Brin LOVES to pick up and run around with. We’ve had some arguments over whether or not he’s allowed to bring decaying hog spines into my car! I hope he gets along with Slinker and Stinker, assuming they stay out there.
Brin :-)
What else? The Bishkek cats are doing wonderfully here in Waycross, and the local cats are starting to adapt to their presence. Additionally, Daddy Cat (who must weigh 35lbs by now), Mary Cat and Alley Cat are shoving the Bishkek Four aside to get snuggle-space next to me on the bed. Meanwhile, the house is surrounded by numerous semi-ferals who show up for mealtimes, demanding fodder. I swear I’m in competition with the animal shelter.
Alley Cat
Heelix
Look how much of the shyrdak Alley Cat takes up...
...now look how much of it Daddy Cat fills!
These two cuties, Tabby 1 and Tabby 2, are semi-feral
This morning it was pretty chilly in my house, and I turned on my two space heaters (since I can’t run my gas heat) and about an hour later, half of the electricity in my house shut off. I assumed that a breaker had tripped, but when I checked them, they were all still “on.” So, we called an electrician who came out this afternoon. Turns out that one of my breakers *had* switched off, but had remained stuck in the “on” position. Sigh. But, while the electricians were at my house, I got them to crank up the thermostat on my water heater (hot showers!) and install a new, non-flickering light on my front porch.
I’ve been working on cleaning up my house after a year of disuse, and I plan to do some work on it to get it ready to sell. Not that anyone will want to buy it given our current financial situation, but I should at least get it ready.
3 comments:
Ah yes, my shyrdak's long-lost twin!
I have always wondered what those crazy old cat ladies were like when they were younger. Now I know. They were all globe trotting animal lovers :-)
Christopher
I really like the 4th picture from the top- it's got a slight anime quality to it. By the way, clipping cat claws is generally a two-person job, isn't it? Shoulda thought of that before...gotta go treat my sliced-up palm now...
Post a Comment