Nature

 I have been meaning to comment on the whole 'cats are lactose intolerant'. I wonder about that. I have three younger kittens, six - eight months, I am guessing. I buy cans of evaporated milk from the discount grocery (30 cents a can) and heat up water in the kettle, dilute about 1/3 of a can until it looks like milk should look. Then I add a can of catfood in to make a sort of a gravy. They start the day with bellies of warm food.

 I figure that I will just stop when they stop eating it, but they still lap it up. The thing is, so do their mothers. They all crowd in and lap up that  ixture until it is gone. So I guess I have questions about that. I think animal instinct would kick in if the milk was making them sick. It is not as if they don't have other options. There is a large dish of kibble. They each get a packet of cat food. The moms get two. But they still do love their gravy. All of them.

I remember my friend's dairy barn. The cats always came in at milking time. When the udders were cleaned, prior to milking, the next step was to milk them by hand into a bucket to make sure that there was no dirt or bacteria to contaminate the milk once you put the milking machine on them. The milk from the 'stripping' was always given to the barn cats and they knew it. They followed us around mewing excitedly, and there was always a too excited cat getting milk poured on his head, so anxious was he to get the first taste.

So I do have questions about the whole lactose intolerant thing.

Anyways, I headed to the garage tonight with the pitcher of milk gravy, and a carton of cat food. It was getting dark, and Tim had closed up the garage doors already. 

Now the thing is, I wasn't being quiet. I was talking to cats like I always do. I did notice that zero cats came to meet me. I walked into the garage and noticed a black and white cat at the kibble dish, and groaned to myself. I am two cats away from having them all neutered and the last thing I need is more cats showing up. 

I stepped closer and realized what I was looking about the same time he looked up and realized what he was looking at. 

The skunk swiftly turned tail. I recoiled in horror. 

The answer is no. He swiftly waddled off through the hole he had dug out at the back of the garage. 

Tim thought this was a real knee slapper. He said I came close to sleeping in the camper for a few days, but did offer to turn on the heat and water so I would be comfortable.

Seasons change and so do I.

 We finally got a good soaking rain on Tuesday.  I honestly don't think there is a better sound to fall asleep to, the shussssshhh of heavy rain on the roof. 

I washed windows yesterday, inside and out. It is interesting. We picked up windows over the years as we found them on sale. The sizes match, and the colors too, but the mechanisms vary. What started out as a small job (only 11 windows to do) turned into an afternoon's work. I could not find the right nozzle for the vacuum, then I needed to rip it apart to clean the filters. Then I finangled with the different windows. Long story short: I have three more windows to clean. 

But yesterday, on my ladder it was cool and breezy and the tree leaves rattled behind me. The seasons are changing. 

This morning, when I got up, there was a light frost in the meadow in front of the house.

A funny thing? The deer come to the meadow in the evening. Last night, two curious cats came out to watch them feeding. A big doe was curious right back. She walked to each one of them in turn to investigate. One cat fled, but one cat stayed, and the deer ate, comfortable with the strange little creature laying just a few feet away.

I think Portland and Chicago are doing it right. Not backing down, either one of them. 

Portland police chief pushes back on White House 'war zone' narrative - ABC News https://abcnews.go.com/US/portland-police-chief-pushes-back-white-house-war/story?id=126274228

Ice teargassed the police in Chicago.

 ICE Feuds With Chicago Police As Tension Between Law Enforcement Grows - Newsweek https://www.newsweek.com/ice-chicago-police-tension-10834038

Oregon National Guard General states that if the National Guard is deployed in Washington State, their orders will be to protect the public from ICE. 

Watching all this from the woods, one thing is clear. We owe it to the people on the frontlines to protest on October 18th. 

Tell me

 Anyone out there use Viasat for their internet?

We are living out in the country right now. Our computer is not yet set up, because we don't have a provider. My sister uses her StraightTalk phone as a hot spot. It meets their needs, so we figured that we'd probably just do the same.

Then this came in the mail: 

Tim suggested that we check into it. 

So, I called. 

A friendly woman asked for my address to make sure they provided service to our area.  I thought that was strange since the postcard was mailed to this address, but I gave it to her. She brightly said that they did service our area, and she offered to put me through to a sales representative. 

I thanked her and listened to another round of the same recording as I did waiting for the first representative.

Another woman came on the phone. This one asked for my name and then my address once again. I spelled my last name carefully using the military phonetic alphabet for my last name. 

She thanked me. I said that I just had questions about their service. My post card did not mention a hookup cost. What would that cost? 

She said that she would connect me to a specialist. (!!!!)

So I waited again.

A young man came on, and once again, I spelled out my name. Once again, I provided my address. He asked questions. One was 'who is your existing provider?' I said that we just moved here. 'Owning or renting'. 'Own.' Who provided service at your previous address?' 'Breezeline.' 'Why aren't you continuing with them?' 

Uh... that struck me as odd. I said because this is a rural area, they don't service this area, and frankly we are not impressed with their customer service.'

He said, 'Let's get you set up with a home visit shall we?' 

I said, 'We aren't there yet. I need to get some basic information. How much is the hookup fee?'

He began telling me that it all depended, without telling me what it depended on. 'The technician would explain this when he made his visit,' he said in a placating voice.

I said that I was not interested in a home visit if he couldn't even provide me with basic information.

He danced around a bit, but finally said it would be between 0 and $500 to hook up. Monthly fees would be between $69 and $200. Again he said that it was all depending while not telling me what it depended on. 

I mentioned the postcard offering service at $61.99 a month. He seemed very surprised at that price. "I am holding it in my hand right now," I said.

'Let me see when we can get a technician out...' he said.

"No," I said. "This feels very scammy."

He was surprised and sounded wounded. He asked me why I would even think such a thing. 

I said, 'Have a good day,' and hung up as he said, 'Wait, Ms -------'.

Is this the way business is done now? Craziest phone call ever.

Sometimes...

Sometimes I scare myself. Last week, I managed to lose my wallet twice. It gets set down and forgotten. The last time I had carelessly dropped it when I reached for my sweater. 

It scares me, these lapses.

I decided the sensible thing was to begin carrying a purse. One is far less likely to drop something or leave it behind if it is slung over a shoulder.

Friday, I drove my brother in law into town to pick up a rental car. The deer had sensibly run across the road and into the brush before suddenly changing his mind, turning back and flinging himself into my sister's car. 

"I don't know what is wrong with my car," I said. "It doesn't seem to want to shift." 

The thing is I had not driven my car much. We tend to stick to the Suburu because the gas mileage is better. That is the only explanation I have. My brother in law looked down, laughed and shifted the car from Low to Drive. I was mortified. 

In the Suburu, Drive is straight all the way back. To put it into Low, you move the gear shift from Drive to the left. In the Lincoln, it is a straight operation: park, reverse, neutral, Drive and low. I just pulled the shift all the way back like you would for the other car.

I forget things. 

There is part of me that just wants to blame it on my preoccupation with the chaos around me. There is another part of me that worries that it is not.

The find

 Yesterday, just before I pulled my prank at the yard sale, I was stopped dead at the sight of these. 8 of them. Tealight candle holders that look like ice, and immediately, I wanted them. 

Now, I did not need them, and I told myself that in a very firm, no nonsense way. 

I mean, I couldn't have made it any clearer to me. 

But it did not stop the wanting. 

I stood there thinking of Sue and her carboot sales, and her seasonal displays. 

In the end, I caved. I bought them. $8 for all of them, a dollar apiece. 

I came home and looked them up. Kosta Boda art glass designed by Ann Wolff.  That was pretty cool. They are leaded glass and very heavy. In the case of an actual emergency, i could use them to defend myself! 

Tonight I lit them and set them out on the coffee table. I am glad that I ignored myself.

I am reading a good book. The Guest Book by Sarah Blake. 

And last night. ICE raided an apartment building in Chicago, zip tying children and putting them into the back of U-hauls, separated from their parents. It sickens me, literally.

How can anyone justify this? 

But people are, and their excuses make me every bit as sick as the raids themselves.

Joker

 Tim stopped at a yard sale last week. They had old garden tools, so he returned to the sale with Levi, who bought a carload of stuff.

(Not kidding, btw. )

The ladder he bought was set aside. And picked up when Tim brought the truck into town. So Tim did that yesterday.

Tim knows the family hosting the sale. An elderly couple is selling their big house. Their kids were helping out. One of the daughters mentioned that they were bringing stuff to the sale through out the week.

Tim needed to run into town to meet the water company this morning. We were astonished to get our water bill for the old house. They claimed we had used 63 gallons of water a day last month. The house has been empty since the end of July! When they were called, they said it was an estimated bill and said that they are required to be notified when a house is empty for a final meter reading. Who knew? We sure did not.

So this morning, we went back to town for the dreaded 8-12 'window'. Luckily, the man was there not long after 9. 

Tim wanted to stop by his yard sale again to see what else they had. They were delighted to see him again. 

The elderly woman said, "I assume this is your wife..."

I made my face look perfectly astonished, as I looked over at him. "Wait...you're married????!!"

Something Promising.

 Yesterday was an early start. I had caged Possum and Tiger Kitty the previous night and they had meowed pitifully from the basement through the night. I am sure they were hungry and thirsty, but they were being neutered.

We were up at 6. On the road by 7. In line by 7:30, back in the car by 8.

We had a list of errands to do. Tim needed to get some tools to work on his 'new' truck when the parts arrive on Friday. I wanted him to get a truck that was sound. I mean he already has a truck that he doesn't want to drive because it is an antique. He has two more trucks that need some mechanical work. Now he has another. He looks at me and patiently explains that the new truck has not got a bit of rust on it. All it needs is some tinkering and a paint job. The other trucks require tinkering AND bodywork.

I don't get it either, but he has promised me that once he replaces the fuel pump on his previous 'new' truck, he will sell it. 

We'll see, but we are two people who do not need six vehicles. Seven if you count the Baja in the garage. 

I digress, but this really is a bone of contention between us. All I can say is that at least it is not another house. 

Anyways. We had an appointment at the bank (that we missed) but that she took us anyway. We had to pick up some stuff from Lowe's. We had to stop in at the insurance office to add the 'new' truck to our policy. (Grrrrrrr....) The last stop was at the library to print off our tickets for Kansas. 

We got headed for home. It was not yet noon and we thought we might be able to get a little nap before we got the call to go pick up the cats. Usually the call comes about 2ish. This time we had no sooner gotten home and the stuff out of the car than the call came. 

I drove back in to town and two cats were pitifully glad to see me. They sang a very sad song the half hour home. I tried to confine them in the basement to insure that they were over the effects of the surgery, but they were so frantic to get out that I gave up and let them out. They tore across the yard and back to the safety of their clowder and garage. 

(At suppertime, they were just as glad to see me as usual, and allowed much petting.)

The Fix'n Wag'n neutered over 80 cats yesterday. In the four month that this service has been provided, they have neutered over 380 cats in my town. I can't say enough good things about this program. Not all these animals have homes, but there are people who tend these animals. The 'tipped' ear allows you to tell at a glance which feral cats have been neutered and which have not. Last visit a woman brought in (and paid for) 11 feral cats. Neutering them in this numbers should have a noticeable impact on feral cat populations - a very good thing.