Spay Day

 

It’s been four days since our low income spay and neuter day at Bangor Humane Society and I can almost feel my feet! Ten hours standing doesn’t bode well for these old bones but it sure was worth it.  We did 123 cats that will not be out populating the world with unwanted kittens that are just scrumptiously cute but if they don’t have a warm loving home it’s a horrific life for them.

It was an amazing day with so many people gifting their time for this fabulous project which is the brainchild of our Executive Director Suzan Bell.  Suzan has the gift of organization and when she decides to do a project you can bet your boots it will get done.

Last year we did about 90 cats if my memory serves me right, (which is always iffy), so it was nice to have upped that number and I hope it continues to grow each time we do this.  We had more vets this year that not only worked very hard operating on the cats but they brought in extra surgery tables, supplies and instruments which of course all had to be reloaded and taken back to their offices after putting in a full day at BHS.  We have two operating rooms which can accommodate one vet each and the rest were in the big room that we cleared out for the day.

Everyone had their job to do.  I was handed the cats after their surgery was done, my co worker and I cut their toe nails and then wrapped them in a towel to be held by one of our many cat cuddlers until they woke up from the anesthesia, the cats not the cuddlers.  :o)   Each kitty was loved on and monitored until it was time for the owner to come pick them up.

It was a great day, I look forward to it each year.  Special thanks to Dr. Mark Hanks, Dr. Dave Cloutier, Dr. Maryla Cutcliffe, Dr. Julie Keene and Dr. David Monnier.  Without them giving of their time on their day off none of this would have happened!

Just a few statistics for those of you that like numbers, unlike me who never even balances my checkbook, these numbers will floor you!!!  A female cat can start having kittens at four months old.  If not spayed in her lifetime she can have up to three litters of kittens each year with the average of four kittens each time.  In a seven year period she can be responsible for over 400,000 kittens!!!  She has four then those four can have four then those four more can have four and so on and so on. Unbelievable isn’t it?  Sad but true.

Speaking of vets, it was time for Noodles and Munchkin to go in for their yearly shots and check ups.  I dread this every year.  They do not travel well.  You might remember my flight home from Florida with Noodles and he had an accident in his carrier and I had to give him a bath in the airplane bathroom………..Anyhow, just going the three mile drive to the vet office is traumatic for him and he has passed that on to Munchkin.

When I was leaving the spay and neuter clinic I said to Dr. Monnier that if he heard yowling and howling plus smelled a horrible smell on Wednesday morning that would be me with my two cats coming in for their shots.  Maybe this is TMI but does anyone else have this problem with their cats going in the car? Good grief, it’s not like I am asking them to go to the moon.

Our drive over was as expected, howling and all windows open so that I could breathe.  I thought if I put them in a big crate together it would help but let’s just say that was a disappointment………they both needed a bath by the time they arrived…….

I walked in red faced and one of the nice techs said “follow me out back” (they probably didn’t want to drive out the rest of their clients) so I did and she graciously said she would take care of things and I could go sit back in the waiting room until our number was called. I gladly agreed.

When it was time to be seen they both smelled like a rose, the cat crate was all washed out and their blanket had been thrown in the wash.  Now is that good service or what?  I’m glad they only have to go once a year!!!!!

Doesn’t he look like a little angel?

Hail?! Where did that come from?!

It’s Friday night already.  While eating dinner we noticed that it had started to snow again and was coming down really fast.  At closer inspection we saw that it was hail, not snow!  It wasn’t the big golf ball size hail just small dots that immediately melted in my hand.  Don’t know where that came from but now it’s gone and all is quiet outside.
Caught this picture of Mom deer with last years baby.  Awwwwwwwwww!!!!  Bet there will be some sibling rivalry when the new fawn comes along in a few weeks!


See this cute little baby nose with snow on it from finding bird seed.  I love my deer as you all well know but I did get a glimpse of them out front one night this week trimming my cedar shrubs!

They don’t always get along and share like in this picture.  Sometimes the older, bigger ones will drive off the younger, smaller ones with a crack across their back with a front leg!

A lot of you asked me what I got for a camera.  It is a Nikon Cool Pix L120 and I got it at Wally World.  The thing I like about it is the 21X telephoto and the fact that you can take pictures through windows.  My other camera would take very blurry pictures if I took them through the window.  It also has video but I haven’t used that as yet.  I wanted something dependable for our upcoming family trip to NYC.  You can google it under Nikon Cool Pix L120 and it will bring it right up.



I’m not much of a city girl.  I don’t like traffic.  I don’t like humongous crowds of people.  So why NY you may be thinking. Well the Hubs has wanted to go back there after a business trip a few years ago which included lots of sight seeing, so for Christmas I got him tickets to a couple of Broadway Shows.



The kids are going with us so one of the shows we will see is The Lion King which I hear is fantastic.  Hubs saw it when he was there last time and said that the grands will love it.  We are also going to see The Jersey Boys which is the story of The Four Seasons.  I LOVED The Four Seasons when I was growing up and still do.  Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like A Man, Sherry Baby, Oh What A Night etc etc  I have been playing the cd’s in my car for a week getting myself all geared up for the show! A number of you have seen it and said it is the next best thing to the real thing.  Pam I think you said you have seen it a couple of times. :o)





Snowbird and Snowbird Jr. are packing in anticipation of coming back to Tundra Country in a couple of weeks.  I think it will be quite a shock to their systems if we still have snow! (snicker snort!) I have long johns and snowmobile suits ready for them to wear until it warms up!  :o)  I doubt that their cat Buffy will poke her nose out the door until June! BTW, they just celebrated their 67th anniversary!
Have a great weekend every one!! 

Back to winter!

Oh me, oh my, we are in the midst of winter again!  Last night when we went to bed it was just starting to spit a little snow and this morning it was a winter wonderland again!

I had just hired my yard man to come put my snowmobile away for the summer and he arrived today after plowing all night.

I know this won’t last so I had him put away but it was so tempting to go take one last run through the carriage trails!

Snowbird and Snowbird Jr. are due home in a couple of weeks so I am sad that they missed this one.  Mom loves to go out in the snow even just for a few minutes but this will be gone by then.

Noodles is wondering, what happened?!  This stuff wasn’t here yesterday!!

I finally broke down and bought a new camera after having all the troubles with my old one in Florida.  I love it, it will telephoto up to 21 X !  I took these photos from the second story window. I would say this is a face only a mother would love!!!

This turkey was here alone and was not happy when the deer showed up.  There was some pecking order posturing but they finally decided to get along. 

These pictures were taken through the glass which amazes me as my other camera would not have come out any where near as good.

The deer population is way down in Maine due to the harsh winters we have had the last few years.  I’m glad my deer look so healthy and happy!  This is one of last years babies.

I helped my sister work on another baby quilt on Saturday.  It is a panel and she put some borders on it and is going to stitch in the ditch around the pictures. This one is for a little boy that one of her coworkers just had.  Panels are great for a quick project.

This picture is to make my friend Dawn feel better!  She posted a picture of a cupboard that she was cleaning out and said she felt embarrassed so I told her I would make her feel better.

I probably clean this cupboard more times then any of my others as it just seems to fill up with shopping bags, grocery bags, tools and all kinds of stuff.  In my quest for purging I thought this was a good place to continue the process!!!  Now doesn’t that look better?

I also tackled a closet in the foyer that has shelves.  Now does anyone need this many greeting cards?????  I took five boxes over to Snowbird Jr’s apartment and still have enough to last me another ten years at least!  Why do we get so much stuff?  I think I may donate some more of them to one of the ladies groups at church as they like to send cards.

I’m doing quite well with my decluttering.  I put a contractor sized trash bag full of stuff in the trash yesterday.  Does anyone else save boxes?  Something will come in the mail and I will think, oh that’s a good box I bet I will use that……. NOT! 

Guess that’s it for today.  Miss T is here with her friend Katie and they need some dinner.  I’m thinking some take out……….

The Chairman Of The Board

How many board meetings do you get to go to with a beautiful orange kitty snoozing on the table?  He is awake in this shot but was snoozing up a storm earlier and taking multiple baths while being scratched and petted by almost everyone in the room.  I call him the Chairman as he always attends each meeting without fail usually sleeping on someone’s paperwork or playing with an ink pen cover. 


I always like to visit the dogs and cats when I am at BHS and today one kitty caught my eye BIG TIME!  I love double toed cats and this litter had enough toes for the whole building. Look at the little orange and white one, she looks like she has snowshoes on! I wanted to put her in my pocket and bring her home but figured Noodles, Munchkin and the Hubs would all revolt so thought best of it.  Sigh……..

We also have lots of puppies (which aren’t old enough to be adopted yet) that are just adorable.  Oh how I would like to adopt one for Miss T and Mr. D but again I would be outvoted…….. Look at that face though, how sweet is this sleepy guy?  I have a feeling that my friend Amy might take this guy home when he is ready in a few weeks.  :o)

We are gearing up for our next low cost spay and neuter day on the 27th of March.  The only cure for the overabundance of unwanted cats and dogs is to spay and neuter.  One lone cat has kittens, then they all have kittens and then those kittens have kittens and it goes on and on.  We at Bangor Humane Society are dedicated to breaking this cycle in our area and hope to have more and more low cost clinics in the future.


The raccoons are back from their winter long sleep in my hayloft. They wintered very well in their deluxe accommodations and are now ready to clean up under my birdfeeders each night along with the occasional marshmallow……..ahem…..  I ran into one of my neighbors today at a restaurant and she said they are raiding her birdfeeders too.  They must be really hungry after such a long sleep.  Someone sent me this picture, isn't it a hoot?!

Thanks to my friend Pea over at Pea’s Corner I was able to purchase some more Switchables on Ebay.  I love the flip flops for summer and of course I love all things bumblebees.  Thanks Miss Pea!


 
 
The wind is blowing like crazy here.  I went to lunch with some friends today and when we went in the restaurant it was calm and sunny and when I came out a couple hours later it was just wild!  I’m surprised that the power hasn’t gone out as the trees are really swaying.  The snow has dropped a lot.  It was raining again in the night, I know that because Noodles ran out when poor Hubs left for work at 4 a.m. and then because it was raining he (Noodles not Hubs) woke me up yowling wanting to come back in!  Grrrrrrrrr………..


Doesn’t seem like it should be Friday night already.  Tomorrow my sister and I are going to work on another quilting project after I do her hair.  In my younger years I was a hairdresser and have maintained a few skills, very few, it’s been 18 years since I worked in my salon.  I don’t miss it but I miss the people.  I had such wonderful clients that became close friends over the years. I am still in contact with some of them even after all these years.  Tina, I know you know what I am talking about!

15 day till spring!

Be sure to check out Pea's 5 Year Blogiversary, she is having a wonderful Give Away for Easter!

My sister has been visiting with us since last Friday and she headed home this morning.  We had a nice time, I always enjoy her visits.  We like to go to certain places each time to hunt for treasures and this time I hit the jackpot.  We were in a thrift shop and I spied this old chair for $1.99.  It is so cute and I like to put plants where the seat used to be and this one was already missing the seat.   :o)

I need to sand it down a bit and put some poly on it and it will be ready to go.  I stuck some fake ferns in it for now but will put some plants and ivy in when it’s warm enough to be outside. I love the curved back.  For less then $2.00 you can’t go wrong.

She got a great wooden tray to carry things out to her picnic table.

We stopped to see the boys on our way back.  Oh do I dread shedding season!  Little Kipper looks like a great big powder puff with all his hair!  I have had him on a work out schedule all winter so I hope when the hair is gone he will look a little more svelte this summer!  Nick wears a blanket all winter so he won’t have much to shed out but Lil’ Bud looks pretty fuzzy so will need a lot of grooming.  I can’t wait to clip around his face as he gets a lot of long hair under his chin which is less then photogenic.  They will be coming home after we get back from New York around the middle of April or first of May depending on how things have dried up out in the pastures.




We celebrated Miss T’s birthday Saturday night, she is now nine years old.  Where did those nine years go?!! It seems like she should still be a toddler running around here with my shoes on! Clomp, clomp, clomp!






Her cat Penelope was right in the middle of everything.  Doesn’t she have pretty markings?


These kids are just growing up WAY too fast and I don’t like it! 

Pictures, pictures and more pictures……

During this time of my confinement, no I am not in jail, just the flu, I have been going through hundreds of pictures and memorabilia.  It’s been fun and has kept the Hubs busy going to Jo-Ann Fabric getting me more and more pages and covers for my photo books.
I came across this picture of Nick which btw I have been looking for for quite some time.  This is the picture they sent us when we expressed interest in adding him to our barn.  Isn’t that just the cutest picture of him?  He hasn’t done any jumping since being here but who knows what Miss T might do with him when she is ready and able. 



Also found this picture taken many years ago.  I don’t know why I had the red theme going but it’s cute of the cat.  Her name was Sasha and we had her for 17 years.  She was such a nice cat and when Son came along she just loved him and would let him do anything with her.  One day he was pulling her around in a pillow case and she was purring up a storm just as happy as could be. She had the prettiest big blue eyes that were totally crossed.

Lots of memories.  Good memories.

I also have been going through my craft cabinet as I mentioned in my last post. I sure needed Tina’s help on this one!  She always does such good Tuesday Tackles, it inspires me.  I didn’t take a picture of the before and it’s just as well as you all would have sent my name in for the tv show Hoarders!  It is a nice old wooden cabinet that came out of an old house that belonged to a friend of mine.  It is just perfect for all my craft stuff.

A coat of paint or three and some new hardware and it was ready to go.

This is out on the sun porch and will have to be moved when we do a little renovating to the room, but will be put back.  We want to winterize the room as we use it so much and the floor is very cold out there in the wintertime even with the stove going all day.  The windows are very drafty also and need to be replaced.  We never dreamed we would use this room so much so are looking forward, not to the construction, but to the finished product.  We are going to put radiant heat in the floors and that will make Noodles and Munchie very happy!  They love this room too and spend lots of time out there watching the birds and squirrels and snoozing in the sun.
What is it about this time of year that makes us want to declutter?  Is it the promise of a fresh new spring?  I know I have been on a quest to clean things out that I don’t need, don’t use, can’t fit into, too big, worn out etc etc….
Over at my nieces blog Musings Of a Housewife she talked about this today and recommended The 30 Day Cut the Clutter Challenge.  I am going to try to do this challenge and whip this place into shape.  I have a good start as I have done the Hubs and my closets already and now the sunroom but there is plenty more to be done!
Thanks to my buddy Miss Pea over at Pea’s Corner I was able to on Ebay and find some more of the Switchables that go on the night light in the powder room.  There are TONS of them!  I picked up a few more which I will show you when they get here. Thanks Pea!!!
Here are a couple more pictures that I found. This is my Dad and look at the curly hair!  Guess that must be where I got mine! I don’t know how old he is in this shot, how old Dad?

This is Dad and his little sister Cathy.  Don’t they look like they came right out of Our Gang?  :o)






This is Mom and Dad on their wedding day in Oklahoma.

This last one is my grandparents that lived right down the road from us growing up.  We loved to go down on the farm and see all the animals.  I especially loved haying season as I got to drive the truck through the fields as the men threw the bales on. It smelled so good and to this day I love the fragrance of fresh hay.
Of course there was loose hay too and did we ever love to jump in the hay!  It was a no-no and we knew it but sometimes we just couldn’t help ourselves! :o) 
Look how tall the hollyhocks are in Grammies garden.  She had a real green thumb and always had such pretty gardens.  When Grampie had to start using a cane in later years he would always poke us with it when we came in the kitchen door and of course we would run off giggling our heads off!  We loved watching him doing the milking and squirting the milk into the barn cats mouths.  He would let us try to do some milking but I never got very good at it.  He was very patient and so was Momma cow!

Like I said, good memories!