Sunshine and More Sunshine

It's a beautiful day in the South Puget Sound neck of the woods today.  Zöe and Esmerelda are both outside enjoying the sun, and I'm glad to have them with their paws in contact with the earth after such a long time indoors.  Zöe really hasn't been outdoors much since she was mysteriously attacked and not at all since the Peepers hatched out.

Esmerelda has spent the winter inside as well.  She's been suffering from a sensitivity which has had her chewing all of her fur off.  But now it is growing back and it's a relief to let her outdoors.

Buddy simply won't go there right now.  If he can see chickens through the fence, he wants nothing to do with the yard.

I'm planning on moving the flock soon, so the cats can have their whole yard back again.  I have plenty of space to make this happen, I just need more fencing.  And I need to make that happen.

Right now I've just finished prepping some more books to be bound.  I'll be working on the case bindings this after noon.  Hopefully they'll be ready to bind in tomorrow.  And then I can let them sit for a couple of weeks.

I'd love to get time to do some writing or even to just finish my zines.  I'm going to focus on making that happen too.  Also I'm eager to finish my painting.  The next step will be to add some more detail.  I'm hoping to get it finished off this month.  I have way too many things going on at the same time, and if I can get them off the to do list, I'll be much happier.

Esmerelda had a session with BodyTalk-er Sid Snider last week.  I wasn't finding time to do a session myself, and I didn't want to wait any longer.  Besides, sometimes it's better to have someone else work on family members.  It was such a relief, and Esmerelda is getting better and better.  She is back to being her ol' naughty self again.

All of my cat friends are different.  Buddy is very much like a dog in a cat suit.  Zöe is like an ancient spiritual master, and Esmerelda is fun, Fun, FUN.  She is never having more fun than when she is getting into something she knows I don't want her to be into.  If I open up a drawer or a closet and try to slip something in without any interference, she has the ability to wake from a sound sleep at the other end of the house, and be inside before I can close said drawer, closet or cupboard.  But if I invite her into one of those spaces, she wants no part of it.  What's the fun in being somewhere you're supposed to be.  This also applies to the kitchen.

If there is any food left out, she'll find it.  She will attack anything that has come into contact with food.  I've seen the remnants of her handy work--plates licked so clean they look like they've been washed, baked potatoes with only the paper thin layer of skin left.  I've seen her yank the carcass of a chicken breast out of a stock pot when it was just off the boil, and send it sailing through the air to land on the floor below.  Turn your back for a second and she seizes her opportunity.

She is pure alley cat dressed in haute coture.  Then when she lost her beautiful coat, I felt so bad for her, because I knew she had to be pretty miserable to chew most of her long fur down to the skin.

After her session, she started to get better, really fast.  I could feel her skin re-hydrating under my fingertips during the session, and her fur began to grow back right away as her skin began healing.  She was feeling so good, she of course had to start getting into things.  So a couple of days later, I found a half stick of butter on the floor, half eaten.  Of course, I knew who the culprit was.  And so I had an uneasy couple of days while that went through her system and it wasn't pretty.

But now she's back to normal.  And I kicked her out doors.  She's curled up right now on my wool cloak, in a chair on the back porch in the sunshine.

My kitchen has to remain spotless.  It's the only way to notice, if any food has been accidentally left out.  Or any plates with any sauce or food bits which might play havoc with her digestion.  I have a lock down can in my kitchen for compost, and am constantly policing the vicinity for anything that she might get into.

Literally, the other day, I was preparing some vanilla butter cream icing, and turned around to get a utensil, and turned back to find her head in the bowl.  I swear sometimes I think she'll give me a stroke.  It would be funny, if sugar wasn't toxic to cats.  But I tell you, she seems to get the biggest kick in the world out of trying to outwit me, and beat me to the draw.

So now for the flock...The Peepers are getting huge, They are about 12 weeks old, and everything has changed for the flock now.  Rocky has gotten more mellow.  He seems really proud and happy to have more chickens to protect.  Fannie who has been my non layer, has taken a real interest in them and acts like they're her offspring, which has taken some pressure off of Ruby, and allowed her a smoother transition back into the flock.  I can't wait until the Peepers are old enough to lay eggs.  It looks like we only have one cockerel in the batch, and so far that's working out with Rocky.  The cockerel is the only one of the Peepers that has a name so far.  Mike named him Sparky.

And now, some lunch and back to work.


Oh and by the way...
This is what butter looks like when it's been rolled around on the floor and chewed by a cat...Oh well, into the compost.

I'm just surprised she didn't eat it all.  I guess since there was no one to disapprove, she lost interest.