Waiting for Spring

Country Life, Gardens, ,

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I took a brief walk outside yesterday so that I could see some of the beauty that nature has to share. I love this little pathway through the pine glade. It is so peaceful with its offer of shelter and stillness. And below you can see the beautiful rusty red leaves of the witch hazel. They provide us with color all winter. The leaves seem to hang on forever and then one day in the spring they just magically disappear. Witch hazel is an odd plant. It blooms in the winter. It is a reminder to me that we can bloom even in the toughest of conditions. And the bench is waiting for us to come and sit to admire the plants that will bloom again the spring.

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Rescue Blessings

Dogs & Other Animals, Rescue Happenings,

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Today  I  had another one of those magical experiences that I am occasionally blessed with while doing rescue work. Our current foster dog, Miss Sassy Pants,  met her future family for the first time. We are keeping Sassy while she undergoes some medical treatment prior to her placement. We anticipate she will be ready to go in about two weeks.

Her new family is so eager and excited about getting her that they wanted to come visit her now. They arrived along with the sheltie they already own. It was amazing. Sassy immediately went up to them and started sniffing. She wanted them to pet her and jumped up on the couch with the lady and gave her kisses. She played and rough housed with the husband. She tried to get their sheltie to play with her. She brought a stuffed toy and squeaked it and dropped it at our feet.  I  have never seen Sassy so much as touch a toy before and rarely does she try to play with our dogs. Sassy is nine years old and was so happy when this family came that she acted like a pup.

This is one of the miracles of rescue work. Sometimes the dogs just recognize their new family. They act as if they have been waiting all their lives for this person/people  to show up. It makes allowing them to move on so much easier for us when we see the dog is happy and ok with it.

Do we miss the foster dogs when they go? Most  certainly, but that is how there’s room for the next one. And there is always a  next one. At last count we have fostered over 40 shelties! It will be a glorious day when there is a shortage of dogs for us to foster. I  think it is possible that day will come.  And I look forward to it. Not to the absence of the foster dogs but to the fact there is none available because every one has a home!!!

Gifts of Life and Death

Dogs & Other Animals, Rescue Happenings

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Romeo passed on yesterday evening. This makes me very sad. We had been together for 14 years. One of the guys at work found Romeo and his sister China in the back of his truck during the work day. The mother must have been moving them but we don’t know from which of the many stops they appeared. The kittens were about two weeks old and the operator brought them to me at the end of the day when he found them. He said I would probably hurt him if he didn’t.

I bottle fed both kittens and kept them in a cardboard box for easy transport. If I went any where for more than two hours, so did the kittens. The box sat on my bed at night so that I would hear the kittens crying and wake up to fed and potty them. Kittens this small can not potty on their own and need help. The kittens also went to work with me in that box. It sat in the bathroom and I would go take care of them every two hours. It didn’t take them long to start meowing for food when they saw me. Shortly after that, when they saw me, they would launch themselves at me and climb up my pants leg. When I started feeding them they were so small that I used an eye dropper. We progressed on to an animal baby bottle and then I cut the tip off of that so the formula/wet food mixture could get through. As they learned to lap up the mixture from a saucer, things became messier. They liked to stand in the food as they ate. Romeo became my shadow. Wherever I went in the house, there he was. He would sit outside the shower door waiting and calling for me. When I came out, he followed me to the sink and sat on the counter so he could stand up and pat my face with his paw. His name suited him well.

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Sadly, China passed a number of years ago. But Romeo has been with me these many years. I was always his momma in the true sense of the word. We went through moving, family changes, comings and goings of other dogs and cats, and all the changes that life brings. It turned out that Romeo had a fine ear for music. He would come whenever he heard whistling. It had to be a classical tune though. He wouldn’t come to other whistling. He had his standards. He wasn’t always an easy cat. He would follow us around yowling for food that we had, especially tuna. He liked to sit at the sink and demand that we turn on the faucet so that he might have water that was properly aerated to suit his taste. But he was always my Romeo Kitten.

So what is a fitting tribute for my fine Romeo Kitten? I think to mention the fact that he taught me about the gifts of life and death. I received the gift of watching him grow and knowing that I had made a difference by giving him life. I received the gift of having him as a part of my life and having the joy of spending these past 14 years being adored by him. And at the end, I had the gift of being with him for his last time on earth. That was a gift that we shared, it went both ways. It was a gift for him and for me. Romeo gave me the chance to live my favorite saying. “I shall pass this way but once. Therefore, any good that I can do…or any kindness that I can show-let me do it now for I shall not pass this way again.”

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The lessons of Romeo Kitten live on.

 

Preparing Dinner

Dogs & Other Animals

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This is the view I see while preparing dinner. It occasionally changes as to which animals are present but the overall feel is like being swarmed by sharks. If you’ll notice in the doorway  there is a cat and another dog waiting for something to drop. Our dogs love fruits and vegetables. They love it if you toss them a piece of cucumber or bit of apple. They will take just about anything. The cats are slightly pickier. They prefer cheese, meat, or sauce from something that we have cooked. Trying to prepare dinner is rather like an Olympic event or an obstacle course. You must repeatedly navigate around bodies as you go back and forth from refrigerator, to stove, to sink. One of Phoebe the greyhound’s nicknames is Road Block.

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Above are Shelby and Sassy the foster dog in prime begging mode. Shelby takes this begging work seriously as she does everything she attempts. You can tell from the grin on Sassy’s face that they are sometimes successful in their quest for bits of food. While dinner time would be easier without all these shenanigans, it would not be nearly as much fun. Life would get boring and empty for me without these furry assistants that help in my daily life.

Green Bowls of Love

Thoughts On Life

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I love these green bowls!  For one thing they are green. And a very pretty shade too.  They  collapse for storage so they take up less room.  What a  nifty idea. Or you can use them in the collapsed state with something like taco dip in the center and tortilla chips in the outer ring.  Usually I use them for parties since they are large and hold a lot of food. So these bowls make me think of  fun.

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My favorite thing about these  bowls though is that they were a gift from  my sister-in-law, so every time I use them I think of her. She has a set of them and liked them so well that she thought I would enjoy having a set as well.

So these bowls serve two metaphorical purposes for me. One, they remind me to be grateful for the common, everyday things that I encounter in my life. They remind me to see more than what is in front of my face. And two, they remind me of love. I think of the kindness and thoughtfulness that was involved with the giving of them. And how awesome it is that I have a sister-in-law that I love. As I used to tell my daughter when she was in school, your actions can make or break someone’s day. You can be the bright spot that affects how they feel. Your actions, be it a smile or a kind gesture, can have far reaching effects, quite possibly more than you will ever know.

The Good Decision

Thoughts On Life

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Today I was going to make an unkind statement about someone. The person wasn’t present and the statement was true. Then I asked myself, “Why?” Why say it? Sometimes venting is good but was it really necessary in this case? Would it serve any purpose, would it improve on the silence? And would it be kind?  So I bit my tongue and remained silent. It was hard.

This sent me on a philosophical trip through my mind.  It tends to get crowded in there so this took a while.  If it took so much effort to stay quiet and not make the comment, was it worth it?  Why not just say the idea, be done with it and move on?  I have Gandhi’s “10 Fundamentals for Changing the World” posted near my desk. I looked at the list and by not making the statement I was honoring 8 of the 10 items on the list.  I want to change the world. Please, note that I mean for the better!  So this time I prevailed and made a minute difference in the universe.

But it was not easy.  Is it easy to do the right thing and make good decisions?  I conclude that it is not.  If it were, the world and everyone in it would be happy, upstanding, and contributing to the betterment of society.  Sadly, we know this is not the case.  So I believe that it is worth the effort to make the hard decisions.  Hopefully next time, this type of decision will be just a little bit easier for me.

Namaste.

Fashion Statements

Dogs & Other Animals

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The barely there look seems to be in fashion around here. Both Romeo Kitten and Miss Sassy Pants the foster sheltie are showing some leg. The shaved leg is to accommodate an IV port in case there is trouble during surgery.  Luckily all went well for both of them.

Romeo came into my life about 14 years ago. He was a kitten that I bottle fed from the estimated age of two weeks. Once he got to be a couple weeks older he would launch himself at me and climb up my pant leg when it was feeding time. As he grew older he followed me around the house meowing when I was out of sight. He would wait for me outside of the shower and then follow me to sit on the bathroom sink and pat my face with his paw. His name fit him well. Romeo’s surgery was a dental and he lost his remaining teeth.  Hopefully this will give him several more years with us.

Sassy’s surgery was a spay to get her prepared for her new home. She did very well. She’s a joy of a little girl and I’m so glad we have the privilege of getting to know her. She is a character though.  She’s a bossy girl too. If we finish dinner without giving her a bite, she barks at us to tell us off. She also doesn’t like forks and barks at those too. After I picked her up at the vet’s today and we pulled into the driveway at home, she barked with happiness that I brought her back home. Sassy has a home waiting for her. We just have to get her past some medical issues and she will be ready to go.  Her new family is eager for her to join them. Sassy will be 10 in April but you’d never know it as spunky as she is.

With luck there won’t be any more surgeries around here for a while.  It’s a little too cold for the bare legged look to become the newest fad.

The Fine Art of the Muffin

Cooking

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A good muffin is a beautiful thing. Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.  You can make them quickly and with things you have available.  I decide what kind to make depending on what I have on hand. If I have bananas in the freezer that I’ve saved for this purpose, I use those.  Or it might be pumpkin or orange juice.

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I have the above basic muffin recipe taped onto the inside of a cabinet door. The dry ingredients are always the same. The brown sugar, oil, and egg are always the same. You can use the vanilla or substitute any other extract.  I often use almond extract but you could also use anise, rum, or any other to suit your taste.  The original recipe called for milk as the liquid but I have also used almond milk, soy milk,  or orange juice. You can add in anything that doesn’t change the consistency of the batter. I use chocolate chips almost every time. Other possibilities in addition to or on their own are berries,  nuts of any kind,  pineapple, orange zest, cranberries,  date, raisins, coconut, etc.

Sift the dry ingredients together. Mix the wet ingredients together with the add-ins, then add the wet to the dry ingredients. Stir just until mixed but no longer! Stirring longer makes the muffins tough and they will not be light and fluffy.

You can make the topping on the recipe, which is like a streusel, or leave it off.  I have done it both ways. Spray muffin tins with non-stick spray and portion out the batter. Then just bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 18 minutes.

I  make these about twice a month. It’s nice to have something delicious and homemade rather than something not so good and probably full of preservatives. And you can make them quickly after you’ve done it a couple of times. Enjoy!

Why it takes me so long to get anywhere in the morning…

Country Life

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Why am I always running late in the morning you might ask.  Today was a typical morning at our house.  All I had to do was make it to an appointment by 8:30 am.  Sounds simple enough. Upon awakening I find my slippers and go downstairs to let the dogs out. Those that slept in crates are released to join the others and go outside in our fenced dog yard. I go to the kitchen to make coffee which is number 2 on the agenda.  Romeo, one of our 14 year old cats, follows me meowing urgently and getting underfoot while telling me off for not making getting his canned cat food number 1 on the agenda.   Romeo just had all his teeth removed last week and is getting canned food every morning. I lock Romeo in the bathroom with the food so the other cats don’t steal it. I must rush to close the door so the other cats don’t charge in. This does not make them happy. They prowl around outside the door while giving me dirty looks. I hurry to let the dogs back inside as it is very cold out.  I hold the door open, letting the warm air out and the cold in, while waving my arm furiously at Roxanne to motion her into the house.  She is mostly deaf and arthritic so this takes a good while. Then I help her up the four steps to the main level as she is too stiff to make it on her own.

Now it is time to get the fire in the wood burner going again as it has nearly died out during the night. I gather wood shavings, newspaper, and more wood from the stand beside the fireplace.  Assemble all and light it. It takes off quickly as there were still coals left over.  We do have fuel oil heat but burning wood helps to keep the heating costs down.  So with the single digit temperatures, burning wood is a much desired thing.

Back to animal patrol. I let Romeo out of the bathroom before he starts yowling and flinging the empty cat food can around to signal that he is done. I must rinse the sink out where I feed Romeo because he is a messy eater, and then take the empty can to rinse and put in the recycling.  Then it’s time to pass out morning meds for the animals.  The first one is easy. Roxanne gets a pill for urinary issues and it’s beef flavored and chewable so no problem. The next pill is for our foster dog Sassy, pictured above. She has liver issues and gets a daily pill for 30 days to help with healing her liver.  The pill is very large. The vet says most people have trouble giving it.  Sassy is a good girl so that goes without incident. Last is our cat Lacey who needs an antibiotic for a sinus infection. First I must find her which takes a couple of minutes. And I must load the medicine into the “pill shooter” which helps with pilling cats. Lacey is mostly a docile type of cat so that’s not too bad.

The worst is over with getting ready for the day.  Now I can take a few minutes to shower and get myself ready. I do this and lastly, grab my lunch bag which I packed the day before, pour some coffee in a travel mug, and grab a book to throw in my work bag and away I go!  BTW, life is good. I wouldn’t have it any other way.  It’s a small price to pay for the privilege of living with my animal friends!

It’s here. New blog underway!

Thoughts On Life

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Hi! I’m planning to write about animals,  animal rescue work, and the country lifestyle. This will include things like cooking, gardening, and other things that might come up in daily life. Pictured are Baxter and Shelby showing how much fun we have around here.

Sanctuary Acres is what I decided to call my home many years ago.  It was my hope that it would provide safety and peace for all who entered, both animal and human. And so we begin!