Mid February Update

     Time passes faster the older I get. Here it is already the last week of February, 2019. There are quite a few hings that have happened since I was last on here. So, here we go!

     It has been raining a LOT! My yard is so soggy that I sink nigh up to my ankles just taking stuff out to the compost bin. Speaking of the compost bin, the other day I was taking out a load and found an onion end I had previously tossed has become the starts to 3 onion plants! Hey, free vittles!
     Biscuit, the cat who adopted me is turning into one of the best cats ever. I should have known he would, him having Siamese bloodlines and all.Perhaps Vlad, my Jack Russell Terrier heard all the praise I gave Biscuit for bringing in a field mouse to share with me that he decided to help with the groceries as well. he went to the compost bin and found an old radish (greens and all) that I'd thrown in the bin, ate a bit of it and wanted to bring the rest back inside. Now, this radish was as hard and woody as a pine knot! I did insist the boy leave his radish outside

     Meanwhile, I received my order of 100+ ginseng seeds. I figured their best chance of survival would be starting them in a 10 gallon aquarium/ terrarium in potting soil. Should any sprout, I'll keep them indoors and under semi greenhouse conditions (at least temperature/light and moisture controlled) for as long as possible as Mississippi is a bit South of ideal growing zone for 'sang. Then I'll transplant the babies into a raised bed in the shady corner of my back yard. If I get no or piss poor germination I'll call it quits. I think W.C. Fields once said, "If you don't succeed, try try again. Then quit. No need being a damned fool about it!"

     I can't believe I am saying this but I would love to get out and mow my yard. The weeds are getting thick and once chopped up with the mower would make an excellent addition to the compost bin.

     I am sure I've told you before that my Mom and I say, the difference between weeds and wildflowers is "Do you like them or not?" Yes is wildflowers and no is weeds.  Well, my wildflowers are growing , dare I say, like weeds. Last week during a warm and semi dry spell I saw a couple of honeybees buzzing about... in February.

     Well, there's more I could tell you about but I gotta a lotta things to get done today.

     God's peace and  love to you all!

Jan 27, 2019

      Boy howdy, yesterday was quite a trying morning. I got off work at 6:60 AM as per usual but needed to kill an hour before the Honda service center opened up at 7:30. All I thought I needed was an oil change for about $50.00.... Did my day go to Hell from there!

      To make a short story long I needed a few items from Wally World so I went there. Socks, gloves, a pair of work britches and some knee pads and I was in line to get my oil changed... 7:20 AM and 3rd in line.

     Once they get that done, they do a "Multiple Point Inspection" and find that after only 21,000 miles my tires are shot. I tell Goober, "Go ahead and replace 'em". Later he tells me I need both front and rear end alignment because you need that when you get new tires. I say "Do it".
     After all is said and done, my $43.97 oil change became a $828.09 oil and tire change.

     All I can say is I am happy I had my Bible with me to read during the 4 hour ordeal. I read 20 chapters of Proverbs and had time to meditate on each and every one. Had I not have had "The Good Book" with me and the Holy Spirit by my side I would have most likely snapped well  before getting back in the driver's seat. At any rate, I slugged down at least $1.00 worth of their coffee.


     That was yesterday, today I got home at more or less my usual time. Biscuit, my semi feral Tomcat had brought me a present whilst I was at work. A lovely headless field mouse! He wasn't home when I arrived but he left it so I could not miss it... right at the front door. he did show up a bit later and I fed him and thanked him for his loving gift, told him it was too much and he could eat the rest of the critter should he so desire.
     He loves his Pawpaw!

I Am Back Again

     Aaite, Buckaroos. It's Tomcat time again. Twixt the bull crap at work and all the other bat, cat and rat crap in my life I am back. It's now the 20th of January and it is colder than my ex-wife's heart here in Mississippi.
     But all is good enough, I reckon. I've a crock pot full of home made soup simmering, 2 fat dogs keeping the bed warm so life is good.

     A couple weeks ago I went and bought another ferret to keep my wee Elsa company. I figured "what better toy for a ferret than another ferret?" Well, It seems Binkie, the new polecat wants nothing more than to rip Elsa's throat out. I'm keeping them in separate enclosures but switching furniture so they get used to each others' smells. Also I put them in "neutral territory" to fight and hopefully play w/ each other. C'est la vie in my world!

     I hate my night job more and more each time I am forced to go back but I still have to pay the mortgage.

     This is a mere quickie to let any and all know I am still alive should any care (or not). I'll be trying to post more news when I have it and more often.

God bless.

Pussycats III

     Biscuit, "my" lilac point Siamese or enough of the bloodline to look like a classic has become quite the boon companion as of late. I knew that if I let him come to me under his conditions sooner or later I would win him over.  Well, it finally happened!
     We had a cold spell awhile back so I put a blanket on the front porch for him which he took to almost right away. Then we had an ass biting cold front come thru so I got some sheets of cardboard from work to put between his blanket and the cement pad of the porch. Not long after that I began noticing that he knew my car when I got home from work, give a big stretch and come meet me and almost (in his mind) guide me into my parking space. I keep his food in my car so when I'd get his breakfast he would be right at my feets going to his food bowl.

     It had been around 2 months that I'd been feeding him that he finally put his nose to my fingers but still showed a very skittish attitude towards me. Maybe 2 weeks ago he first let me touch him if only for a brief moment. Then last week he finally gave in to my "undeniable kavorka" ... animal magnetism! When  feed him his breakfast I always kneel and hold my hand out so he can approach me at his comfort. Well, he came and gave me his usual nose to finger touch and went to get a bite to eat. Then he gave me a full noggin on hand rub before another bite of vittles. After that came a full body against my leg rub. One more bite of food and he was popping wheelies to have his head rubbed! It was almost like a miracle how we had come in one day. From a bare, brief touch accepted by him to "Okay, Pawpaw. You are my person now."

     I've heard Siamese are more doglike in behavior than other cat breeds and the one Siamese mix  had before, Mischa held true to that theory. The other day I caught a mouse in a snap trap and I figured, "Why waste a perfectly good mouse? Biscuit would love it." So I took the mouse and trap out as I was going to my car to head out for work, dropped the rodent where Biscuit saw it and went to fetch his dinner. I turned and there he was as usual at my feet, mouse in mouth ready to lead me to his feed bowl.  I think he's gonna turn out to be a pretty damn good cat!

     I was telling Crazy Mike at work about how quickly Biscuit decided that he wanted me to be his Pawpaw and CM suggested he may have been abused to make him so untrusting at first. After mulling over the idea I have come to a very possible scenario. Biscuit is a very handsome young fella. I'm thinking quite likely someone brought him home (maybe even paid a dollar or few for him). Then as his hormones came into fruition he began spraying. He likely got his ass whupped a time or few for this before his previous people kicked him to the curb. I know, it sounds horrible but it happens all too often. Anyway, I was looking for an older kitten or young cat, Siamese or Siamese mix for months. I had wanted a female as my Mischa was a 101% "Daddy's little girl". To make a short story long, God decided Biscuit needed someone to love him and I didn't need a kitten factory. The good Lord hooked Biscuit and me up and the rest as they say is history.

Pussycats Part 2

     Well, I haven't seen Dumpling, the little kitten for some time now. It is my fear that one of the local dogs got her, probably The Little Red Bastard as he's the most notorious ass hole running the roads in my neighborhood. Not yet a known cat killer but still a garbage getter intoer and just an all around nuisance.

     Meanwhile, Cornbread, the wild looking cat came to visit this morning as she does every month or so and let me pet her as is her norm.

     The main news is Biscuit, the lilac point Siamese looking young adult showed me a couple weeks ago that HE is not a "Pretty girl" as I'd been calling him. He's a fully intact Tomboy cat. I'm guessing that's why it has taken so long for him to succumb to my "undeniable kavorka" or animal magnetism.
Since Winter is upon us here (more or less) I've put a blanket out on the front porch for him and today fetched home some big sheets of cardboard that I'll cut to fit his little sleeping nook for extra insulation against sleeping on the cold cement. 
     He knows Pawpaw's car and is lucky that it has the back up camera. Every morning when we see each other, he stretches then comes to "guide" me as I back into the driveway.  Were it not for the camera, I'd have runned him over by now! He's still unsure but it's easy to tell that he wants to let me pet him. He's gotten to sniffing my fingers and letting me touch him whilst he eats (only a little touch, mind you). Once I get out of the car, he comes and "guides" me to his feed bowl, only a half step in front of me. I'll usually sit with him for a few minutes if it isn't ass biting cold and he'll turn on his "happy motor" for a few "pr, pr"s... not a full happy "Purr". We're still a work in progress but sooner or later, Biscuit will land in Pawpaw's lap.

     Come to think of it, all my boys are quite the young gentlemen. Vlad always lets Bella out to do their thing in the back yard and back in first. He always allows her first face full at the feed bowls. Whenever Cornbread shows up, Biscuit always backs off and lets her eat her fill. Seems Pawpaw is doing a grand job raising some fine young Southern gentlemen even if they ain't human children.

Pawpaw's Pussycats

       Well, I've gad a bit of a rodent problem around mi casa. Bella, my dachshund & Vlad, my Jack Russell terrier are doing their best to kill the vermin inside but I needed help around the perimeter.
      I went online and posted want ads in all the local pet sites asking for a Siamese or Siam mix young cat or older kitten. After at least 3 months with no replies, God answered my request.

     First, a young lilac point Siamese or mix showed up at my doorstep looking for vittles which I promptly provided. Soon thereafter a young lady of about the same age showed up who looks like no  other cat I've ever seen. She has the face of an Egyptian Mao cat, a ringed tail, spots on her sides and almond shaped markings on her legs. She is the friendliest of the lot but least often seen.  Anyway, the lilac seems to be of breeding age as what appears to be her identical daughter has arrived, some 8 weeks old, I'd reckon.

     I'm calling the older lilac "Biscuit" and her wee one "Dumplin". The wild ass looking cat is "Cornbread".

     Cornbread is the only one who will let me pick up or even touch so far but with my natural animal magnetism it won't be long before the other girls are in my lap!

New Eyes And Teeth

     Okay, I think I told y'all about my cataract surgery on both eyes. After insurance picked up their part I paid some $2,000 out of my pocket.
     Back around my birthday, September 10, I noticed one of my lower incisors (front teeth) was getting wobbly. My dentist said the problem wasn't my teeth but bone loss in my mandible (lower jaw bone). So, One loose tooth led to removal and replacement of 4 and crowning of 2 (1 on either side to hold the new 4 in place). She sold me a temporary set for $300.00 and I'll go in November 6 to get my permanent choppers glued in.
     SO this year I've spent $2000 to be able to see and before the year is out I'll spend another $4000 to be able to eat like I should.
     It ain't easy getting old and it DAMN sure ain't cheap!