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We had to say good-bye to T.J. today. I came home last night and found him splayed on the couch and I thought he was dead. It turns out he went into a diabetic coma. I got him down to the Emergency Vet and they stabilized him but we think he had some loss of oxygen to the brain as he was having seizures and temperature spikes and not responding well. It did not look hopeful that he would recover so we had to make the hard decision.
A note from Susan:
T.J. - his full name being Thomas Jerald because when I first got him someone said he looked like the Tom and Jerry cartoon kitty - was an amazing, one-of-a-kind cat. He was definitely our Alpha kitty and I have to admit, my favorite. He was a good hunter and brought several birds, mice and even an earthworm through the cat door in my last house to show off. What a character! He did this unusual movement with his front paws in which he looked like he was waving. I called it the "paw thing". When he was little he would rise up on his haunches and do the "paw thing" whenever he saw something unusual, but when he got older he would mostly do it when sitting on my lap. You can go to the blog post of January 31st, 2011 to see him do it. I will miss you my dear, sweet kitty boy and I will never forget you.
He is missed!
Pictured above is a hole that is going to be the subject of a recurring theme.
It will undoubtedly be featured here several times over the next several weeks because of the extraordinary wonder that nature yields.
This is the west side of the Carriage House. That's right, we have a Carriage House. We have no Carriage, but when we do, it has a House. The unique feature of the west side is that it is the one area where nature can make its way under the building.
We have dealt with nature getting under there before and we have not enjoyed the encounter. And...that's a little strong. I thoroughly enjoyed the encounter but it required a great deal of extra work on my part.
The extra work to which I refer involves trapping and relocating pole cats. I have been battling a skunk for some time now that had been trying to dig under. She finally beat me. And I do believe that's a she.
So now I have the proof. I've seen her come out and go back in. I tried blocking her out and she made it back through. Skunks can dig!
So, I am expecting 4 to 7 little bundles of stink come popping out soon. Maybe within a couple weeks.
Skunk watching wasn't the only thing accomplished this weekend. I tending to the hops and the grape vines. I laid down some ant bait. I did some high level security work that I don't care to discuss here. I did a little pre-yard yard work. It's just the stuff you do before the other stuff you do.
I racked my current batch of beer, a clone of Alaskan Amber. This has been an odd brew. It reactivated itself after the first racking and got very active again. It kind of boogered up my cool new vapor lock.
Anyway, it's been almost three weeks and it's not yet ready to keg. That okay! I'm not yet ready to drink it. But it's coming!
I have successfully completed my first transit of the Spokane River for the 2014 River Transiting Season.
I arranged with Don at work to get my car down river so it would be waiting for me when I arrived at the bottom.
Don then took me over to the river at Harvard Road where I put in.
The water was pretty chilly when I first stepped in but by the time I got out, I had adjusted. I wasn't worried because my plans were to be on the water, not in it!
The river is running at 15,300 cfs (cubic feet per second). That's about average for this time of year. And it means there are some kick ass fun rapids to ride through.
I put in at 4:40 and I pulled out at about 6. According to my GPS, I traveled about six miles and dropped about 25 feet.
It was the first trip of the year but definitely not the last.
Thanks to Don for taking the time to transport me around and for the bulk of these pictures.
