Checking In

Linda Bittle

Hello friends! This is my first opportunity to check in with the group to see what's new. It's been one of those weeks.

Along with an especially busy and frustrating week at my 12 hour hospital food service job, my little formerly stray cat, Jolene, spent a night at the vet to be spayed, have the broken and floppy end of her tail removed, get wormed, and have her required shots.

She came home ticked off and hurting, so we both lost a lot of sleep the first couple of nights. She's doing well, and we spent the entire day on the couch yesterday. Eliza Jane, my other cat, also needed extra attention, and so I didn't even turn on the computer. Rest did us all good!

Hopefully, life will get back to what passes for normal here.

Today I took my kitchen aloe plant out to the patio for some sunshine! I so want to go buy herbs and plant then today, but I know frost is still likely for at least another week. Looking around, I am pleased to see that my pots are getting lots of sunshine in the morning and filtered sun later in the day. There's good air circulation and a water spigot, so I think taking care of whatever I decide to plant will be easy to keep up with - something that was problematic in my big Idaho yard where I had to carry buckets of water to the fruit trees because the hose would only reach so far.

As my sister was helping me get the cat to the vet, we saw that Tractor Supply has their greenhouse (or "crack house", as my sister called it) up, and I hear that they have a good selection of plants to choose from.

I am so excited to start planting something, and I hope you are, too!

kbmbillups1

I'm excited about spring coming too! I have a few seeds started hopefully my cats won't think I'm growing them for them to snack on! The Grower's Outlet by me has been open but I've been restraining myself. Every year we have another really good freeze so I'm waiting a while.

I have hydrangeas and a couple spider plants in my garage that have been bringing out for sunlight too.

JodieDownUnder

Well good morning @Mary Linda Bittle, West Plains, Missouri We are doing the opposite, night time temps starting to drop and that autumn feel happening. Only this week noticing the leaves on the Japanese maple and liquid ambers starting to colour. I do love this time of year. A few weeks ago, i got stuck in and planted a whole heap of seeds directly into garden beds that I’d topdressed with compost and mulch. Broccoletti, rocket, onions, coriander, peas, celeriac. We’ve had an exceptionally mild and wet summer and within days the seeds germinated, so I’m very happy.

Glad you got some me time with your cats. It’s important that we all look after ourselves, mentally, emotionally and physically. Have a great day.

RustBeltCowgirl

I have some rollover vacation days that I need to use before the end of March. So, I took one Thursday. Almost sorry that I did that. On Friday, the Receiving dock got swamped with incoming material. Plus what didn't get processed on Thursday. I've been working 6 days a week helping out down there since the woman who did most of the receiving processing died of COVID complications mid-January. The "pony" got moved to a new stall closer to the arena on Thursday. He was the only one stalled in that end of the barn.

karenjanicki

It's still extremely cold here. I think it will be awhile before I'm able to get anything planted but I'm looking forward to a trip to the nursery!

lewis.mary.e

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/846403/checking-in

I can relate. Our pup was spayed on February 23rd and the next 2 weeks were worrisome. Lost some sleep, and realized that adopting a puppy is a lot like adopting a baby. She is all better now, but she really hated the cone of shame, to the point of being depressed and hardly eating anything.

Linda Bittle

@lewis.mary.e yes, it's been difficult to get her to leave her stitches alone. But she's acting like herself again, and tonight is the last dose of antibiotics. I've been adding them to her spoonful of canned food twice a day.

It's going to be interesting to get her back into the cat carrier on Tuesday to get her stitched out.

Wish me luck, and send band aids!

lewis.mary.e

We wrapped Maggie's antibiotics in small pieces of cheese, and she scarfed them right down. I wish you luck with your kitty!

Linda Bittle

Yesterday I signed the pet addendum to my lease, and Jolene is now officially mine. She's sleeping at my feet while I work on the computer. Her stitches come out on Tuesday, and she got her last dose of antibiotic yesterday.

I am greatly relieved!

This little stray cat kept coming to the big floor to ceiling window last fall, asking for food and water. Of course I snuck it to her, as my apartment only allows 2 pets, and I had Eliza Jane (cat) and Sammy (dog). Over Halloween I snuck her inside because bad things happen to stray cats then. She tried to tear down the window blinds to get out! And I did put her out after that holiday. She would disappear for days, coming back to the window when she was hungry. She came back with a broken tail and nearly starving in late November. Of course I snuck her in, and she tamed down and got to like it.

The local rescue did not have space for her.

After Sammy passed away suddenly in December, I knew that I would keep her, and had to accumulate enough money to get her spayed. When she came into heat in late January, I called to make the appointment, but March was the soonest I could get her in.

So. I've been hiding her out, and that makes me nervous. I don't like to lie, but to save a life - even a stray cat's - I did.

Now I don't have to lie or be worried that I'll get caught with an "illegal" cat. Or about having unwanted kittens.

Life is good.