FeatherLight

Cesar Millan can suck it

Amanda — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:28:04 +0000

Not really. I’m kidding.

So, Moses has seemed kind of bored the last couple of days with only ME to play with. I mean, he’s mostly just a fluffy throw rug anyway, but he does like to play. I have plans to try out a dog park in the Avon area this Saturday (I have to pick up a day pass tomorrow), but what to do in the meantime? We walk around the neighborhood on a daily basis, but that’s getting old quickly. I went to the Indy Parks website today to see what parks are close to me - I figured we could walk for a good, long while and he’d get some exercise. You know, a well-exercised dog is a well-behaved dog… I’ve been watching a little too much Dog Whisperer, I think. Anyway, the closest park to me is Southwestway Park. I always thought it was just a softball park, but it does have a playground and picnic shelter, AND hiking trails.

When I read the words “hiking trails”, I had visions of the nice paved paths at Eagle Creek Park. Or at worst, the mulch-covered trails that wind through many Indiana state parks. I packed Moses up - water bowl, bottle of water, treats for the road, and plastic bags (you know, in case he left a deposit on the trail) - and we headed out. We got out of the car, I sprayed myself down with some skeeter keeper-offer stuff, and we hit the trail. It was kind of downhill at first, and a wee bit muddy, but it seemed to be gravelled so I thought we’d be okay. We came to a clearing pretty quickly, only it wasn’t so much a clearing as it was a cleared path for power lines. Whatever… we kept going, came to a fork, and Moses wanted to go left so left we went. Went a little further down an increasingly muddier trail, climbed up a little incline, and took a right. I’m thinking that at some point, we’ll come back out close to where we started, so we forge ahead - up a little more of an incline. It was doable, though I was breathing heavily by the time we got to the top. Kept going… and came to an even steeper and longer incline. Still thinking we’d come out where we started, we headed up the incline. Moses did just fine, but I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE. There’s a reason I don’t do interval training on the treadmill… I’m overweight and very, very, very, out of shape. Anyway, we kept going until we ended up in that same clearing with the power lines, only… we were two towers away from the one we started out next to. We started to walk up the next incline, and I decided that was it. We were turning around. I’d rather the devil I knew than not knowing where I was.

We made it back to the car in one piece, not really worse for the wear. Moses was still ready to play when we got home, so the half hour hike didn’t wear him out much, but I’m pretty well done for the day. I tell you, if this is going to be a regular thing, I’m canceling the gym membership.

Lady of the Flies

Amanda — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 04:04:22 +0000

Oh, God. I walked into the bunny room tonight to find that a first generation set of houseflies had taken up residence in the corner by the window, over Roxy and Rosy (the girlie pigs) cage. I had noticed more flies than usual in the house today but chalked that up to open doors and windows and ill-fitting screens - it was only 83 degrees here today and was a nice, breezy day to have the windows open to air things out. Evidently, the flies are coming from somewhere else and I’m terrified that that somewhere is the bunny room. Wouldn’t you think the highest concentration would be where they hatched?

See, this perturbs me for several reasons. One: while I may not keep my rabbit room sparkling, bleachy clean, I do try and change litter boxes and clean cages frequently enough to avoid something like this happening - for me, that’s one litter box every night, or a litter box change every 5th day. If I notice that someone’s litter box seems heavy or needs to be changed I’ll even go ahead and do it. Two: I HAD a fly infestation like this four years ago which prompted me to rip the carpet/pad out of the rabbit room and paint the concrete floor. The flies had laid their eggs under a plastic storage bin where one of my rabbits had made a puddle without me knowing about it and it hadn’t dried out, so made a nice, warm environment for baby flies to grow. Third: I plain old don’t have time to eradicate flies. There’s no safe way to do it around rabbits except for fly-strips and fly-swatters, and that’s just more time than I can spare.

For now I think I’ve taken care of most of them… there may be one or two hanging out lazily by the ceiling where it’s warm, but I’ll get ‘em eventually. I just hope none of them laid any eggs anywhere. I spent about 90 minutes in the bunny room cleaning the most suspicious-looking litter boxes and a guinea pig cage, and killing as many of the buggers as I could find. These are like mutant flies… it takes more than just a swat to kill them. It seems like they get stunned, fall down, and then I have to step on them, pick them up in a tissue, and flush them to make sure they’re really gone. I’m thinking they may have come from a pile of Moses poo that I picked up and bagged yesterday before mowing the lawn; it was, shall we say, infested when I picked it up, and I foolishly put it in the garage. There were not a lot of flies in the garage, though, and not a lot of traffic in and out today, so I don’t know how they migrated in the house… but that’s my hope. Because otherwise? I have to demolish the bunny room and start all over. And I don’t know if I have the energy for that.

I HATE BUGS.

Friday Foster - Willa

Amanda — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:35:00 +0000

Oy. It’s been a while since I’ve featured a Friday Foster rabbit… I think it’s about time I resurrected that category.

To recap (even though the majority of my readers are also IHRS volunteers), I volunteer as a foster home for domestic rabbits in need of rescue. Over the last 7 or 8 years I’ve lived with more rabbits than I can count, all of them with very different personalities and idiosyncracies. Anyone who thinks rabbits are just livestock animals needs to come and stay with me for a while… of course, I don’t think any animals are just livestock animals, but that’s a post for another day.

Let me introduce you to one of my current foster rabbits… this is Willa.

We received a voicemail at the beginning of May from some concerned members indicating that there was a domestic rabbit at a local animal shelter, and could we help? At the time we were trying to work out how many rabbits we could take to help the Missouri HRS chapter with a confiscation case they were working with, but I had room, and our commitment has always been to local rabbits first.

I picked Willa up from the shelter on May 22, not knowing what to expect. All of the shelter staff I had spoken to kept telling me what a nasty bunny she was… I imagine that if I were stuck in a tiny cage surrounded by predators, I’d probably soil myself, too. At any rate, they took my carrier back to the kennel area, and what they brought out was this beautiful, vibrant, lively Harlequin rabbit. I brought her home and set her up in a condo with a litter box full of hay, gave her some toys, a water crock, and a food bowl, and left her to settle in. Do you know, over the next 24 hours she did not leave a single pootie outside her litter box? Not ONE. So much for the “nasty” bunny.

Willa is a sweet girl, and she’ll make someone a wonderful companion. She really doesn’t like hands reaching into her condo - she tends to cower toward the back, although she’s getting better about it each time I have to lift her out and put her back in. She is not shy about letting you know that her food bowl is empty - she either fills it with her toys, or turns it upside down. She loves to be petted once she gets over the initial worry about what those hands might do, and she especially loves treats.

My hope for Willa - and for all of our foster rabbits, really - is that she is able to find a home with people who will love her and respect her for being a rabbit. So many potential adopters seem to have such high expectations - I think it’s because they have no or very little experience with rabbits, but many people don’t understand that rabbits are not like dogs or cats. Rabbits make excellent companion animals, but not all homes are the ideal homes. The goal, I guess, is to find forever homes.

If you’re interested in adopting Willa, or any of our other adoptable rabbits, please visit our website at www.indianahrs.org.

New addition

Amanda — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:52:47 +0000

This…

is Moses!

I finalized his adoption with Indy Great Pyrenees Rescue today, and couldn’t be happier. He’s really sweet, and has been such a good boy since I got him home. He fell asleep on the ride home - I had to take a detour because of a road closure I didn’t expect, so it took almost an hour - and as he’d breathe out, his cheeks would puff out, too. It was too cute! I’m very excited to have him home with me, and can’t wait to write about our adventures.

I am SO lame

Amanda — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 02:56:57 +0000

It’s been a couple of weeks since I posted, and my life is so boring and lame that I really don’t have anything to post about now. Let’s see…

I have two new foster rabbits: Willa and Spencer, and I recently inherited our oldest living foster rabbit, Honey.

I spent 45 minutes on Friday evening cutting mats out of the hair on my cat’s back - he’s so fat that he just can’t groom himself well, and all of the saliva just ends up gluing the hair together. It’s gross, and now he looks ridiculous. I hope he’s more comfortable.

I’m moving forward with dog adoption - I’m working with a local rescue group, and went to an adoption event last Saturday to meet some of the dogs. I think I met “the one”, but am still waiting for the home visit to find out if I’m approved. I have a good feeling, but you never can tell…

I’m psyching myself up this week for the big MEMORIAL SERVICE this Saturday. This thing has taken on a life of its own, and it’s more than my mom would have wanted. As far as I’m concerned, the only people that should be there are people that knew Mom, that loved her (or at least liked her), and have been supportive of our family. Those people will all be there, along with several others who haven’t had a presence in the lives of our family for years. The planning was sort of taken out of my hands - not unwillingly - so I’m just going to sit back and watch it unfold. It’s interesting to hear Dad’s perspective, because I think he’s looking for a different experience than I am. I’m pretty well over it, at this point, and am trying to figure out how I’m going to hold it together in front of all these people. I know I don’t have to hold it together, but I’m not really into sharing my grief at this point. Except in writing.

I painted the spare bedroom this weekend - it’s a lovely shade of blue now, and while it needs another coat before it’s officially done, I’m ready to start filling it up with furniture. I’d like to get this daybed and thisbookcase from IKEA; I’d also like to get this lampshade to hang from a pendant cord. I think I’d like a glider, like this one to put in the corner for reading, but I’ll be checking Craigslist for one of those. I would also like to get a drafting table to use as a hobby station, but I’m not sure if that’s practical, since I also need to squeeze the sewing machine cabinet in there somewhere. Oh, and my grandmother’s cedar chest will be moving into that room, though I may refinish it and paint it red. I’m planning to hang the Sunbonnet Sue quilt that my Gammy made me when I was a little girl - it’s bordered with red and white gingham, and I think it’ll look great against the blue walls. Once that room is done, it’s on to the living room - I’m beginning to be in dire need of a new couch.

I think that’s about it. I’m ready to go to bed - I have an early day tomorrow, and then another night with the girls. It seems Pawpaw is playing “roadie” this week doing security for some kind of tour, so I’m pulling double babysitting duty. It’s a good thing the girls are so cute.

More of “the cute”

Amanda — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:09:10 +0000

This is normally the type of thing I would have called to tell my mom, probably lastnight before bed. Instead, you get to read all about it.

The girls have been using the rattiest, nastiest sippy cups for about the last two years. Neither of them should really still be using a sippy cup, but I’ll admit to the convenience, especially since Emma still wings hers around like it’s a toy, flipping it upside down and tossing it on the floor. I can’t imagine what she’d do with a cup that had no lid. Anyway, yesterday when I stopped to get bunny greens, I noticed sippy cups with straws, and decided that my big girls needed big girl cups. They were a huge hit… Wia said “Thank you for my new cup!” And Emma… well, she was too cute. She kept offering me a drink, but she would put her hand on my cheek, or under my chin. At first I thought she was just being sweet, but then it occurred to me that we adults put our hands under her chin to catch drips when she drinks out of our glasses or water bottles. It just tickled me that she would do the same, even though I was drinking out of a straw. It was just too, too much.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

And now, a note to the colleague two cubicles down and across the aisle:
I like Sinatra, too, but not at the volume you like to listen to. There are other people here doing work, too, you know. It’s an office, not a concert hall.

Also, your ringtone is annoying. No one’s cellphone should whistle.

Tuppence a bag

Amanda — Tue, 19 May 2009 01:56:49 +0000

When I was younger and still lived at home, I gave my mom all kinds of grief for her obsession with feeding the local bird life. We had three or four bird feeders: one for finches, one for cardinals, and a couple for whatever other birds might decide to visit. Mom was so concerned about feeding these birds, that she’d buy food almost every time we went out. We bought her a set of nice binoculars one year for Christmas for her “bird watching”, and she desperately wanted an electronic bird finder that would identify birds by song. I made fun of her every chance I got, telling her she was just like the bird lady from Mary Poppins… she might as well have sat on a park bench singing “Feed the birds, tuppence a bag.”

Nowadays I find that feeding the birds is really enjoyable. I love seeing a new type of bird at my feeders - last year, for example, I had indigo buntings (of course, I haven’t seen any since). I have a cardinal family that lives in the raspberry thicket behind my house, and there is a pair of blue jays making their presence known this year. I’m also feeding goldfinches this year, and the thistle seed is attracting larger birds, too, like mourning doves. Now there are purple finches, and a pair of red-headed woodpeckers… the woodpeckers seem to enjoy the suet cakes the most, though I’m not buying any more of them now that the weather is getting warmer. Oh, and the hummingbirds… they’ve just shown up again, and they’re so fascinating to watch!

I guess I really am my mother’s daughter.

Cute

Amanda — Fri, 15 May 2009 03:08:31 +0000

Sometimes the cute is too much to take… for being a special good girl tonight, Wia got to listen to music on my iPod, which she loves. We listened to several songs, and finally settled on Colbie Caillat’s “Bubbly”, which is her daddy’s favorite song. She sang along, stopping periodically to very seriously ask me to share my earbud with her stuffed bunny. The song ended, I put it all away, and she picked up the bunny and looked at him and said “Thank you for the fun singing!” Then she hugged it. And then I melted into a puddle of goo.

The other one, Emma, barrels into me as soon as I come in the door… “Are you here, Aunt Amanda?” All of her questions come out in this sing-songy little voice. But she’s such a teenager right now… one minute she’s all lovey, the next she’s yelling “I DO IT!” She’s awfully moody for a 2 year old. It’s a good thing she’s so adorable.

Cycles

Amanda — Wed, 13 May 2009 02:49:16 +0000

The advent of warm weather always makes me think about getting out and about, specifically on a bicycle. I had the best bike as a kid… it was green with a banana seat and big handlebars, and Dad helped me trick it out with streamers, a license plate, and a bell. I’ve never had a bike that I loved as much since then.

I’m more of a cruiser kind of girl, really. I have a “mountain bike” now (and I put that in quotes because I seriously doubt it would make it up or down a small hill, let alone a mountain) that I got as a 10-year anniversary gift from work, but I’d love to have either one of these instead:

Electra OM 3i, $530.00

Madsen kg271/BUCKET, $1299.00

The folks at Madsen are actually giving away one of their bikes in July; I think if I won, I’d actually give this to my sister-in-law. They’ve been desperately looking for a used bike trailer for the girls, to no avail. I know she’d love to be able to get out of the house in style!

Mom

Amanda — Tue, 12 May 2009 03:27:15 +0000

I’ve been trying to decide how to, and whether I should, write a post about my mother’s death. I wrote before about her diagnosis with uterine cancer, and she’s already gone. It was kind of a “one minute she’s fine, the next she’s not” scenario, and I won’t get into details, but it’s been such a hard month since it happened. We knew that death would ultimately be the outcome, but it was so FAST. I barely had a chance to process the diagnosis… let alone process the thought of never seeing or hugging my mom again, at least in this life.

I think we always know that it’s natural for our parents to die before we do, but that doesn’t make it any less traumatic or sad. Mom was young - only 58 - and I thought she had lots of life ahead of her. Losing Mom has meant losing my best, best friend. I used to talk to her two or three times a day - for the silliest things, things I would never bother any other living soul about - and I can’t begin to say how many times I’ve come thisclose to picking up the phone and dialing her number. Dad joked about leaving her cell number connected, just so I could still call… but that wouldn’t be the same.

I thought I would have more to say about this loss, but there’s just not much to say, I guess. It’s the reason I’ve been so quiet - it’s hard to write witty posts when you don’t really feel all that witty. It’s kind of like the color went out of the whole world; it’s slowly coming back, just not fast enough. One of the things that irked me about Mom (and Dad) when she first became a Buffett fan was how she would quote him. She said Jimmy had a song for every situation, and by God, she knew which one fit. I asked her, the Wednesday before she died which one fit this situation… she didn’t answer, but I think it’s this one:

Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On
from TAKE THE WEATHER WITH YOU
(Jimmy Buffett/Matt Betton)

I bought a cheap watch from the crazy man
Floating down Canal
It doesn’t use numbers or moving hands
It always just says now
Now you may be thinking that I was had
But this watch is never wrong
And if I have trouble the warranty said
Breathe in breathe out move on

And it rained
It was nothing really new
And it blew
We’ve seen all that before
And it poured
The earth began to strain
Pontchartrain
Leaking through the door
Tides at war

If a hurricane doesn’t leave you dead
It will make you strong
Don’t try to explain just nod your head
Breathe in breathe out move on

And it rained
It was nothing really new
And it blew
We’ve seen all that before
And it poured
The earth began to strain
Ponchartrain
Buried the Ninth Ward
To the second floor

According to my watch the time is now
The past is dead and gone
Don’t try to shake it just nod your head
Breathe in breathe out move on
Don’t try to explain it just bow your head
Breathe in breathe out move on