I can get dog food for my boys because it is special diet from my vet. We are friends besides and she lives near both my son and daughter. She promised she won't have to close the hospital, but if the supply of food gets tight, she will call and bring me as much as she has left because Logan gets pancreatitis from any other food and he can die from that. I'm lucky to have her as a vet. She is very wise and well connected with our governor so I'm reassured that I don't have to worry. I see lots of regular dog food in the stores. I wonder why cat food is so hard to get. My daughter's cat eats prescription food also from the same vet and my other daughter and son don't have pets just kids who use a lot of toilet paper lol

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it's great your guys are set for food.
odd that there has been a run only on cat food.

my ferocious feral cat drifter has learned a new behavior.

when i'm in the kitchen, she rubs against my legs to get some milk.
how in the world did she figure this out?
i know for a fact that her mom didn't teach her this.i can believe that she was born with the ability to hunt, but the ability to get a treat?
doesn't seem like something developed over millions of years.
she does get her milk, since i'm a sucker for kitty behavior.

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susie

Necessity is the mother of invention! Probably he saw you with a glass of milk and knows you're behavior tooI love to see animal behavior too -they're so clever! Does drifter like milk too?

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drifter just loves milk.
she only gets a few tablespoons full at a time so there's no tummy upset.

I JUST FOUND 10 LBS OF BREAD FLOUR N 3 LBS OF RYE !!
chest freezers hold a lot. i bot mine to fit a full cow.
but, you loose stuff.

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susie

Glad you are all stocked up. Little by little you've been finding everything. I've heard some kitties can't drink milk. It may have initially caused Logan's pancreatitis, too.
Our supermarkets have new rules since yesterday. Aisles are one way only... Can only hold 50% of capacity then one out, one in. Guards at the doors to prevent stupid! Only one shopper per family. I think I'm going back to "takeout" and if you want delivery, you have to order almost a week in advance from the supermarket. Too much work.
Logan went back to PT yesterday. 1 hour running on the water treadmill. He's tired today.

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i didn't know about the pt.
can you not just take him outside to play?
won't he walk with you?

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susie

He does walk with me on a leash in public and without one (runs like the wind) in our fenced yard. The PT is healing (laser treatment) and focused spot exercise to strengthen spine and rear legs. Running free exercises mostly his front half (he gets bull-doggy) and then the PT and treadmill evens this up. He also is more mindful with his PT tech, whereas with me, he wants to let loose and have fun. And try to catch a squirrel or a chipmunk.
At PT, they unzip him from his doghouse in the rear of the truck and then return him to the doghouse an hour later. So there's virtually minimum threat of contact and transferring the virus. There is a bit of chlorine in the pool water, and the water treadmill is disinfected and filled with fresh warm water between patients. He is dried with a hand blow dryer and returned dry and fresh (and tired) We have another appointment in 2 weeks and it keeps him healthy and fit. I wish I could do a bit of swimming and stay fit too.
Hoping that my good friend will set up his pool when the warm weather is here and that it will be ok by then for 3 people to be in their pool. He is convalescing from knee replacement last month and he needs the warm weather pool for exercise now what he's fully healed. Something to look forward to hopefully.
Hoping you and Drifter and Cud are doing well. What's your weather like there now? We're in the 50's and 60's with sun maybe 3-4 days a week. Stay well. Glad you're isolated so you should be safe

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my spring garden is already up. i had a salad from thinning
swiss chard, spinach n arugula.
my first salad from this year's planting.
i've been eating swiss chard n lettuce i over wintered under row covers.

i just saw a report that cats can catch the virus from humans.
if i see a human around my kits i will, of course, shoot them.

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susie

I hear a Tiger in a zoo caught the virus, I wonder who will put a mask on him.

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Don

Better yet, who will take it off him?

yeah, that tiger is a big worry.
i'm hving a grocery delivery wedensday.
i told her to leave everything in the bed of the truck.
that sounded super safe before the tiger.

my kits won't go near her but she will touch the truck n then they will walk on it.
if i get sick, i die.
i've had high blood pressure since i was 20.

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susie

Maybe your delivery can go outside or in a shed (and get sprayed or wiped down before you touch it). You can make hand sanitizer if you want from grain alcohol 100% (~200 proof) and pure aloe gel. You need to use 3 parts alcohol mixed with 1 part aloe gel. Shake it up in a squeeze bottle or spray bottle. You could spray your delivery with this and let it dry then it's safe. If you can't get the Aloe just spray the alcohol over the delivered stuff and it will dry fast. If it has to go on the truck, spray the truck bed with the alcohol and the kitties won't want to go near that so they'll be safe.

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About your blood pressure. Are you taking medicine regularly to lower it? You may not be extremely at risk if your BP is well controlled. At least that's what my doctor tells me so I take my meds on time all the time. I bought a good BP machine and I take it frequently. It went out of control last fall and that's what I did to bring it under control. With this virus, I'm glad I did. Also you're at less risk for stroke if you are able to keep your BP stable. I had to add a new medicine this fall and now it's reasonably low. The fact that you're pretty isolated will go a long way towards limiting your exposure. According to my vet, pets have to be intimately handled, fed, bathed etc to even be rarely susceptible to the human form of the virus. Cats are possibly susceptible to Corona virus but the delivery person touching your groceries and the cats jumping on the truck wouldn't be enough to expose them. However it could expose you, so get something to spray the stuff for your sake. If you even have garden gloves to remove the packages from the truck that would be ok. Then wash your hands a ton after touching anything that a stranger touches. I'll sure be glad to go back to normal life once this goes away. I hope it doesn't come back every year. I'm really not at all germ phobic but my kids treat me like I'm made of glass since the virus came. It's pretty serious out here in CT. I know you live in the high desert but I'm not sure if I know what state you're in. Anyway be safe and take care. Enjoy your fresh salad. That's the great thing about summer. Hopefully they don't have problems with the romaine lettuce again this summer! Be safe and be well

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Susie, I don’t remember exactly where you are, but the Weather Channel app has a covid interactive map that you can look at and see the status of your County and state. You can click on states or counties and see where you stand on a given day and much more. Helps to evaluate the risk in your area.




Best Regards, Les

Attached Images

6578CB61-C708-4342-8F5C-970BCD7C2C1B.jpg (23.5 KB, 355 views)

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

thanks, guys.
i'm in new mex.
quay county has no confirmed cases.
that means nothing.
if we had a few thousand test kits i might know what's going on, but the cdc really screwed up.
this country needs 100,000,000 test kits but we have few.
i'm hopig to sterilize groceries in the sun.
it's very sunny here.
but i can't do that withh dairy.
got no sanitizer.
the market has all the food i need but no
sanitizer or rubbing alcohol.you relieved me red.
these kits won't ver let a stranger touch them.
what about that tiger tho?
he probably wasn't handled all that much.

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susie

um, no sanitizer to be had, but i have bleach.
anyone know how much bleach you need to add to water to kill virus?

i can't keep my kits out merely to make me safer.
i already decided i owe them a debt, so they are free to come n go.

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susie

Per the CDC...

“ Prepare a bleach solution by mixing:
5 tablespoons (1/3rd cup) bleach per gallon of water or
4 teaspoons bleach per quart of water”

Specifically listed for the Corona virus.

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

I agree...I would let your kits come and go too... The tiger is ok. They are handled a lot by their keepers, one of whom was infected. Their food is touched and maybe medication might be given. It seemed to be a mild respiratory infection for them and I think some Lions as well. The bleach is a good method and thanks to Les for mixing directions. The sun is a good way of disinfecting too as the UV light sanitizes everything, especially with the brilliant sunshine you get where you are. Stay well

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thanks tons.
i'll sun sterilize what i can n bleach
meats n dairy.

i wonder if putting meats in the freezer does anything?

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susie

Gee I'm not sure. My pizza restaurant only makes pizza during the lockdown because he was cautioned that an internal temp of 170°F kills the virus. To me, if you broiled your meat even at a brief temp inside of 170, it should be ok. I'll try to find out. I may"see" him later if the torrential rains stop and the 70mph winds subside! Hope all is good home on the range. (Wish I could get to a range now)

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it's snowy n cold here so no shooting or gardening.
feels weird after 80 degree days.

cuddles went out anyway.
he gets cabin fever easy.
drifter looked at the snow n decided to stay in.

my kits understand bad weather. the cool thing is that they are far more cuddly in a storm.
they spend lots more time snuggled up to me even tho it's warm in here.

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susie

Nothing like a snuggle with your pets. My two love the snow but only Jackson goes out in the rain. Logan wouldn't go out today with the rain and very windy conditions. If it stops he'll go out in the backyard. But they are both very snuggly especially at night. Logan pushes his nose under the covers and wags his tail to ask if he can come under and snuggle. Rob has a heated blanket on his side and Jackson nestles alongside him. We all get a good night sleep

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i thot the stupid panic was over.
king arthur was offering flour for delivery in 4 weeks.
i dawdled a bit n that was sold out.

on the plus side all the guns n ammo bot by lunatic
preppers hasn't been needed.
no signs of civil unrest.

oddly, i would look like a prepper to an outside observer.
i have guns, lots of ammo, food stores n crops growing.
that's just my hobbies n my way of life.

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susie

my honeysuckle started blooming on sunday.
hundreds of flowers all at once.
on monday, a hummingbird came to dine.
that was my signal to put out my feeder.
i did that n the hum found it right away since it's only 12 yards from the honeysuckle.
he's eating from both giving me lots of time to watch him.
my kits haven't noticed him yet, but he's too fast for them anyway.

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susie

Nice. I have my hummingbird feeder set up but no birds yet. I'm trying to plant nectar bearing plants to attract them. We normally don't see hummingbirds until the first week of May around here. We normally see the Ruby throated hummingbirds that are green on their bodies. We've also seen hummingbird bees here. They're black and yellow striped and they hover like hummingbirds and about the same size but they're bees.

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bees that size would be scary.
there are lots of plants that draw hums, but you need to research.
nectar bearing by itself isn't enow.
some info is incorrect.
i always heard that red draws them but it's not true.
my honeysuckle flowers are trumpet shaped orange with yellow fringe.
only hums could stick a beak in there n they love them.

rats.
my high blood pressure has risen to the 150s.
my doc doesn't want to add meds without a blood test so that's out.
gotta hope i can avoid the illness.

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susie

Thanks for the info. I will look into it more and see if I can plant some honeysuckle. Is that considered invasive? I'll look into that as well. As far as your BP. 150 (if it's the top number) usually isn't life threatening. They've debunked the claim that two classes of blood pressure medication make your case of Corona virus, if you get it, worse, but they change their minds back and forth. They mention ACE inhibitors and ARB blockers as being the two classes to avoid. I'm a pharmacist and I'm on an ARB blocker and I'm staying on it because it keeps my BP below 180 and very close to ideal for the first time in a few years. If you want, you can pm me and I'll tell you if you're on anything from those two classes. Your MD generally doesn't use those two classes as first line of treatment. Most give you a diuretic (water pill) first, then later on they add a beta blocker to give you better BP control if you need it. I don't like to talk about any ones meds in public so you can pm me if you choose to. And yes the first time I saw a hummingbird bee,I was on a trail with Jackson my dog and it buzzed his head. I grabbed him and ran home like a scared little girl lol. Then I looked it up and I haven't seen many of them around since. Have a good day

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red, you did it again.'
your inbox is full.

all that typing wasted.

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susie

Just found that out. But there's nothing in it?!? Can you email me instead? [email protected]. Sorry about the extra typing. Give me your email when you send the message and we shouldn't have that problem again.

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.

As a follow-up to this old post, about two years ago, after the previous three winters of being a outside/garage cat I started her on a transition to coming inside the house more & more each day.

She's been exclusively an inside cat now for two years, never wants to go outside, follows me around the house, sleeps on my lap almost every night & helps me browse the S&W Catalog for fun stuff to bring home.

She turned out to be an affectionate & awesome companion! I'm glad she found me.

.
- On the Inside looking Out, finally -
.


.
.
.



.

.

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Waiting for the break of day

What a beauty! All that patience paid off! Good work BLUEDOT37!!

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blue, that's great!
i remember the original post n it's super of you to give us an update.
thanks.

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susie

SOMETHING EVIL THIS WAY COMES
day before yesterday my kits refused to leave the house.
today they are staying in again.
they accompany me to the garden but stick close n come in when i do.
this is very unusual.
it takes cuddles about 2 minutes to get cabin fever during the day.
they come in for curfew, but that's it.

i'm armed but i never see whatever it is that spooks them.
i know which way the wind is blowing so i know what direction the monster is, but i can't find it.

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susie

something evil this way walks.
for 2 days my kits wouldn't leave the house.
they would go out to the gardn with me, but stayed close n camein when i did.
i'm armed but i never see the monster.

so anyway, i know the scientists are wrong as to my kits not being ambush hunters.
i've seen drifter lie in wait for a bunny til it came close enow for her to spring n bite it on the back of the neck.

cuddles is taking bunniees too but i haven't seen a kill. he's big n very fast so he might be able to chase one down if he surprised it n got it befor it reached full speed.

the scientists are right about day to day kills.
they PROWL.
when hungry, that's what they do.
i see no pattern. they just prowl everywhere til they find a meal.
this might be easy because their hearing is acute.
i bet they can hear a mouse move.
seems like both in sight n hearing they are superior to dogs.
they are made for killing little things while dogs seem best at bigger things.

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susie

Cats of any size tend to be skillful and efficient killers.

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NHI, 10-8.

Happy Mother's Day to all with two footed and four footed "kids" of all kinds. Love is where you find it and have a beautiful day

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HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, RED.

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susie

NOW THAT I'VE ATTACKED SCIENTIFIC BELIEFS ABOUT CATS, i'll attack cat owners beliefs.
the theory is you never feed cats too much or they won't hunt.
this is wrong.
cats don't hunt just to fill tummies.
they need to kill.
just found a possum with his head bitten off.
i guess he didn't taste good.
cuddles killed him.
cuddles always has a full tummy.
cud kills to kill.
if he sees a bunny, he does want it for dinner, but
mostly, he has a need to kill.
yeah, givven a full tummy he probably naps more, but
if he sees something he can kill, he will kill.
killing seems to be its own reward.
my kits are not politically correct.
this thing about the lion lying down with the lamb is stupid.
sooner or later, the lion will kill the lamb just for fun.

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susie

Very true Susie and Happy Mother's Day...I hope Cud and Drifter brought you some"offerings" for Cat-Mother's Day

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Nothing new posted for 3 months. Hope all the people and critters are OK. End of May, I, my wife , and a contractor tore out the small main bathroom (floor, ceiling, and walls along with tub, toilet and vanity), and 4 closets. The bathroom is now a 8 foot square with large cherry vanity, new sink and granite counter. Ceramic tile on walls and floor. When the demolition was done, I went to Montana to shoot prairie dogs with 2 other guys.

When I came back the bathroom was almost finished. My wife understood why I said "NO" for 12 years. Dust was unbelievable, but she was really happy with the result. Reconstruction took about 3 weeks. I finished walls and trim work in our house, then went to work for our contractor helping him build an elevated 20' deep X 60' wide elevated deck. By early August, I was back on retirement.

My wife is worried about the virus and follows all the precautions. I don't wear a mask, haven't changed my lifestyle any, and we are both healthy. We have a veritable "flock" of hummingbirds on 3 feeders, other birds on 4 seed feeders, and the neighbor's chickens keeping all the bird seed on the ground ate up. We have had very few bugs in the house this year. It has been a 90° + summer but temps haven't exceeded 100° yet in Augusta.

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S&WHF 366

Hey...I miss you folks!! Back to school, face to face classes, but a bunch of rules about masks and reduced size classes, etc. Been thinking about retiring, I’ll be 75 this semester, but haven’t made up my mind yet. I’m committed til next May.

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

If you're thinking about retirement, seriously consider going for it and start your plans. You have to apply for Social Security something like 3 months ahead of when you plan to retire. Your time will be your own, and you can be as busy as you choose to be. Once you've settled into retirement you'll wonder how you had time to work. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Thanks... I started drawing Social Security when I was 66...something like 8 years ago. I am also collecting my police pension, and making RMD's from a retirement account in addition to my salary at school. My money guy says that I'm basically working for free right now, as I only draw about 1/2 of my salary, and I will be able to replace that with my TIAA/CREF retirement. I just enjoy what I'm doing, and it keeps me busy. But there are so many things going on right now that I don't quite enjoy my work as much as I used to.

Hey, susie...where are you??? We all miss you!!

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

Susie has had kind of a rough summer.. She's still gardening and playing with the "kits" but that's about it..



I had to e-mail her to find that out.

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Eccentric old coot

Thanks, Chip. Sorry to hear that. Hope you’re doing well.

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

I haven't been on here much this summer, either. Spending lots of time on my garden until the hurricane got us on 8/4. We had a tree uproot, wipe out our shed, landing broadside across the back of the house from right to left. The top of the tree caught up in our metal spiral staircase on a the upstairs deck, bending the top of the staircase and breaking the metal rails at the edge and cracking some boards. All in all, the Good Lord must have been looking out for us because the house wasn't damaged inside, we are all ok, and we have a full house generator and didn't lose power like all our neighbors for 5 days. Also, we kept the dogs in even though it had stopped raining and the winds were calm. They wanted to go out, but I refused to take a chance. They are tiny (7-9 lbs). While I had my hand on the glass door thinking about it, we heard the tree tip over, hanging onto the shed roof and swaying with the roots half out of the ground. Then it fell. We were able to get someone to take the tree down. It was more difficult to get someone to pull the stump out (big roots all around it instead of going down into the ground, very hard to get out-didn't want to wind up with a sinkhole later from rotted roots). Our contractor can't get to the site work till October because of previous commitments and the grass is all ruts from all the trucks and bulldozers to get rid of trees and stump. So we'll probably not finish before winter and maybe have to wait till spring to do the shed. We want a shed built on site not just cheaper one plopped down. The site is a mess of roots under the crushed shed so it won't be an easy build. We're making the shed bigger -- we don't have a lot of lawn equipment any more, so part of it will be toolshed and most of it will be a potting shed/"she shed"! I'm psyched about that part! That's my silver lining. So that's what I've been up to. Susie, I miss you! Come say hi when you can! Hi Les! Retire while you can still enjoy some free time! Hi to everyone else. Hope all is well! Linda (Redbert31)

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Hi, Linda!! Good to hear from you, and super glad that you, hubby and the pups are ok!! Sounds like you will make lemonade out of the lemons that Mother Nature handed you this year!! Keep safe!!

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

Thanks Les, we are so grateful to be ok! When it's only stuff, replacement is easy--people and pets, not so much!

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Augusta has had 4 days of rain. Saturday, 2-20, is supposed to be sunny and 50° F in the afternoon. The week of 2-8, I got sunburned on Monday (78° ), almost drowned 2-9 and 2-10 from the torrential rain, then back to the freezer with highs from 36° to 45°.

Terri and I have been in pajamas, sweatshirts or sweat pants since early January. I do all the grocery shopping, go to the indoor range, or just take a 1 day road trip. Haven't worn a mask, haven't changed my life style, haven't had any illnesses, and am not getting the vaccine.

Two months of snuggly sweatshirts has been good. If only the Packers had beaten the Buccaneers!

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S&WHF 366

We have had quite the little cold snap here in NE Tx. I haven't lost power or had pipe troubles, so Jake and I have just been waiting for better weather. 10" of snow and some cold nights but warm and full. Got my covid shot last Sunday and stopped by Sams Club and bought supplies. Filled my Pick-up with gas and got home with only 2" of snow on ground. When the real snow got here We were already holed-up. Hope all are well and I would like to hear from Susie...........

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dd884
JMHO-YMMV