Thursday, March 17, 2022

Springtime Activities And Tales Of Feral Animals


The day started out with the white German Shepherd who killed Bella with his partner in crime, sniffing around my still-closed hen house. By the time I'd gotten Mr. Moon involved, the dog had melted away into the woods. The chickens stayed in the hen house for a good hour, not going out into the run, not making a peep. They knew that dog was out there.  I let them out much later than usual and by that time they were either pretty sure that the dog had gone or had entirely forgotten he was ever there. 
One never knows with chickens. 

No cats have shit in the bathroom since Mr. Moon put a trail cam in there. I am not kidding. He set it up on the floor and so far it has recorded no activity. Yesterday, when Biscuit Head (this is what we are calling the big gray cat) showed up to stare at us through the kitchen screen door, we noted that he had fresh slash marks across his forehead. I am thinking that either Jack or Maurice was the perpetrator although neither one of them shows any signs of a struggle, as they say in the crime novels. And today, while Mr. Moon was eating his lunch in the kitchen, the dang critter boldly walked in off the back porch and headed towards the food bowl. He was soundly chased back out by an almost seven-foot tall man. He is also now PEEING in the house, notably my bathroom. 
At least he is using the correct rooms for his toileting. This may not end well. 

I needed a few things at Costco and a local nursery had a sale on hanging ferns and also, Gibson's birthday is in three days, so I made a run to town. I got to the nursery and as always happens, I wanted to buy two of everything in there and was completely overwhelmed by the thousands of plants. I limited myself to what you see above plus six Brandy Wine tomato plants. I actually took that picture to send to Mr. Moon. The Yeti coffee mug I got because my husband got one and every morning without fail he tells me how wonderful it is. It better be. I could have gotten ten regular coffee mugs at Goodwill for the same price, many of them saying things like, "I Am Blessed!" and "World's Greatest Aunt!" 
Then I went across the road to a small toy store which I love because they have odd and unusual things for kids and I got Gibson a jigsaw puzzle which, after you finish it, you can solve riddles that come with it and do escape activities. 
Just what a nine-year old boy wants, right? 
Well, maybe.
The woman asked me if I wanted her to wrap the puzzle. I said, with all seriousness, "Desperately." 
She did. 

And then, because I could, I went into a little antique shop right next door which is never open but was today and ended up heading straight to a cabinet where there was a good collection of silver bangle bracelets and I bought one that I have an exact match for that I got in Cozumel. Just a heavy-ish, very plain, simple rounded circle of silver. Of course I have absolutely no need for another piece of jewelry, especially a silver bangle bracelet in that I have at least a dozen but what's a girl to do? Plus, the price was right. Very, very right. 

And then on to Costco and a Brenda hug and now home. 
I have a nice corned beef brisket simmering away on the stove and a head of cabbage ready to cut up, potatoes waiting to be scrubbed and cut, and four carrots fresh from the garden to be put in. I do love corned beef and it's so bad for you but hey! It's St. Patrick's Day which means nothing to me at all except for the fact that it's a good excuse to cook and eat corned beef. I will make a loaf of Irish soda bread too. All of this is making me think of the many, many spring/St. Patrick's Day parties that Lon and Lis have so often given with literally hundreds of musicians, friends, and families that lasts for at least three days. I always make the corned beef and cabbage and soda bread and have the best memories of that, being in Lis's small kitchen and somehow feeding the masses. I cannot play an instrument but I can cook and so I do. 

So happy St. Paddy's to you if you are Irish or Irish wanna-be or simply like the color green or delight in a nice slice of corned beef with grainy mustard on it. My friend Alfred Running Bull (well, sort of a friend) posted this on Facebook today. 


I love it. I should be so very embarrassed to admit how many times I watched that movie, mostly to see those two men, over and over again. 

Be well, sweeties. Be well. 

Love...Ms. Moon


26 comments:

  1. You really did the whole Irish dinner! Very sad about Bella and I wonder if those dogs are starving? They don't seem to have hunted down the intruder cat though.

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    1. I don't know if the dogs are starving or not. Mr. Moon did see two kids walking one of them so they do have a home. He would stopped and asked about the dogs but didn't have time.
      And yes! Our dinner was SO good!

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  2. So sorry those dogs have turned up again.....so sorry. You have no idea whose they are or where they live? Grr. And Mr Biscuit Head needs to be thwarted.......
    First year in many that I don't also have a corned beef simmering away......decided this year to do differently so we are having corned beef (freshly sliced from deli).and swiss cheese sandwiches on deli rye with spicy mustard,and a cabbage and carrot slaw. It will do for our once a year corned beef *fix*!
    Susan M

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    1. Now that seems a very suitable substitute for the whole corned beef and cabbage meal! Yum!

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  3. If i was a stray I would head to your house too! I would park myself right there in your kitchen and refuse to leave- I would mark territory too , because at last I had found nirvana.

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    1. Okay. I would love that. Only maybe instead of peeing or pooping you could just sign a wall? I'd be cool with that.

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  4. Well, my hopes for Biskit head are not as high as are his.
    Happy birthday to Mr. Gibson. I remember when he was born. I remember when he put a pork pie hat on his head, like my Uncle Hank, and stole my heart.

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    1. I'll try to find that picture of Gibson. He and Owen had those matching hats and they were so adorable! Gibson was just the cutest darn baby. What a beautiful home birth Lily had with him.

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  5. I love corned beef and cabbage and Irish soda bread, but this year I haven't cooked any. Yours sounds delicious, and I wish I were eating it.

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    1. Oh, Elizabeth! I wish you had been here to have some!

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  6. Which movie is that scene from? It looks familiar. Is it Maverick with Mel Gibson? I'm not a big fan of corned beef, I used to cook it for me ex, who loved it and his mother always cooked it, but I gave up after he left us and now just do pot-roast beef. With mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts.

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    1. Dances With Wolves. One of my favorite movies of all times although it's probably extremely not PC to say so. I should ask Alfred. There is no law that says you have to eat corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's and I can only imagine the relief you feel at not making it now.

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    2. Nope. Just looked it up. Seems that in fact, it was considered a watershed moment for the way film depicted Native Americans. So, hurray!

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    3. I love that movie! I have a copy on my shelf.

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  7. Oh, yeah, I loved that movie too. I saw it multiple times in the theater. Is there a way you could latch the cat door, at least part of the time, to keep Biscuit Head out? Of course you'd have to also keep Maurice and Jack out (or in).

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    1. I watched it in the theater at least twice. Once by myself so I could just cry and cry. Which I did.
      If we lock BH out, Jack and Maurice cannot get outside if we're not around and they don't have a litter box so...Not really.

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  8. I wore purple all day and no one said a thing. Of course I didn't really encounter anyone all day except Rocky, my short loud Mexican fixit guy while he worked on the roof of the shop trying to fix the leak into the studio room once and for all and a few issues with the deck.

    that sucks, having a feral cat or semi-feral cat just saunter in and eat. That I can understand but why use your house for a toilet. Maybe it's a passive aggressive thing directed to Maurice and Jack.

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    1. I'm glad Rocky didn't pinch you in your purple! Ha!
      I think that the reason that cat pees and poops in the house is definitely a territorial thing.

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  9. Gosh,your days are busy days. The animals, the shopping, the cooking, etc. - you sound happy doing it all so that's good!

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    1. Trust me- some days I am happier about it all than others.

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  10. Nature's Miracle Urine Destroyer for cats will eliminate both the pee smell and the hormones left behind that can lead to repeated peeing or spraying in the same place.

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  11. My favorite movie as well, but I watch for beautiful Kevin Costner. Oh my.

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    1. He doesn't hurt my eyes but it's those beautiful native American men that I am so drawn to in the movie.

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  12. I wonder if that cat is sick. I know our cat pees in strange places when she's sick and someone's house qualifies as a strange place.

    Those two men are quite yummy. My son's biological father is part indigenous. He was a good looking guy until alcohol destroyed him.

    I've started buying seeds as well. I planted my tomato seeds and they're starting to come up. This makes me very happy.

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  13. Love the Lakota meme. (I come from North Dakota way back where the Lakota are called Sioux.) I had to Google a Yeti mug to find out what it is and I guess it's some kind of insulated mug that holds the heat. But at 30 bucks I think I'll just stick with my old ceramic mug and the microwave when the contents chill down.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.