Our Sweet Boy Is Good

Last night we noticed a wound near the lump on Jack's belly and I realized that the lump was probably an abscess which I knew was treatable but getting him to the vet this morning was a bit of a process. First we couldn't find him but then Candie, our cleaner, did. And also, we have no cat carrier. Once again, Candie came to the rescue and drove to her house which is not very far away, and got the cat carrier that her little doggie uses for a kennel. She even put a clean, soft blanket in it and a large piece of tape that said, "MOON" on it. She's so sweet. And then she put Jack in the carrier, knowing that neither Glen nor I would want to do that to him and no, he did not like it. Nor did he like being put in the car and driven to Monticello. 
I really like the Animal Clinic there. The vets look like they spend a great deal of time outside wrangling and treating large animals like horses, cows, and perhaps rhinos. There was a tiny little fluff of a dog sitting on the receptionist's desk who was so cute that I would think about cloning if he were mine. We saw the vet within a few minutes of being there and he was gentle and sweet with our boy, as was his assistant. And Jack just sat on the table, being petted and allowing the doctor to check him out and give him a brief exam. He does have an infected bite-wound and an abscess and he was given an antibiotic injection and an injection of a painkiller/anti-inflammatory. And that was that. He will not need pills. 
Phew. I was so relieved that I choked up. 
A funny thing happened when he was back in his carrier and we were paying the bill. A few more people had come into the office and were in the waiting area with us and Jack was making some pretty intense noises of protest and fear, I am sure. Now this is a cat who barely ever vocalizes. He purrs for sure. But he does not talk much so when he came out with a very definite, high-pitched "NO!" I was rather shocked. I mean, he literally said the word, "NO!" 
And then he repeated it. The people around us laughed. It was so obvious that he was speaking English. 
Glen and I often joke (sort of) that cats can indeed understand human speech and can also speak it but of course they don't want us to know that. It works to their advantage for them to keep this ability secret. But I guess that Jack was so stressed out and then the drugs hit and he just lost his shit and said what he was thinking. 
And now he's home and already feeling better, I can tell. He's moving about normally and eating. He came up to sit beside my laptop and get some love which is when I took that picture. I am so very glad. 
I'm wondering who he got in a fight with. Was it Biggie Boy? I haven't seen him in weeks so they may have gotten in a fight and Jack chased him off. I suppose it could take that long for the wound to reach that state of infection. Or was it Maurice? Either way, it was definitely a fight. 

I took another walk today. I realize that I am in the worst shape of my life and that is no lie. There are a million excuses not to exercise and I have used every one of them in the last year. 
Or so.
I am seriously going to change that. I have to. 
I walked down to Lloyd Creek and took a few pictures from the bridge that goes over it. 

Although you can't tell, the creek is running pretty swiftly there. I know the water looks filthy but in reality, that's just the tannin staining. This comes from decaying organic matter like leaves. The sand the creek is passing over is white sand so you can really get a good idea of what tannin water looks like. I think it looks resembles tea, which in a way, is what it is. 

From the other side of the bridge you can see how fast the water is moving. And that's the railroad track bridge there. That track runs directly behind my yard. 

So that was a nice walk. Well, I didn't get hit by a car or pass out or die of a heart attack so yeah, it was nice. I have found myself lately missing the time I used to spend walking by myself outdoors surrounded by trees and birds and sky. Another reason to get out there and make the effort. 

Oh! Here's a picture I took for Steve Reed!

Shadows and light on my sheets hanging in the sun. It was a very pretty day today, and warm, too. A welcome break from the cold and gloom. I even did some weeding in my garden where the greens and lettuces look fine. As of tonight, we'll be heading back into the hard freeze situation but then it will warm up some again. 

And because I think it's hysterical, I will tell you about a dream I had this morning right before I woke. I was going on a cruise with some friends of mine who love to cruise and had invited me to join them. Cruising is their favorite thing on earth. Or sea, I guess. I went on a cruise once that was paid for by a tire company that Mr. Moon did business with and to put it bluntly- I did NOT enjoy it. At all. So in my dream I was so anxious about going on this trip with my friends and then all of my stuff got stolen and then I had an altercation with someone and I told my friends, "Look- I have to get off this boat right now while we're still in port because I've already told someone to fuck off and this is just not going to work for me. If I stay on this boat, it's gonna get bad." And then Mr. Moon came and rescued me. 

I don't think we need to call Dr. Freud to interpret that dream. 

Happy Friday, y'all. 

Love...Ms. Moon