Outnumbered

All rules are out the window. I have been outvoted on the finer points required for gracious living. Life indeed has gone to the dog ...... and cats! Don't get me started on the husband.

The crash coming from the kitchen might be a tape dispenser being commandeered. Or a can of cat food being slammed to the floor.  A demanding bunch, indeed. 

Miss Reba has an interesting habit of escaping the house. She is so stealthy I might not notice until it's headcount time. She used to just go under my truck, or maybe up a tree, but lately I have had to stalk the backyard with a flashlight and hope I see her eyes and not that of a predator.

Last evening she pulled her disappearing act and had the whole house in an uproar. Toby was calling from the open windows as I looked for her! He ran window to window, calling the whole way. Windsor was on red alert and went with me on the search. Last time she was in the green shed. This time she appeared over the rock wall totally unaware of the peril that could end her life quickly.

 

Easing into Retirement?

Horses will come out of retirement 

I can barely say the R word, but I have been working my way to it since the new year. After a hellish lead up and through the holidays I have to say....I've had it....kind of. After a stern talk with myself I think I finally got it. Nobody cares how hard I work. If I don't care enough to take care of myself no one is going to do it for me. So, before I have "the big one" I have cut back dramatically on shop offerings. Meaning, I will do things I like to do and for customers who have been with me since the beginning. It's still fun to have a little something to do every morning and I love having my friend, Lisa, here to do the packing up part. I just need to make life simpler.

Seems easy enough! In fact it has been going nicely. The first thing I did after the cut-back was to take back weekends. It has taken these few months to catch up on chores that have been ignored for years. Naps get to be taken! I'm reading books! I dawdle with the newspaper! I applied for my social security! Wow. Where did all that time go?

Future plans are to do the bare minimum, get reacquainted with my horses and grow some vegetables. That's enough of the power plan for now.

Toby Keith Joins The Family

Shortly after Zsa Zsa arrived, I was so fortunate to adopt this little fellow from Community Cat Coalition in Rice Lake. He came with the name Tramp but he seemed more like Toby to me; hence the full name of Toby Keith. He's a performer for sure. I got to talk to the nice folks who took him to the shelter. They did their best for him with shots, neuter, and a safe place but his catenality just didn't fit with their lifestyle. The couple was described as elderly at the shelter and they found him to be quite unsafe! He has a knack for getting underfoot and that doesn't work well when one is trying hard not to break a hip. Yes, he is a dickens, too. Once we got him home he sort of "came out of the box". He eats like a fiend and often. He's gained about five pounds already. 

Since one performer in the house wasn't enough, we renamed Zsa Zsa to be Reba. Reba and Toby Keith however, don't always get along. No fault of Reba's but Toby (the Toad) is a bully so a lot of time goes

into social engineering truces between the two. Windsor loves them both and is happiest when chasing Toby around the house. And, yes, I have given up on the "off the table" commands. How do ya like me now!

 

A New Season

It has only taken me three months to finally sit and update. Why? Because time passes quickly and a lot of tiny things add up to a year. While life seems stagnant from the big picture view, our little days have their own ups and downs. The pup, Windsor, continues his march toward one year old on January 6.

Fun in the creek. Look at those ears! He's in the state of pure joy. Non-stop activity for this one. 

The last tree to turn every year and so gorgeous. That white truck was targeted by a tiny destructive wire-eating pest. After TWO trips to the dealer for repaired wires it seemed the problem was solved when I trapped a shrew. Don said they would chew on anything! $600 later and the problem hasn't returned.

We lost two more of our family members this year. Molly had to leave us in August and Timber left just a week ago. Both had well-lived their 16 years and for five whole days I was catless for the first time in over 30 years. That situation was promptly addressed by perfectly timed arrival of Miss Zsa Zsa.

She and a whole passel of kittens and young adults was found by kind people who took it upon themselves to find homes for everyone. And they did! They were dumped but very friendly and all were rounded up and kept safe from the cold. Zsa Zsa is an interesting mix of Siamese (my all time favorite) and rabbit. Her fur is AMAZINGLY soft....just like a bunny. She has made herself right at home in my heart.

 

Finding a Happy Place

 

The outside of a horse is good for the inside of this girl. Getting out for a little jaunt can get me out of my head for a respite. A reminder that God is in control and His will, in His time.  All happens for reasons He knows. Reminds me of an old tv series......"Patience, Grasshopper." 

I'm still immensely pissed off about Phoebe's dognapping. Knowing what we know about the abductor, and heaven only knows the "why", has continued to be distressing. Speculation has been made that he's in dementia. All we know is he's a destructive opportunist who came to our house as a welcomed visitor and returned a second time for the express reason of taking our dog. And why not? He spent nearly all his time here asking questions about her. Admiring her. Inquiring. "How old is she?" "Do we like her?" "Does she retrieve?" "She would be nice to take out to North Dakota pheasant hunting!" "Is she up to date on her shots?" Seemingly innocent questions, albeit probing, until she disappears a day and a half later. We've done what we can to investigate through the law. He even went to the sheriff's office to complain about ME making derogatory comments about him on Facebook! Sounds like a little old man who has a guilty conscience. At any rate, he dumped her off with someone one else. The deputies didn't find her at his home. We have done everything we can to try to locate her. I can only pray she is with someone who will take good care of her. 

In the meantime we have a new doggie soul to nurture and he has been my constant companion. Starting over with a boy pup this time is new for me. I have never had a male dog. Windsor is six months old now and looking good. He's full of all that puppy charm and mischief, but has been amazingly less destructive than Phoebe. He knows his name. He comes when he is called. AMAZING, indeed. Maybe we got an easy one this time. 

 

He was born four days after Phoebe was abducted. He was going to be the "little brother" and after two other failed attempts to get a pup from this particular breeder, we got this one by default. He was returned to the breeder because he was declared "too vicious". I don't think those Iowa folks had experienced a puppy before because, well....puppies bite! They had no patience for it so I made the trip to Wisconsin Rapids to pick him up in March. He's a brown clown like they all are! I so wish Phoebe was here to help burn off some of that puppy energy. 

Like most people, we are trying to "get back to normal", whatever the hell that means anymore.

Nine Weeks

An old timer, Timber, and Phoebe always shared Mum's comfy chair together. Timber misses his buddy, too. Phoebe has been gone for 9 weeks and a day doesn't pass that she isn't missed.

It's hard to describe the feeling of loss. It's physical in the heart. A twisting pound. A trembling down the arms. It is with us first thing in the morning and the last thing at night. It often torments us for hours in the middle of the night. The silent tears. There is the knowing...that she is out there. The unknowing...where? It certainly doesn't help one's health. Especially Don's who has said "All I want to do is spend my last years with a dog." Who takes a dog from old people? Maybe another oldster who has lost some cells.

There are many eyes out there and it is so encouraging to get calls from people who are looking. I pray every day that God will bless us with Phoebe's return.

Phoebe is Missing

We thought 2020 was going away but it followed us into the new year. Somewhere in the span of 20 minutes our world was rocked on the second of January. It happened when we took a quick walk back into the house at 3 pm. while she played outside as happens every day. When I came back out she was gone. 

I searched our woods until 9 pm. Sunday we had a search party with eight people covering every bit of our 200 ac. Neighbors came to help. I got the poster going with Lost Dogs of Wisconsin. Many shares on Facebook. Word was out, but no words have come back. It's been a week.

Someone has her. Someone knows they have a valuable hunting dog. Someone stole the joy and happiness of our household and we are heartsick.