Moaning and Groaning.

I'm moaning and groaning a bit tonight ... feeling every one of my years and every one of my muscles in my back ... although the hot tub helped. I've been working on the hillside that goes from the front of the property toward the back of the house. I started on it about a month ago, but still had over three hours of work to finish it ... which I did tonight. I still have a bit of cleanup, which I plan to do in the morning.


I'll have to get pictures of it later, although it's behind these forsythia and the blooming pear tree in this picture. You can see it is pretty much a mess ... or was. The State Park is on the other side of our property line and there are a lot of brush and downed trees on their side too. It is a mess ... overgrown with small trees and grape vines. I wanted to clean up our side, so it would get more sunlight. Pat and I threw out some wildflowers seeds on our side of the hill this weekend, but it still needed several hours of work to be cleared.

One of the trees we cut down was a thorn tree. I'm not sure what it was. Pat cut it down weeks ago, but I had to chop it up to get it out of there. I hauled it to the brush pile in the back using the 6-wheeler. That tree ate me up ... I have all sorts of punctures from it's long thorns, but I'll get the pleasure of seeing it burn.

Tux came home calling for me while I was still hard at work. He couldn't figure out where I was, since I wasn't in my "usual" area of the yard. He usually has found me out front where I put in a herb bed last week. He and I have already gone a couple of rounds about THAT bed, since he thought it would make a great litter box.

Tonight, after I finished hauling the last batch of stuff to the brush pile and put my tools and the 6-wheeler away, Tux and I once again enjoyed some time sitting together in the rocking chair on the porch and "talking" as I relaxed after a hard day's work. It's so wonderful to once again feel that peace as he purrs in my lap and we "talk".

Pat has even taken to Tux. He doesn't fuss when I pick him up any more and even reached down to pet him this past weekend. He thinks Tux is "ok". High praise from a man who hates cats.

Tux's leg is pretty well mended, although he walks with a limp and always will. His tail is another matter. It hangs limp with a bunch of hair gone. I never did manage to get him to the vet. Still, he manages to climb the stairs to the porch and can get up the hill behind the house ... something that I can't do, with good legs. He walks up the cliff at an angle until he gets to the cedar tree at the right of the picture, than scrambles up the rest of the way.

Of course, I'm not moving all the swift tonight anyway. I'm sore from all the work I did today. Hopefully my long soak in the hot tub and the Ibuprofin that I took will help me be able to sleep tonight. I know you aren't supposed to stay in the hot tub for very long, but I like heat (maybe because of my south Texas heritage). I turned the hot tub up to 101 and stayed in for a half hour.

I'm not sure what project I'll start on tomorrow, once the hillside is cleared a bit more. I have so many projects in the yard that I want to get done before it gets too hot.

Pat and I went to Bayer's Nursery this past weekend and I bought a couple of bushes ... a butterfly bush and a varigated weigela. Pat is going to put the auger on the tractor this weekend for us to plant them. We're also going to head back to Bayers for more bushes to plant along the wood fence at the front of the property ... which means I might dig up the rose bushes we have there and move them to the beds in the front.

I also want to fix our walkway to the driveway and wood burner. It's a mess from the Spring rains. While I'm at it, I want to turn the area between the walkway and the house into a cottage-type flower garden.

Then there is the area in front of the "wall". Pat bought a HUGE banana tree. That tree is over 8 feet tall. Right now it's in the garage, but Pat is going to build a planter for it next to the concrete patio area. I plan to make a bed in the same area by bricking in a portion and filling it with fresh dirt and mulch. I'll plant some bushes and perennials in the new bed. In front of that I'm going to put in some type of area for us to sit, either using flat rocks or pavers ... I haven't decided which or when ... and a waterfall. I may wait on that last two project for a while.

If those aren't enough chores, I also want to shovel up some of the debris from the cliff in the back. A bunch of the rock has fallen down and I want to shovel it into some of the area that is low and holding water, that is if I don't just dig up the area that is holding water and make it into a pond.

Sigh ... Just thinking about all the things I have planned is making me tired, LOL. I guess it's time for bed. I'll rest a bit before Pat gets home a little after 3:00 a.m.

Happy Birthday to me!

It is my birthday ... as of midnight tonight. Pat called right after midnight and sang "Happy Birthday" to me. However, we've already been celebrating since this past weekend.

Jim & Jackie came over Saturday afternoon and stayed until midnight. Just their presence was enough to make it a great birthday party, but they also brought a beautiful decorated birthday cake and wonderful gifts! Jackie has this special knack of picking out just the right gifts! She always seems to know just what I like.

It was a beautiful day outside, if somewhat windy. Pat got the music going in the garage and I barbecued some porterhouse steaks, baked some potatoes and made a salad. Pat & Jim listened to the music in the garage to get the full effect of the pulsing music, while Jackie and I sat on the back porch swing and talked while I barbecued the steaks. When they were done we headed inside to sit around the table and enjoy our meal ... and each other.


We had a wonderful time (as usual), filled with a lot of laughter. The guys are just so funny! Jackie says that Jim & Pat remind her of the movie "Grumpy Old Men". She also says that Pat is a lot like comedian Ron White ... and I agree. Jackie and my stomachs always hurt at the end of an evening from laughing so much at those two.

One of the best parts of my birthday celebration came as we were finishing up our meal. An uninvited, but very much missed, guest appeared coming down the driveway ... TUX!

Pat was the first one who spotted him. He said "there's Tux" and, as I got up to welcome Tux home, he said "Happy Birthday" ... and it WAS a very happy birthday present for me. I admit I had tears in my eyes as I rushed outside.

Tux came limping up to me as I went out to the driveway to greet him. As I picked him up, he started "talking" and telling me all about his adventures. I admit that I half-heartedly scolded him for worrying me for 8 very long days. I am still worried because he has lost so much weight. Poor Tux was starving and ate three bowls of food before settling down in his cat house to take a much needed nap.

Our evening continued after Tux's homecoming and all of us took turns going out to check on him. I think Jim & Jackie agree that Tux is a special cat. I know that Pat does because he said at one point in the evening that "Tux is ok." High praise from a man who claims to hate cats, LOL.

One thing happened Saturday night that brought home to me just how lucky Tux was to be alive. Pat went out on the back porch late in the evening and was surprised by the howl of a coyote just up the hill a few yards from the house. Pat came in and got his shotgun and he and Jim went back outside. Of course by that time, the coyote was gone, but Pat fired off a couple of rounds to make sure that the coyote kept traveling away from the house.

I still have not been able to get Tux to a vet. He shows up in the evenings and goes missing during the days. His leg is definitely broken and his tail. I doubt the vet will be able to do much, other than amputate ... yes, the breaks are that bad. His paw and the last half of his tail hang limp. How he manages to get around so well is beyond me and he doesn't show any signs of pain. He has even mastered the trick of getting up and down on the front porch, by way of the narrow brick ledge that runs around the house.

As I said in my earlier post, Tux has heart. Right now he is outside in his cat house, which is now layered with two thick bath towels and well insulated with a blanket and one of Pat's old jackets, snoozing after eating some cat food and left-over porterhouse steak from my birthday celebration. I think I've checked on him about a half-dozen times tonight. The last time I checked on him, he poked his head out for me to pet him and purred for all he was worth. Is it any wonder he has stolen my heart?

I don't remember the last time in my life I had a birthday party. I know it had to have been years ago, maybe in my 20s. However, I do know it could not possibly have been as great as this one ... wonderful friends, lots of laughter, the man that I love ... and Tux! What a fantastic 52nd birthday!

Spring has Sprung

Old man winter is being pushed out, kicking and screaming by Springtime. We had snow this past weekend, but the Spring sunshine didn't let it last long. Everything is beginning to bloom and I'm spending more and more time outside these days ... working and playing ... which just means I have less time to spend at the computer.

These days if it is above 50 degress, I'm outside!

I have taken a few photos of the beauty of Spring at our country home .... here are a few:

Tux is gone.

Friday night Pat and I went out to the garage and got a receiver going so we could play music when we are outside. All the while Tux wandered around the garage and I kept an eye on him like a mother hen, afraid he would get hurt among all the stuff. About 20 minutes before we went back inside, I saw him wander on out the garage door. Just in case, I called to him before we closed the garage door and he didn’t answer.

About an hour later, around midnight, I took Spike out to do her business and found Tux lying on the walkway with an injured foot. Somehow he had answered my earlier call, even though he could barely walk. His back leg was bleeding and possibly broken. Since it was so late, the only thing I could do was gently pick him up and put him in his bed by the front door, with food and water. Worried about him, I didn’t sleep well that night and checked on him several times during the night and in the early morning. He was still there at 6:30 a.m. When I looked out he looked up to me, with a pain in his eyes that broke my heart. When I went out again at 9:00, he was gone.

Perhaps I should have put him in a carrier for a ride to the vet on Saturday, but I didn’t. It is a fact I have come to regret. I didn’t think he could go far with his injury and I just couldn’t bring myself to put him in a cage, even for his own good. Now I will have to live with “what ifs” and feelings that I somehow let him down.

It is amazing how Tux had become such a big part of my life in such a short time. Perhaps it was because he reminded me so much of Loverboy, who I was blessed to have for 22 years before old age claimed him. Tux was another of those rare animals that could worm his way into your heart almost instantly with more heart and personality than you will find in most people. He knew how to love and show that love and I was very blessed to have him in my life, even for such a short time. The people who “threw him away” did not realize what a treasure they had.

In only a month, Tux and I had already established a morning and evening ritual. He would always come running when I called … no matter where he was on the property. I’d hear his cry first, and then there he would be dashing out from under the groundcover surrounding the property, coming down the hill behind the house or walking a tightrope on the bricks surrounding the house as he made his way to the front porch. Although a lot of the time he would show up on his own, especially when he was hungry. If I went back inside after I put food out, he’d cry and go from door to door to try to coax me back out so we could “talk”.

As spring has taken more of a hold in the past few weeks, I would often go outside to wander the yard, with Tux as my shadow, as we looked at the tulips, daffodils, crocus and the blooming of the pear trees. Whenever I barbecued, he was there on the back porch, sunning himself and hoping for a "taste". If I was working outside, he’d follow me around the yard until my chores were done, often playfully rolling on the concrete to get my attention. Then I’d pick him up, climb the steps and sit down in the rocking chair on the porch with Tux in my lap. He would give me kisses by rubbing his cheek into mine and spend time purring in my lap while I petted him, rocked, and enjoyed the Spring beauty that was coming to life before our eyes. Those were some of the most peaceful, soul-satisfying times of my day. Now they are gone.

As I started photographing the signs of spring, Tux has had more pictures taken of him than I have ever taken of now 21 year old Brat. I have a whole folder of Tux at his best … lying on the porch, napping in his cat bed by the door, surveying his domain, rolling in the dirt, stalking his prey and more.

Still, even though my head knows he is gone, my heart refuses to let hope die. The memory of an old movie from childhood, “The Three Lives of Thomasina” has been much on my mind the past few days. I live in hope that Tux has not used up all of his nine lives and is out there … somewhere … alive.

Whatever the reason, each morning and evening, I go out and call for him … “kitty, kitty, Tux!” Over and over I call, each time pausing to listen for his faint cry, a sign that he’s heard and is on his way home … a cry that I heard daily for a month and now long for each and every day. I listen closely ... past the tinkling sound of the wind chimes and the croaking of the frogs in the creek. I listen past the sound of the wind in the trees and the songs of the birds and I hear … silence … a silence that cuts into my heart like a knife.

I wander the property. Looking for a flash of black anywhere among the trees. There are times when I am outside that I even think I hear a faint echo of his cry. When that happens, I have to stop as my heart leaps, only to have the breath snatched from my body and big fat tears roll down my cheeks when I realize it was only a trick of the wind.

It doesn’t seem quite fair that I should have two beautiful springs in a row that are so bittersweet. Somehow this one seems worse than the last. At least Loverboy died in my arms surrounded by my love. My biggest fear and greatest pain is that if Tux is truly gone, and, if he is, that he probably died cold, alone, hungry and in pain. What a bitter irony that the very predators that I predicted would take some of the feral cats could possibly be the fate of Tux.