Truer Words - A Journal

The Noisy Fox Has Babies

seth@macrobyte.net — Fri, 16 May 2008 17:25:12 GMT

Remember the noisy fox I wrote about last year? It's still out there, making its calls a few nights per week. I rather like it.

Well, someone answered the call, because now there's at least one baby.

This is only the second time I've seen the kit, but it's the first time that it stayed put long enough for me to get a picture.

Update May 21:

The mother brought at least two kits into the back yard for a little playtime yesterday. Couldn't get a shot of the babies, as she called them back into the woods as soon as I went on the deck to take pictures, but I got her staring right down my lens.

Our Little Letter M

seth@macrobyte.net — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 23:01:42 GMT

We lost a special little cat today. Her name was Xodus.

Officially, you'd pronounce that the same as Exodus. We tended to call her Zodus, or Zodie-Pop.

Why the weird name? Birmans are traditionally named according to the year of birth: they're all 'X' cats one year, 'Y' cats the next year, then 'Z', then back to 'A', etc. Xodus was seven years old.

In her first year she was the New England region's Best Birman Kitten. We have the ribbons and the plaque to prove it. The picture above comes from that first year. That sweet face and the bright blue eyes melted the judge's hearts the moment they saw her. The pronounced 'M' on her forehead, the perfect head shape, the classic Birman stance, and the thick, deep coat all helped her to win over and over again.

Later we found that she wasn't the healthiest cat in the house. She went into heat in "stealth mode," and got pregnant (with the willing assistance of Xerxes) more than once without warning us ahead of time. She was a breeder, so getting pregnant wouldn't normally be an issue, but she usually had trouble with her litters and we lost a lot of her kittens. We finally had her spayed a couple years ago (in fact, we stopped breeding altogether, and got them all 'fixed').

Corinne has always said that Xodus was a great nap cat. They'd snuggle up in the afternoons and Xodus would just lay quietly under the covers, against Corinne's side, until nap time was over. The other cats were never as good, they'd sometimes wake her up too soon. Never Xodus, so she tended to get a little preferential treatment in the afternoons.

The same could not be said for Xodus at night. Instead of cuddling up with us and sleeping quietly, she would always come crying to me, head-butt me, and make her signature cry: "MMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmm!" That sound and the mark on her forehead produced the nickname, "our little letter M."

Another of our cats, "CP", took a strong dislike to Xodus. Being a much larger cat (she takes after her father, Xerxes), she would chase her into a closet or under the couch, and then stand sentry for hours to make suer she didn't come out. We'd put a stop to it whenever we saw it, but could never teach CP to just leave her alone and we couldn't guard Xodus all day long. For the last couple of years, she spent a little too much time hiding from the other cats.

We came home early this afternoon to the sound of a cat in loud distress. She wasn't making the "m" sound now, but I knew the voice. At first I thought that she was just tired of being hassled by CP. I lifted the couch with one arm, grabbed Xodus with the other, and brought her to the bedroom so she'd be ready for Corinne's nap time. She ran for the edge of the bed to jump down, and I immediately knew something else was wrong: her back legs weren't working.

Corinne was quite upset when I told her — of course — and asked me to please call the vet. The office was closed (Sunday afternoon before Christmas in a small town? Duh.) but Cheryl called back about an hour later and told me to meet her at the office at 3:30.

The diagnosis was a (likely) blood clot in a vessel that runs along the spine (aorta?), about 3/4 of the distance from her head to her tail. She had no feeling in her legs or her tail, and her feet were cold. Treatment would be very expensive, would not reverse the damage which was already done, and was not guaranteed to even clear the clot. Also, many cats (and dogs) who get these clots will get another one a few months later.

Little Xodus was obviously in pain. She hadn't stopped meowing since we came home.

I made the tough decision, told Xodus how sorry I was, and stroked her head and her little M until it was over just minutes later.

Sound of a Fox, I Think

seth@macrobyte.net — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 18:46:08 GMT

Twice in the last month, I've seen a full grown red fox in our yard. The second time was yesterday morning. They're bigger than I expected!

Last night, some animal was calling out in the woods behind our house. Here's what it sounded like:

(Reading this on the mailing list? Here's the sound file.)

I don't know that it's the fox making all that noise, but I think it is. It sounds a little like the territorial call as listed on this page of fox sounds.

Crazy, Crazier, Craziest Days

seth@macrobyte.net — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 17:38:54 GMT

I already mentioned that this weekend is the anniversary. That makes it, officially, the most emotionally demanding and draining weekend of the year, every year (followed by Shane's birthday, Corinne's birthday, Mother's Day, and Thanksgiving).

Here's what else has been piled up on this weekend, in life's attempt to drive us crazy:

Shannon's son Richie (two and a half) and her Mom are visiting from North Carolina. Richie is staying here for the weekend. He's a delight, but he's still a two year old... and that adds a layer of craziness to an already crazy weekend.
One of our cats, Xodus, vanished without a trace at some time on Sunday. These cats never go outside, and Xodus was just spayed a week ago Saturday. She has never tried to escape before, and has never vanished for more than a couple of hours (usually by hiding under some furniture). We're totally stumped! Of course, considering the weekend, it would have to be one of Corinne's favorite cats. Obviously.
With family here, the Deane's have had this crazy schedule because everybody wants to see the baby and "wish them well" for what's coming tomorrow...
The big court date is tomorrow (Tuesday). I've described it as a brick wall that we see approaching, and which we know we're going to hit. We can't avoid it, have no idea what's going to happen, but at least we had time to think and prepare for it. If only we could see what's on the other side!
Today we took "temporary guardianship" of little Lauren Deane. The papers are filed with the probate court, and everything seems to be in order. If Mike and Shannon (God Forbid) both go to prison, at least the baby will have a loving home.

Notice that we really have very little control over most of this crazy weekend. The two biggest things (anniversary and sentencing) are totally out of our control, we wouldn't (and couldn't) keep Shannon from her family for any reason, and we agreed months ago that we'd take care of this baby if the need arose.

But wait, there's more! Last night, as we were turning the house upside down trying to find Xodus, Mike and Shannon asked us if we'd be Lauren's "godparents." Though the timing and wording were somewhat awkward, the thought they expressed — that if something ever happens to them, they want us to raise Lauren as our own — was very touching. We agreed, of course. Then we continued turning the house upside down.

With so much stress, and so many things (this weekend) that I must "accept that I can not change," I decided the best thing for me was a bike ride. So I went out for 32 miles. My speed was somewhere between molasses and cold honey.

There's nothing like the cyclist's high to help you enjoy your ride on the tornado.

Opossum's Favorite Restaurant

seth@macrobyte.net — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 20:34:55 GMT

Rick McPherson at Waterford Country School (to whom I was referred by Groton's animal control officer) says to just let him go.

So basically, the little rat got a free meal (cat food), and warm place to sleep for a little while (my office), and now can just go on about his business. I'm sure he'll be back... in a few days there will be a whole herd of them at my door.

Opossum PIe, Anyone?

seth@macrobyte.net — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 19:49:43 GMT

Wow are Opossum ugly. This baby is only slightly less ugly than the adult variety seen on the side of the road every day (the kind with the treadmark pattern running the full length of its body).

This little guy tried, for about thirty minutes, to find some way into my office through the sliding glass doors into my office from the back yard. (This might have something to do with the weather, it's really cold, but I think it's just because he's a young'un, and he's hungry). Then he went up on the deck and completely freaked out the parrots in their room (which has big windows looking out on the deck). It was their screams of terror and fury that finally convinced me to do something about him.

Not that it was difficult.

I put some cat food on a paper towel, in the bottom of cat-carrier. He surprised me by not running away when I went outside, so I just put the carrier down in front of him. After a minute of sniffing, he walked right in and started eating. I just walked up to it and closed the door... on his tail. Oops. He spun around at the incredible speed that only possums can manage -- at least 1,000 millimeters per hour -- and looked at me. That it. I opened the door again, pushed his tail out the way with my hand, and closed it.

Now he's incarcerated in my office, while I read him possum recipes ... and wait for Groton animal control to call me back.

"Woo doggie, that there's some good country liviin'!"

Update: Sorry, Richard. Opossum, not possum. My bad.

Hey, Those Are Our Birds

seth@macrobyte.net — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 14:31:14 GMT

Corinne sent this video to me, but I had to actually boot up my PC to watch it because it was in one of the newer Windows Media formats. Ugh.

Couldn't possibly link to a movie you can't watch on your mac. So I found this version on Metacafe in the older WMV format so it can play on the Mac. (You still need to have Windows Media Player installed.)

There are four birds in that Bud ad... and the first three look EXACTLY like ours. The fourth one is a Macaw, which we also have, but ours is a much prettier Blue and Gold. (I think the one in the ad is a green Military, but Corinne may correct me...)

When Cats Take Over the World

seth@macrobyte.net — Sat, 26 Mar 2005 20:25:26 GMT

... and speaking of ways to destroy the planet, I bet you didn't know that our particular crop of super-villains have their own theme song, did you? Well, now you do. It was written and sung by Jamie Anderson (or more likely, by one of her cats).

They made me post this.

The tiBook Power Adapter Woes

seth@macrobyte.net — Wed, 06 Oct 2004 07:56:12 GMT

Last night I was working on my laptop in the bedroom -- actually, at the precise moment this happened, I wasn't working, Corinne and I were browsing some of these pictures -- when the tiBook suddenly went to sleep.

That's not supposed to happen when it's plugged in. Unless, of course, the power cord has been damaged by the teeth of a ferocious kitten (more of a full grown cat) and so the laptop hasn't been getting power for the last couple hours without my noticing it. I'd caught Kiki chewing on the cable last night, but the damage was worse than I thought. I'm not sure what was the last straw, as it worked all day yesterday and at the time that it died Kiki was sleeping on my lap, under my lap desk.

I tried fiddling with it to bring it back to life, but when it's plugged in the brick actually makes a rapid ticking sound. That was scary. Still didn't light up the powerbook, either.

Whatever did it in, I now have to spend at least $75 on a new one. Truly can not afford that right now, but I can afford going without everything on the laptop even less.

I'm taking someone (from my ecclesia) to the hospital this morning for surgery, in New London. That's just a couple miles from my closest Apple dealer, so I'll be visiting with my friends at The Computer Lab on the way home. If they don't have one in stock, I'll probably have to drive all the way to Warwick, RI, to the CompUSA. Ugh.

New Kittens

seth@macrobyte.net — Sat, 19 Jun 2004 12:40:15 GMT

Corinne was totally exhausted last night, so I stayed up until 2:30 AM helping Z'est La Vie (Lovey) birth her second batch of Birman kittens.

I thought she was done after three. I'd been laying there on the floor, reading, for over an hour without seeing any signs of more kittens or contractions. I went to bed.

When we checked on her this morning, she had just had her fifth. Oops!

I'm not sure she needed our help at all. She's quite good about cleaning the babies, cutting the umbilical (not sure if she uses the scissors like we did for the first three, but probably not), and disposing of the placenta (don't ask if you don't already know...). We're really there just to provide fresh towels, boil water, and coach her on her breathing. ;-)

It's time to start taking pictures again! I think it's been a year since we last had kittens.

Saving Turtles

seth@macrobyte.net — Wed, 16 Jun 2004 09:37:30 GMT

Greg says the turtles in his area of Texas are having problems due to the floods. He and others have been saving them from pizzafication by stopping to get them out of the road.

I did the same thing just yesterday. A small turtle was sitting right on the yellow line on busy Route 117, just after rush hour. It's practically a miracle that he made it that far, but the side he still had to cross was busier. I stopped the truck, and traffic, and carried him across.

To show his appreciation, he peed on my leg. That's the kind of gratitude money can't buy!

Note that this turtle was WAY smaller than the one I helped two weeks ago. There's no way I was carrying that beast anywhere.

Ride #18: 500+ miles, and The Turtle

seth@macrobyte.net — Thu, 03 Jun 2004 19:27:26 GMT

My right knee has been bothering me for a few days. It's probably because I'm still adjusting to the new bike, but it could also be that I pushed myself a little too hard the first few weeks, after seven months off the bike. Whatever the cause, I take knee pain very seriously (in fact, talk of knee injuries gives me a serious case of the willies).

Seven told Mystic Cycle to set up my bike with the saddle more than 2 inches lower than my old bike. They're known for preferring a more "upright" riding position, but my old setup was completely wrong so I decided not to argue the point. Well, after 500 miles on the new bike, I still felt a little cramped up. Combine that with the knee pain, and it was time to move the saddle up a little. I stopped in to talk to Mystic about it, and they agreed... so up it went. Just 1/2 inch, but it really made a big difference. The knee hardly twinged at all for the rest of the ride. (Although, I was still babying it, so we'll see how it does over the next few days.)

"Babying" the knee, in this case, means high-cadence. I didn't worry about speed, I just kept the feet moving and tried to make sure my knees had no lateral motion during the downstroke.

I bet Greg will like the rest of this story...

Just 3/4 of a mile from home, I stopped short. A very large turtle with a bumpy/pointy shell and a spiked tail was lumbering very slowly across Route 184. Traffic was getting heavy, and I didn't want it to get run over. On the other hand, I like my fingers where they are (on both hands), so I didn't try to pick it up. (Plus, trying to pick up and carry a 40+ pound turtle while wearing cycling shoes... that would have been funny.)

Stopping to watch it was enough, though, as traffic in both directions stopped completely to watch, also. This included (among many other vehicles) a bus full of kids on their way home, and some guys in a pickup truck, both of whom cheered the turtle as he crossed the street, yelling and clapping.

The turtle ignored them both.

Stats: 34.73 miles (55.91 km) in 1h 59' 55" for an average speed of 17.37 mph (27.97 kph).

The Last Cat Carrier You'll Never Buy

seth@macrobyte.net — Fri, 05 Mar 2004 13:09:43 GMT

This cat carrier is an interesting idea.

Odd that I haven't seen it in the local pet supply store.

The Blogger's Credo

seth@macrobyte.net — Sat, 24 May 2003 17:57:29 GMT

The blogger's credo: When Inspiration Fails, Shoot the Cat

;-)

With that in mind, here are pictures of our two month old kittens.

Wixie is Gone

seth@macrobyte.net — Thu, 01 May 2003 17:25:07 GMT

The vet called, early this afternoon, to say that Wixie, my cat, was perkier this morning.

When I picked up Corinne at work, I told her that it probably means she'll "go soon."

I was right. Just a little while later, the vet called again to say that Wixie was having a bad seizure. It was time to give up. I agreed, let her go, there's no life left for her even if she could somehow live a little longer. Whatever had her in its jaws wasn't being gentle. As if sucking her dry, dropping her weight from eight pounds to just three -- in just of a few weeks -- wasn't enough, she'd gone partially blind in the last few days, with numerous small hernias around the corneas in both eyes.

That's always how it works: the body seems to use all its energy fighting whatever is killing it, but when it gives up, there's a little time -- maybe a few hours -- that its few remaining resources aren't being wasted on a lost cause. The sun shines again, just a little. This is when those new to death's way will often, sadly, take hope. It's almost always a false hope.

Wixie's gone now, coaxed gently to sleep eternal by a doctor who had come to love my sweet friend in just a few days -- caring for her in the doctor's own home -- nearly as much as Corinne and I do.

Goodbye, little girl. It truly is better to have loved, and loved, and loved, and loved, and loved, and lost, than never to have loved you at all. You had a wonderful four years.

Sluggy Is Pickin' on PETA Again

seth@macrobyte.net — Sat, 05 Apr 2003 17:43:00 GMT

Sluggy Freelance is picking on PETA again today, this time via the 'Saturday Artist' Ian McDonald, who also does Bruno the Bandit.

Sluggy has a long history of PETA-teasing. In fact, it was a link from Brian Carnell's animalrights.net that first introduced me to Sluggy (almost three years ago), and there have been many barbs since then. I think this is the first time that Ian has teased PETA with the Saturday editions, though.

Kittens

seth@macrobyte.net — Wed, 19 Mar 2003 12:23:20 GMT

I was up until almost 4:00 AM helping Xodus give birth to her kittens. This is the first litter we've had in almost a year.

While she's doing fine, two of the four kittens were stillborn.

Actually, I wasn't there for one of them. When nothing happened for a couple hours, I thought she was done, so I went to bed. Corinne found it when she checked on them this morning.

ZZZZzzzzzz......

Happy Chickens

seth@macrobyte.net — Tue, 04 Feb 2003 20:31:19 GMT

Corinne reminded me last week that we had an old box of wooden toys for the parrots which they'd probably enjoy playing with. Er, destroying. This evening I finally made time to hang them all in their cages. Two for each, and a third for the biggest.

It's been awhile since the birds had (wooden) toys to demolish. I don't feel too guilty about this, as we let the birds out "free" for most of the day to chase each other around from cage to cage, so they get plenty of exercise. (Especially Groucho, usually the chasee.)

Anyway, they were all happy to have some new fodder for the Avian Mess-Making Machine(tm). Within minutes they were each hard at work making piles of wood chips. Mikey, of course, does this hanging from the roof of her cage by one toe.

I'm not sure you can appreciate this silliness of that without seeing it, but I don't have a picture right now so words will have to suffice. Mikey is a Blue and Gold Macaw, a very large bird. Perhaps thirty inches from the tip of her black, walnut-crushing, hooked bill to the end of her gorgeous fan of vibrant blue tail feathers, plus a startlingly bright all-gold breast and belly. Throw in a white skinned, featherless face that blushes pink when Corinne talks to her.

Now picture this feathered behemoth hanging upside down from her (very large) cage, screaming like a banshee, and chomping her way through pieces of wood two inches thick.

For a final detail which you couldn't even get in a picture, add in a too-smart-for-her-own-good Congo African Gray named Stevie, acting very much the same as Mikey (also hanging from her own ceiling) but occasionally stopping to utter a disgusted, "Shut uuuuup!" in Mikey's direction. (Stevie's the best talker of the bunch, but she's also an incredible sound-fx artist. Garrison Keilor has nothing on her.)

Yes, I live in a petting zoon. (Remember all the cats?)

(The other two birds, just as special but not being silly enough to warrant inclusion in the above: AJ the permanent-terrible-two-year-old Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, and Groucho the Green Cheeked Amazon.)

Riverbanks Zoo, Columbia, SC (1999)

seth@macrobyte.net — Tue, 04 Feb 2003 22:15:27 GMT

In 1999, Corinne and I took a week vacation "South," part of which was spent in Augusta, GA visiting with Jed when he worked at the Augusta National. The three of us drove up to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC, which is where these pictures were shot. (I'm very happy with a few of these.)

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"There's No Place Like Home!"

seth@macrobyte.net — Sun, 20 Oct 2002 20:17:05 GMT

Corinne and I just got home from "Huffywood," the nickname of the NBF North-East regional cat show in Carney's Point, New Jersey.

Actually, I didn't really see much of the show. I worked all weekend on "the plugin" (for Conversant) and Corinne went to the show. (This is not a bad thing. We saw a lot of each other, but both got to do exactly what we wanted to do while knowing the other was always close by.)

I did far more on "the plugin" than I thought I would. So much that I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Also, one of the cats that we sold almost a year ago has come home again. The owner found that she was allergic (she discovered this by going on vacation, in fact), and couldn't keep her any more. We originally called this cat Y U So Fat? but the owners renamed her "Makita." Well, if we find out that they never registered her, she's getting her original name back. She's a tub, only now she's a full grown, gorgeous Seal Lynx Point tub. (Pictures soon, if I can make the time.)

It's good to be home!

Ride #60: Last Half Century of the Season, Bugs

seth@macrobyte.net — Tue, 03 Sep 2002 10:36:44 GMT

This was, most likely, my final half-century with the group from Mystic Cycle this year. It's very dark for the last few miles of the ride, which isn't much fun and wrecks the stats. I'd be willing to go next week, but I won't be able to because I'm planning a very long ride for the day before (which will include a day off work).

This wasn't a bad ride at all, but there was something besides the darkness: the bugs! Swarms and swarms of tiny black flies (like gnats, or May flies). So many, in fact, that I was covered with their carcasses when I returned home. Really disgusting.

I'm almost convinced that the combination of rain and the reduced bird population due to West Nile is behind the increased insect populations. I mentioned the "eerie silence" after last week's ride, and a few days later the local NPR station did a long story on the devestating effects the virus is having on all of the larger Avian breeds.

Stats: 51.01 miles (82.12 km) in 2h 52' 55" for an average speed of 17.69 mph (28.49 kph).

Ride #57: Where Are the Birds?

seth@macrobyte.net — Wed, 28 Aug 2002 10:18:27 GMT

Last night's "half century" was nothing of the sort. I'd eaten lunch much too late, and I haven't felt well since my trip back from Ohio, so I only rode about forty miles.

One strange fact about this ride: I never saw or heard any birds, except in one small area near the top of a hill. This really bothered me, as the woods surrounding my route are usually quite lively. Could this be the result of West Nile? The birds haven't started their migration yet.

Maybe it was just a quiet night, but it was disturbing.

Stats: 41.14 miles (66.23 km) in 2h 18' 49" for an average speed of 17.78 mph (28.62 kph).

"I Just Want to Pet It"

seth@macrobyte.net — Fri, 28 Jun 2002 19:24:24 GMT

Corinne just sent this link to me. Warning: don't have any liquids in your mouth when you click that link.

X-n-X Kitten Shots

seth@macrobyte.net — Sat, 30 Mar 2002 16:18:42 GMT

I've finally posted some shots of our latest double-batch of kittens. Everybody's healthy, happy, and adorable!

It feels good to cross something off of my list-of-things-to-do.

Honey-do lists: one step forward, two steps back. ;-) (The list never seems to get any shorter!)

Six Kittens, Two Queens, Seven Days

seth@macrobyte.net — Sun, 24 Mar 2002 21:42:12 GMT

Xionda had three kittens on Monday, and they're doing great. We hand-fed them for the first eighteen hours, but they've been "at the milk bar" almost non-stop ever since then.

Xodus had three kittens this afternoon. The last one was a little bit scary... when she was expelling the placenta, she prolapsed her uterus.

That's the second time this has happened to us. The first time we didn't know what to do and the cat ended up being spayed. This time, we (Corinne) just, uh... shoved it back in. She called the vet, who said that was the right thing to do. (They told us that last time, too, but she needed the reassurance.)

Everybody's doing fine now, thank-you-very-much.

More Kittens: Here We Go Again

seth@macrobyte.net — Tue, 19 Mar 2002 01:22:55 GMT

Xweet Xionda is the very proud mama of three more kittens, as of Monday afternoon. This is her second litter.

Unfortunately, because of some weird blood-typing issue which hasn't been explained to me very well yet, we need to hand-feed them for the first eighteen hours. That means sticking a long, thin tube down their throats and into their stomachs, and injecting 3 cc's of goat's milk.

After eighteen hours the mysterious problem clears itself up and the mother can feed the babies.

One of us has to get up at 3:00, and another at 6:00, to feed them. (Try having triplets, Greg! ;-)

Xionda is wearing one of Corinne's nylons as a body sock, so that the babies can't nurse on her at all. She looks hilarious (sorry, no pictures right now), but the kittens don't seem to appreciate it.

Also, it looks like Xodus is going to pop any day now, too. They went into heat within a few days of each other.

Pet Snakes

seth@macrobyte.net — Thu, 14 Mar 2002 19:09:37 GMT

My brother (Jed) would definitely like this this guy and his "pet" snakes.

My mother would flee the house immediately, screaming and temporarily insane. :-)

Thanks to John vanDyk for linking to the realities of keeping large pythons, which led me to the story about "Baby."

I should tell the story about Jed and I, and the roadkill snake we brought Mom when we were both little. That's one of those stories that is never going to die.