Feral Cat Capture...Part 2 (appreciate tips!)

[growler~GateKeeper]

Very well written KK

on the paper publishing it

[kashtin's kin]

EW EW EW EEEEE !! If anyone heard a blood-curdling scream at around midnight EST...that would be me. ICK. I know in the grand scheme of things, this ranks as not worthy of real import, BUT, when a honking big RAT practically scurries past your face and THEN scrambles around looking for one of it's barn exits...sorry, but I'm still shuddering.

Hard to believe that a gal of my um, slightly mature-ish years hasn't actually laid her eyes on a rat (aside from the cuter?? pet-type ones) in all my years spent in and around barns. Seen LOTS of leetle meeces, which provoked the odd screech of surprise, but not a big ol' rat with that nekked tail.

My apologies to any rat-o-philes, but I'd just as soon have NEVER seen one in person. Yes, I know they exist, in addition to opposums [sic?] in this region (which can transmit an ugly neurological thing to horses, so not welcome), but I'd rather have just stayed in the 'having a vague knowledge of' category...as opposed to being hit over the head with reality.

Those large-ish droppings were a definite clue, but still, I clung to my silly illusions; mouse on steroids ?? Well, at least now I know that the solution isn't to let my little thug Sparky wander the barn occasionally. I think an ocelot would be a more appropriate weapon, or possibly a bobcat...but that in itself could be problematic.

And yes, we do have a JRT; Sadie does have some sort of pursuit instinct, but I'm not at all convinced she has the necessary staying power. Plus, the rat is in and out of smaller holes...and if Sadie even 'got the scent' and actually exterminated a rat, would she go power mad i.e. with the cats?

Well, my apologies for this chicken-ish, hysterical rant; I've got another of my endless writing deadlines coming up, so must get enough ZZZ-stuff to be coherent. I have some more cute DOMESTIC critter (as opposed to vermin) stuff to update, but better try to erase that burned-into-the-brain image of RAT with a stiff slug or two of...iced tea, non-Long Island .

p.s. will NOT enclose action shot of my horrified mug/frantic rat...oh, and Terrible Treacle's panicked reaction. Sorry, TT-les ponies were having a bite to eat, which I so dramatically interrupted...although la Ponita merely raised an eyebrow , and kept on chewin'; she knows her priorities...NOW, I could definitely use one of those BADGERS (see page one of thread...or not!).

[Tundra_Queen]

A freakin rat? *doing the EGBG dance!! I hate those things and can't blame u for freaking out!! My sibling lived out in the country and had those things in the walls.....which I could hear when we stayed there one time sleeping in the basement! Needless to say we went upstairs! *shudder* U need to get some traps or u will be over run.

Nice job on the story btw! I hope it gets published.

Debbie

[chico2]

"Mouse on steroids"
I would think having rats in a barn is unavoidable,but then what do I know about barns
My cats would probably make a bee-line for the house if they saw one
I remember as a kid at my aunts farm I saw my first ever rat,to me he looked like the size of a small cat,but then I was little..
What we don't know won't hurt us,but now you know,there are rats,what can you do??
Maybe look at them closely,try to find something cute about themand accept them

[14+kitties]

Get that trap set mf. You can get mouse/rat traps at the same stores you can get the raccoon trap. Home Depot, Lowes, etc. They aren't too expensive. But in a pinch try setting your cat trap. See if you can catch this rather large rodent. If there's one......... hate to tell you...... he probably has a family. Not sure how far you would have to move him so he wouldn't come back though.
Good luck! I hate those things too!!

[kashtin's kin]

Thanks for the 'rat commiseration/suggestions', and for helping me through my encounter of the verminous kind (sorry, rats ). I'm much calmer now, and have come to terms-more or less!-with the situation. Right now, my blood pressure is being kept nice and high by an equine, in the shape of that rotten little mare/slob...La Treacle Terrible.

It is amazing to think that Mlle. V. and TT inhabit the same pony palace, let alone the same planet; M.V. is fastidiousness pony-sified(?), whereas if TT were a human teen, her room would be SOOO condemned !! Alas, I digress (as per usual, sigh)...it's just that TT has very recently surpassed even herself in terms of sheer slobdom.

Add to that the fact that after 2 years of being cared for my moi , most diligently and faithfully, TT still acts as if I'm an unspeakably hideous and cruel monster-that is, unless I have a yummy tidbit of pony food, in which case I'm just barely tolerable for the time that I'm offering said snack to that long-suffering little mare.

It's not like I expect gratitude , I mean, what kind of critter slave would have such unrealistic expectations!! It would simply be nice if TT didn't treat me like an enemy of the 'Pony State'...oh well, I guess I should be glad that I have ONE pony who won't leave me alone (nuzzle, nuzzle), even if I'm aware that I represent one big apple/carrot to her; I'll take what I can get .

And now for some actual good news, as opposed to whingy ranting.... My cat overpop. etc. story got printed-actually a few days ago, but we didn't get our paper (happens out here in the boonies, every so often). I was muy distracted with some new stories/pony challenges/misc. chores, so I didn't pursue the 'missing paper' issue until today.

Well, I didn't actually PURSUE, as in chase down; DH and I went out for lunch after picking up a biggish load of hay etc., and le paper was among the reading material on the counter. So, yay nice editor; at least I was able to get some info out there, and maybe-just maybe-a person or two will even NOT let their young cat "have a litter, so she'll be a better mouser" .

Gah. I heard someone say that in all sincerity?? a few months ago...it's one thing to know such beliefs are out there, but quite another to hear it with one's own ears. Wow. Don't mean to sound uppity or any such thing; I'm sure I harbour some interesting misconceptions, and I know that when I was a kid, s/n et al. was a bit less common. I just thought that in this day and age blah blah the message had gotten across to a greater extent.

But, enough philosophizing or whatever the heck...I'm pleased I [finally] followed up and wrote the story, and had implored my enlightened editor enough for her to print it. Ed even printed an unusually large pic of 'a shelter worker and cute kitten' I took, and had an excellent large 'quote' placed in the middle of the article.

Sooo, bratty wee ponies aside, I must savour this modest triumph while I can, so I'm orff to find some dark chocolate I stashed away a while ago...thanks, 'everyone', for your encouragement; I hope to work in a story that focusses on feral/homeless cat TNR as my next 'pet project' (unintended pun ).

[growler~GateKeeper]

Wonderful news () about your article & picture being printed

Ah those ponies eh? so demanding, so silly

I guess the wild rats out here on the West Coast must be smaller than the wild rats you guys have Back East? The couple of times I seen wild rats here they are the same size as the pet-variety rats

[14+kitties]

Mmmmmm chocolate!! That'll do the trick!
I gotta come visit and see all these terrible things that are causing all the problems. And houses in disrepair mean nothing to me. I live it!!

[kashtin's kin]

Well, M. Ratatouille was not in evidence for a few days, but as soon as I let down my guard...well, let's just say I seem to be more of a [blood-curdling] screamer than I had imagined. I've decided that meeces on steroids should be countered by felines on steroids, so I've got Sparky on a regimen of pharmaceuticals and weight training. He's already got the thug mentality down, so no worries there. We shall see.

In other news, literally news, that is, when I attempted to download some work pics earlier I was having no luck. Eventually, my working (as opposed to on strike ) brain cells kicked in, and I checked my camera re: memory card. Et voila, or more like, RIEN . Seems that my latest trip to a local library vis a vis emailing hi-res pics to paper saw a breach in my meticulous routine, which is designed to prevent things like, um, leaving one's memory card behind.

I had been intending to put said pics on a DVD, but always so rushed...and now, unless ze precious card turns up somehow (the library was closed today), I've lost a number of pics I'd intended to put in 'la portfolio' :sad:. Thankfully, I have access to all the ones I've emailed to the editor, and of course most are in the paper, albeit in b/w smaller size. Boohoo.

Anyhow, I fear I rather traumatized les critters with my incredulous shrieks of dismay; they've lived with a drama queen long enough to ignore me, one would think (Big Roy sure has it down pat, at least). Not to worry, I managed to dial it down in short order, and reassured everyone I was back to my usual level of "I'm not nervous, just incredibly alert". Evidently, I am part JRT...

Turning to matters critter-wise, WW has really making the literal [minor] leap/step up into the house from the porch a lot more often in the past week; every night, and even sometimes during the day. I don't think she'll ever be the cuddlebunny that MM has become (he's a regular on the bed now...less room for moi, but that's okay ), but she's definitely not just a porch kitty anymore.

I'm also very relieved that I've FINALLY-blush-been able to wean her off free-choice food...that little gourmand had gotten just a tad rotund. WW was such a scrawny young mum when I first encountered her, but even living as a semi-feral last year (i.e. outside all the time, free to roam), she had taken to a 'chaise lounge' sort of lifestyle. And you know how a 'fixed object' needs momentum...

Some of that was of course down to me, and my 'cupboard love' method of befriending les ferals; whatever would I have done without CASES of tuna?? Alas, there comes a time when one has to well, not be cruel, of course...but instead just a bit more judicious with the food, much as it pains one. As I keep telling WW, she's still a young cat; it would be awful/ironic if she became ill with diabetes and ended up perhaps living a shorter life, more akin to being a feral.

WW disagrees strongly, not surprisingly-so we took a wee trip down to NYC to do some look-sees for modelling shoots. WW actually did do some work for O Magazine, and also for Cosmo Cat...but when she discovered she was being hired as a plus-size feline, she did get into a bit of a snit. When we got home, she allowed as how she might deign to lose an ounce or two-for purely aesthetic reasons. All I asked!

So, now MM eats a discreet meal here and there; WW and MM seem most comfortable eating together in the porch, hence the smuggled rations. WW's interest in the house, frankly, is no doubt due to her not being quite so um, drowsily overfed. Now, we just have to make sure we don't leave the caviar out anymore harhar.

WW has a bit of a modelling portfolio; I'll post some pics I just took for practise before she had some professional poses taken (for someone who has graduated from lousy photos, to some pretty decent front page shots, I'm still really bad at 'black cat' pics, in particular-sigh).

p.s. 14+, you're welcome anytime...just remember, it's BYOHMS (Bring Your Own Haz-Mat Suit), and perhaps you wouldn't mind signing our little waiver?

[kashtin's kin]

WW, outta the porch...and into the main 'storage room' (on a perch overlooking a window).

[growler~GateKeeper]

Originally Posted by kashtin's kin

Turning to matters critter-wise, WW has really making the literal [minor] leap/step up into the house from the porch a lot more often in the past week; every night, and even sometimes during the day. I don't think she'll ever be the cuddlebunny that MM has become (he's a regular on the bed now...less room for moi, but that's okay ), but she's definitely not just a porch kitty anymore.

Yay! for WW & MM excellent progress!

on finding the memory card ~ any chance it was left at the paper?

WW looks mahvelous in her pre-professional-photo-shoot

[14+kitties]

KK, too funny! I only sign waivers if there is coffee and chocolate attached. We will have to make plans to do that soon.
I love reading your "tales of woe". Living on 19 acres I find some largish critters myself from time to time. Or should I say usually only the back end. Stormy does a wonderful job of decapitating and devouring the front half. If you would like to "borrow" her for a while let me know. But then again...maybe not. She won't go near anyone but me. Don't know how she would react to a new place.

Soooo - find that memory card! Those things are so small they are easy to misplace.

[chico2]

K-K,you are soooo funny
WW,looks absolutely adorable,she knows a good place when she sees it,she's not going anywhere,even though she is made fun of

[kashtin's kin]

Brief [memory card!] update: Yay, , library had it at the front desk; I sooo heart libraries! What a relief...all me preciousss news pics (esp. a couple of recent ones I'd promised to make copies off for the 'subjects' i.e. bribing is a great way to get folks to let me take a pic).

This has not been the best of weeks in some ways, but besides getting me memory card back...my pic of a cute kid on a way cute PONY made the front page (local annual festival). Wow. I thought if any of my shots made the front, it'd be the boy in the 'airplane' with an IN-credible sprinke of adorable freckles across his nose.

...I hear WW rampaging around because I'm overdue with the tuna, so I'd best git going; I gave her those weights to work out with, not hurl through windows !! By the way, thanks for the good 'mem. card vibes'-it obviously worked !!

p.s. my lovely Terrible Treacle, was not, needless to say , the adorable pony in the pic (poor child would have ended up in traction, I fear...).

[kashtin's kin]

Yikes, here I am, yet again searching for ye olde thread in the wee hours...where DOES the time go . Lessee, um, reno stuff ad infinitum PLUS/le grande lawn mowing (note to self: aquire herd of sheep)/intrepid?! journaliste duties et cetera.

I miss :sad: being a more regular member of this BB community, leisure reading, and riding La Ponita more than once a week-sigh. Must make changes, ah swear. On the bright side , la menagerie is collectively doing well.

Lotsa critter anecdotes, but better not start now; I'm going to exert maximum 'restraint' (which has been sadly lacking lately, in terms of being compulsively CHATTY...folks must truly wonder how the heck anyone interviewed by me gets a word in edgewise ).

Anyhow, in the following post-due to continued paranoia + trauma associated with internet provider/phone?? booting me off whilst putting up pics-there should be 3 photos of [some of] my furry and pony! supervisors.

p.s. hiring Sparky (exhorbitant rates, but ya get what ya pay for) as a rat-deterrent/mercenary for a few hours a day in the pony palace appears to have worked, of late . But 'As the Animal House [and Barn] Turns' continues, with an ornithological/feathery twist.

Whilst flinging pony poop into the compost bin after dark last Thursday, a bit of a weird 'rustling' sound caused me to very briefly consider the nearby presence of Vlad the Impaler, or the like . But before raising my manure fork to fend off possible human/Impaler UNwell-wishers, I glanced into the pasture-my attention drawn by activity at one of our 2 purple martin houses.

The batteries on my M.E.C. headlamp need charging, but I was able to distinguish a large, dark form clinging to the pm abode...it was a NARSTY predator, likely a hawk, possibly an owl. ICK . I realize predators have to make a living, but seeing that hulking beast attempting to violate the pm's home-where they are raising family, and digesting mosquitoes etc. was disturbing.

Pretty creepy actually; I pounded my manure fork on a fence post, and uttered uncomplimentary invitations for the bird of prey to decamp, toute suite. Gah . Of course there is a dark side to life...but we seek peace and harmony, when possible. Ee-ville, BEGONE!!

[kashtin's kin]

#1:Sooo, a muy [photographically] bad pic of WW, but notable because she is positively LOLLING on the [icky kitchen] linoleum, casually attacking the phone cord. WW still values her "I vant to be alone" porch time, but it's nice to see her relax in the house/construction zone (and, she has lost a few ounces!).

#2: Here, Sparky and Pepper are pooling their resources-that terrible twosome-as they attempt to retrieve a stray piece of cat kibble from inside the Kitchen Decor/Catcage (VERY seldom used...kibble somehow dropped inside and landed on perch). S & P were ultimately successful, although I'm not sure how they split that little piece?? Yay teamwork.

#3: Our senior genius, M. Odin the Magnificent , enjoying the novelty of the latest cat amusement apparatus. I had just assembled it on the table, preparatory to placing it the living room...but of course one must bow to the interior decorating instincts of the fabulous M. Odin. Um, I guess I can put the main serving dish on the perch, and perhap hang napkins on the 'batty-ball' quartet??

[kashtin's kin]

Oops , forgot to resize WW's pic...

[14+kitties]

How sweet to see WW lounging so comfortably! It's mahhvelous to see!! Love the new cat toy. Does it get played with much? Or at least rested on?
Owls! I hear one occasionally in the woods here. Probably more than one. So far I haven't had any issues with them. I hope to keep it that way.
I haven't forgotten the promise of a visit. Just have been a tad busy. Sounds like you have been too. We will get together one of these years. I promise.
So nice of you to drop by. You should do that more often.

[chico2]

Awww KK,I love Mr Odin,a very dignified older guy,how senior is he??
WW,looks like a little black furball,it's great she realized the house is a great place to be,lots of yummy stuff
I at one time wanted a Purple Martin house,but don't have a wide open space where I could put it,hope the babies were safe
I have 3 bird-houses,nothing as fancy as PM,only Sparrows,but they too are cute and work really hard at their houses,only to be raided by evil Blue-Jays
Good to hear from you again,we need Pony-pics now,ok!!!

[growler~GateKeeper]

Originally Posted by kashtin's kin

Yikes, here I am, yet again searching for ye olde thread in the wee hours...where DOES the time go .

Here's a little time saving tip When you login, click on your own name in the upper right side where it says "Welcome kashtin's kin" to go to your profile, click the "Statistics" tab, then click "Find all threads by kashtin's kin", there it is ~ super easy

Love the pic of Sparky & Pepper fishing Looks like M Odin heartly approves of the new table acoutremont & has claimed it already

You've made such wonderful progress with both WW & MM in acclimating them to life in the great indoors

[kashtin's kin]

14+, chico2, and growler, you folkses are the best...among a darn great bunch o' critterphiles . Every time I'm just about literally POOPED out, I think of you 3 specifically (and misc. wonderful others), and think "suck it up, kiddo-git that there manure fork/litter scoop/dog poop scoop and git to it!"

The crew has been having fun with the new toy, 14+, although of course, a good ol' cardboard box is just as popular! I did move the centrepiece off the table, as it was getting in the way of my tapdance practice, dont'cha know. And we'll have that rendez-vous one 'a these here days, mon amie .

Chicodeux, whatever birds one has around are usually a nice addition; well, maybe not so much seagulls/pigeons/starlings...and the dratted predators, if they're going after the sweet little birds (I know it's all mummy nature's 'plan', but still not fun to behold :sad.

The pm's in the pony 'run-in' shed just fledged; I'll miss their silent contemplation of my chores, and their parents' swoops. Interesting how reticent! the young'uns were...we had a few nests of barn swallows at our other place, and they NEVER seemed to be at a loss for comments (my kind of birds ).

OOoo, growler, LURVE that tip about finding ye olde thread; I do that on a horse BB (where I emphatically do not have a thread, or even post), but it simply never occured to me to try it here. Wow, think of all the time I can save now..."More time to deify MOI", says Pepper .

I'll hopefully have some interesting pony pics soon, as a bunch of inner city kids from NYC (Fresh Air Fund) had pony rides on Ponyface the other day. V-ster, and even the Tiny Terror (who just hung around) were both so good; I was a proud ponyslave .

Of course, I got my comeuppance yesterday; in my 6 a.m. stupor, I only did up one pony palace latch; Ms. V is a bit of a locksmith in her spare time, and when she decided the 'lunch service' was a tad slow, she busted INTO the barn.

I was out intrepidly?? reporting, and when DH arrived home he heard loud thumping from the palace. On investigating, he found TT just standing in V.'s stall, while at the other-hay!-end of the stable, V was munching away on the third or fourth of five bales she'd decided to knock down/drag out, and sample.

But before Her Highness started snacking, she'd entertained herself by knocking over anything 'knock over-able', i.e. toolbox on feed trunk, empty buckets, manure skip stacked on another trunk etc. Frankly, it looked like the place had been totally ransacked ...and I keep that stable neat as a pin (unlike the um, house).

I guess them ponitas felt they'd done their turn as sweet lil' equines, and [V in particular] felt it was time for a little devil-ry, just to keep me on my tired ol' toes.

Quickly, in the feline dept., Sparky has lost his 24/7 house privileges for now; his sometimes more latent thug streak has emerged, as he has 'threatened' Senior Senor Odin rather in a rather loutish fashion. For now, he is caged in the kitchen when Odin isn't in the Senior Centre, a/k/a washroom.

Odin spends the night in his comfy S.C. bed with Goose and Sonja (owing to his propensity for walking across DH's head during the night-many times each night ), so Sparkman has plenty of free time. Odin also chooses to stay in the S.C. for part of the day...

[growler~GateKeeper]

That's great that you have the kids out for Pony rides I'll bet that just made the kids day

Sounds like La Ponitas were out looking fer da magic bucket o' grains & when the appy wasn't to be found they decided on to start on the 1st course

Oh Sparky what a lil bugger I guess he was talking to the Ponies & figured he was also due for some ish-ness

[kashtin's kin]

Thought I'd post again, since today was paper deadline day; it's all up to the editors now . Last week was pretty chaotic in many ways, not the least of which involved having foam insulation (insulation!? what a concept!!) blown into the crawl spaces of Chateau Decrepit (sorry, house ).

The stuff isn't exactly toxic-DH checked all that sort of thing out-but for the app. 3 hours the fella was spraying it, we had to vacate ye olde abode...along with the fur crew. Moving 3 dogs (one cranky geriatric, one neurotic JRT, one easy going lab!), and 7 cats (one cranky ex-feral, 2 cranky geriatrics etc.) was an exercise in critter logistics.

Fortunately, we have crates/cages for all, but it meant figuring out who to double up in the BIG cat cages, re-bedding all crates, and so much more . The closest outbuilding to the house has been converted to our 'power lifting gym' (one wouldn't think we'd have time for such frivolity...till DH collapsed from stress last Dec., and Dr. strongly advised INCREASING workout priority); it became a temporary Animal House.

It's a nice little building, with a big window, and the weather was pleasant-so that was all good. By the time we got Big Le Roy's BIG crate in there, along with the 3 large cat cages, the joint was pretty full. Everyone seemed to take things in stride...excepting Sadie JRT, whose operatic yodelling was enough to inspire migraine in the most stoic person.

Thankfully, the 5-6 hrs. passed quickly (2-3 hrs. to ensure house was completely aired out/foam completely hardened...especially wanting to err on the side of caution with small animals), and we all readjusted to inside life. It just took a LOT of carting in of stuff, rearranging in reverse of evacuation maneuver et al. PHEW .

...I know it's hard to believe, but I really do take decent 'news' pictures; got a super-cute shot of 7 kids last week, which even the city editor agreed WAS indeed very cute . This preface is meant to 'excuse' the quality of my critter pics, to be included in post below; my usual sun/shadow/focus etc. problems are in glaring evidence .

[kashtin's kin]

Sooo, les pics (no recent pony portraits, but hopefully soon): one pic of 5! of the 7 cats + Sadie JRT enjoying the sun amid house squalor, one pic of Sparky & Pepper (hard to distinguish 'subjects', but Sparky-I think-has his head blissfully stretched back, sorta), and one pic of Senior Senor Odinski in the kitchen whilst DH was literally cutting a large hole in the floor (as you can see, SSO is obviously traumatized !). We really do live in a construction zone ...

[growler~GateKeeper]

That's a great first pic of almost all 6 of them snoozin' in the sun

Sparky & Pepper are so cute together

SS Odinski is hard at work supervising

[growler~GateKeeper]

Must've been quite the circus moving everyone out of the house and then back into the house

I hope your DH has been taking things a little slower/less stressful since Dec

[chico2]

OMG KKI can just imagine moving that many animalsI have trouble getting one of mine in to a carrier
Great pics,it seems little Sadie fits right in with the kitties,adorable
I have a"thing"for your little old gentleman Odinski,he looks sooo comfy besides the saw,
There is something about an older Tabby,something like wisdom
Hope you are all back in the house again

[Tundra_Queen]

Hi
Nice pics of your furbabies.

I hope hubs is doing better. And the foam helps keeping it cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

Debbie

[kashtin's kin]

Thank for the kind wishes, and comments . Even tho' my BB presence has been more intermittent over the past year, I've appreciated any encouragement etc. more than ever. Hard to believe it's been getting on for 3??!! years since I made my first 'feral post'...asking for general info, which quickly ratchet-ed up to "HELP-EEEE!", as the situation intensified. The feral kids are THREE, and MM is 4-ish?!

But non, is impossible; that would make ME, er, um, a teensy bit older , as well, and that is just totally IMpossible/implausible/unacceptable et cetera! What a ridiculous concept! Sorry, but [very apparently] 'reality' is not a place I care to inhabit, with all it's inconvenience and challenges...

For a FERAL thread, house reno and such dramas have played a larger role in the past year, although, that issue is notable, I suppose. Par example, the friendly (well, except for MM, when he's having a psycho-kitty moment) ferals DO need a roof over their cosset-ed heads, even if DH and I are living in a ditch !

But alors, the house does in fact improve, slowly but [mostly] surely. After the slight chaos of 'crawlspace insulation' day and the big migration of the menagerie to ze outbuilding, and back, last week featured 'blown insulation'.
That involved renting a big scary machine with a long hose, and buying 20 bales of cellulose (i.e. NOT fibreglass) insulation.

The plan was for DH to be up in the attic/loft area aiming the hose down between the inside and outside walls (customarily already insulated, but empty as all get-out in this 140ish year old place...after spending last winter in various stages of inside chilliness, it's hard to figure why no one, um, bothered to do some of this sort of insulation/improvement thing as time went on; yup, it does cost a bit of $ , but so does 'throwing away' any sort of heat, yes??).

That was the plan, which everyone knows is generally what does NOT actually happen, despite all intentions to the contrary :sad:. The good news is that the insulating process took perhaps 5 hours in all, as opposed to many more...but the notion of me reading a book, in between the desultory feeding of bales into the churning maw of the insulation machine (yawn), proved to be naively hilarious in retrospect.

As things transpired, I frantically fetched bales and readied them for 'feeding' for 3 solid hours, while poor DH crawled among the rafters et al. aiming insulation downwards. The intensity of the task wasn't really so bad, in the end...rather, it was the layers of sticky-ish brown DUST that made itself comfy on every surface and in every crevice of the kitchen/dining area.

The hatch into the attic is in the kitchen, so the monstermachine sat just outside the entrance to the [hideously icky] cooking prep. area (COOKING! HA-what an amusing concept ), spewing megadust all the while. During previous 'reno maneuvers', I've protected the stove/fridge/counter etc. with plastic, and cloth sheets, but being blown cellulose neophytes DH and I hadn't anticipated the dust storm factor.

Yeah, silly us. I spent as much time wiping dust off EVERYthing as I did feeding that rotten dust manufacturing machine; even the black cats were looking distinctly grey! Oy vay, ai yi yi and all that. We were initially concerned about any wee critters of the feline variety getting too close to the monster, but of course they stayed away. I thought our Senior Genius Senor Odin would be tempted to fiddle with the machine ("Hmm, what's THIS switch for??"), but no-thankfully .

Anyhow, that's the latest House Reno Drama. With any luck??, things'll be a bit quieter around here for at least a while...a day, an hour, a few minutes ?? I actually just thought I'd pop on the BB for a jiffy , and put up some pony pics for chico, as requested!, but alas, I am ze queen of digression? Oh, well, talk/type therapy-it apparently works . Pics in next post...

[kashtin's kin]

Alrighty, so here is one pic of Terrible Treacle [Pudding], 'keeper' of the most hideously disgusting pony stall in history...arduously mucked out by lucky moi every morning; TT looks incredibly deceptively cute, and appealing. DO NOT be fooled!!

The other pic is of Ms. Ponyface's enormous, er, pony face-right in MY face. Ms. V is sooo like a friendly dog (just much bigger, and with more evil intent!)-likes to mooch right up close to say 'Hiya!'). When I snapped the shutter, I'd actually fallen back onto my butt, as La Ponita snuffled for carrots...

p.s. yas, that's my big ol' 'hoof' in the extreme lower right of V's pic...