Summer '21

Well, we made it.  We completed the school year on May 26. Since then, we've been on cicada watch at the grandparents house. And owl watch in our backyard. And George watch inside.

The cicadas.

The Brood X cicadas emerged a few weeks ago. But not in our neighborhood. We had to venture out to both grandparents to see them. They are quite something. Batman is scared of them, Robin wants to go visit them, but then ignores them, and Batgirl seems to like them. We are just now starting to see some in our yard, but nowhere near as many or as loud as at the grandparent's.

The owls.

Earlier this year, our neighbors were watching a pair of owls (barred, we think) that were nesting nearby. And around Memorial Day, we got to see what we believe are the youngsters in our backyard.  They would sit on the wires, watching.  And then they would swoop down into the yard, pick up something and go back to the wires or the trees. Sightings are less these days, but hopefully some of them will stay or come back in the future.

George.

My dear George was diagnosed with kidney disease in April. We've been taking him for fluid injections twice a week that were keeping him in good shape, but he was still slowly losing weight. Over this past weekend, he stopped eating and one side of his face was swollen and seemed to be oozing a bit.  So, I scheduled an appointment for Tuesday evening and spent Monday and Tuesday preparing for the worst.  I documented what I expected would be his last day at home. And at 6:00pm, Ron and I packed him up to go to the vet. After they took him in for his exam, we sat anxiously waiting in the car for the phone call.

When it came, it was not as expected, and that's not a terrible thing. Doc doesn't want to give up on my little fighter just yet.  We got some antibiotics, and appetite "enhancer" and an appointment for Friday to get x-rays of George's head. Now, it could be cancer. But I guess it could be something else. I'm not sure.

For now, we have terrible smelling medicine to give our already stinky cat. But he's still hanging around.  And is surprisingly elusive for a grumpy old man who doesn't move as well or as fast as he used to. 

The Future.

Now that our "Distanced" year is done, the plan is to go back to the old format of hopefully helpful insights into our random activities. But who knows where things will lead. Stay tuned to see what happens.