A Day Without

It's Sweetnesday!

Last Saturday, we had severe winds, with gusts that brought down part of a HUGE Maple tree in a neighbor's yard:

Tree fell across neighbor's garage and cars, then over the alley...

(Close up of smushed van)

...into our next-door neighbor's backyard!

We did NOT lose power at this time; that occured when someone else's tree lay across the wires a little while later.

Luckily, we were without electricity for only a day.

The Hubby and I put on our winter coats, and drank plenty of hot beverages.

Da Boyz curled up together, but poor Sweetie was without her Sweetie Spa heated beddy!

She tried to stay warm under the blanket, but it was unsatisfactory.

That night, she crawled on top of me, to use my body heat.

When I awoke, she was on my head!

Sweetie: "I'm in my Sweetie Spa, and no one is allowed to make it go cold again!"

Our prayers go out to those in Kentucky and elsewhere, who were severely affected by same storm system, to much more devastating results.

A day without power means nothing, when we still have a roof over our heads.

Happy St. Patrick's Day Part 1

On March 19, 2012, I caught the feral tabby boy who'd been hanging around the yard for months in my drop trap.  On March 20th, I transported him to All About Animals Rescue, for neutering and a rabies shot.  While in line with other TNR people,  I told them that I'd named him Patrick O'Malley, because of his green eyes, and fur colors that matched a freshly poured pint of Guinness Stout.  Everyone assumed it was also because St. Patrick's Day had just been celebrated, but we'd been called him Patty O' for a while by then.

One of my first photos of The PO'M, late 2011

Just after release from his neuter, 2012

The PO'M quickly became a HUGE part of our lives at Eastside Cats.  Our usual daily food bowl visitor, Hobo, had stopped appearing, and we feared the worse.  We didn't know that he'd simply found a new food source down the alley at a neighbor's house!  When I finally discovered Hobo living happily and healthily about a half a block over, that feeling that I'd allowed The PO'M to supplant him eased a little.

Hobo, who disappeared for good in 2016

Although not really a St. Patrick's Day kitty, The PO'M is close enough, and it's a day to celebrate Spring, and all that Mother Nature brings to us. 

Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day!

💚🍀🍻🐍🎶👒

Chuck's Diary Entry: March 10, 2017

Dear Diary,

At 10:30 a.m. today, is the beginning of Day 3 without electricity at Eastside Cats.  To recap, the backyard neighbor's tree fell across the alley, to land on the power lines.  This caused every house on the block (both sides) to lose electricity, and there was some sparking and weird flashing lights that scared me and Angel to bits.  The Human called The Hubby went into the area-that-cats-do-not-go and threw the switch to make sure nothing burned out while the wind whipped that fallen tree back and forth.  Actually, as long as I get my meals and snuggles, I don't really need this thing called electricity.

Tree laying on the power lines

The tree has broken the fence!

Tree and lines are rubbing on our barn

The Human called The Mom made all kinds of calls on her cell phone, because the landline is down as well as the cable (no internet, no television).  She sounded very polite, but The Human called The Hubby had curse words to say about the fact that no one was coming out to help.

The Mom put extra blankets on the bed, and The Hubby is keeping pots of water steaming on the gas stove, to make sure we have warmth.  I don't know what Angel is doing, but I'm gonna nap under The Mom's sweater for a couple of days, until this whole rigamarole is over.

Have a good weekend, everybody!

Chucky naps under the sweater

Angel on her couch

Down comforter, fleecy blanket, quilt, and flannel sheets

Recent map of power outages

See the two guys back there?  Seeing them
made us excited, but they left when it got dark out

This happened down the street from us; that garage
on the right hand side of the photo is crushed!

The Mom here:
http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/03/more_than_615000_customers_wit.html has updated information on the havoc wrought by the March 8 windstorm in Michigan.  Poor Sweetie and Patty O'Malley's cardboard boxes were blown half-way to Canada, so I'll set out new ones for them this weekend.  In addition, their electric warming pad in The Cat Hotel won't be on for this snap of deep cold; I've told them to either snuggle up together OR COME IN THE HOUSE.  Workers and firemen showed up in the alley yesterday; one guy apparently turned OFF the juice, and another set of men looked at the tree and tied more warning tape across.  Then they left, and The Hubby and I felt a bit abandoned.  However, a large section of our town got it's power back right after that, so we know we are at least on the list.  I carted a box full of ground cooked turkey meat for The 'O' Cats to the office, so it's stored in the freezer.  We lose power about twice a year at Eastside Cats, but this is the first time in the cold weather.  The Hubby and I have learned to converse (!) with each other and tell jokes, to keep our spirits up.  Angel apparently loves to sit with us, even when she could hide under covers like Chuck.  She purrs and purrs, and that is good for our dispositions too! There are folks who have it worse than we do, so as long as the barn survives mostly intact, we'll consider ourselves lucky.

Look! It's Hobo!

Hobo!

I visited with Hobo this past weekend; he's the black and white cat whom I TNR'd back in 2009.  He was a constant visitor to our yard for years, but when Sammy and Patty O'Malley joined the crew, Hobo decided to amble down the alley.  I spoke to the guy who is feeding Hobo (whom he calls O.C. for Outside Cat) and four other 'stray' cats, in his backyard.  His house is on the other end of the block from our place, and I guess the cats use the alley as an effective roadway.

The Hubby and I have always loved Hobo, but he's never allowed us to touch him.  Even when he had a handful of burrs stuck in his back fur, he refused any human assistance.  He never slept in the cat shelters that we made, either.  He would accept only food and water.  But I trapped him and got him neutered; he was just about the easiest cat to catch, other than Patty O'Malley who walked into the trap in 30 seconds!

Having offered the guy my services as trapper, I have provided my contact information and that of low cost spay/neuter clinic All About Animals Shelter (website: http://www.allaboutanimalsrescue.org/).  He didn't know how he was going to get all of the cats 'fixed', but now he has a way, and of course I'll assist in whatever way is comfortable for him.

In the end, it was nice to commune with my friend Hobo, and knowing that he's being cared for is wonderful!  I told him that he can venture down the alley back to our house at any time.

My friend Hobo

Almost one year ago, I met up again with my first backyard feral, Hobo (read post here).

I love Hobo, and have missed him since he decamped from our feeding station about the same time Patty O'Malley appeared.  Yesterday, I re-discovered him at the same address as last year, so these folks are obviously feeding the cat, at the minimum.  I could not tell if there was a shelter for him.

There was no one around, so I gave Hobo a bit of kibble that I'd stashed in my pocket.  I will try to communicate with the people at this house, just to understand how they are caring for Hobo.  If they need a shelter, I'll build one!  The hubby and I are getting pretty good at building them, and I've got plenty of silver-wrapped insulation (for duct work) to use.

Hobo was not overly friendly with me yesterday, but he always stayed at arms length.  Yet Hobo blinked at me, which I interpreted as 'Hello, nice to see you again'!  What a wonderful way to end my evening walk around the 'hood.

I am happy to find Hobo again!