We need rain….

It’s HOT, HUMID, and Oppressive up here. One of the joys living so close to the lake. It’s like living in Florida. So a fast recap since last I posted.

A little trip out of the city to another Greek Festival. The food was amazing and the company even better.

Fathers Day…was just very special this year. There is something about a toddler making a young 70-something smile when the word “Train Obsession” is mentioned. I don’t put photo’s of Littleman on the blog because I don’t think his dad would approve….and that’s okay.

More weeding with the privet hedges getting a buzz cut. We took no photo’s of the 13 foot high hedges getting buzzed because trimming hedges is just that trimming hedges.

The husband and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary, how cool is that. What was so special was that the stone from our property was finished the same day. This stone had been set aside back a couple years go just for this purpose. To have our address engraved and to become a part of our landscaping – a perfect day.

This last photo is just worth it’s weight in gold….who would of thought that one of our neighbors, from this neighborhood, would be so bold to put this on his front porch. The man who lives in this house – the husband and I call him “Jesus Blogger” – because every week he has some saying that refers to the bible. This saying just blew us away. I asked him if I could take a photo of it which started a conversation. I had never spoke to this man before – interesting. I did tell the man that he has officially got himself “Black Listed” – he just laughed and said, “I know”. It’s amazing what will get people talking to one another.

So, for those bold enough to leave a comment what do “you” think of this message?

So today we are off to a graduation and one fundraiser……so if any blogger’s out there have some extra rain they don’t need…please, please send it our way.

Thank You…..Mr. Landlord(s)

Besides a whole lot of weeding and planting there have been some other things that have going on in the hood. People have been moving into this old neighborhood courtesy of the many “For Rent” signs and “word of mouth networking” that goes around here. Word of mouth networking is how you keep your money on the “down low”.

The section of the street where the husband and I live, OWN – not STAY, has become infested with trash. Non respecting, ghetto-trash. It was one thing when there was one family – I think they are a family – not so sure who really lives there still to this date. Hey, at least these folks I can work with.

Now there are more homes rented out and they bring others with them. I have no tolerance left in me for ignorant people. The whole vibe of our street has changed within a week. I think an exorcism is in order, along with a Rabbi, Voodoo Priestess, Minster, Bishop, Reverend and whomever I missed. Cleanse the bad mojo that has been bestowed upon us quickly I say.

A Different Approach

How did you spend your Friday?

Here in the Rust Belt we started off our day with a trip to my in-laws. They needed some help with stopping the leaks from their 30 year old windows in their sun room. I told the husband that we were going to spend at least 5 hours putting plastic up to only have it come off over the next couple months because of the way their windows are. Did I mention also that they are not going to be real happy when the paint on the moulding peels off when they take the plastic down. How do I know this? Been there and much cursing has been done in the past by me.

So we assessed the windows, I tightened up some screws on a window they couldn’t get closed and explained to my father-in-law what we have experienced in the past with stopping leaky windows. When the husband and I told him that we just built all these interior window storm he told us to do it before we finished what all this entails. Our list of things to do had just increased.

It was a rainy day and we were off. A stop to the vets – dogs nails trimmed. A stop to the lumber yard to check on baseboard mouldings. Went to lunch to fuel up. Off to Lowes for materials. Picked up tools at our house and off to build interior window frames for the in-laws.

This time we tried a different approach – MDF. Well lets just stay it was interesting to work with and we found out rather quickly we had a design flaw.

Can I tell you that MDF is weak, just weak. These windows are big, 55″ x 61″, the size was causing the center to bow. So it was time to put on our thinking caps and figure out how to beef up the weak-ass material. We tossed around some ideas and I’m the kinda person that like to take the path of least trouble. I suggested that we buddy up the scrap on the bottom and top to give it some support. I wasn’t sure if this would fix it but it was a hell of a lot better than adding a shit load of cross sections.

We used the scrap that was left over and centered the extra support pieces. It fixed the bow and we were off again and on track. We have 2 more left to build and my in-laws sun room will no longer be freezing cold.

In embracing using a different approach last night the ghetto neighbors across the street had a little party. I don’t care if people throw parties, it’s Friday night, it was around 10:00 p.m., have a party. I do have major issues when the bass is turned up so loud that it is vibrating my basement door of our home. Our whole entire house felt like one huge vibrator – it was humming.

So I put on my coat, my boots and I walk across the street because I really don’t feel like calling the cops – I just want them to turn the bass down. A simple request, No?

There are two people on the sidewalk and I really don’t care who they are. I ask very nicely, “can you please turn down the bass”? I explain the whole vibrating thing.

The guy starts to give me a little attitude at first, the girl interjects and tells me no problem and told the guy no she right and the girl says to me “I’ll turn it down, mommie”.

“Mommie”, this is an interesting word in the urban world, it means many different things. It has not been the first time I have been called this. I had to pull up the urban dictionary on the PC to make sure that she didn’t just disrespect me.

This word means respect, the person who is saying it is being submissive. That part bothers me, “submissive”.

The booming bass stopped, they actually turned it off. The party’s noise level came way down and by 11:00 p.m. it was silent.

A different approach indeed!

Day Five

Let me first start by saying to all who are checking in thank you, it means the world to us. For a very long time the husband and I have always felt alone in what we do. Meaning the kitty stuff. Here, where we live, the feral kitty problem is something that is just not talked about and when it is talked about, you wont hear about it for at least another 9 years or so. I am hoping to help change this.

The Stats for Today’s missing are ZERO. For whatever reason the sicko _____ did not put a trap out last night. Interesting! Don’t get too happy I’m sure there are reasons and he will be back at it probably by day break. Sicko ____ is now going to have to make up for lost time.

During all of this crap, because that is exactly what it is, as you know we are officially on vacation. I need to embrace this and have some damn fun and get the hell away from this damn house and city as often we can.

You have probably also noticed that we are in the middle of landscaping project that we haven’t touched in a week. Well here’s the deal, we will be shopping for stone pathway either Monday or Tuesday. The stone we wanted, we cannot get here in our region, imagine that. I really wanted Mexican Blue beach pebbles, not happening! Time to go shopping for another color. Damn it. Two more yards of Sweet Peat just arrived on Friday morning that needs to be moved and spread. You know what we will be doing early tomorrow morning – spreading sweet peat.

Tonight we went to and saw a show. A Friend of ours gave us tickets, thank you T is was a great show and a nice break. We also screwed up the dates to the outing we were suppose to go to this afternoon. I can’t imagine what we would be so preoccupied with that we can’t keep our dates straight.

So on the 1st full day of vacation I started with my traditional local Farmers Market run for a poppy seed roll. It seems that since we got the farmers market this has become a tradition. They didn’t have any – booooo – but I did bring home this cute little cantaloupe from T’s booth. Thank you, I know it will be yummy. I still may however draw a picture on it because it is really that damn cute. When one is looking for poppy seed roll one should have a backup plan. Local bakery.

Today felt like the 1st day of a vacation. Traditions were met and a fun evening came to be in spite of a shitty week.

Oh yes and our camera finally bit it. We have one of loan, thank you S until we go shopping for a new one.

Day Two – All accounted for – We Think

Those who have sent the animal spirits to watch over the remaining feral cats, we made it through the night. We think all are accounted for – except the neighbors other male cat. I will have to keep an eye out for him.

We definitely know that this little guy has been his victim

and this little girl.

The sick ____ still has the trap out, I am secretly hopping that a skunk gets trapped. Then what will the ass do?

What I find sad is that his kid is seeing him behave this way and probably thinks that is normal.

I am still taking Valerian root because I need to stay calm, and when it wears off I feel the anxiety creeping back in.

I think what I have found so frustrating is that I’m am so tired of trying to do the right thing, and there is some sort of mountain that is in the way. I am so tired of ignorant people. I am questioning myself over and over why even bother with anything. Then I’m quickly reminded that at least where the four legged creatures come in to play who will give a shit, who will be their voice. Like I said humans are the ones who caused this and they pay the price.

I don’t know when this is going to end but I hope very soon, I am so mentally exhausted.

Where did they go?????

I didn’t sleep at all last night and I started to have anxiety attacks through out the night.

As I said once before I would only share bits and pieces about the feral cats. I need to put all this anxiety some where and since my blog is one of my tools that I use as an outlet – here goes. I forgot to mention, if my typing becomes sloppy that means calmness has finally taken over and the Valerian Root has kicked in – that I haven’t had to take that in 13 years.

Early yesterday late afternoon I noticed something strange in my neighbors yard. This house is 3 houses away and since I need new glasses I was really was having a difficult time identify what it was. Then to my horror I figured it out, it was a trap, a live trap. I felt sick, physically ill inside.

Now this is the same house that thought it would be way cool to shoot a pellet gun at a cat and paralyze her and leave her for dead. One problem, she lived and the husband and I were the ones who did the deed. So, I don’t trust this guy already and when I see a live trap, well, think about it. Really think hard about all the possibilities. They are endless!

One of our feral males who is neutered has been missing for a couple of days. This is not his normal M.O. and he is one who doesn’t leave the yard. My worst fears came true when I got out of bed at 6:30 this morning and I saw one of the feral cats in this trap.

This also means that they are baiting the trap, cats will not go into an empty cage for no purpose – food is the only motivating factor and even then sometimes that’s not enough. It was one of the TNR females, left in the pouring rain. Sick, Sick, just Heartless!

The husband and I are scrambling tying to figure out what to do. We find ourselves in this situation where we lose at every turn. We cannot go on to his property and release the cat and yet we are now looking at this legal stuff because we technically don’t manage a colony but due to circumstances we find that this is exactly what we are doing. It wasn’t our choice, it simply came to be this way.

We don’t know how to fight this, and in my heart I know we have to let them go because I don’t know how to keep them safe from humans. They don’t know the human world only their world, which is nurturing towards one another. I am afraid he is hurting them and I know they cannot get along in the wild world, they will starve. They don’t deserve this, we humans made it this way and they pay the price. It is wrong, wrong, morally wrong.

Sorry, Valerian not working yet I have to go and find some tissue.

The sick _____ is back and so is the trap -EMPTY- and he set it again.

Give me Color, Texture, and Tickle my Olfactory’s

We have been plant shopping. We have been bush shopping. I hate shopping except for when it comes to plants, tools, house stuff and of course shopping for other people. When we purchased the chipper/shredder I could have wet my self. Big, red, loud and it was an excellent investment when you have two large maple trees and all your neighbors have trees. Sorry, I was reliving that euphoric feeling, back to the plants.

I started to write this last night when a visitor of the 4 legged kind ended up tangling with the neighbors 10 lb Yorkie mix.

There was this very beautiful male pit taking himself for a walk, as I found out. That’s right, someone busted loose and decided a late stroll was in order except his owner wasn’t included. Now the 10 lb munchkin was doing one of two things either protecting his territory, his people or both – I really want to believe this. Little Man was not on lead or chained up, he was actually in my yard and I had just taken him back to his property just minutes before. I actually thought the pit belonged to one of the people who was visiting, as I learned very quickly that wasn’t the case.

Little Man thought it would be a real cool idea to mount, that is display dominance over the 60 plus lb pit. Now, I have to admit that the pit, we’ll call him Big Boy, was a very tolerant boy. Little man did the dominance thing at least 5-6 times, all the while growling and displaying aggression. Little Man was showing no love for Big Boy. Little Man was also not coming when called/screamed at by his owners.

I put a call into our local police department explaining that we had a pit loose, that he was tangling with the small dog next door and that this was going to get ugly. To which dispatch tells me that the dog warden would be back in the morning. WTF?…are you kidding me?…no shit, I already knew that. I also know that our police will do what ever is necessary to get the dog where it needs to be, which is not running loose in neighborhoods.

Within 5 minutes I was calling back. Big Boy had enough of Little Man’s crap and it became ugly fast. Another call to the police department dispatch, I wonder if she could hear the dogs fighting in the background? Now a car is getting sent.

While I’m on the phone I see the owner of Little Man hitting Big Boy with a broom trying to break up the fight. I’m thinking – if this dog is “lit up” as they say, she is going to be next. The owner was able to break it up, her kids grab Little Man and make a run for the house, Big Boy was following. I hung up with dispatch and called Big Boy from my front porch so everyone could get in safe, including me. Big Boy decided to continue his walk and was off running between the houses and I made a break for Little Man’s house with rags and peroxide in hand.

I have to be totally honest – I expected the worst. I expected deep puncture wounds, torn flesh, ripped throat etc. To my surprise and lucky for Little Man, he had teeth mark abrasions, a nasty tear under his arm which was bleeding like no tomorrow, a cut by his eye, but all in all – he was in good shape. I believe that Big Boy was putting Little Man in his place and not trying to hurt him. If this dog was a fighter he would have ripped him to shreds. This tiff was over dominance aka pecking order and nothing more.

Police show up, I go to meet them since I’m the one who called. As I’m talking to the officer, which I must apologize for interrupting his dinner – no I really feel bad about that – but who comes walking up? – Big Boy. Big Boy is sizing me up, and believe me, I’m thinking “are you friendly pit or mean pit?” I have not been that nervous around a dog in a very long time – I was scared.

Officer: Where is the dog?
Me: Standing next to me.
Officer: What is he doing?
Me: Smelling my boots.
Officer: I want you to walk very slowly to your porch.

I trust my officers, I knew that he would do what ever was necessary and that included shooting this dog if he made a move on me. I knew this, I accepted this though I never want to witness it or be a part of it. So I walked and Big Boy is following me, not chasing just walking with me. The officer shouted “Hey Dog” to get his attention which helped me make it inside my house. Within 5 minutes this officer had this dog in the back seat of his cruiser. Awesome in my book – Just awesome.

Big Boy appeared happy to be going for a car ride – no joke.

I don’t think that this is a bad dog. He put up with some major crap from Little Man and had enough. I feel awful knowing that this dog was probably put down today because of his irresponsible owner. I was surprised that the dog had tags on, not a common sight where I live. Had I trusted this animal I would have simply called the owner to come and get his/her dog and none of this would have happened. Like I said when it comes to certain breeds here you have a 50/50 chance of getting bit. Little Man being the little man that he is, took an already bad situation and made it worse.

I have a difficult time understanding owners who know that their dogs have issues with other dogs/people. Would allow them to have full run of their yard with no fence to keep them in and others out. I know my one dog has issues because she herself was attacked as a young pup and we make sure that on her property we don’t allow strange dogs within the fenced in area. Little Man almost tangled with her once before because he got into our yard without me knowing and I had just let the dogs out. I had to grab Stella and get her in before she got to him. Understand Stella has never bit anyone or any dog it is that we don’t trust her when it comes to her yard because of certain behaviors she displays. This is a precautionary measure only. If I know this about my own dog why is it so hard for others to understand their own dog. I don’t understand it. I don’t think that I will ever understand it.

Over Worked Battery Speaks

Oh Battery God’s why do you forsake me?

I snapped the last photo with the camera when the camera flashes this message:

“Battery Exhausted!”

What – are kidding me? I have a post in need of pictures. The pictures are prisoners in this camera because the is battery exhausted. Well there have been plenty of days when I am exhausted and I keep going.

How could the camera keep me hanging like this?

I know for a fact that there are no more batteries in the house because I put the last one in this camera. I would be the person who used the last one and did not replace the much needed battery supply. I have been in many stores of late and yet purchasing batteries was the furthest thought from my mind.

I have been coveting flowers and the perfect trellis.

The post will have to wait until I go to the store and buy more battery’s for the camera. Damn!

Ode to the Sump Pumps

I was going to go to a council meeting tonight and listen to the lame dialogue, this would be lack of dialogue, between Administration and Council about our city budget. I am tired and really not in the mood to be bored to death when it should be a rather exciting meeting when your city is facing huge deficit.

I then thought that I would tell you about our flooring adventure. It occurred to me that it would be more fitting to write a thank you letter to my sump pumps.

Dear Sump Pumps,

Thank you for working nonstop from late Saturday night well into late Sunday night, early Monday morning.

Sump number 1 you never stopped to even take a break until 11:00 pm when you only shut off for about 30 seconds. How did you not burn out amazes me.

Sump number 2, without your assistance the basement would have flooded as you kept the water from cresting. Suspended over your companion sump number 1. you were cycling every 3 minutes.

What both of you could not see was that the neighbors yard was 80% underwater. The neighbors driveway and the side yard by where you both are located was under 2 inches of water. This is why the drain tiles were overwhelmed and you both had to work so hard yesterday.

The husband and I cannot even begin to express the gratitude that we feel for you both.

Neighbors back yard. I should mention this is a rental property and the renter was flooded out – again.

I think the husband and I are going to have a talk with Mr Landlord about the water problem. This water needs to be diverted from the side yard. Our sumps were pumping all the water that was infiltrating the drain tiles from neighbors yard. This makes me kinda angry because Mr Landlord has no sump and surely is not going to pay for our sumps when they burn out.