Floods from Irene

We are among the lucky ones from Irene, as is the barn and its residents. The barn got pounded but everything held, including the sandbags that (for the first time ever) meant that NO water came into the low end of the barn from rain. The damage amounted to replacing bedding.

The city in which I live came as close to a truly catastrophic flood as we have since 1948. The river rose to major flood stage and a dam threatened to give way on a "creek" that became a torrent. But the worst flooding was in stretches of houses that get flooded every other spring, where the owners knowingly trade that risk for a spot on the river. Many boats tore loose from marinas along the Mohawk and lower Hudson rivers and went over the federal dam though. The lucky owners were those whose boats came loose south of the dam and were picked up by tugboats out securing just about everything.

In the midst of this, I had a pet sitting job that was smack in the middle of the flood zone if both the dam broke and the river rose higher. The pets would have been OK on floors well above the flood level because of the high basement. But it was the first time I had to think about kayaking to a job. Happily that never happened.

Squash Tomatoes

I saw this on a sign when coming back from the barn yesterday. On a quick glance, I couldn't help but think that it was an invite to stop the car, go to the nearby vegetable patch and start stomping through the tomatoes. The image that came to mind is that of Lucy and Ethel holding their skirts up and stomping grapes in a big vat - from some show of "I Love Lucy".

I understood it to be a sign about vegetables that were for sale, but I like my first impression better.

There was a group from a rehabilitation program at the barn yesterday. They were shown the different breeds of horses and then helped to brush a few. Being around these creatures was a huge boon to the patients, the mass of the animals being an easy target to touch and feel. The old draft mare had her head in a patient's lap, almost resting her chin on him while he petted her. Her head was about as big as his torso in the wheelchair, but she lay it against him as gently as a cat. The patient alarmed a couple of people later, when he zoomed around a little too quickly behind the old mare, but she took no notice. She is huge and a bit lame and - the usual problem is getting her to move at all.

Just after seeing the order to Squash Tomatoes, I heard an interview on the radio with a wildlife expert about the migrating habits of barn swallows. He said that they should have left for southern climes by now. The parents and two broods that were harassing us since June seem to agree. Early last week they were still dive bombing us in the aisles, this week they have disappeared. The nest is still in place at the eastern end, waiting for next spring.

Eagles

Eagles have cropped up in a lot of conversations lately. The newness of seeing active nests and mating pairs aloft seems to have been overtaken by familiarity, maybe too much of it.

We were visiting a young couple in Maine last month, one of whom is in the Coast Guard. He referred to eagles as "endangered sea gulls", a common term among the "Coasties" up there. Efforts to reintroduce the Great Comorant in Maine a couple of years ago were stymied by eagles eating the chicks.  Apparently it is easier to go after young birds than dive for those tricky fish.

A couple of months ago a home owner in the midwest suddenly lost her electricity. When she went outside to find the problem, she spotted a young fawn hanging over the power line to her house (quite dead). A disappointed looking bald eagle was sitting in a nearby tree. No one had seen her carrying the fawn, but the link seems there unless the fawn had learned to fly.

Going after this big a prize is probably rare, but it happens. On a local call-in show, the host was disputing stories of eagles carrying away young goats. A woman who raises goats called in and pointed out just how small goats are when they are first born. She had seen larger hawks go after them, with success being rare but proven.

Our national symbol seems to be as flexible as humans, converting from a diet of fish to being an omnivore as convenience dictates.

Chasing the Cat

Our oldest cat is now on two medications, and we have happily been able to avoid pills for both. The antihistamine is the child's strength liquid form from the local drug store and the hyperthyroidism medication comes in a cream that we rub into his upper inside ear twice daily. We and the vet have made sure to reduce the insult level of twice a day drugs as much as possible.

The cat is not appreciative of our efforts. I am the primary giver of medications - my husband is less diligent as long as I am around to handle it. So usually the cat sees me and runs off to hide under the bed or behind a pile of boxes. 

We are confusing him, which I hope that this will eventually help him to relax. He has already discovered that these treatments are much easier than the antihistamine pills he was first on. He makes all the requisite noises but hides less far away after being treated. While he still foams at the mouth from the antihistamine, the foam is clear white. There is no hint of the red cherry flavored liquid still in his mouth. He will eventually realize that there is nothing to get rid of, or that eating some food would be a better fix. (I hope...)

We have had some entertainment during this process. The first was when the vet in Maine gave him his first pill and assured us that the cat was "really easy". And he was - for her or for anyone else in a vet's office. He is like our other cats, intimidated into stillness (aka good behavior) at the doctor's. It is only at home he recovers his usual temperament.

The second was when I picked up the hyperthyroidism medication at the pharmacy, and was advised to not chase the cat around to treat him lest he get "anxious". I giggled - not only is this cat Siamese, he is the most neurotic and non-adaptive Siamese we have ever had. The only way to NOT make him anxious would be to slightly overdose him with the antihistamine before rubbing the hyperthyroidism med into his ear.

I am thinking about doing that.

More Birds

One of the last days in Maine, we saw hummingbirds going through very odd behavior. Three of them were running into each other trying to get to the feeder, and when one did they often failed to get their beak in for a sip. This feeder has a little perch by each of the four openings, something which none of them figured out in the time we were watching this trio.

We understood what was happening when one ended up briefly hanging upside down on the screen on the porch, chirping as loudly as a hummingbird can and flapping away. The little bird got untangled and went back into the fray to find a spot at the feeder. But that was the behavior of a fledgling. We must have been witnessing the first moments of a brood leaving the nest. By day's end they seem to have worked out the details - you couldn't tell if it was an older or younger bird by how well they handled the feeder.

When I arrived back at the barn for my first shift, the swallows were again dive bombing me as I went through the east doorway. It appears that one brood was not enough for the barn swallows - the same nest that had held five chicks this last spring was overflowing with four more, looking quite ready to take wing. They may be gone by the time I go out this coming week. Orders are set to not leave the riding ring door open, lest this brood ends up stuck in there for a few days like the last set.

While we were in Maine, a cougar that had started its life in Wyoming or similar was killed by an SUV in Connecticut. The cat's wanderings had been tracked from out west by trail cameras and similar sources, confirming the DNA results.

It seems less difficult for animals to live among humans than we might think.