Other animals

October, 2006

It is apparently the year for loss. Not normally a cat person, until recently, I had three. The youngest was an insane little guy that I did my best to ignore. It was impossible, he had more personality than that little body should have had. Fortunately he grew into that huge personality instead of it continuing to grow as well. He ignored the warnings of the older two – instead worming his way into their structured lives. Whenever we were in the pasture, there followed Aslan. I couldn’t work outside without the little guy being right there. A constant companion to the Great Pyrenees, he hunted grasshoppers like nobody’s business.

I buried him on Friday. He didn’t come in one night, and when he didn’t come to my calls the next morning I knew something was up. He always came when called. I found him alongside the road.

I didn’t think to show the other two cats their now-accepted best friend was dead. They called to him, they searched, two older veteran mousers searching for the one that forced them to play, to run, to jump for no reason. I didn’t realize they felt such loyalty to each other. But they do.

A couple of days later I looked into the giant blue eyes of my little girl and tried to find an answer to her question of why he had to go, he wasn’t even a year old daddy…I didn’t have an answer. She was right, it wasn’t fair and he was way too young to go. Only the good die young, right?

My girls helped me make a cross. My daughter summed it up the best I think:
Aslan, 2006 to 2006
Farm Lion – fierce, proud and insane
We love and miss you

I would never have guessed I would miss “just a stupid cat.” But I do. Run with Blaze Aslan. I guess we’ll listen for you in the wind. And we’ll never forget. Sigh.

Last night I had to put down my collie, Blaze. She’d become a part of this farm, having gotten her the month after I moved in. She was a working dog and this was ‘her’ herd. She and Skidder, our border collie kept watch of the herd 24/7. I can only remember maybe two nights that they slept inside the house, the rest of the time they had to be outside watching the herd.

She was my constant companion and a friend and playmate to the horses, always playing their game of tag. Having brought her lifeless body home, we gave Skidder time to grieve and came back to find him quietly laying with his head on her back. He stopped calling for her in the middle of the night like he had done the previous night. He helped me bury her, staying at her side. At one point he tried to stop me then realized the futility. I let him say his “goodbyes” to her before covering her up with the light she had chewed up in my driveway and her favorite bones and blocks of wood, and that blue blanket she wrapped herself up in on cold winter nights, sleeping in late in the mornings. She wasn’t exactly a morning dog…not unlike her owner.

I went out to see what my 13 year old had written on the white cross. “Blaze, soar on incandescent wings, rest in peace.” I guess I can’t find anything more profound to say to you Blaze. Now I have to listen for you in the wind as you chase the herd. Only this time, I won’t call you back and tell you to stop teasing them. It’s good for them Blaze. And it’s good for me. God bless you and you’ll live in my memory and heart forever.

Raindance’s Blazing Skies
February 28, 2005 – April 6, 2006

March 19th, 11:19am: Okay guys, I apparently have no clue how to make “hot toddies” as recommended on Windchill’s Forum. I think somebody needs to give me far more precise measurements, the one I made could’ve cleaned rust off old pipes. I could only take a sip. I should clarify – I made that last night, not this morning.

March 17th, 5:40pm: Hey, if you haven’t seen snowfall in awhile – click on the Raindance North cam (http://raindance.ww.com). It’s coming down in big white fluffy flakes. The cats have lined the window sill to watch it and bat at it as it falls gently downward, oblivious of the feline mayhem that awaits it on this side of the window if any of it makes a wrong turn and ends up inside the house. Apparently we’re supposed to get a couple of inches.
Merlin kitty watches the snow fall this eveningI’m doing okay guys. I appreciate the concern. It’s taking me a little longer than I thought it would to get back fully on my feet. I don’t really like it, it removes some of my immortality and invulnerability I’m finding. Unfortunately neither life at the farm, nor life at work have slowed down even though I have for the moment and that isn’t helping. I’ve given up even trying to answer emails or work on organizing this site or even blog, just too hard to breathe right now and I figure a couple of days slacking won’t be the end of the world, right? I miss our morning coffee time together though- for that I’m sorry. But…if I can’t have coffee right now neither should you, why should I be the only one suffering at the moment (kidding – keep having coffee, I don’t wish this on anyone and there’s no need for you to face life going unleaded). I will let you in on a little secret for recovering from the flu, a bad cold or walking pneumonia (aside from Patty’s amazing pork chops and gravy that she dropped off out here along with the fixins to make a hot toddy which I hope to try tonight – thank you Patty!) – don’t let this out, I work in healthcare and we don’t want to lose the business but since you’re all friends and you’ve gone out of your way to help me, us and Windchill – I’m going to reveal the secret here, right now – it’s Doritos. Also orange juice but if you don’t have orange juice just ignore that part, the Doritos is the secret. You never saw me sick before this did you? I suppose you’re thinking you had never seen me before this but that’s irrelevant. I suggest Spicy Cheese Doritos but the correct Rx is based on your level of illness. Just email me if you get sick and I can prescribe the right type of Doritos according to your symptoms. Anyway, I stopped on the way home to get some tonight so I’m pretty sure I’ll be cured soon and in my weakened state you managed to get the secret out of me. Anyway, thanks for bearing with me here while I fight this crud, unfortunately it all caught up with me at once and mix that with the feelings – I suppose even the depression – of losing Windchill and I guess it takes a little more time to recover. We haven’t been resting much though – we have the non-profit’s name, articles of incorporation and mission statement done. I guess I just hate not doing anything and that’s stuff that can be done in the house. Anyway, mostly wanted to let you know I’m doing okay, down but definitely not out.

February 27th, 4:47pm: Great news! I came home from work today and when Windchill heard me enter the barn he tried to stand up, leaning on a hay bale calling to me! What a great thing to come home to. I suspect the little man is going to be very easy for tonight’s lift. Must’ve been our pizza party for him last night (he ate hay just to make sure that that statement doesn’t get blown up into we fed the horse junk food and let him stay up too late).

I am sorry that some of you feel that his life was not worth saving and I’m also sorry that some of you feel that now that he’s famous that he shouldn’t be in a “smaller, uninsulated, backyard barn.” He doesn’t seem to mind and he’s grateful for the opportunity that we gave him to live. He’s surrounded by people who love him, in a warm soft bed. We feel that it is in his best interest to tighten security at Raindance Farms. All weekday visitors need to be cleared through us and we have added additional cams, one of which we will be web-enabling so that you can watch him along with us. The others are being placed for security. This colt is giving his all to survive – we are keeping him surrounded with people who love and care for him and constantly post the cards, well-wishes and prayers that people have been sending. Under no circumstances will we allow this colt to become part of a political agenda. He’s monitored by medical professionals who are routinely updated. He has passed his blood work  and lab tests thus far with flying colors – so his system is functional and his digestive tract is fully functional (as is the end feeding that). Additionally, There are only two people who can make arrangements for Windchill – myself (Jeff Tucker) and Kathi Davis.

Windchill in sling

February 27th, 7:35am: Good morning world. Sorry for the delay in updating, I should’ve done it earlier this morning but came back in and closed my eyes for a second and now I’m running late…groan…  Windchill was in pretty good spirits this morning I would say – you know when your kids are munching on something good and watching television and thus not paying a whole lot of attention to you? That was Windchill this morning. He’s got himself a good bale of hay, he was steadily munching away and completely oblivious to us ‘pit crew’ scrambling around him to roll him over, put now wraps on, swap blankets. We rolled him over and I’m not sure if he even missed a munch. It was too cute.

By the way, I don’t know if you’re telling your neighbors or what, but as of yesterday 2.1 million of you had visited my site in the last two weeks. There’s an average of 71,000 hits a day, and it averages around 3500 hits an hour. And most of you call if I don’t update! Seriously, I’m really amazed there’s so many that are apparently following Windchill’s progress and I’m very touched that when my, or our, spirits lag you folks take the time to send an encouraging email. Unfortunately the reality in this situation is it isn’t always easy to be upbeat and positive and not get angry, I’m only human. But I’m surrounded by a world of caring people who are sharing this burden with us and I want you to know we are all very, very grateful. Thank you for being here.

Oh, and one other thing. A shipment of three cases of deep dish pizzas arrived last night! WOW! We’re going to make lots of pizza for the volunteer crew. Thank you so much Vavra’s! And Patty – those chocolate chip cookies made the best dessert. We put the cookies the Skorich’s made out with the coffee and they’re gone so it was so nice to have more. Plus you’ve found my weak spot – oh man I like chocolate chip cookies. Thanks so much guys for everything.

SOME HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS FOR VISITORS: After last weekend and the constant flow of visitors we’re going to set some barn rules – rules for noise levels in the barn and for visiting the little guy. He loves the company, soaks up the love you’re bringing by carload and truckload but he needs his rest and nice quiet talking. This coming Sunday the barn will be closed to the public to allow him, and us, some rest and time to get to chores that aren’t getting done. According to one of the animal communicators Windchill had asked for a day of rest. She wasn’t clear on whether that meant nobody in the barn (including us) or not. Since he needs us to lift him up for water and grain, guess it’s going to include us.  Please remember if you do visit that our barn is like a hospital room right now – it needs to be kept calm and mellow. Thanks for your understanding. By the way, haven’t forgotten about the barncam, still working on that. FARM & BARN RULES