Tuesday, June 1

[Acadianmom]

I remembered Rabbits at midnight for a change.

I wish I had noted the mileage this morning when I headed out. I went to Lafayette to pick up the papers and then to New Iberia to bring the papers to my insurance agent. He made a copy of everything they could possibly ask for but I wouldn't bet that there isn't something missing. Then back to Abbeville to the CPA's office to tell them I'm going on a trip next week and would like to be finished with my taxes. When I got home the CPA called and wanted a copy of the report from the adjuster on the hurricane damage. He said the IRS wants to know why if an estate isn't finished in two years. I just got the Judgment of Possession last week and only because I called the lawyer's office and ask about it. I looked and the Judgment was filed in July of last year. I want to know why I wasn't sent that last year. I am getting no instructions on what I need to do. Tomorrow I need to call the USDA and find out what to do about the farm because farm income is being paid to the estate. I don't think there will be any farm income this year because of the flooding last year. There are some leases that need to be changed too. I hope I don't have to get more paperwork from the bank. The CPA would have liked for me to bring him the paper he wanted but my club dinner was at 6:30 and I didn't want to go to town again and have to kill 2 hours or come home and go back again. I put the papers in their mail box when I went to dinner. I am darn tired of being on the road today.

My sister always wants to watch the Hallmark Channel if the satellite will work when we are camping. I can't stand the Hallmark movies. To me they all have the same story line.

Martha

[BarbaraRose]

I received an apology but no offer to pay anything toward the vet bill,

Apparently they don't care if they lose a good client. You would think they would have at least offered a free or discounted service for next time (not that there will be a next time). Customer service sure isn't what it used to be.

Catherine, can you get a mini split HVAC system for your condo? It is really cost saving!

Anita, I hope you sell your camper soon. Do you own your new apartment or are you renting?

I said "rabbits" around 1am but then remembered I was talking to Lola before that. Darn!

Got up early to make some phone calls. I have an appointment at 11 tomorrow to do a haircut for the Sport Clips manager, on my friend Dave. Am nervous but I know I won't have any problem doing the haircut. If I get hired, the biggest challenge will be learning their computer system for checking customers in and out. I will need to buy some black pants for their uniform. I will buy the company shirts and apron from them.

I got quite a bit done today! Took out the trash and recycling, did 4 loads of laundry AND put it all away! Started organizing my gourd art supplies. Found some things I forgot I had purchased! Still need to get more done but put a good dent in it today. Still have some more laundry to do - bedding, comforter, oversized towels, etc. I need to get as much of that stuff washed this next week or so because they are raising the price on the washers and dryers soon. I also need to go thru my closet and dresser drawers again. Still have way too many t-shirts (4 drawers packed full!) and can get rid of some tops that I only wore to work that I (hopefully) won''t need anymore.

Had good news and not so good news today. Got a $90 refund check from State Farm for a discount due to Covid-19. The bad news, I got a delinquency bill for my property taxes from December. I swear I paid it. I will have to look into it. I hope I did pay it and they made a mistake, since that will be a big financial hit for me right now. I had the second payment bill on my bulletin board so I wouldn't forget to pay it and I remember taking it down to pay it.

Good night...yawn

[Cudedog]

Judy, I'd have cheered that alligator to give them a fright! Beth told stories about the Asian tourists and the bears in Valdez. Look at all the stories out of Yellowstone lately. Crazy people!

Speaking of bears. . . did everyone catch this video clip from the Los Angeles area today, where a teen-aged girl rescued her dogs just as a bear scooped one of them up?

That took raw courage - on the other hand, probably she didn't think about the danger to herself until it was over.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Cniu6dh_Bo

Seems a bit crazy - but I like to think I would have done the same if my dog was at risk.

Anne

[Bethers]

Anne, I had a very close encounter in Alaska while walking Peaches. I immediately picked up Peaches and would have defended her with my life. Luckily the bear was as shocked to see us as we were it and ran. And the bear wouldn't have jumped up onto the path we were on if some idiot human hadn't messed with some ribbing that kept the bears off this path. (I learned all about it and saw it when a ranger I reported the incident to asked me to show him. The bear would have merrily gone his way in the water and we never would have seen each other, but the webbing material had been moved to block his path instead of make sure he took that path. Hard to explain, but again, idiots). And lucky also, the salmon were running and there weren't any hungry bears.

Barbie, I'm sending you good vibrations for your haircut tomorrow.

[JudyJB]

My Napa son lives in a subdivision with houses all around him, but only maybe 600 feet from fields. And his yard is fenced, but he lets his two younger cats go outside through a pet door. Door is open 24 hours per day so cats come and go. Mostly, they just stay in back yard. Anyway, in the last week, he has seen a fox in his yard twice. The first time, the fox left in a hurry, but this morning, the fox was at the cat door and stared at the cats who were inside. Son says hair was standing up on both cats. Then this afternoon, neighbor said fox was chasing another cat.

I suggested he check fences to make sure there were no spaces underneath where fox could get in. He said that fox could get in no matter what, so I said lock cat door up at night and in morning until kids got home from half-day of school at noon. Says wife does not like litter boxes, so I asked son if she preferred dead cats!!!

So for some reason, they have put a pair of son's boots so they are on each side of cat door!!! So what does that do???? I imagine this small fox could easily get inside cat door. And they also have a 20 year old, very small cat, although she is more aggressive than other cats. Two cats are siblings, and male is not very bright because even though he is spayed, he has in the past gotten into cat fights and lost!! He also periodically falls into the pool while getting a drink, so he is not very coordinated.

So, how do you keep a fox away from cats????

[Bethers]

Foxes typically get along with cats in the wild. They may prey on kittens or very small cats (maybe under 5 lbs). I had a red fox that lived in my back yard and over time that fox and the cats became friends. My major concern would be waking up to the fox following the cats into the house. I doubt the boots will do anything lol And, yes, I suppose if hungry that fox could go after the cats, especially the small one.

[Redetotry]

My Napa son lives in a subdivision with houses all around him, but only maybe 600 feet from fields. And his yard is fenced, but he lets his two younger cats go outside through a pet door. Door is open 24 hours per day so cats come and go. Mostly, they just stay in back yard. Anyway, in the last week, he has seen a fox in his yard twice. The first time, the fox left in a hurry, but this morning, the fox was at the cat door and stared at the cats who were inside. Son says hair was standing up on both cats. Then this afternoon, neighbor said fox was chasing another cat.

I suggested he check fences to make sure there were no spaces underneath where fox could get in. He said that fox could get in no matter what, so I said lock cat door up at night and in morning until kids got home from half-day of school at noon. Says wife does not like litter boxes, so I asked son if she preferred dead cats!!!

So for some reason, they have put a pair of son's boots so they are on each side of cat door!!! So what does that do???? I imagine this small fox could easily get inside cat door. And they also have a 20 year old, very small cat, although she is more aggressive than other cats. Two cats are siblings, and male is not very bright because even though he is spayed, he has in the past gotten into cat fights and lost!! He also periodically falls into the pool while getting a drink, so he is not very coordinated.

So, how do you keep a fox away from cats????

I hope your sons cats are vaccinated for rabies especially living that close to a field. People tend to forget about the possibility of rabies. I can't imagine what would happen if it gets inside their home!!

[BarbaraRose]

Wow! That was a brave woman! She is lucky the bear didn't bite her arm! Or worse!

A hungry fox will go for anything it can catch.

[Cudedog]

I hope your sons cats are vaccinated for rabies especially living that close to a field. People tend to forget about the possibility of rabies. I can't imagine what would happen if it gets inside their home!!

B.J. Wow. Rabies was my first thought, too. To have a wild animal, sitting outside your door, looking inside through your cat door at your cats, is extremely abnormal behavior. And 'abnormal behavior' is one of the major symptoms of rabies in a wild animal. . . Many people don't vaccinate their cats for rabies. When living in the Sierra foothills for 30 years, with lots of skunk, fox, bobcat, coyote - even the odd mountain lion or bear - and the like all around - we were always sure our cats (and, of course, our dogs) were all vaccinated.

We once had a handy person working for us for a time. One day he said, "Did you see that skunk?" With the hairs rising on the back of our necks, we carefully replied, "What skunk?"

He said that he had seen this skunk yesterday, it seemed really friendly, like it wanted to come up to him, and he was just reaching down to pet it when it instead turned and walked away (this was during the daytime - always a bad time to see a skunk, skunks are nocturnal - and this was extremely abnormal behavior for a wild animal - during the daytime, yet!).

He then said that it was now lying out back, dead.

We had it tested by our county. It was positive for rabies. Our handyman was very lucky he had not touched it (or been touched by it!), and we felt extremely blessed that it hadn't come up to our fenced-in dog run, which was only within a hundred feet or so of where it lay. Our dogs were vaccinated, but we had a young puppy that was not (not yet old enough).

. . .And, even vaccinated animals, after an encounter with a rabid animal, often must go through the lengthy misery of quarantine. . . The un-vaccinated are humanely put to sleep. There is no other option.

Judy, tell your son to be very careful.

Anne