Sunday, July 24, 2011

The Sunday Morning Muse, July 24, 2011


Humidity has made progress of any sort rather slow this week. I went to Lowe's yesterday for paint and supplies and on my way there...weaving through the back roads of the township, I couldn't help but notice no one is outside anymore. Too hot. Most people are inside sitting in the AC. And few people have bird baths. Unless it is part of a landscape arrangement...for looks more than for the birds. But I'll get back to that thought.
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I bought another animal cage for basement. Coco Kitty had to come in when it hit 96 degrees this past week. She needs her own space for days like this. Too hot for man, woman nor old cat. My friend's cat went into respiratory distress this week. Sad case. Not really so much the heat, as a tumor in the lung t
hat finally became a problem and showed up. When I was a kid, and a cat got seriously ill, no one really knew why. Vets speculated about things, but eventually it either got too sick to keep alive, or the animal succumbed to the ailment. Now it is commonplace to have Xrays and CT scans and all kinds of tests for pets. Lots of money, though. But I wonder if cancer is more prevalent now, or is it just that we know about it because of all tests.
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A new bird bath is on the list. I have the base, but no one sells just the top...which is smashed to pieces thanks to a freeze and thaw cycle, and someone, me, who neglected to flip it over last year. I feel bad for the birds...we feed them but they've been on their own for water for some time now. It didn't really affect me enough to spend the money and buy one until yesterday when I saw this little sparrow with one bad leg hanging onto the side of the bird feeder. The struggle to survive was great in that bird. He clung onto the little ledge of the birdfeeder with only one leg...the other draping down over the edge helplessly, as he pressed his beak to the food and balanced himself with his body pressed against the bird house.
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He fell off once into the bushes below....and I grabbed gloves to go help him, but I didn't need to.
He can fly just fine. He just can't land too well. Off he went, but he came back later, so I know he lives nearby.
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It proves that one can be indifferent to the hunger and strife in birdland, until one knows a bird personally who lives here. Now I look for him. And I will make sure he has water.
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