Friday, September 17, 2010
Cabin Visit 2010 - Day 1
We arrived at the cabin a little before 2:00 on Friday afternoon. That’s three pretty full days of driving from New Jersey. On the first day we make it through NJ, PA, OH and into IN. On the second day we leave IN, and drive through IL, IA, and a good chunk of NE. Finally, hours upon hours of straight flat road through NE, into WY, and drop into CO.
We did a short shopping trip in Laramie, WY to get food for 3-4 days, dog food and other necessities.
As you may know, we had about 200 beetle kill pine trees removed from the West side of the cabin. This is our first chance to see the result. Actually, we like the openness the cutting created. We now have an large open area West of the cabin and we can see the sky and parts of the horizon we never could see before. We will get more stars at night, longer twilight, great sunsets, etc. The downside is that the area is not cleaned up very well with many downed trees and piles of sticks and brush that did not get removed or burned as we expected. So, there is the need to get the cleaned up. But, once it is, we’ll have a wonderful meadow by the cabin. And the fire break that was created could be a “cabin saver” someday.
The dogs did not miss a beat. They know exactly where we are. Maybe somewhat confused by the missing forest. We’ve already had a couple of short walks and they are now pooped out (literally) and ready for bed.
The cats also know where we are and are adjusting quickly. Ebay has already escaped outside once.
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Sunday, September 12, 2010
The Groomer is Sick
We wanted to travel with clean dogs. So, Lynne made them an appointment with the groomer for tomorrow.
But, today she called and was very sick. Rather than take the risk of finding another groomer tomorrow, we bathed them ourselves. Hair and water everywhere! We then dried them (mostly) and trimmed nails. Over the next couple of days Lynne will brush them out.
We don’t do as good a job as the groomer, but they came out okay.
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12 September 2010
A rainy morning. We got a lot done yesterday in preparation for our trip. The pool is clean, the cabana is secured, the lawn furniture is stowed. The truck is clean and loaded with dog crates. So, a lazy day today unless the rain clears out early. Chicken wings for lunch!
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Thursday, September 02, 2010
Vincent is gone
Today we euthanized Vincent “van Goatee”, our “Frenchman”. We got Vincent while living in France over 18 years ago. Over the past couple of years his health had been failing. He became unsociable, forgot all good bathroom habits, stopped caring for himself, lost weight and hollered all the time. We nursed him along for a long while. We did blood tests (lots of white cells, probably an infection, tried treating it, maybe cancer….) He ended up living the last year in a large dog crate where we could contain him and care for him.
He was a cute kitten. Passionate. I remember saying that he “ate passionately, played passionately, pooped passionately and slept passionately”—what a life!
Now, he is gone. Tough decision, but I think his quality of life sucked and he was likely in constant pain. The few minutes after receiving a heavy sedative were the most “at peace” I’ve seen him.
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Wednesday, September 01, 2010
1 September 2010
Swam tonight. Maybe the last time this season. 73° water, just about the bottom end of tolerable. Cicadas still scratching, but summer is coming to an end. The days have been hot and humid, but a hurricane is coming this way to bring some rain. And, wind is likely of course.
We take Bella for OFA X-rays tomorrow. And, it is time to say goodbye to Vincent.
In two weeks we head to Colorado. Can’t wait.
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