Thankful Sunday--July 26, 2015

I am thankful for a visit with Theo.

I think I am typical of most mothers. I always enjoy being with my kids. Well actually, there were a few times when they were growing up, that I was happy to be away from them. But these days, it's a pleasure. And yesterday was one of those days when we got to see Theo in his element at horology school. Clocks and watches can be complicated, beautiful machines and we found it interesting as he explained some of them that he was working on. For this time together, I am thankful.

Cat Problems, Lucky and Lucy

Although cats are known to be standoffish, they can be demanding--especially if you aren't doing just what they want. And with the four at my house that usually involves food, petting, and more food.

Lucky, doing what all cats do--get into bags.

Two of my cats, Lucky and Lucy, have needed a lot of attention in these areas recently. They are both elderly so when I noticed they were losing weight, I was upset, but not surprised. This had been a pattern in other older cats I had had before and the cause of their problems was failing kidneys. Cats have fragile kidneys which often fail as they get older. When the kidneys aren't filtering well, toxins build up and take away the cat's appetite. Thus, they eat less, and lose weight. You can treat the symptoms of kidney failure, but can't really stop the progression of the disease. Ward and I talked and agreed on how far we were willing to go with treatment before I took them to the vet. We were ready.

Part of our suspicions were confirmed when we found that they had both indeed lost weight. However, followup blood tests showed that both of their kidney functions were good as well as all of the other screening tests that were done. That was a relief, but something was still going on. What? This was uncharted territory for us. Follow up blood work showed that Lucky had hyperthyroidism, meaning his body was burning off more than he was eating. And many other followup tests showed that Lucy had pancreatitus--meaning her body was not digesting her food enough to absorb it.

Luckily, both of these conditions are treatable IF the cat decides to cooperate. Lucky's treatment is not too bad. It involves putting gel on the inside of his ear flap once a day. He tolerates this well except when he runs away or flattens his ear making it hard to get the medicine inside. However, he is responding to treatment and gaining weight.

Lucy demanding better food.

When howling doesn't work,
she tries the pleading eyes.

Lucy is another story. She has what on paper seems to be a simple treatment. Powder gets sprinkled on her food containing the enzymes she needs to help her digest it. However, Lucy wants nothing to do with this altered food. We have tried multiple foods, both wet and dry, commercial and home cooked. We have also tried feeding her with a little powder and no powder, separately and with the other cats, or just she gets the powder or all of the cats get the powder, We've also tried feeding frequently or not so often as well as giving her B vitamin shots and appetite stimulants. We've tried everything we can think of with very limited results. In the beginning she went for two days without eating anything because of the enzymes. (Not a good thing for an already emaciated cat.) Now, she will eat a few kibble with a very slight dusting of powder in the bowl--sometimes. The vet said that Lucy is acting very typical for a cat and to keep trying. She may give in and slowly adjust. I hope so because I'm getting tired. However, as the vet pointed out, we've only been at this for a week. My how time doesn't fly when you aren't having fun.

I hope Lucy adjusts and we get a lot more time with her. However, if this simple treatment doesn't work, we're in for some difficult decisions ahead. In the meantime, Lucy is begging for more food (she's been here howling three times since I stared writing this) because the last time I fed her, I put enzyme powder on her food. And in her eyes, that's just not acceptable.

A Second Look--July 22, 2015

While the flowers are very pretty this time of year, it's the critters that have been getting my attention this week--specifically the birds and the bees and the bugs.

A few weeks ago, I showed a picture of a wheel bug nymph. Adult wheel bugs are fearsome looking with their big size and gray and brown armored looking shell.  So I was surprised when I discovered, the slim, green insect I found was the nymph for it. While identifying the nymph, I found the wheel bug was also called the assassin bug because it pierces its prey and sucks out the insides to eat. The nymphs feed this way also. Well, this week I actually saw this happening. The nymph I found was a little older that the one I saw before and some of its green had to turned to gray, but it was definitely identifiable as an assassin bug.  The bug was clinging to the underside of a coneflower with a lifeless bumblebee clutched in its legs while its mouth pierced the abdomen of the bee. Just like I had read about. Amazing to see! Despite the fact this one was eating a bee, assassin bugs are considered beneficial garden predators eating things like Japanese beetles and caterpillars.

On more pleasant insect news, the swallowtail butterflies have returned this week. I haven't seen them in great numbers yet, but I hope more are to come. The skipper and cabbage butterflies are still flitting around everywhere.

The baby finches are continuing to grow and the mother is still very protective of them. I thought that maybe the baby bluebirds had already fledged, but when I saw the mother go into the box, I took a look. They are still there, but they are mostly feathered and you can see some of the blue on them. I would like to see them fledge, but not surprisingly, the mother tries to do that when there are no threats around and in her eyes that includes me.)

Here are a few things I saw this week 

during a Second Look. 

A few of the flowers that are in bloom right now.

Adult assassin bug from last August. Notice the wheel on its back that gives it its other name of wheel bug. Next notice the antennas on its skinny, long head. Bent under it's head, is its long, deadly mouth.

Assassin bug nymph from a couple of weeks ago. If you look carefully, you can see its orange mouth under the antennas. 

With some studying of this picture, I hope you can see what I saw recently. The assassin nymph is holding onto  the coneflower with its back legs. Its front legs are wrapped around the bumblebee.  Once again see the long, orange antenna. Under them is the orange mouth that is stuck into the bee. It's just under the bees wing. 

Tiger swallowtail butterfly

The wren's have grown a lot in the last week.

So have the bluebirds.

Thankful Sunday--July 19, 2015

I am thankful for:

Fresh berries 

Sweet corn on the cob

Grilled squash

Tender green beans

Crisp lettuce

Marinated cucumbers

and especially Tomatoes right off the vine.

In other words, I am thankful for summer harvest time.

A Second Look-Part 2, July 16, 2015

For yesterday's Second Look post, I showed you several pictures of baby wrens. Today I'm going to show you a few more pictures of things that have a bit more color to them. Because despite my focus on the birds, I did see a few other things around the yard besides wrens.

Here are a few more things I saw this week during a Second Look.

Day lily

Young milkweed beetle

Fritillary butterfly

Cone flower. This is a volunteer under the bird feeder. Finches especially like their seeds.

Silver-spotted skipper butterfly. The injured wing didn't seem to be affecting its movement.

Tiger lily. The other morning was the first time I noticed that the tiger lily leaves start out straight before they curl all the way back. These observations always make me wonder. After all the tiger lilies I've seen, why is it I've never noticed this before.  It also makes me happy that there is still so much to see even in the common, everyday things.

Bumblebee