July 2002
So, July already, half way through the year! The move plans are progressing well. Just need to tell the cats we're going. The last few days they have spent much of it indoors due to sudden downpours, can't say that I blame them. No sign of the white splodge or any other cat for that matter, obviously all staying in.
Good sunny day today, spent the afternoon in the garden with Thomas. Just towards the end of the day Thomas, who had been snoozing in one of the garden chairs suddenly leapt off the chair and straight into my Blue Geranium flower bed. He was quite obviously chasing something though I couldn't see what is was. However, Thomas was attacking something from every angle demolishing my flowers in the process! A few minutes later, out of the shrubbery leaps a frog! I grabbed Thomas who was most upset at having been denied his toy now that it was out in the open, and put in the house and locked the cat flap. Now I can't handle frogs or snakes, birds or mice, no problem but frogs? No way! I have left it outside in the hope it will find its own way home.
The other wild life visitor we have had recently has been "Bertie",
for those of you not in the know, Bertie is our resident fox, wonderful creature,
very cat friendly. However, the last visit during the night destroyed my Elephant
Ears plant, left huge muddy footprints on my storage bunker as he went over
the fence into next door and there remained that unforgettable stench of fox
. Much as I like him, I can certainly do without the damage, I hope there are
no foxes in the new garden.
The foxes have kept me awake over the last 2 days, if I have the windows open then you can forget the "dawn chorus" of the birds, it is the "dawn howling" of the foxes. At precisely 2.45am they start "talking" to each other, they obviously take no notice as the volume gets louder until they appear to be shouting! This goes on until around 6.30am. If I have the windows closed, true I don't get the noise but then, during the last couple of days especially, it is so hot I can't sleep anyway!
Buster has now had his microchip, for the journey, I tried out the diazepam, he had half a tablet embedded in some poached salmon (eaten with gusto) about an hour before we were due to go. Now although he was VERY vocal during the trip which only takes at most 10 minutes in the car, he was perfectly clean, no accidents at all. On the way back he was even fairly quiet. I think he needs a whole tablet, he is a big cat, weighs in at 5.65kg, still, the test looks hopeful for the 2 and a half hour journey he will have in just a couple of weeks.