My very small and simple life!

Since moving from California to Georgia about seven years ago, my life has changed drastically. Not only physically (having undergone bilateral hip replacement four years ago) but also mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Not for the better or the worse, just different.

Where I used to have a very productive and busy life, I now spend my days pretty much by myself and with the animals (dogs, cats, ducks, bugs, birds, toads, lizards, frogs, etc.) Although I know there are very good and decent people in this world, the rotten ones really disgust me and make me almost ashamed of being a human. I have to confess that generally speaking I probably do prefer the company of animals, but of course, there are exceptions to every rule and let me emphasize here that my blogging buddies are the best!!! You make it possible for me to live like a hermit by being alone - yet not all alone - and I really appreciate that!

I start my day about 6 am when I plug in my coffee pot and check to be sure Gizzy is still breathing. After all, he's getting up there. His birthday is November 1st when he'll be 14 years old, but "knock on wood" he seems to be doing fine all things considered.

I feed the stray cats every morning and as of late started to feed them at night also because I don't want to leave out too much cat food at once or else the ants will get to it. I take reasonable precautions for that not to happen, but there are no guarantees in life.

One of the strays, Mr. Bloomers (formerly Smoky) waits for me on the front porch and I let him in to eat while Gizzy is sleeping oblivious to the world.

Mr. Bloomers is skittish, but loves for me to pet him for a little while before he meows to go back out. In the winter time, he sleeps in my bedroom on top of a big pile of comforters to keep from freezing...and the rest, I can only pray for.

(Gizzy unaware of cat in the house - he HATES cats!)

Mr. Bloomers is a lover and not a fighter. He got neutered during our TNR program several years ago and is a real sweetheart, but afraid of everything, which is good so he will stay hidden and out of harm's way! (I can't believe how many people here don't like cats and would rather hurt them than feed them - and these are people who claim to be Christians - buh, humbug!)

Another reason I have started to feed the cats at night again (like I always do in the winter) is because one of the stray males that we call Legs is a real tough Tomcat and he actually waits under the car out front to see if I feed Mr. Bloomers (which I do inside the apartment) and then he beats up on him when he comes out.  Me feeding them twice avoids any friction and fighting, but I have to always feed Mr. Bloomers someplace else because Legs won't let him eat at the cat feeding station. 

As usual, the cats wait for me to feed them. They know where I live and on rare and desperate occasions one or two will stroll by looking for me. This is the female that recently had kittens so I'll have more mouths to feed since I'm pretty much the only one feeding them on a regular basis, but if this is my purpose in life, so be it.

Here is Legs. He's skin and bones and I would not be surprised if he had Feline Leukemia. He gets into the most brutal fights and I often see him with big gashes, bloodied and dirty - I feel sorry for him, but I'd be afraid trying to handle him because he could tear me a new face. If I ever get a chance to trap him, I'd like to have him neutered, even if I have to pay for it myself because he's responsible for a lot of the kittens around here.

Below is Legs and one of the black (new) kittens that I just discovered a couple of days ago. Apparently mama cat keeps them hidden till they get bigger and are safe from injury or death.

In the underbrush I got a glimpse of another multi-colored kitten. The third, orange one, was too elusive.

We also have another, young orange tabby in the group, but he's been around for over a year and this is a picture of him. Sorry the photos are so grainy, but I can't get too close because they are very quick and shy.

This is the cat feeding station in the woods with a kitchen table and another end table I found by the trash, a couple of water dishes and a board nailed to a tree, so they can eat up there since we also have stray dogs coming through eating up all the cat food - there are no leash laws here and dogs roam free and make a nuisance of themselves and people have a gazillion cats and never spay or neuter them and they always end up here, but thanks to Legs, he keeps them pretty much away or else I'd throw in the towel because I'm on disability and struggling myself.

(here's legs laying above on the board on the tree)

I feel so sorry for this cat because every little thing he gets he has to fight for. He's had a very hard life and I'm afraid he won't last too long. He's not old, but he just fights too much. I have to admit, when he first showed up in the neighborhood, I was very unhappy with having him around because I hated having Mr. Bloomers beat up on all the time...but now I can see that if it weren't for Legs, we'd be overrun by stray cats and I could not afford to feed them all.

Dinner Time - come and get it!

I often stick around from a distance to be sure they can eat in peace without any interruptions from people or stray dogs. 

So, that's what I do when I'm not out walking around the lake with Gizzy or sitting inside in the airconditioning crocheting or spending too much time on the computer.

Love you guys! ... and those of you who help the animals, I love you double!

(Excerpt from Chapter One of 'Dominion' , a book I am currently reading  by Matthew Scully)

I know that they do not have reason comparable to ours. I know that their lives and place and purpose in the world are different from ours. I know that theirs is an often violent world, "nature red in tooth and claw" as Tennyson described it. But I also know that whatever their place and purpose among us might be, it is a mysterious one beyond any man's power to know. Whatever measure of happiness their Creator intended for them, it is not something to be taken lightly by us, not to be withdrawn from them wantonly or capriciously...


I am thankful for the animals. I would not want to live in a world without them!