...winter is losing its grip

winter is beginning to lose it's grip around here...

the old plum tree is blooming...
the peach tree blossoms are beginning to open...
everywhere, leaves are appearing...
and daffodils are blooming...

I am supposed to sign the Chapter 13 papers this week...
but haven't heard from them yet and it's Thursday, almost noon...

I sang for a funeral this morning & get my hair cut tomorrow...
but other than stuff like that, not much is happening around here...
so I'm just waiting for the lawyer to call me...

I had a real scary moment with Charlie last week...

he is quite shy and keeps his distance unless I'm laying down...
then he makes a real pest of himself, wanting to be petted, etc...

so when I saw him on Friday evening...
looking extremely sick...
mouth open, drooling long, heavy strands of sticky stuff...
whiskers dirty, as were his legs and chest...
I was absolutely sure that he was at death's door...

I managed to catch him but he used his claws to his advantage...
so I eventually lost my grip on him and he scurried away...
leaving me bleeding, but aware that he wasn't "weak" & didn't have a fever...

he then hid until Saturday morning, when he looked even worse...
with dirty mucus clotted on his face, whiskers, chest and legs...
showing no interest in food or water...

I was sure that he needed to go to the vet...
but I couldn't catch him...
couldn't even get near him...
and had to just give in & trust him to God's care...

he hid all day Saturday and Sunday...

on Monday morning, he still wasn't eating...
but was hunched on the cat window perch in the sunshine...

Tuesday, he looked a bit cleaner & was in the sun again...
but was still keeping his distance from me...
& not coming for food or water...

I got up early Wednesday, at 3:54 AM, to go to the bathroom...
on my way, Charlie met me as he always does when he's hungry...
his face somewhat cleaner with no drippy stuff...
thrilled with the improvement, I put down some food...
he didn't eat much, but he did eat some and had a drink...

later, when I got up for good, he was back for more...
looking much better... much cleaner, even his legs were clean...
he also then appeared at every opportunity in the evening for more food...
and this morning seemed to be his normal self...

I even watched him sit & groom himself after eating...

I have NO idea what happened unless Molly[the dog...]played too rough...

when Mackie was so sick a couple of years ago...
I think that's what happened to him too...

Molly will go after a cat if it scoots across the floor...
she's only playing, but she doesn't know her own strength...
and I think that she "play bounced" Mackie then...
and Charlie recently, because they both move quickly through her "zone"...

she wants to play chase... they don't...

both Mackie & Charlie will come down from a high sleeping spot...
and scoot into my bedroom to get petted or lobby for food...
with their attention on me, they don't see her until it's too late...
she can be especially opportunistic if she's chewing a bone or toy...

I often hear her bark her, "keep your distance you rotten cat" alert...
then see a cat come running into my bedroom, the bathroom or kitchen...
with Molly following it, not in an aggressive or threatening way...
but she often has trouble stopping and runs into or over the cat...

so I'm pretty sure that that's what happened...
probably both times...

she runs through the house like a bull in a china shop...
bumping me and scattering kitties right & left...
I hope she never hurts any of us, but her track record is not real good...
though my dislocated finger is the only thing that I know was her fault...

so, since there isn't a lot I can do to stem the tide of her exuberance...
[speaking to her in ANY tone of voice makes her worse...]
I'm just glad that Charlie has recovered[as well as Mackie...]
and hope that she'll grow out of her exuberance...

until then, I'm very thankful that God can deal with the stuff I can't...