Messages from Tom Cat

[agate]

Instead of continuing to post Tom Cat's messages in the RIP Cat Dancer thread, I'm starting a thread just for Tom Cat's messages if/when more come along.

He has said that there will be more messages, but he is also working on learning more about how to use a message board.

[agate]

Tom Cat hopes to get his computer issues straightened out eventually but in the meantime he'd like to say Hi to people here. I'll post more in a day or two when I'm less occupied but here are a couple of photos of the cats that he sent:

[agate]

Sent by Tom Cat on Monday (sorry I'm late with this!):

A nice day here with the high 50's this morning, going to high 80's by the afternoon. The living room window bird feeder has a few gold finch on it now. They are our most common bird throughout the year. We did have a tom turkey in the back yard yesterday morning. We haven't seen many lately. Joe and his wife Joanne were up here for the weekend. He has a few trail cams out. He is getting pictures each day of our pair of foxes and their 2 kits. They normally won't attack adult turkeys but will get some of the young turkeys. What he has gotten on the cameras lately is a coyote. They can take out grown turkeys, young deer, and deer in poor health. For our 24 years up here, I've heard but never have seen a coyote.

I've been taking walks through our 15 acres or golf cart rides each day. It clears my head some and reminds me why we retired here. For 10 of those years Ann would drive the golf cart on her own through the property. She loved doing that. After that I had to drive her with the cart. She really got out quite often on the land, until the last few years, when she couldn't transfer from the wheelchair to the golf cart on her own. I imagine she may have told you about that.

I'm so glad to know that you knew her for around 18 years or so. More later. ...Take care.

[agate]

From August 28 (about the fallen tree shown in the previous post):

The tree was quite alive and going well. It was on the edge of a pond on the lower end of the property. The soil on the roots got saturated enough that the roots let go and it fell over. I spent time on and off yesterday cutting up the crown. Being 79, and tiring easy, it was an hour on and half hour off for much of the day. I cleared enough of the crown so I can drive around it with the golf cart to our small front on the lake. I'm clearing it up slowly, cutting up the heavier branches for firewood, and will be running the smaller branches through our chipper/shredder. The main trunk is off the path, so I'll be cutting it up later for firewood for my outer garage and workshop. The tree was not in an area where I have to get in and out each day. Five years ago this cut-up job would have been a walk in the park. But not now.

Also having a tree fall like that is not uncommon here. I have an 18-inch good chainsaw and loopers that will cut 1 1/2 inch green wood branches. The chain saw weights about 16 to 18 lbs., so is heavy when cutting much above your waist.

This morning the joints are letting me know I had more than enough exercise yesterday.

Stay safe and take care.

[Sunshine]

Sweet photo :)

[agate]

Another message from Tom Cat:



This is why they call it butterfly weed. It's one of the milkweeds that butterflies eat on and lay their eggs on. As it matures it will become a bright orange color.

[Lazarus]

Weeds are usually lovely...wish people had not been trained to poison weeds to eradicate them from dull lawns.

[agate]

Rose, I'll relay your question to Tom Cat but in the meantime there was also this message on Tuesday, which I hadn't yet got around to posting. (I've been busy dealing with my TV set that wasn't working. Odd how something like that can be very time and energy intensive.)

Spent much of the weekend [that would be the weekend before this one] with my friend Joe and some of his family. They had me down to their camp for several meals. We discussed expanding the prairie on his side this fall. I've been collecting seed for it on the dry days. I need to find time between things, cleaning the seed from the flower heads.

He also had a friend who picked up an 18-year-old pull-behind lawn mower, which he was going to fix for his own use. Even paid me for it. It was headed for the dump otherwise.

Also we took some 30-year-old corrugated sheet metal off old buildings. His friend wanted it for the ceiling in a rec room. A lot of it was rusty. It's an in thing right now. It's hard to believe some of the old scrap around here people want to buy. It's a weird feeling that WW2 stuff is now antiques. Almost makes you feel old, aye?

[agate]

Message from TomCat (today):

Thank you all, for thinking of me. Marty set up for us to go over to a church & pick up three Thanksgiving dinners. The third was for a lady on our private road, for whom Marty has been cleaning the snow off her driveway pad & sidewalk for years. She had some shoulder surgery a few days ago & couldn't get out on her own right now.

It was a nice turkey dinner, with mashed potatoes & canned cranberry jelly. The food was good, except for the canned cranberry. Ann & I ate it coarsely ground with orange & apples. We tend to eat & drink cranberries in many forms in Wisconsin. They even have some nice table wines from cranberries. It's become an in thing in the last 30 years or so. I believe we're the largest producers of cranberries in the US now. I think you have some cranberry wet lands in Oregon too, aye? Also BC, Canada.

We had 4 inches of wet snow Tuesday, but it's mostly gone now. Still summer equipment to put up, & waiting for the blower to come in for my John Deere riding mower/tractor. I've been waiting over 7 weeks now. ... My 29-year-old old pickup & trailer won't make it up this driveway in winter. Other than that, I think I'm ready for winter.

No more sagas with chipmunk, though they do show up in the juniper bushes in front, now & then, & the bird feeders. I do think they smile at me with their cute beady eyes when they see me.

ay hello to everyone from me. Praying all the old folks with compromised immunities, & front line workers can get the vaccines for COVID19, by early next year. Take care, & stay safe.

[agate]

From Tom Cat on Monday:

My Monday blood draw came out great. It was the highest hemoglobin count I've had since I started about 5 years back. I didn't even need a shot. That was good.

The deer have been back at Marty's in the morning. A large doe & a young one from this year. He throws a little corn out each day, & they eat it half the time. The mourning doves eat the most, & crows, & the squirrels eat the growing end mainly. The white growing tip of corn is the highest part with protein, which the squirrels prefer.

Getting ready to have a dental check in the morning. Trying to catch up on paper work in between. Take care.