Vino

Ah, the love of a nice glass of wine. Organic is a great way to go, but right up there is patronizing a local winery. Around my neck of the woods there are several very nice local wineries. A nice perk is most have a tasting area and a restaurant. My favorite has a nice selection of whites and reds, and serve a wonderful wood fired pizza. Yummy. Makes me want to call the gals and head on over. Try out some local wineries near you. (Check out the super cool thrift store 70s era glass.)

Happy Earth Day!

I am too tired today to have a good posting but I wanted to acknowledge the day.

TNR photos

Here are some photos of the TNR process. I had two live traps set and covered near the feeding stations. I did not set food out the day before to make the bait more attractive. I used aromatic wet food in the traps. The traps are then covered with breathable fabric so the cats are more likely to go. The second photo is one of a trapped cat. (If you look in the first photo you can see the trap with burlap has been engaged.) The cat on the outside is Rose, she is a feral who has decided to be a tame cat. She was spayed during the first wave of TNR. The second the recovery room set up. I have a crate that is made for cats. I have it in a small room that can be closed off from my pets. Again the crate is kept covered to help keep the comfort of the cat during the recovery. It is important especially after a spay surgery to try and keep the cat comfortable and quiet for 48 hours. This timing really worked out for me. The two days I had her indoors in recovery, it was gray and rainy. However, release day was beautiful and sunny. This cat made a mad dash for her barn. We shall see how long before I see her again. I always have my vet use dissolving stitches so I don't have to worry about that. He also ear tips them while they are out. This is a process of removing the tip of one ear. This may sound cruel to some, however, it is the suggested method for typical TNR methods. It prevents cats from having unnecessary anesthesia and surgery only to find out they have already been trapped. Ear tipping will allow me to see immediately so I could just release the ear tipped cat.

TNR

Today is a TNR day. If you you don't know TNR stands for Trap - Neuter - Return. It is the most environmental and humane way to deal with a feral cat population. I will go into more detail in another post the difference between feral and stray cats. However, it is really early and I do need to start getting ready for work. I have set two live traps - Have-a-Heart, are the traps of my choosing, and made arrangements with a vet to perform the procedure at a reduced price. My dear sweet mother is dropping them off at the clinic as I must go to work at 6:00 or 6:30 and the clinic doesn't open til 8. I will pick them up in the afternoon after work. It will be interesting because I have to also take in Emmy, for her yearly vaccines. The ride home should sound like a choir of angels, tee hee. At least it is only a four mile drive. I have already in the first five minutes made on successful trap. Yeah. Slowly and surely I will sterilize all the barn cats around here. Granted, I have to combat the continual drop off of new cats. Ugh. More on that later.

Second Hand Spring

This lovely yellow trench was a purchase for Clothes Mentor, a consignment store. Gotta love second hand clothes. I absolutely love the feeling I get when I wear this, especially during gray rainy Spring days. I feel like walking sunshine. I added a fun little flower pin I recently purchased at a fair trade store. I will have to talk another photo with that. I, unfortunately, shut the clasp part of the belt in a door, breaking it, so now it is a tie belt, oh well, laugh and move on, I say. When cleaning out and or updating closet during spring cleaning, donate or sell old clothes. Goodwill is especially looking for donations. During tough economic times, they are in demand. Enjoy Spring!

UrbanBranches

So while procrastinating I was viewing other blogs. I know I am have a long way to go. One blog I really like in the environmental theme is at www.urbanbranches.blogspot.com. I have a long way to go to catch up to her level of blogging. Well, I guess we all need someone to emulate! Check it out. Her blog is from an urban standpoint versus my rural standpoint. A good contrast I suppose.

Delay in Construction

So I am delaying compost bin construction. I decided instead to use the last bit of my break to visit a dear friend in Goshen, Indiana. Plus, I am a bit intimidated about the bin. So I may enlist the services of my Daddo. He is handy with a hammer. I figured I completed my June goal on March 28th, so I can extend the timing of the March goal. My new time frame is Earth Day. (April 22nd for the those who may be a bit unaware.) Musing on Goshen: it is a lovely town. I heard on the news though it is one of the hardest hit areas in the nation of job losses right now. They are at about 19%, Yikes! I tried to help the local trade a bit though. I went to a local bookstore called "Books for Good" They collect used books from people, libraries, etc, and then donate them to various literacy programs around the world. They have recently ventured in to selling some of the books here to try and raise funds. They had a special of buy $30 and receive a free tote. Okay, so me in a bookstore easily equals $30. Yet another bag to take when shopping. Then today I went to a large fair trade store and used my own bag. As a special treat, if you bring your own bag during the month of April you get a piece of dark chocolate. Yeah, fun. We also visited a local potter were I purchased a cool olive oil dispenser. Whew, that is a lot of shopping .... I am done with that for now.....and I think I am done rambling for now as well.