The Ides of March.....Actually, February Ides...

are upon us....March comes in like a lamb...etc.
With all the Gussie drama, I didn't have a chance to post photos of our SNOW, yes, snow in the Hill Country...Texas, that is, land of cacti, big pickup trucks, rocks, heat, and no snow....That said, last week, we got whomped on...three inches of the white stuff. Since we moved here from Wisconsin four years ago to get away from the snow, we weren't nearly as impressed as those young children, shrieking, throwing snowballs, building snowmen...We laughed as a reporter was showing off her snowperson, and the eyeball fell out on camera...I mean, this was heady stuff. So, I grabbed my camera and tromped down the road. But before doing that, I looked out back, and there were some very confused deer, who come here regularly to be fed. They were confused. The snow was too deep just to dump the corn, so I got some "Totes" lids from the garage, and put the corn out on that...They were afraid of the scent of plastic (who isn't), and ran away. I went out, scraped the snow away with the Tote lids, and left it be...as you can see, they sucumbed.

Since my computer is hobbling along, and things are just getting worse, I cannot put the images in order (so when is she actually going to get this all fixed, you ask, soon, come soon = now, the latest crisis is health insurance-I suddenly have none, due to a very strange reason...can't share that right now)...anyway, the next day the sun is shining, and that's when the deer came back - they are here every day...out back, looking wistful...Best go feed them.

We Have A Miracle

Yesterday, I noticed Gussie was staring at the window, then out the french doors in my bedroom. Last night, she came into the living room, and sat on the hassock, watching the tv. At first, we thought she was just seeing light, but today, she was tracking my hand, and it would seem that God turned the lights back on for her.

We are blessed.

Update on Ms. Gussie Plushbottem

I want to thank so many of you for asking about Gussie, giving suggestions, and encouragement. We pet lovers know that next to seeing our children suffer, nothing is harder than watching a pet suffer. I don't think she's in pain, but she's frightened, disoriented, and I think, is realizing that the nightime has lasted too long, and would someone turn on the lights, please? She is spending most of her time under the bed, or in her little, round basket. At night, she does get up on the bed, and I go in and spoon with her...talking to her softly and petting her...she purrs like mad.

I took her to the vet, and she told me that due to hypertension, Gussie's retinas have detached, blinding her...the term is "blown retinas". Her blood pressure was way up, and I have meds to give her - very difficult to get them down her, even with the little, expensive "pill pockets"...I end up having to poke them down her throat, and now, she doesn't trust me. She comes out from under the bed (just now), but when I walk in the room and try to talk to her or approach her, she runs back under...I've lost her trust..sigh.

On the initial visit, they did labs for thyroid and kidney disease...trying to find out what is driving the hypertension. Turns out the thyroid is fine, and inconlusive on the kidney, so we go back tomorrow for more tests...How I am going to get her in her carrier is a dilema...Gussie may be blind, but she's a survivor, and she's very smart...

I sleep like a mother with a sick child, with one ear cocked at all times. At three am, she was on the foot of the bed, and she hissed...I think our Raisen startled her. So, have been up since then.

For those who are not cat/pet lovers, I know this sounds like just "high drama", but she's been my darling for fourteen years, and I just want her to be as comfortable as she can be. I won't consider the "final solution" unless she is in pain, or suffering....My vet says cats adjust to blindness very well...much better than I would, I know....
And so it goes....