DUSTY (the guilty) IS HERE

Rusty’s brother arrived Wednesday afternoon. It was NOT a joyous reunion.  There was much growling, hissing, a spit or two, and running and hiding. I have been demoted to Rusty’s ‘you know what’ list since I spent most of the afternoon and evening holding a shivering little gray cat with his nose buried in the crook of my arm.

 

Rusty spent most of his time on the window in my bedroom, or on the bed.

He now owns the place here, you see.

 

Dusty has made progress… he stayed almost glued to me as I worked on the computer. I pulled up a dining room chair to get him off my lap. The next day he  moved to the sofa, then tried  out a chair or two, while Rusty napped on the kitchen rug.

 

 

Finally, it seems they have worked out their dispute, this little moment was brief but did not end in fur flying – for which I was most grateful. Dusty has found the hiding place all my kitties have used to store their toys.

Now I need to figure out how to keep him from wetting on the bathroom rug! I have put a rubber mat down under the rugs to keep the p from getting into the grout. My bathroom is tile. Washing a rug a day is getting old fast. sigh. I promise these are my last cats. I am too old for this.

RUSTY, THE INNOCENT

How often have you heard people say animals don’t have distinct personalities? Frankly, I worry about those people. And I feel sorry for them. Obviously they have not made space in their hearts for one of our little creatures, our little 4 legged cousins. (For the sake of brevity, I will not get into fish, birds, or reptiles as pets – since mostly I feel sorry for them trapped forever in a prison of glass or bars.)

I have been owned by numerous cats. Many of them have been seen here on this blog. Some have lived in the house exclusively, some outside… and, as most of you know, in the last year or so, the cat population has greatly decreased here… cancer, old age, kidney failure… same complaints the humans have, it seems. Most of my kitties live a pretty long time, the longest being Fino that I had from 1971 until 1992, and she was full grown when she followed me home! All have been rescued, or just simply arrived at my door. Sometimes, however, I wonder who has rescued whom, as they have always been there for me in my times of great sorry and need.

A couple years ago (well, almost) a friend, Charlie, discovered someone had left a  present on his land, 2 young kittens, about 3 months old, left on a baby sized blanket at the edge of his woods, left with a little plate of food, left to wait for the human who never came back to get them. Instead, I got a phone call, grabbed a cage, and set off for Charlie’s. At the time, I had 4 cats of my own here, 2 inside, 2 outside, and knew introducing 2 new boys to my resident boys would result in a major cat fight! That would not be fair to anyone, so we agreed they would live in Charlie’s shop until there was a vacancy here. 

And as you know if you have read much on here, I’ve lost all but Spook, so, Rusty (who needed vet care) came home first.

Rusty is not a healthy little fellow… my first words to the vet when we took them in from Charlie’s woods were, “If it looks like he might not make it, just put him down now before I get attached to him.” Barrett asked how long I had had the little guy… I answered, “15 minutes.” So, you see, I already knew this would probably be a very special (and sickly) little boy! He had a couple months of antibiotics and eye drops, and survived, somehow. He is lame, runs with an obvious limp, sometimes it seems his feet aren’t sure where they are going. He can fall trying to jump up on the sofa. It is a shame to laugh at him when he tries to run across the linoleum on the kitchen floor and he looks like those poor critters slipping and sliding as their feet go out from under them as they try to run across ice.

But Oh what a love bug! Like Rascal, his first job in the morning is to climb up into my lap, interrupt whatever I am doing, and rub his nose all over my chin, cheek, neck, and wrap his little paws around my neck. If you come to visit, I promise you he will be in your lap whether you want it or not. If you don’t, you need to say so immediately so I can lock him in the bathroom. Once in the bathroom, he curls up in the sink and takes a nap, but with one ear open to listen for that door. In the living room, he has taken over the couch, tho sometimes a chair feels good. I think we had one week of no towels covering the furniture. It just did not look like my house at all! So, back to normal. Did I mention he likes wearing his scarf?

His other favorite thing is to sit on a stool and look out the door at the birds. He is kind of clumsy getting up into the windows, so I put the stool by the storm door for him.

It’s funny the toys different cats pick as their favorites. Rusty seems to enjoy this ancient mini-basketball my god-daughter used to play with when she was in first grade. She is now quite grown and finished with school!

If I had to describe Rusty in one word, that word would be innocent. Few people can say that about their cats, they often seem to have some hidden agenda. Rusty’s agenda is to be loved, hugged, cuddled even before eating. Which reminds me, I am teaching him Turkish, just for the fun of it. When I call “Yemek hazır*,” he comes running! Now that is different! His least favorite thing is getting his pills, but in time, I am sure he will get used to it, because I have a feeling it will be a life-time ordeal for him if he doesn’t.

In another week, we will try to bring his brother Dusty here (after the painter is done in the Big bathroom.) We tried that once and he ran from window to window. I was afraid he would hurt himself. But, we will try again. Dusty likes to be held, too, but is not the love bug Rusty is. I will keep you posted!

*Dinner is ready.

WHO’S HERE?

THE ANSWER:

Actually, when I took the first picture, there was only one blue-tailed skink in the container… the next day, he had company.

Do you have a lot of skinks at your place this year? They are everywhere I look around here. I love their little flash of bright color.

BUGSAWAY CLOTHING

 

As many of you know, I have Lyme’s Disease. If you don’t know what that is, I don’t know what planet you are from, but I would like to go there! Lyme’s comes in several forms and it is possible to have all of them, I suppose. I have 2 types, myself, and antibodies for a third. We no longer have a Lyme’s specialist here, we barely have a hospital, and most people who can afford to travel generally leave the Shore to get help for any medical problems. I HATE traveling, so, when the local jerks that somehow managed to graduate with an MD behind their names forced our Lyme’s Dr to retire, (they don’t believe Lyme’s really exists) many of us were stuck with either no treatment or traveling 70-100 miles to find a specialist. The local docs will not prescribe the mega doses of doxycycline or other serious Lyme’s medications necessary to clear up a bad cycling of Lyme’s. I will not go into all the treatments out there or even bother you with what I went thru… just trust me, Lyme’s is something you do not want.

In case you are one of the few who do not know, Lyme’s is spread by a tick bite, tho I have read mosquitoes can carry it also. That is in great dispute, but, better be prepared just in case they are right, eh? The form of Lyme’s that bothers me the most at this time causes a great deal of pain, muscular pain mostly, tho some forms settle in the joints. Lyme’s is often misdiagnosed as Fibromyalgia (have you seen the commercial where the woman insists it is a real disease? That’s because it is so often misdiagnosed!) or even MS. I need to remind you of a sad fact at this point… I know we all want to believe in our doctors, but just remember, someone had to graduate at the bottom of the class… and they get jobs somewhere… probably in dumb little back-water places like the shore where the hospital sucks, the pay is low (for a doctor) or they get sent to work off their loans. But that is not the point of this post. Just sayin’.

Many of us with Lyme’s have days when we can barely walk or do anything for ourselves. And if you know me, I do not accept not being able to take care of myself very gracefully. And, you know how I love my gardens!

So what does a poor fool like me do to prevent getting re-infected here in the heart of tick country where one can’t even go pick a tomato without getting a couple mosquito bites and a couple ticks crawling on them? Well, there is DEET, of course, and other things one can spray on them to repel the little suckers. But, I am sure you have heard that DEET is not good stuff to put on your body. There are numerous high pitched electronic things that supposedly send skeeters in the other direction, but  that does not deter ticks. Then, last year, I heard about clothing that actually repels insects… and I decided to give it a try.

One company that sells insect repellant clothing is EXOFFICIO. The clothing is permeated with permethrin:

“Permethrin kills ticks on contact with treated clothing. A method of reducing deer tick populations by treating rodent vectors involves stuffing biodegradable cardboard tubes with permethrin-treated cotton. Mice collect the cotton for lining their nests. Permethrin on the cotton instantly kills any immature ticks that are feeding on the mice. It is important to put the tubes where mice will find them, such as in dense, dark brush, or at the base of a log; mice are unlikely to gather cotton from an open lawn. Permethrin is used in tropical areas to prevent mosquito-borne disease such as dengue fever and malaria. Mosquito nets used to cover beds may be treated with a solution of permethrin. This increases the effectiveness of the bed net by killing parasitic insects before they are able to find gaps or holes in the net. Military personnel training in malaria-endemic areas may be instructed to treat their uniforms with permethrin, as well. An application should last several washes.”

My clothing is supposedly good for up to 70 washes. Please note: some people are allergic to it, so it is not a cure all! I, fortunately do not seem to be allergic to it, and have shared the product with several other people who swear by it. EXOFFICIO makes lots of treated clothing. I personally have a pair of khakis, several T-shirts, several bandanas, and a couple pair of socks. I just came in from cutting 2 acres of grass here, and not one bite! I got buzzed a little, but they all left, and not one tick on me! All their products are available on amazon.

If you have Lyme’s or are greatly bothered by mosquitoes where you live and hate being covered with spray, maybe this is a solution for you. I would suggest buying a bandana and trying it out to see if you are allergic to it. These products are not horribly expensive, but they are not cheap, either, so be sure it is something you can use. Also note – if you have pets, it may not be good for them, especially cats, to be around it, so don’t wash your “bugsaway” clothes with their bedding,  for example. And good luck!

CAN YOU SEE “ANYBODY’ HERE?

While “shooting” some shots in the garden, I was looking for a trowel and thought I saw ‘something’ in the bottom of this cut off plastic container. Do you see somebody in here?

NOISY NEIGHBOR

I have a very noisy neighbor… not that I am complaining. I might even be bragging a bit! He and his family live in my woods and are not at all bashful about banging around on whatever they think will give them a good meal. A couple weeks ago, he was working on this stump outside my bedroom window. I got to try out my new Nikon on him… And for those of you who are not all that into birds, this is a pileated woodpecker.

He has a very distinctive call – once you hear it, it will be easy to know if you have one around. I will include a link with a sound link on it. Check it out!

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/pileated_woodpecker/id

GRANDPA’S PEONIES

I grew up with yards full of peonies. My Grandpa planted hundreds of them. Really. They surrounded our property in the Poconos. Shortly after I bought this place here in VA, my father dug up some peony roots and brought them down here and planted them around the place. It took them a while to get going, but now I have a couple dozen beautiful plants here and there around the yard. one nice thing is, they don’t all bloom at the exact time, so it seems to stretch their blooming time out much longer. They tend to start as the azaleas are finishing, sometimes blooming with the iris, sometimes not. I consider them real treasures but am still surprised when folks stop out front to ask what they are since they seem to grow so well here.

                

 

But probably my biggest treasure (plant wise) is something I have been told does NOT grow around here, and that is this Mountain Laurel. It is now well over 5 feet tall, the tallest point being over my head. I have 2 Mountain Laurels, the other one is much smaller and did not bloom this year. I think they do better when we have had a cold winter. Well, last winter sure qualified! Can you get a sense of the size of this plant?

                   While taking these peony pictures, Spook came out to visit Hadji’s grave. It is so weird, he goes out there each morning and sits for a spell.                     

PLAYING CATCH-UP- a Beginning and an End

 

Yes, I have been in absentia for a while. I was asked if I might be following the trend of a number of other bloggers, several of them favorites of mine for years, and just hanging it up. Funny how that works – folks get busy, get bored, find other interests… I dunno… but their blogs sit there, unposted, and they fade off into never-never land. Sometimes there are sad stories behind their disappearance, and sometimes, as I said, just boredom or a new interest has taken hold. So, what has been my excuse? I guess my story is a bit sad… for some time I have been pre-occupied with my little buddy, Hadji. It has been a bad year for kitty cats around here. We lost Punkin, my shadow out in the yard, then  Rascal, my shadow in the house, and then it was Hadji’s turn. He was an old fellow. 17 for a cat is pretty ancient. And so, quite honestly, I spent quite a bit of time sitting on his sofa with him, keeping him comfortable. Hadj was never a lap-kitty, but he definitely wanted someone to sit beside him on the sofa. He was a great talker and expected to be answered. Sometimes I read to him – now how dumb is that? So, in the last several months, I read an entire series of books – junk books I call them- nothing intellectual, nothing that required a brain to read (the Victoria Thompson gaslight series), in fact a series I would probably never bother with otherwise, but someone gave me the first 2 or 3 so I just worked my way thru them. I will admit, it is not a period in time that interests me at all – NY City in the late 1800s – Teddy Roosevelt was the police commissioner in the City when the series starts, but it was interesting to see how we have changed our values according to class from then to now. Anyway, the point is, Hadji was more important than blogging, so there it is.

So with Hadj gone, it seemed so strange… my house has never been cat-less for more than a couple nights when work was being done or we had to flea-bomb the place and then scrub it down so they did not walk in dried flea spray. Everyone wanted to get me a new kitten… but I had agreed with Charlie that when the time came, Rusty and Dusty would come here to live. Rusty is not real healthy, a little guy with an upper respiratory condition just like Snuffy had. Rusty is a love-bug and loves to cuddle. Dusty can be a lap-kitty when the mood strikes him, but Rusty has to be peeled off. So, after a week of house cleaning and furiously trying to get caught up on chores in and out, Rusty came for a visit. He settled in like he had always owned the place. Dusty, not so much. He ran for the windows, crashed into things, and in general was one scared little guy. He even growled at Rusty. So, he is back at Charlie’s for now. We will try again, short visits, until he can handle it.

So, meanwhile, I have pictures going back for months that I just never got around to even putting on the computer until the other day. And I am so far behind in getting things done I fear I will never get caught up. We have not even taken a vacation for 3 years because Hadj could not be left in a kennel anymore and the only friend I trusted to keep him has a wife who rules and she said NO cats in HER house. So, that ended our going anywhere. They have dogs that rule their lives and they can’t go anywhere either, not even out to dinner together. Amazing, isn’t it? The last time Hadj was left in a kennel for 4 nights he lost 2 lbs. But, it was the last time I got to see my Aunt Kathryn, so it was the chance we took – driving up, visiting, and driving back home.

Anyway, I will try harder to keep up – I have a ton of pictures to share… they may be badly out of date by the time I get them on here. I even have snow pictures I never even got downloaded until yesterday. Imagine that! But I promised a friend a picture of the little visitor we had the other evening. I have seen him a couple times since. He is just so cute- not even a half a brick in size!! And he seems to like hanging around Kwan Yin and her geraniums.

           

The Buddha that used to reside here had to be moved as his stump was disintegrating. He is now out in the meditation garden. For those of you who keep score, we still have Spook who still patrols the yard and gardens and keeps the Buddha of the Back 40 company. And even tho he is still well, Spooked easily, he hangs around when I am gardening – from a distance.

FROM THE E.S. NEWS, May 2014

 

The building, which was Onley's freight station, is the only station on the old New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad line that has never been moved from its original location. The station was in use until the 1960s and in its heyday saw tons of local produce and seafood loaded onto rail cars bound for city markets in the North.

Jan Siglin shows a model train diorama she created for use in the Historic Onley Station. The Society for the Preservation of the Onley Train Station is in the process of renovating the station. (Photo: Staff photo by Jay Diem)

Story Highlights

• The 1885 Onley train station had fallen into such disrepair by five years ago it seemed unlikely it would last much longer.
• A small group of volunteers turned that scenario around with a lot of hard work and financial help from the town, charitable organizations and community members.
• On June 1, the station celebrates the 129th anniversary of its opening with a renewed physical presence and a new purpose.
• The building, which was Onley's freight station, is the only station on the old New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad line that has never been moved from its original location. The station was in use until the 1960s and in its heyday saw tons of local produce and seafood loaded onto rail cars bound for city markets in the North.

The 1885 Onley train station had fallen into such disrepair five years ago it seemed unlikely it would last much longer.

A small group of volunteers turned that scenario around with a lot of hard work and financial help from the town, charitable organizations and community members.

"We heard through the rumor mill they were going to burn the building down in 2012," said Jan Siglin of Onley, one of those who rallied to save the station in 2009.

On June 1, the station celebrates the 129th anniversary of its opening with a renewed physical presence and a new purpose — to encourage people young and old, including those who use wheelchairs, to learn about and play with trains.

The building, which was Onley's freight station, is the only station on the old New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad line that has never been moved from its original location. The station was in use until the 1960s and in its heyday saw tons of local produce and seafood loaded onto rail cars bound for city markets in the North.

Old photographs show wagons loaded with strawberries, cabbages, potatoes and other produce lined up for a quarter mile along the street, waiting to unload.

The first station agent was Albert J. McMath.

The passenger station adjacent to it was moved decades ago and is now a private residence.

In 2009, the town signed a 25-year, $25 lease for the building with Cassett, the railroad management group, and the organizational meeting for the Society for the Preservation of the Onley Train Station was held at the Onley firehouse.

Since then, a few stalwart members of the society, called SPOTS for short, can be found every Saturday morning at the station, working to get it in shape for its new use.

The vision for a fully accessible station offering train-centric programs for young and old came about after a SPOTS member saw a magazine article about the "wheelchair engineers" model railroad program.

"So we fell in love with that idea and we started designing the station toward that end," said SPOTS President Niall Finnegan.

The group in five years has accomplished much, including the crucial step of getting a new roof put on the station, along with making other repairs outside and inside, putting in new windows and getting electricity in the building.

A wheelchair ramp was installed last summer.

Among the most challenging tasks was replacing the huge 12-by-12 beam across the south end of the station, which was virtually destroyed by years of having produce-laden trucks back up to the station door and run into it.

"The trucks would all back up over here. They would just basically run into the building ... that was how they knew to stop," said Siglin, SPOTS' vice-president.

From refinishing the floor to installing drywall, insulating walls and painting, the interior also began to take shape, with two model train table layouts in various stages of completion in opposite corners of the large room. They are built to be be fully wheelchair accessible.

Over one hangs the lights from the original crossing signal, which a member took home and cleaned up.

Siglin is working on a landscape mural on two walls as a backdrop to the layouts.

She pointed to another corner. "Over here is going to be the rugrat corner. Hopefully we will have a little story hour a couple of times a month," featuring, of course, books with railroad themes, like the Boxcar Children series.

"We're starting to build up a library," Siglin said.

SPOTS members are serious about their vision to work with youth; they have already undergone background checks and taken training in youth protection.

What's needed now are resources and workers to complete an accessible bathroom in an addition to be built onto the station's south end so the group can begin holding programs and events at the station.

"We would really like to start holding some of these classes by this fall," said Finnegan.

Additionally, they plan to build a portable garden-scale model railroad layout on a 22-foot trailer Finnegan donated. The layout will be based on the Boxcar Children books and the trailer will be taken to events and schools as an educational tool.

The town, which has been generous with financial support throughout the project, paid for water and septic installation, and the Eastern Shore Community Foundation has promised a grant to help with the bathroom project.

The foundation also gave a previous grant which, along with the town's help, paid for the roof.

Local wholesale nurseries have given plants to be sold at annual plant sales held to raise money for the station.

Other contributors include Wal-Mart, the United Way and many private donors.

"It's strange, you'll be walking down the road and someone will hand you a $100 check. It's just the Shore way," said Finnegan.

The members themselves in addition to countless hours of work pay dues and purchase their own materials, Siglin said.

It was Siglin who came up with the "Buy the Brooklyn Bridge" campaign to raise money for the Wheelchair Engineers Program. Donors who give $100 have their names put on a list tacked on the station wall. The list includes a number of elected officials, among them Sen. Lynwood Lewis, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, Accomack County Supervisor Laura Belle Gordy and Accomack County Sheriff Todd Godwin.

For $1,000, a person can be named a lifetime member of SPOTS — former Onley Mayor John Willis Kellam, SPOTS officer Pat Morrison and Siglin are in that group.

Community members also have given the group model trains for its program. Godwin gave the group a number of model trains that belonged to his parents.

"We have some HO engines from back in the 1940s that Dr. Mackler gave us, so we've got some really, really nice rolling stock," Siglin said.

It has been a long haul and SPOTS members are eager to get the station up and running at last. It looks like they are on the right track.

Send donations to SPOTS, P. O. Box 144, Onley, Va. 23418. Make checks payable to SPOTS. All contributions are tax-deductible.

Basic membership in SPOTS is $25 per year. Silver Rail Membership costs $50; Golden Spike Membership costs $100; and Lifetime Membership costs $1,000.

SPOTS meets the third Monday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Sage Restaurant in Onley.

SPOTS members meet Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon at the Onley Train Station to work; they welcome visitors and additional volunteers.

The group also accepts old model trains. Members will repair those that need it and resell them as starter kits for those who want to get into the hobby.

this article was written by Carol Vaughn, cvvaughn@dmg.gannett.com, and published in the ES News, May 28th, 2014.

A video is also on line at - http://www.delmarvanow.com/videos/news/local/virginia/2014/05/27/9623925/