Terror from above
The week started off with a bang, or should we say a swoop. Gizmo, our male Chihuahua was in the backyard doing his business. Max the German Shepard was out there with him to supposedly ward off any sky born predators we have. Max began barking aggressively, and I went to check on them. Gizmo was not in the backyard. I went to the front where he is sometimes found running around if he finds a way out of the yard. He was on the porch at the door quivering. I noticed a spot on his side, and figured he had punctured his skin getting out of the fence.
Closer inspection would reveal a long tear in his skin. No large amount of blood loss, but a large long clean looking tear or cut. We rushed him to the Vet, had him sewn up and he was home the next day. We told the vet that the injury may have been caused by the top of the chain link fence. She asked if we lived in the city or county. She stated that it looked more like an injury from a large bird such as a hawk. We have plenty of those. There was a puncture to the flesh where the injury started, but just the slice or tear upwards from that. The vet thinks he was grabbed, but was too heavy to hold, and it ripped his first layer of skin from the super sharp talons of one foot of the hawk. That would explain why he came straight to the front porch and got close to the door, instead of running the yard exploring as he usually does. He’s doing fine now and on medication, if we can just keep him still, as he is straining the stitches.
Smitten with Kittens
The week would also discover a kitten in a non-operational pickup truck across the street that has lumber and parts in the bed. We have rescued it, and it is healthy and happy. The mother cat, had disappeared for two weeks, someone must have caught and carried her off, and she just returned after the recent storm. We then discovered another kitten. After checking with the neighbors of the area, we were told they had seen five kittens initially with the mother by a shed. They think a large owl that lives across the road may have carried off the other three, before they were moved by the mother to the bed of the truck, under the lumber.
“Midnight”, or Rottie mix has decided they need motherly love. She is actually producing milk like a false pregnancy. She sits at the puppy gate in the living room, and whines till we let her in for a moment to clean on them and roll them around with her big nose. Maybe she’s just checking to make sure they haven’t lost any parts. She hasn’t allowed them to nurse though.
Weather Rock Time
I’ve grown tired of the inaccurate forecast of the paid talking heads on the weather stations locally. After some joking on the general discussion forum, I decided to install my own Weather Rock. This is the resulting post on The Country Depot.
I’ve gotten tired of the forecasts by the paid Weather Guessers changing every few minutes to the hour. I think I can do as good as they do now days. So with that in mind, I have installed a micro mini Weather Rock here at home (The Country Depot Forum). We even have some fancy initials for it. TCDFWR.
Weather Rock (TCDFWR)
Manufactured by: Mother Nature.
Location: The Country Depot Forum Millbrook, Al. USA
Over 1 million years of accurate service.
Dependable and weather resistant, will last a lifetime.
Various sizes available. This is the micro mini version. Larger one supported by twine or rope on order.
Easily replaceable.
Disclaimer: Although much more accurate for up-to-the-minute conditions than a paid “Weather Guesser”. The Weather Rock should not be relied upon for long range predictions.
Note: Accuracy based on location of installation and mounting methods.
Weather Rock Indicators as installed in this location.
Dry: No Rain
Wet: Heavy dew/light rain.
Dripping wet: moderate to heavy rain.
Sparkling appearance: Temp below 32F or frost
Soft white coating: Snow. (or bird droppings)
Repelling hard shiny objects from above: Hail.
Icy covering: Ice storm conditions.
Rock Movement Perceptible in any direction: Heavy winds
Rock Missing: Possible Tornado. Or as we call them, “Naders”.
Rock covered by house debris: Refer to “Naders” above.
Rock and mount missing: It’s all over.
Dark shade on rock/contrast with background: Clear Skies.
Rock changes from bright to dark: Partly cloudy.
Rock still dark 1 hour after sunrise: Very Cloudy/Overcast.
Manual tactile indicators
Rock Warm: Pleasant Temperatures
Rock Hot to touch: Hot as H**l
Rock very cold: Yea. It’s cold.
Rock melting: Global warming apocalypse?
So, how has your week been? Stay safe. Comments always welcome.
I like your weather rock, idea, Ron. There’s a marketing opportunity waitng there!
How lucky you little dog was, to be just that bit too heavy for the hawk. Sad about the other kittens being eaten by the owl too. You’ve got a lot of natural predators over there, it would seem.
Best wishes, Pete.
Yes, it would seem that between the Owls and Hawks, we have the raptor type pretty well represented.
Those kittens are adorable. I hope Gizmo continues to heal… that gash looks nasty.
Thanks, Janis. It didn’t cut the under layer of skin other than one puncture mark, and no major bleeding thank goodness.
I’m glad the dog was not fatally wounded. Poor thing!
I’ve seen a weather rock before, but the instructions were not nearly as detailed as yours. It was good for several laughs.
Sorry for the delay to your reply. WordPress is forgetting to let me know new comments. So I’m missing some. I was just having a laugh with the instructions. The whole thing is for fun and amuse the grandkids.
Aww the poor pug! I hope this doesn’t frighten him from going out. Looks like you have new kittens! Yay!
Kate, I don’t think the devil himself could scare that little fella. He streaks right out there again and does his business, but he comes running now when I say business time is over. He is however, terrified of storms.
The kittens are getting adventurous. At least one of them needs to find a home soon. A lady nearby has said she will take the dark-colored one. Of course that is the quietest one. We just have to find time to take it to her.
I will now take my grandson’s concerns about hawks and their little dogs more seriously. I admit I was not understanding that it is a real risk. I laugh about the weather discussion. My husband lives by complex weather reports from NOAA. I just go outside and see!
I’m the same way, Elizabeth. I just look out the window and see what’s going on at the moment.
A hawk, can carry a very small dog.
He has told me that and I will now believe him.
I hope Gizmo is recovering! The kittens are so cute! I like the weather rock. Probably much more accurate. 🙂
Gizmo is back to his fine self. The sutures come out next week I think.
Glad you like the weather rock. Now days, I think most of us can look at the sky and check a radar and be more accurate at least for the day, than the weather people with all their models and other stuff.
Poor Gizmo – I hate hawks and a Cooper’s Hawk wiped out my merry band of squirrels that came to beg every morning at my house. Within a few days’ time, they were all gone – too unusual after several years of feeding them and their incessant begging for peanuts. I asked my neighbor if he’d seen them and he pointed at a tree across the street and said he was staying there and it was a good vantage point to see the squirrels. My neighbor is a hunter – wish he’d told me. Thank goodness Gizmo is safe. We have the hawks at the Park where I walk – they glide overhead. The owl was another predator -you did have a lively week, but those kittens that were safe are very sweet. The weather forecast here is often wrong – I look at several weathermens’ predictions and each one will say a different thing. Sigh.
That is so sad, Linda. I love squirrels. We had one as a pet for 3 years. When we released her she came back to eat on the porch, and brought her babies, two years in a row. It was sad when we moved from there. But we hadn’t seen her in a while, so she may have passed on after the last litter. She was a rescue.
The morning started with a 14% chance of rain. Right after lunch, they decided with would be a 54% chance with severe thunderstorms by evening. They are never accurate around here.
I love them too Ron. The highlight of my walk at the Park every morning is interacting with them. I follow a Facebook site “All About Squirrels” and they do have some cute photos on there. I’ve posted a few myself. That’s nice you were able to keep the rescue squirrel as a pet. I worry about mine at the Park … we just have good hearts Ron.
Haha! I’ve seen that weather rock before, and still laugh so much! Poor lil chihuahua!! How scary!
Re the little kittens, so no mom around, rottie is unwilling, so you’ve been bottle feeding them?
I can scarcely keep up with your life down there. Up here it’s exciting if we go to the supermarket.
Actually I lie: last week we went downtown and bought rings. Gettin’ hitched this summer!
Congratulations! I remember reading something about that the other day on your blog.
When you’re married to an animal lover, there’s never a dull moment for long. Last month, she bottle-fed 8 baby possums every 4 hours till we could get them to a facility that is more equipped. The mother had been killed by a dog and someone grabbed up the babies. They are gone as of a week ago.
We still have, two large snakes (Boas), one hairless Guinea Pig, three Gecko Lizards, and I think a Partridge in a pear tree. Actually, no Partridge, and no pear tree.