UMW coffee break # 38

Seeing how # 37 started in August, I thought a new thread would be in order.
We came from here; http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/886714/

High of 13º here today. Windy all day, so good day to work inside. I was building benches in the greenhouse. Nearly done.

Next one I will work on has no heat, Brrr!

Bernie

This message was edited Dec 4, 2008 6:13 PM

It was 5° this morning when I woke up with a high of maybe 20.

I am so not looking forward the Jan. and Feb.

Hey can anyone tell me can Snapdragons and California poppies be winter sown since they re-seed themselves? Rudbeckia too?

I'd like to try my hand at something again but I want to to be sure they work first. My one other attempt at winter-sowing a couple years back produced nada.

Thanks for starting the new thread Bernie. No heat in the green house sounds to cold to work in for now.

It is 11º here today. The weather man has said we Minnesotans are in for some "measurable" snow this coming week. I am not a fan of cold and snow.

We are slowly paring down and today is the basement. DH has the day off. I think the first thing to do is turn on the heat down there.

I have winter sown both. The snap dragons did very well. Poppies do not like to be transplanted so now I scatter them on top of the snow in about March.

This message was edited Dec 5, 2008 8:26 AM

cece... in general, i have not luck with "snaps" -- must be doing something wrong.
but Rudbeckia, yes and Poppies, yes. Though the poppies, since they dont like their roots 'messed with' plant them out early. When i've done mine.. .i just take the whole clump as one, and pop it in the ground.

Karen ... from Ohio [zone6], can't recall her userID says she can plant hers out in April i think. I do mine in May.
but Poppies are more hardy.

Pop into the WS Forum sometime.

COLD here to... we are down to 2°, it was 3, when i woke up.

I too am dreading Jan & Feb.

oooooooh I can just plop them on the snow???? I like that idea.

But the snaps work right. I'll just do one half of each packet and then see what happens. If they work great if they don't I have stand by seeds.

Thanks everyone!

+2 here this morning, with a promise of a high today of 18 and measurable snow starting after 9 pm. I'm not looking forward to shoveling tomorrow morning when it's supposed to be windy as well, but at least the snow will be light and fluffy instead of heavy, wet and sticky. I just love tossing a shovel full of light snow and having the wind blow it all right back in my face and down my neck. Ahhhh.....the simple joys of living in a winter wonderland!

And for those of us with common sense......no matter how cold it is, there have been ice fishermen out on the lake since Thanksgiving. And since the ice isn't thick enough for vehicles yet, they are trudging along pulling sleds filled with their gear. I don't need fish bad enough to hack a hole in the ice and freeze my tush off.

>>having the wind blow it all right back in my face and down my neck.

Marie - oh, yes, that does bite.... but i was thinking you were gonna say something like it would all blow over to your neighbors.

we are supposed be 23 today and it looks like snow showers for tomorrow,,, we shall see.... hopefully not a lot of snow, since i have to pick up sjweld's Kitty tomorrow morning.

and Ice Fishing.... i just DONT get it.

YOU'RE TAKING THE KITTEN! Jeff had mentioned the thread to me, and how cute that kitten is. If I hadn't just gotten two kittens (now 6 mos old) from Jeff to go with the two older cats that I've already got, I might just have driven south-east to get Charlie.

Meet the newest members of my family: Urne and Mitzy!

Marie -- I'm just picking the cutie up.... with Buddy and my allergies, i couldnt take him, but my sister found a good home for him.

this gal took one look at the photos and called him Charlie, which i also thought was fate.

Even though it would have been a very long trek... i do think critter was hoping to give Charlie a good home too.

I am gonna ask the gal to keep in touch with me on his progress.

Terese

Way too cold for me this week. Didn't even go out for my walks this past week.

Marie,
Cute new kitties. How are they getting along with the other 2?

Hey there Kelly.....I completely agree....too cold to do much outside. Buddy has been in and out at least 10 times today. He wants out....but then decideds it's too cold and comes in.....and as soon as he's in he remembered that he loves being outside......and then the cycle continues.

As you know I've had huge concerns about bringing any new cats into my house as long as Remington was still alive. Last May I was quite sure (again) that Remington would be passing over the rainbow bridge very soon, which is when I told Jeff that I could take a kitten or two off of his hands. Remington is still sick and gets thinner all of the time, but he doesn't seem to be suffering at all. I just keep spoiling him and he keeps hanging in there. I spoke with my vet who advised that if I got the kittens their shots as well as a booster for the Feline Leukemia Virus before they moved in that they should be fine.

There was a lot of growling and hissing when the little invaders arrived two weeks ago, but things are settling down. Buddy is still considering having a nervous breakdown at any moment, but he has made alot of progress over the past few days. Remington is still not happy about sharing my lap and my bed. Urne was bopping him on the head a couple of days ago in an attempt to PLAY and Remington just looked annoyed and walked away giving him a really dirty look. At least Buddy has stopped hissing at Remington. Yes.....he was so freaked-out by strangers in the house that he was even hissing at Remington before running to his safe place.

Teresa....I just noticed on another thread that you did indeed turn out to be the forever mommy for that precious kitten. That pic of him asleep in the carrier, with his arm over the Big Bird toy was one of the sweetest pics I have ever seen.

Here are Remington (top) and Buddy from last year.

Marie -- yup... guilty as charged.... but i really feel it's my son's cat

so.... you have FOUR cats?

2 nooKitties, Remington & Buddy

Also guilty as charged...........yup......4 cats let me live here.

marie, It is so good to be hearing from you again.

I am curious about your vets advice. One of our cats (we have two at the moment) suddenly stopped eating and just slept on the radiator. This started on Friday. We took Tammy to the vet yesterday and she turned up a mild positive on both Feline Leukemia and FIV. Her sister died from FIV 5 years ago and Tammy had a mild positive on FIV then, but had been doing just fine.

What my question is, is that the vet is saying we should not introduce another cat as long as Tammy was alive and after we should wait for 3 -6 months have our male tested and if he is ok then we can get another cat. I know Taylor is going to be lonely if he is an only cat he never has been the only one. So your vets advice has me wondering if my vet is right. If I check around I can probably find many opinions on both sides.

Poor Tammy is really feeling awful. The vet is saying that if we can get her to eat and drink she may perk up enough to keep going a bit longer. She doesn't even want to sit in John's lap and he is her favorite human in the whole world. She normally jumps into his lap the minute he sits down. When she didn't come when I opened a can of tuna I knew she was sick. I can get her to eat a bit now by putting in on my finger and giving it directly to her. She still won't drink any water or chicken broth. I may try cooking up some chicken for her and see if that works.

zen....I'm so sorry that you've got a sick kitty. I must have met her at some time. It is so hard when there isn't much you can do for them. Here's what I did for Remington. He nearly died a month after I brought him home from a shelter. He wasn't eating and was very jaundiced. In addition to IV fluids every other day to flush out his system, I hand fed him cooked chicken every couple of hours. I also bought some 'Nutri-cal' (not sure of the name) which is a concentrated, high nutrition stuff in a tube which I got him to lick off of my finger. After recovering from that bout, he did really well for over a year. However now, he has been throwing up for over a year. Last Spring I gave him steriod shots several times a week as well as weekly antibiotics. I've decided to stop those as I wasn't sure it was still helping. I don't know if he is throwing up less because the last food that I've tried was better, or if he is just not eating much at all. He weighs about half of what he did a year ago. (It's a good thing that he 'had some to go on'.)

As far as adding another cat to the home.....here is what I've learned. First of all, Buddy was living here already when Remington moved in. Luckily, I have always had shots up to date, and he has remained healthy. Remington had blood tests done a year ago and was shown to be very positive for FeLV. There is no cure for FeLV and it is highly contagious through saliva and litter box. I was told this summer that if the kittens were immunized for FeLV and then got a booster before moving in, that they would be fine. I would never forgive myself if one of the youngsters got sick.

I don't know anything about FIV, so can't help you there. My vets have told me that it is rare for a cat with FeLV to live as long as Remington has, so I guess we're lucky. I know that in the near future I'm going to have to make that big decision for him so that he doesn't suffer, but for now he is snuggly, needy, cranky and really cheesed off that one of the youngsters has just been chasing him around the house. He does NOT want to play. (I actually stepped in to save him as he doesn't have much energy to begin with.) Good luck with your fur-kids. I hope that all goes as well as can be expected.

marie, Isn't it hard to see and animal so sick? I got Tammy to eat about a teaspoon of tuna by holding it in my hand, but then she turned her head away. She isn't drinking as far as I can tell. I put some water on my finger tip and she licked it off, but wouldn't take any more. She won't take it from the palm of my hand either. I should see if I can get some in using a syringe I think I have a new one. I am going to go look for it now.

Zen- to get our Casey over a couple of humps, we did subQ hydration. You can get the solution in a drip packet-needle etc from the vet. She's been stable for quite some time.
Sending healing love to all the furkids.
Waving to new ones.

Tammy wouldn't eat at all last night and would barely lift her head I was sure she wouldn't make it through the night. This morning when I came downstairs she was sitting there waiting for me, she is eating from a plate(not a bowl yet) rather than me having to hold the food in my hand and she is even grooming herself. Cross your fingers that she is over this bump. Oh she is also drinking water.

The vet had us give her pepsid ac to settle her stomach and since we started her on it she hasn't vomited. Marie have you tried that for Remington?

Our Tanya had a crisis a few days before we were leaving for Bangkok for two and a half weeks. She was at the vet's office and then my sister brought her to our house. She would come over several times a day to take care of her and got her through that one. She lived over a year longer, but at that time we were able to give her a form of interferon that was for animals. The vet was saying that it isn't being made anymore.

My I have cats on the brain right now.

zen.....the pepcid ac didn't help Remington, but thanks for the suggestion. Over the past couple of years we have tried just about everything. This morning he threw up on my bed. Usually he only does that when I've just changed the sheets. lol So.....I'm doing bedding this morning. I invested in a SpotBot for the carpet and that is one awesome piece of equipment! I don't suppose it's good for the bed tho.

If we didn't love our fur kids so much, we wouldn't care if they were sick and they probably would not have lived as long as they have. When Remington first got sick just a month after I brought him home, I was encouraged to swap him for a healthy cat at the shelter. I couldn't do it. I knew that he wouldn't get as much care at the shelter, and they probably wouldn't even bother and just put him down right away. It just didn't seem fair to such a sweet, sweet cat.

how is everyone doing in these latest rounds of snow??

even though we have not gotten that much [4" maybe] it has been snowing since about midnight, last night.

last week or so, we got about 4" one day... two days later we got another 2.5"

this one is blowing a lot... so i have spots in my yard that does not have a lot of snow, but others - it is quite deep ... foot or so.

at least the temps have risen a bit... and from what i hear.. there is a bit of a warm up on the way.

Happy almost Merry Christmas Eve

Terese

Happy Christmas Eve to all my friends here in the Upper Midwest.

Have a wonderful day.

The latest round of snow is falling, it will be a white Christmas. The pies were made last night, the rolls are rising, I am about to wrap the last of the gifts, then I will put the rice pudding in the oven. Santa's suite is hanging up to get the wrinkles out, the relatives from out of state are on the road. Christmas eve is almost here. The family tradition of getting together on Christmas eve is being carried on at my home. Tonight we should be a least 30 people. Santa will arrive for the little ones after we eat and before we open gifts.

Happy Christmas to all.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Merry Christmas!

Merriest of days, may all travelers arrive safely , may all gifts be from the heart, my good wishes are with you all!!

Merry Christmas gardeners!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Bernie

I wish each and everyone a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas, everyone! Have a wonderful day!

♪♫We wish all a very Merry Christmas and the happiest of New Years♫♪☺☺

Merry Christmas!

Built Granddaughter a doll house.

Inside.

Bernie, that is sooo cute!! You know Joyous has a shop with miniatures, if you feel like adding to the furniture for a birthday or other celebration! I just love those little tables and things, but do I get a grand daughter? Noooo all boys. Drat! Hope you are all having a wonderful day. We've got sunshine, but it's plenty cold!

A belated Very Merry Christmas to All and wishes for a wonderful New Year.

Bernie, that doll house will be a family heirloom for sure. Beautiful work....made with loving hands.

I hate to report that my cat Tammy went down hill so fast that we had her put to sleep on the 16th. Only 10 days after she first showed any illness. It was so very hard.

It is one of the hardest things we have to do. Our Sammi has cancer so we are not looking forward to the day when we have to let him go. So far, he shows few signs of illness, but then, they rarely do. It is very hard to tell when a cat is feeling ill, as they generally will stay away, sleeping or resting and not complain. I'm so sorry. We've lost one in each of the previous Decembers and it made it a very sad season for us. I know you must feel terrible.

Zen... so sorry to hear you had to put your kitty down. looking a furbaby is always so hard.

We had big get together for DW family today.

This DW, her brothers & mother.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

Bernie,
Great doll house. I'm sure she loved it.

zen,
So sorry to hear about your little one crossing the Rainbow Bridge. It's so very heartbreaking. Just remember all the people her who are your friends and if you need to talk d-mail me.

They opened the snowmobile trails a few days ago. After that, we got a couple of days of warm weather and the trails probably are bare dirt now. We'll need quite a few more inches to make them enjoyable to ride on. Bill tore into his sled to do a couple minor maintenance things and found a couple not so minor things that need to be replaced. I pray every year that we won';t get much snow and he's ready in October already to snowmobile. It just gets so expensive. He just loves it though.

Well, Happy and prosperous New Years to all.

Kelly