Updates on Tuesday

Here is a closeup of Orinch's face. Isn't he a cute liddle bugger? If you look really close, you can see his bits under his tail. He's a BIG Man Cat!!!

We don't want to lead you astray in thinking that we are going to foster him and find him a home. We don't do that anymore. We're no longer with the group we were with for 3 years, and we gave up on fostering when we reached 10 poodins. We ended up keeping too many special needs cats and the ones we grew too attached to.

Orinch might belong to a neighbor who hasn't fixed him, we just don't know. But we're going to "fix" him so that he can't make babies. We don't think he has a family, because he was really skinny when he first started coming into our yard this winter.

Also, we have discovered that we have flying ants, not swarming termites which makes us extremely happy!!! Yippee Skippee!!!

And, in other noos, some "experts" say we are out of the drought, although the lake that supplies water to this county is still 6 feet below normal. Most cities in this county are still under mandatory Stage 3 Drought Restrictions which means automatic lawn watering restricted to one day a week, soaker hoses around foundations can be run 1 hour per day, no car washing, or runoff from yards allowed. And many cities impose a surcharge on water usage above maybe 15,000 gallons, or 20,000 gallons per month. Depending on your city. So we are very grateful that we have been receiving some very good, soaking rains once a week the last few weeks. The "experts" had predicted a dryer, and warmer, spring than normal. Of course, we still have 2 months of spring to go, so we aren't counting our gallons before they fall from the sky!!!

As we mentioned last week, foundations need to be watered here. Most foundations are cement slabs. Basements are rare here, although modern technology and money are building some basements in the multi-million dollar homes. The reason basements are rare is because when the ground contracts as it drys, the basements would cave in. Not a pleasant experience for the homeowner. Neither are shifting foundations which happens when the ground becomes so dry that is contracts. And then when we have soaking rains, it expands. So, when it contracts and the foundation begins shifting, doors begin to stick, and walls begin to crack and pull apart. I've been in homes where there were 2 inch gaps between the walls and the ceilings, or in the walls connecting rooms. Foundation problems cost thousands of dollars to repair. Sometimes it can all be done externally, and sometimes they have to come in and rip up the flooring and drill into the concrete slab and "do stuff". Don't know what it is they do, but it's a mess!!! So, last year during the hottest months of the year, there weren't soaker hoses to be found in stores and home improvement centers.

Having grown up in Indiana, and living 10 years in Omaha, NE, these types of issues were unknown to me.

Happy Tuesday to efurryone!

Luf, Us