The Old Curmudgeon Was Right

The Old Curmudgeon suggested that making the fence at the cat station taller might.  Not.  Work.  The dogs might just dig under or climb over.  Awesome. 

But we went to Home Depot and got taller fence posts and another roll of wire and Sugar made the awesomest fence reconstruction project ever.  (But I’m prejudiced.) 

This morning when I went to the cat station, I saw that the feeders were askew on the station.  Mr. Wildlife Camera gave up the memory chip that reveals that the dogs were back.  The smallest dog, who isn’t really that small, simply squeezed through one extra-large sized cat opening.  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  He slid thru that opening like a pup being born.  The other two dogs could not get in, and after Mr. AmoebaDog ate all the food, he slid back out through the opening. 

So many youtubes, so little time.

Some Good Lovin’

Today we went to see Donkey Ho-tey.  He’s still in the same paddock with Jammer, and when they noticed we were there with carrots, they both came to the fence.  Donkey tried to edge Jammer out of the carrot action, and he blocked Jammer with his hindquarters, sometimes bucking and braying gently.  It was funny to see this ornery little guy try to push away a horse more than twice his size.  Jammer put up with Donkey’s antics for the most part, and we just tossed carrots out to Jammer while Donkey held him at bay. 

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Carolina Moon

The past few nights have had a beautiful Carolina Moon.  I took a few photos of the moon through the trees.  One shot has a bat or some other kind of winged night-time creature.

Here’s the photo.  See what you think.

Carolina moon and friend

Three Hungry Dogs, 7/22/10

This is the first of (7) 30 second videos of the three dogs that climbed over the fence of the cat station.  It takes a while to upload these videos to youtube in order to copy and paste them to this blog, so trust me when I say that the videos have caused “Cat Station Renovation, Part 3 – the Movie”.

LawtonFest, Part Seven, The Isle of Hope

We’ve been on the trail of A. R. Lawton, born in SC and moved to Savannah.  I’ve even made a spreadsheet tracking the Savannah Lawtons and their whereabouts.  So this A. R. had a son, aptly named A. R., which can cause for confusion, especially when there appears to be a continuation of the name, like to the Fifth, or Sixth, or Seventh generations. 

Anyway, this is A. R. Jr., who had a residence at/on (which is correct?) the Isle of Hope near Savannah.  Sugar did some more careful sleuthing and discovered that the house still exists.  We both asked for last Friday off, and we headed in search of a LawtonFest.  We did the libraries and found some stuff, but the day and the heat called for us to get on the road.  So yup, we drove to the Isle of Hope, stalking deceased Lawtons.  We found the house, and noticed that it was for sale.  So we took a chance and pulled into the driveway, like hopeful home buyers admiring the property.  It was hotter than holy heck that day, but there was a wonderful breeze coming off the water. 

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Don’t think we can afford it.

Wildlife Camera, Night Ten, Raccoon & Cat

On July 24, 2010, at 2:31 AM, Mr. Raccoon comes to dine while Ms. Cat enjoys the penthouse view.

And 18 minutes later at 2:49 AM…

The wire dog crate is in front of the fence where the dogs went over.  Hope to block the little buggers until I get a better fence system.

Wildlife Camera, Night Nine

I just don’t know what to say, except…. I’ve got to get a bigger boat.

Remember that scene in Jaws when the shark rams the boat and Richard Dreyfuss and the star guy, the one that’s afraid of the water, get shaken up?  And the star guy, what’s his name, goes pale and mutters something about “got to get a bigger boat.”  Because the boat they are in is obviously not adequate for the action it’s getting.  When I went into the woods this morning, the gate to the cat station was not latched (because I’m a forgetful old moron), yet the fencing was bent down a bit in two places.

Sugar and I went on a LawtonFest today.  I resisted getting the chip out of the camera because I knew that I’d just sit at the computer and pore over crazy cat action in the hood and then I’d be late for LawtonFest.  So I took the little SD card and the laptop, because I really needed them at the coffee shop library.  We were sitting in the Sentient Bean having a yummy late breakfast, all healthy and such, and we started viewing the videos, and I almost had a heart attack.  Well, not a real heart attack, just a mental heart attack.  Three dogs got into the cat station last night and ate most of the food.  These dogs were so dumb they climbed over the fence to get in and out, even though the gate was open.  Big, dumb, not-neutered, mangy, hungry dogs.  The biggest one, a German Shepherd, stood with his back to the camera, and it was painfully aware to the viewer that he was not neutered.  After he ate his fill of cat food, he stood there in a food-induced stupor, swaying a bit, and then burped.  He probably still has gas from that meal. 

After I got back from the LawtonFest, I had to finish a powerpoint presentation for tomorrow, so I didn’t get the SD card back into the camera, and the fence repaired, and the feeders refilled, until dark.  Making plans for a bigger boat fence. 

Sugar says to just put out dog food.

Mr. Wildlife Camera

Our friend Mr. Wildlife Camera, hanging out in the woods.

Typical guy, just hanging out, waiting for some action, hoping to video some “Cats Gone Wild”. 

Sylvia: "If he wants to pick up some cats at this watering hole, he needs to show up with a wallet full of cash, a personality, and some cat chow."

Wildlife Camera, Night Eight, Two-Cat Drama

Last year, I released two cats into my colony area.  These two cats came from another colony many miles away that was being disbanded because their caretaker was moving to another state.  I’m still in touch with the caretaker (Hi Linda!), and she always asks if I have seen “Mommy and Daddy”.  And I always have to say, no, I have not.  It’s sad for her to think that they might be lost in the big world, and are they still together, and do they miss her.  I just have to believe that the cats are fine, that they are out and about together in the big world, and that everything will be okay. 

This morning, two cats showed up on video at the redesigned cat station.  And I personally think that these are the two cats that have not been seen since their release in May 2009.  Only Linda will know for sure…

Wildlife Camera, Night Seven, Video Starring Rocky Raccoon

I think there are two, if not three, raccoons in the ‘hood.  Time will tell.

The first sighting at 3:22 AM, on July 21, 2010…

And later, at 3:50 AM…