Friday, January 1, 2010

Happy New Year, My Friends!

It seems I blinked once or twice and a new year crept up like Herself with a tube of vermifuge concealed behind her back. Jack tells me the years have a nasty habit of accelerating until they leave you spent and gasping for breath, wondering what the blur was; it was in fact another twelve months sprinting past.

I am still recovering from the substitution of my old, round, floor model feeder for a new, square, black one that hangs on the stall partition. It was a Christmas gift from the male human. He meant well, I'm sure, but forgot to take into consideration my loathing of any drastic changes within my usual environment. The first evening was the worst and I shook and snorted in the corner for ages. The woman showed me the bribes she had loaded into it but still it filled me with a terrible sense of foreboding. Five days later I am dining from it but keeping my senses on high alert in case it should suddenly, as Doc says. "go todally mental". You just never know.

The woman has grown concerned over Sally's increasing girth and has concocted a fiendish scheme to help her grow fit. Actually, the get- fit scheme arrived in the form of a feline Christmas present. It looks like a small writing instrument but instead of ink, it projects a dot of red light. Sally was initially and understandably shocked at the appearance of this alien beam and said "Pfffffftttt, Rrrrrrrr, Eeeeeeowwww" in her small but firm voice. Then she began to try to capture the intruder and the woman managed to get her up to speed and puffing in a short time. A few days have elapsed and now Sally has become rather blase about the whole thing, indicating that she would rather lie in her cozy igloo and occasionally pat at the dot in a desultory fashion. I'll let you know how it progresses from here - possibly the woman chasing the red dot for Sally's entertainment. And mine, of course.

In the house, the dismantling of the tree and it's accoutrements has taken place and Violet is very forlorn indeed. She rushed downstairs at the first sound of an ornament being plucked from a branch and complained bitterly the whole while. When the tree was finally stripped of it's finery, Violet lay underneath with her arms around the trunk, looking for all the world like a protester making a last stand; to no avail, however, and tonight she has retreated into Penny's dog bed in a blue funk (what's that? oh, yes, Penny was still in it).

Wishing you the best of everything in the coming year - free from vermifuge and needles and full of superior foodstuffs, soft beds and lots of sunshine.

10 comments:

billie said...

Happy New Year, Sheaffer!

We have one of those red dot things and tried to put one of our heftier felines onto a "program" - of course the way it turned out, the skinniest felines wanted to catch the red dot far more than the hefty one did, and even as I type this I glance through to the laundry room to see the hefty feline Keats-Meow glaring at her sister Muffine Eloise over the food bowl. Presumably Keats feels she should get ALL of it.

We are having what is being called an "Arctic blast" by our local weatherman, with highs barely in the 30s and lows in the teens, for what they say will last all week long. I am resigning myself to removing ice from troughs and buckets, carrying hot water out to the barn, and trying to walk without falling down on mud holes now frozen hard into craters.

I know this is mild compared to your winters, but send us some warm thoughts to carry us through. We handle one or two nights of this weather okay, but stretch it out to a week and we become slightly crazed!

And I trust your new tub will soon become as dear a friend as the old one. Just give it a few more days.

Buddy said...

Hay Sheaffer and Frens, its nice and sunny here today - 43 degrees at the moment - suppose to be 55 by mid day. We had an uneventful New Years - I did get extra treats as we celebrate my birthday on January 1st.

Sending warmth and sunshine to all.

Your Fren,

Buddy said...

Sheaffer - you must check out this cam - a donkey - much like yourself - babysitting a huge mule - they are best of friends and cannot be separated.

http://www.mycampage.com/newbeginningsanimalrefugecam

Your fren,

ponymaid said...

Billie, I have finally resigned myself to the new feed dish. Jack has already figured out how to work it off the edge so it falls into his stall. Imagine if he had teeth to help him in his thievery. Smart old man. Sally will chase the red dot, but only in strict moderation. Then she simply sits down and peers lovingly at the woman whilst purring loudly. This results in her being picked up, thus ending the arduous exercise program. Smart cat.

Buddy, I can only imagine what it's like to have access to real dust and sand at this time of year. Rolling in snow is revolting and Jack and I refuse, making do with the mats in the run-in. There should be a law...We watched the film of the small donkey guarding the large mule - I know I could do a job like that. Especially the lying down part.

South Valley Girl said...

Happy New Year, Sheaffer and Company!

I'm back from my Winter Break and have just now waded through all the emails and nonsense people sent me over the break. None of it was as important as catching up with all of you, of course, and I'm glad to see the hay situation has normalized somewhat.

I thought of you all often over the break, and even managed to check in once on a friend's computer, just to make sure everyone was getting fed regularly. I'm glad to see that you resisted the antlers, Sheaffer, and that Sally knew what to do with the decorations.

My two Cat people spent the holiday rasslin' and chasing each other around the house - it was lovely to see DaisyCat enjoying her new companion, and to watch Maggie become a fully-fledged member of the household.

I must say, though, there was an alarming influx of catnip-crazed Mousies into the house over the break. I don't know HOW they managed to get in, but I found them on my chair, up on the counter in the kitchen, and - the most disturbing - actually IN MY BED one morning. Mercifully, both Cats were willing to rush to my rescue and drag them off to horrible ends. Thank heavens for ferocious felines - we'd be overrun without them.

The weather here is our usual Winter fare - 20s at night, 40s and 50s during the day, and sunny most of the time. We had a couple of little snow... well, I can't really call them STORMS, as they didn't come to more than an inch or two all told, but they did make for a nice change from our relentlessly blue skies. Oh, that was cruel... I shouldn't rub it in.

Bright blessings to everyone in your crew - stay warm.

Christina / SVG

Buddy said...

Hay Sheaffer - the little donkey is Miss Ally and the big mule is Miss Mary.

Your fren,

ponymaid said...

Christina, SVG, I think I have recovered somewhat from the thought that you have such relentlessly blue skies that you welcome the white menace...Jack and I are currently watching a massive snow-removing device pushing the snow into banks at the side of the road. Forty five donkeys standing on each other's backs would have trouble seeing over those. Glad to hear you've returned safe and sound from your holiday. We too have an amazing infestation of those colourful mice of which you speak. It's happened just since the festive season, too. Inexplicable.

Buddy, I like the fact that the two friends are addressed as "Miss". There's far too much liberty taken with names these days. Where's Emily Post when you need her?

Finn the Wonder Pony said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Finn the Wonder Pony said...

Happy New Year Sheaffer!

We have arrived in Florida but someone must have left a door open up north... it's not much warmer here than at home. HOWEVER, the sun is shining and we are sleeping outside, which we both love very much.

Speaking of vermifuge, the Pony got his on Christmas day. hah! Great Christmas present! But I didn't have to have it because I had been sick. WooHOO! Although, my woman has been stuffing medicine down my throat twice a day b/c I've decided I will not eat it in my dinner.

CLW

ponymaid said...

CindyLou, I'm so relieved to hear you have made it to the Sunshine State. Are your ankles happy to be further south? I hope your illness is of a passing nature...Finn sounds to be in rude good health. Ahhhh, youth. And especially pony youth.