the domestic zoo

Yes, it’s summer in New England. Ice cream, swimming, barbeques…

…and sudden, apocalyptic storms. Within minutes we were pelted with torrential rain, peals of thunder and lightening, pea-sized hail, the whole works:

The lakes and rivers…of our yard:

Word of the Day: opulence

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I spent the afternoon out with Dad. We went to KTP, he checked out guns, I checked out clothes. I found some nice lightweight travel capris for $26, they’ll be great for Africa, so I bought three pair. I really don’t like spending money on clothes, but thanks to Adam and Eve, we have to wear them…

Went to Subway for lunch, then we took a drive down to the beach. The houses, affluent and oversized, were crammed in close proximity to each other. I sighed and told myself, “Maybe these people have lots of kids.”

We parked in front of Long Sands and watched the waves come in; they were spectacular today. Dad and I had a long and deep spiritual discussion. More food for thought…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tonight the rain is falling 
Full of memories of people and places 
And while the past is calling 
In my fantasy I remember their faces 

The hopes we had were much too high 
Way out of reach but we had to try 
The game will never be over 
Because we're keeping the dream alive 

I hear myself recalling
Things you said to me the night it all started 
And still the rain is falling 
Makes me feel the way I felt when we parted 

The hopes we had were much too high 
Way out of reach but we have to try 
No need to hide no need to run 
'Cause all the answers come one by one 
The game will never be over 
Because we're keeping the dream alive 

 Pica is the act of eating non-food items. In less serious cases, cats may chew or suck on objects, but not actually swallow them. Common targets include yarn or string, fabric, wool, phone or electric cords, and plants. Any object may be a potential target, however.

 ”Fabric-eating is the ingestion of non-food items, and it’s occasionally seen in cats,” explains Diane Frank, D.V.M., a resident in animal behavior at Cornell University. “Fabric-eating seems to start around puberty, most often with wool, and may move on to other fabrics and materials as well: Cotton, nylon and other synthetics, wood, plastic, rubber, almost anything. I’ve had reports of cats chewing on the sofa. Most of the time, the material will go through the cat without too many problems, but occasionally cats require surgery to remove these foreign materials.”

 ”There have been a lot of different hypotheses about fabric-eating,” said Frank. “Some theories say this may be redirected suckling behavior in cats that were weaned too early. Some people believe that fabric-eating could be related to separation anxiety in cats that are very attached to their owners and are distraught when the owners are away. Or perhaps some of these cats need a little more fiber in their diet,” she said.

 Cats who don’t grow out of suckling as a kitten may continue it into adulthood. At which point they may not only suck on, but also will chew and may even eat different fabrics. Common fabrics are wool, cotton and other synthetic materials (even plastic garbage bags). This behavior seems to be common to Siamese and Burmese cats and cats who are weaned very early (before 4 weeks of age). Some cats who do exhibit this behavior may swallow fabric and this can cause a host of digestive problems in the cat.

Things Miko chews and/or eats:

Blankets and fabric

Plastic bags

Wallpaper

Paper and books

 

My reading list…

Makes me sound all intellectual, doesn’t it?