"Did you get in a fight, Jim?" you ask. No, I'm a lover, not a fighter. Well, I'm too old to fight, and too slow to run. ;-)
I'm talking about Rufus. "But... but... he's a good boy!" He found some catnip while we were out for our walk this morning...
He doesn't eat it, he licks it. Then gets real stubborn about leaving... "NO! This is where I live now!"
"It's going to be where you live if you don't mind." Not much of a threat, because cat's don't really mind - they do what you want them to do, IF it's what they want to do. He had a blade of grass stuck to his belly... I reached down to pull it off and he scratched my hand with those razor claws.
"What did you do?" I scolded him. Cats also don't feel bad about doing something naughty; they feel bad about getting caught. He got caught. You could tell by the blood.
We went back to the motorhome - he sat outside with his Momma while I went inside to wash the scratch and put some Neosporin on it. He'll be back to normal shortly - the effects don't last too long. The mark he left, however, will last a while.
In the meantime, he's out on the patio, thinking about what he did. I'm kidding - he's a cat; he's thinking: "Why didn't I get a treat when we got back from our walk??"
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It's sad to see the changing of the seasons. "Summertime is slipping away?" you ask. No, it is going to be 88º here for a high temperature. I went for a motorcycle ride, running the length of Iron Mountain Road (as well as some other roads). I waved at the few motorcycles I saw on Hwy 79; most waved back. Turning west onto Hwy 36, it was pretty much the same situation... not that many bikes to get a real sample. Turning onto Iron Mountain Road, things changed: more bikes; well more traffic than I've seen since we've been here. After about 20 of 'em didn't wave back, I stopped waving. We are officially into the "Not Waving Season" here in the Black Hills. The Rally officially starts in a few days.
When it isn't wall-to-wall bikers, most wave at each other. It isn't "Hey, look - we're both riding motorcycles!"... I've always considered it more of a sign of respect. I don't care what kind of bike you're riding - it isn't a Harley thing, or a Honda thing, or a BMW thing... well, to be fair, most BMW riders only wave at other BMW riders. LOL My CTX is a different looking bike from the front: most people can't tell if it is a Harley with an FXRT fairing, an older BMW RT, or what.
But, there are just too many bikes in the area during the Rally... not to mention that many riders coming here for the Rally are too cool (tough?) to wave. ;-)
Some stills from today's ride...
Turning onto Iron Mountain Road (above) - the truck in the image tuned in about 5 seconds before I did. The license plate on the truck... yep, Minnesota. Why are the slow drivers always from Minnesota??
This was the "last wave of the day" (probably the season)...
No wave...
It wasn't long before I was behind several bikes...
They were moving along at a decent pace. A warm one today, so no jacket...
This car was a pain in the ass...
I moved over to try to pass him, and he started straddling the center line. But, he eventually turned off. This guy on the Harley seemed to be out of his element on these twisty roads...
He would put his leg out (above) like that as he slowed down for the curves. I don't know why.
I gave him plenty of room going through the first split (above). I had pulled off at a parking area to get a drink of water and stretch my legs - I think that is the Minnesota truck in front of me again...
I did get the second split to myself (above). Then onto the pigtail bridges...
Once off Iron Mountain Road, and through Keystone...
Good curvy roads the rest of the way back to Hart Ranch. I will be working up a "short" or two to show more of the ride perspective.
2 comments:
Oh Rufus! Don't bite the hand that feeds you, dude. Catnip affects every cat a little differently. Mostly they just get mellow and glazed-over eyes, but a couple of ours have gotten frisky when under the influence. Our Siamese couldn't have cared less about catnip, but spray some Lysol on the rug after a hairball incident, and she just rolled around in it, rubbing her cheeks and visibly smiling. Weird, even for a Siamese.
Duke has those razor claws right now too. We cannot clip them ourselves, so we take him to the vet for a technician appointment. He hates the car ride, but we tell him that he will be professionally pampered and cooed over. He likes that part. I need to call and see if I can get him an appointment while Alice is gone. That will protect me for this week and especially her once she gets home again next Monday evening.
Last time they super-glued some tips on the nails and those lasted almost three months. I might ask for those again. Kinda pricey but if it saves a $38 tech visit every month... The vet gave us Gabapentin to use as a sedative but we both need to be here to try that. She also suggested it for the car ride.
I told Ruf that "Earl is going to be disappointed in your behavior - and Earl is your biggest fan."
Rufus said, "Tell Earl I'm sorry"... or maybe it was "Bite my ass." Those two vocalizations sound pretty similar to me. But, I'm going with the sorry version.
He does not like to have his nails clipped. Joan made a "hanging harness" that worked a few times, until Rufus figured out how to get one leg loose. What works best for us is catching him at nap time... Joan can usually get one paw done (while I pet him and keep him stable (somewhat) until he figures out what's going on. Then, we wait until the next sleepy time.
We did try a sedative with him, but it had no effect. He will let the vet clip his nails with no fuss. Go figure? And he does fine with the car rides - usually sits on Joan's lap and looks around.
Each cat has been different with the claw trimming and the car rides.
Oh, and Rufus wanted you to know that he did not BITE the hand that feeds him, he scratched the hand. I told him it makes no difference. He showed me his fangs. Yeah, that could probably be worse. The rest of the day, he gave me a lot of leg rubs and head butting... aka feline sucking up. Dammit, he is a good boy. When he isn't under the influence.
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