ankle biter blighter

 Green at last!

Right on schedule, signs of life.

Claudia has been so tired of her hard toil on the porch...

...and is happy to resume her warm-weather duties.

Our muskrats are swimming, goz are visiting the front pond...

Once again, the spring peepers are calling, so loudly that they drown out all other sounds at night.  The red-winged blackbirds are back, too, but it's a strange situation.  Because of a combination of mysterious flooding and muskrat-chomping, the five-foot deep band of cattails around the pond's edge is basically a bare fringe now.

The blackbirds, who've been nesting here for years, are confused.  They perch on solitary cattails, but have been unable to find even a small pocket of protection for their nests.  I hope that they can find another place nearby, because I love their calls and jaunty attitudes.

We've had a bit of a tumultuous week here!  We "borrowed" a cocker spaniel for a week-long trial run,  to see how she fit into our household.  She:  howled nonstop; managed to nearly rip my arm out of its socket the very first day with a leash tug, a tug that resulted in a strain that left me unable to use my left arm or turn my head for a week; growled and lunged at the cats; busted through our screen door (twice); jumped on our coffee table and couch and seemed impervious to treats or instruction; sailed over an embankment behind the house and landed in the pond; COULD NOT hold still for brushing of any kind...in the end (mainly because of the cat aggression), we decided that she was a little too rambunctious for us.  But Borga had fun while it lasted!

Well, Borga is still pretty happy with her OTHER playmate.  :)

Calliope...sigh.  What is it with our animal struggles this past year?

She's always nipped, and that's been manageable.  But she's graduated to out-and-out biting, and HARD.  I have a big bruise on my right arm from her last attack.  She comes out of nowhere, bites hard enough to draw blood, and dashes off.  She's an ankle-biter too, and it's a mystery.  She has tons of play time with and affection from me, but has turned on me. I'm afraid of her, so we keep her locked in a separate room at night and watch her warily during the day.  I still fuss over her and pet her, but from a safe distance.  Meanwhile, although she's still chasing Tabitha and they're constantly hissing at each other, we had a bit of a breakthrough yesterday.  

Calliope commandeers Tabitha's perch.  Tabitha is outraged.

Calliope warns her off with a single cold, withering stare.

Accepting defeat, Tabitha naps in a nearby bed.

A NEARBY bed!  Oh, this gives me hope that even if Calliope can't be a snuggly, loving cat to us, at the very least, maybe someday soon the fighting will stop and we can have an uneasy peace!  For someone like me, whose anxiety issues MANDATE a calm and harmonious home environment, this gives me great hope.  

Have a great week!