Yep, we’re having frosty days. Living in San Francisco, it rarely got that cold. Now that we’re thirty miles away, we get frosty days. It’s nowhere near as bad as other places, but it’s going to take getting used to. It doesn’t help that the furnace crapped out on us in the middle of it. We’re getting a portable oil-filled radiator and it should arrive on Tuesday. Lucky for us, the trailer warms up nicely as soon as the sun comes up. In the meantime, the kitties spend their time pretending to be moles and hiding under the blankets. At night, Pepita’s crate is covered with a double layer of blankets and a couple of hot water bottles.
We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Lastech had to work, so we didn’t do anything special. We’ll make up for it later.
Tito imitating a moleMiss JennyTitanescu and Lastech
Ask you can see from the next two pics, Pepita and Tito are getting along rather well. Pepi remains on a leash indoors as I don’t want her chasing the cats.
Nom Nom NomEvidently, Pepita has a flavor
And now, for a bit of the Trololo dog herself. Here is Pepi singing to another dog that she spotted.
I’m going batty. Pepita is in heat, as you know. She’s past the icky stage and into the “gimme boys” stage. In her frustration, she managed to completely destroy her dog bed. It was NOT an expensive dog bed, thank goodness. Now she’s reduced to a few throw blankets. 🙂 Taking her for walks is an endeavor. We need to keep her away from other dogs as much as possible. We found a spot where we can see other dogs from a good distance and manage to avoid them. We won’t go back until Monday though as the weekend means far too many dogs. In the meantime, she constantly begs to go out. I’ll be batty, but I’ll live.
The kitties aren’t suffering all that much. Titanescu is being his normal cantankerous self. Tito has decided that he really likes Pepi. They aren’t quite snuggling yet, but that’s only because Pepi is a tad excitable. She’s learning. Miss Jenny hasn’t pooped on the bed recently, thank goodness.
Tito watching over everythingMiss Jenny and her beautiful blue peepersThis is an older photo of Titanescu. That’s because he’s burrowed under the blankets, making picture-taking difficult.Goofy Pepita on her walk yesterday.
I got to watch this live the other day. It was this same camera view too. This is part of the old span of the Bay Bridge that has been replaced. They created a water cushion that you can see surrounding the pier. It just looks like a donut of foamy water. It was there to prevent debris from going all over the bay. You can see at the very end, that it worked very well. 🙂
Thank to our friend Dani showing us this vid, I’ve decided it’s now our theme song. 🙂
A riddle in a crap-doodle. Miss Jenny, our feral, decided to take a dump on our bed twice about three weeks ago. Technically, she left it there, but the point is we were scratching our head while pinching our nose.
Miss Jenny looking quite innocent
Cats dislike change and recently, we had been moving the trailer, moving the dog crate and litter box, so these were things to consider.
Right about the same time, Pepita went into heat, so it is entirely possible Jenny decided to mask the dog smells with her own. We’ve been giving Jenny as much attention as we have been able to, in order to reassure her feral little soul. Naturally, Pepita’s timing meant we have to reschedule her trip to the vet to get her spayed. We’ve also purchased dog diapers to alleviate the need for constant laundry washing.
Tired doggie. It was also Pepita’s first day in heat and she wasn’t liking it at all.
They both gave new meaning to the expression ” I wouldn’t kick her out of bed for eating crackers”. Challenges seldom come in onesies, however, as the Endurance life support systems also went haywire. Water pressure went down to little more than a trickle, just as the furnace plain stopped working. As a temporary measure, the chief engineer cut cardboard inserts to mask the ceiling vents. This netted about ten degrees at night. Further research showed how inefficient and wasteful RV furnaces are, and we’ll be looking at alternatives shortly, before rain storms begin in earnest.
The water pressure issue was easier to identify and resolve. It was due to a clogged filter which was faulty from the factory. We switched to a spare filter which resolved the problem.
Elsewhere, progress: Tito continues to cozy up to Pepita, who herself is deciding that cats aren’t a bad sort after all. Their encounters now involve more gentle slapping, sniffing, licking, biting on the dog’s throat (but gently) and decidedly non-aggressive staring. Pepita is becoming calmer, even as she yearns for “boys”. Ever so slowly, she is finding her place, even as the catonauts themselves are getting accustomed to life aboard the Endurance.
Tito being his normal sweet self.
Titanescu remains the curmudgeon from hell and continues to direct his stinkeye and ire at Pepi.
Titanescu and his resting stinkeye
Oh, but those diapers? That lasted about four minutes tops, before she Tasmanian-deviled her way out of that…
Rudha-an here: Given the horrible events of the last week, I thought some joy was in order.
We’ve had some rain. There’s a lovely green haze starting up on our hillsThis is how close Lime Ridge is to us. The arrow points at Costco. We live across the street from it (to the right, in the photo). You can’t see our park because of the trees. It’s less than a mile away, but with a large rail yard in the way, we have to drive a longer distance to get there.
This week the crew of the Endurance spent 36 hours under “flight conditions”: restricted space (trailer slide in) and environmental controls at minimum (running on battery power and partial water tank). The catonauts handled stress fairly well, thanks in large part to Feliway.
All three sought to spend time under covers since their favored “fort”, under the couch was greatly reduced by the trailer slide being pulled in. Traffic noise was also much greater and put them on edge a bit. Pepita required more exercise than usual to take the “edge” off, but the entire crew did very well otherwise. As usual for Tito, he would defer to Titanescu and Jenny, letting them eat first and claim humans’ laps before he would.
Tito also checked regularly on Pepita on his rounds. As for Jenny, unless she went straight for a spot under a tented cover between our knees, she would pace slowly back and forth between the pillows and the wall, purring and rubbing against us. Titan mostly slept through it all…
As time goes on, it seems clearer that they are happier here in the more confined space of the trailer than at the old apartment. And much of that I think has to do with the environment, which is quieter and allows them to enjoy more air moving through, and even more direct sunlight, through the screen door or skylight. They raise their head up to sniff at the breeze and go right back to their nap, apparently very contentedly.
The addition of Pepita to the crew may even have helped in some way. Jenny, in particular, is seen more than she was at the old apartment, where she tended to hide in a cupboard. While she still has some spots where she could hide if she wanted to, she chooses instead to come visit and spent more time with us on the bed.
Rudha-an here: The little move was harder on Pepita than it was on the cats. She was confined to her crate a lot more than usual. We’ve been trying to make up for that. Oh, and a miracle update. Titanescu still likes to go smack poor Pepi for no reason other than she exists. However, Pepi and Tito touched noses yesterday. They’re coming along nicely. Pepita is a tad too exuberant, so I have to keep her on a leash indoors, so that I can control where she goes. She could injure a cat without intending to do so.
Tito was glad to have the trailer back to normalMiss Jenny still hides under the blankets a bit.Titanescu sleeping with dad. Note Miss Jenny watching from under the blanketPepita is a happy puppy
Yesterday, they trimmed all the mulberry trees. Today we found this.
Mr or Mrs Crow singing the song of their people
Now for a bit of Halloween fun
This is just funny. It’s also a brilliant way to get pets adopted. 🙂
We missed Caturday again. Life gets strange. We’re making up for it this time, with kitties, dog, sunset AND a beautiful bird. Aside from still adjusting to graveyard shifts, we’re prepping for a short move. For whatever reason, to be designated as an RV park (as opposed to a trailer park), no one can stay beyond 6 mos. without moving out for a day (two nights). It’s a bit of a PITA, but our little abode will be towed out to the street behind the park for that time, after which we’ll return for another 6 mos. It’s worth it.
I can’t believe that it’s been almost 6 mos. already. We haven’t killed each other living in such a small space. In fact, we’re adapting well. I’m still getting rid of stuff. I avoid buying anything new (other than food stuffs) without seriously thinking about it first. I’ve done odd things like dump my two pyrex measuring cups and replace them with a plastic 2-cup measuring cup. Enough little things like that and it really lightens the load. I think the only glass or ceramic items we have left are our coffee cups, the Melitta coffee pot, and the cat food dishes. We no longer buy in bulk, except for the canned cat food. Both of us are still MUCH happier than we were before.
The kitties are happier too. In spite of adding a dog to the mix, they have adapted and learned to relax a lot more than before. Even though trailer walls are anything but soundproof, it’s much more quiet here. They like that. Speaking of kitties, here they are. Miss Jenny’s pics are a short series. They aren’t perfect photos, but we thought they were funny.
Tito: Yes, I’m slowly shredding the window dressings. Is it a problem?
Miss Jenny Hmmm?
What?Noooooo, you don’t sayHAHAHAHAHA!Thath thillyTitanescu: Hungry eyes. I would say evil eyes, but he wasn’t on nip at the time.Miss Pepita: Gimme the cookie! Gimme the cookie!
After sleeping and listening to some rain off and on, we went off to watch the sunset last night.
The nearby hills were aglowBeautiful color
While watching the sunset, we saw a pair of birds hunting. They were not as large as the hawks I’m used to watching and their color was different. However, they are incredibly beautiful and manage a very graceful hover before diving on their prey. I didn’t know what they were so I asked some friends on FB and was told that they were White-tailed Kites.
White-tailed Kite
I went off to find a vid that would show the beautiful hovering and found two videos by a local documentary maker named Alex Burke. Both were filmed in the East Bay hills and are a joy to watch. Both vids end with the Kite eating its kill, so if that bothers you just avoid the very end. 🙂
Caturday got away from us. Lastech pulled a 12 hour graveyard shift followed by hauling Pepita to the Contra Costa Animal Shelter to get her shots and license. She’s legal now. However, after standing in line for a couple of hours, we were pooped when we got home and we slept for the rest of the day.
So now for the news. Pepita is now ours, and we, hers! We can take her places where she can safely interact with other doggies. As for Titanescu, as Lastech posted, he purrs! It’s a silent purr, but if you lay your hand on his neck or head, you can feel the faint flutter. I’m thrilled as today was the first time I got to experience this. Tito and Pepi have played a bit of slappy paws. Pepi is a tad too exuberant though. She’ll calm down eventually. Tito kind of likes her, I think.
Tito milking the “cute” momentBeautiful Miss JennyAs Pepita “yips and yaps and yodels” Titanescu mutters to Tito “собака мудак” (dog is asshole), To which Tito replies suavely: “you might well think so, dear Marshal, but I couldn’t possibly comment.”Pepita making friends in the line at the shelter.
And now for the original (and best) Francis Urqhart of House of Cards
Happy Caturday everyone. This week has been interesting. The furbutts are not yet integrated and suffered a mild setback of sorts. We had a bit of rain and we’re getting out for better walks thanks to Pepita.
Well about that furbutt integration setback… Miss Pepita was worn out from a long walk, so she was in her crate and minding her business. Tito decided he wanted to play and threw his paws around Titanescu in an attempt to wrestle. Did he smack Tito and tell him to fark off? Nope. The little tyrant wrenched free and marched over very calmly to Pepi’s crate and smacked her on the nose. He’s an a$$hole, after all. He didn’t use claws, but he upset her. The other two are getting closer and closer to her. This episode set them back a bit as she’s more nervous now.
We got a bit of rain this week. It wasn’t much, but it was so nice, we took the dog for a walk at Lime Ridge. It’s a hilly ridge that runs from the base of Mt. Diablo all the way out to where we are. It’s been too warm and sunny to walk there much. With the clouds and rain, it was great. The weather is starting to cool, so we’ll head out there more often. The walks are great as it lets Pepi use up a lot of energy and it gives the pointy eared people a break. It’s not hurting me either as I seem to be shrinking. It’s a combo of better food (more veggies and salad) and more exercise.
Latech and Pepita with Mt. Diablo in the background. Distances are deceiving. It’s only 5 miles to the road up the mountain.While not a real clear pic, we found a Great Blue Heron hunting bugs and gophers.This is the same trail the next day. The clouds were beautiful
Here are the pointy eared people. I managed to get some pics, but needed to tweak them a bit artistically to make them presentable. 🙂
Tito watching the birdsMiss Jenny keeping dad’s side of the bed warmTitanescu looking like his normal stink-eyed-tyranical self.Pepita with a stick on the Lime Ridge trail
They are slowly, very slowly becoming ONE: Miss Pepitonescu, the sixteen legged wonder.
I suspected Tito wants to be Pepita’s boyfriend, but the little stunt he pulled earlier this week was a surprise. At some point in the afternoon, we let Pepita out of her crate to go for a walk. Out came Tito who must have sneaked inside when we left the gate open during the previous walk…
Tito shortly after his release from the cage of doom
Rudha-an here: Tito was stuck in the crate with Pepi for at least an hour. LOL Poor kitty. There was no bloodshed, of course. I suspect that there was a lot of licking though.
As for Titan, he’s being Titan by rubbing against the crate, causing Pepita to growl and bark at him. Naturally, he hisses at her when she does, but not in caps like before.
Titanescu following sunbeams
Overall however, there’s much less barking and hissing going on. So to recap, Titan and Jenny spend as much time on the bed with us as they like and for Jenny that means actually more time than ever before. The environment is healthier for all of them: they can lay in the sunshine coming through the screen door or through the skylight and feel air moving through their fur. Titan in particular absolutely loves this.
Jenny sharing a quiet moment with dad.
Pepita is coming along, remaining quiet for hours now between bouts of puppyness…She’s a very sweet little creature and I think Tito, as usual, sensed it first among the other cats.
The human crew is still exhausted from all the extra exercise, walkies at all hours with Pepita, adapting to my working nights again and all the unbearably cute and draining puppy love we’re getting.
Woof.
Pepita loves to go for a ride
Rudha-an again: Pepi has not yet had an accident inside the trailer. She’s very good. She spends time in the crate, but she also spends a LOT more time out of it. I still keep her on a leash indoors, but that’s so that she doesn’t try to chase the kitties. today, we left her in the crate and made our first foray away together without her. We sat outside to listen. She cried a bit, but settled down quickly. When we got home, she was napping peacefully.
And now, “Jules and Jim” with two cats and a snail.
Yes, today we have the kitties, the new doggie and yes, even a singing fish. LOL
Things are moving along in lives of cats and dogs. It will take a while, but I’m teaching Pepita to be nice to the kitties. It’s slow, but she’s learning. The kitties are showing less and less fear of her. Titanescu has already smacked her a couple of times. No claws as near as I can tell. She’s a tad skeered of him. We got a bit of rain this week. We didn’t get much here, but it rained on the fires which is good. Now we’re having another heatwave. Lastech is also adjusting to graveyard shift, so that’s a joy. I don’t mind the shift. It just takes a bit of adjustment is all.
Tito is still looking annoyed about his dietMiss Jenny being watchfulTitanescu having a snuggle with dad
And of course, the dog. The most amazing thing is that in the two weeks she has been here, she hasn’t peed or poopied inside the trailer…knock on wood. She also has a much better harness.
Something a little different for this edition of Caturday, wherein we transform the Endurance into more of a shelter…
Well, we weren’t ready, really. We figured that once the crew of the Endurance diminished through -ahem- natural attrition (old age), we could consider the addition of a canine member to the 26 foot craft. Naturally, life works on a different schedule. I was at work a few days ago when I heard dispatch over the radio directing people to an area East of the property pronto. I was third to arrive and found out someone had disposed of a puppy in a dumpster. Yeah, that was about as bad as it sounds.
The infamous recycling dumpster
Whatever their reasons might have been, this was on Labor Day and the trash was going to be picked up early, so it’s not hard to imagine what might have happened if someone had not reported seeing it happen from a distance and called us when they did.
The three of us debated what to do for about six minutes. Four minutes in, the question was who does the pup go home with? Texts were sent, calls placed, and I drew the short straw. Rode the motorcycle thirty miles back to the Endurance, picked up Rudha-an and the Lander, drove back to work and picked up the scared little beastie. The nugget, as we got to call her at first, is a pretty healthy looking Daschund-Beagle mix with a red coat.
The Nugget, as we called her at that point
First thing we ordered was a crate, so she and the catonauts could walk around without… Cross-cultural misshaps. A harness and leash allow us to take her for walks, and on those days when temperatures rise above 100 degrees, we pile up in the Lander for a short drive to our local arboretum.
Yes, this is Rudha-an and the pooch at the arboretum
There, the nugget can romp on the shady patches of grass, track through dead leaves and all that good stuff while we keep an eye out for snakes and other dogs. We also started basic obedience training, especially since we found out at the vet that she is neither spayed nor chipped.
After that, we had to find her a name and settled on Pepita, the “little pumpkin seed”, and on those days when the yipping and rambunctiousness get to be a bit much, PITA for short.
Pepita taking a rest after going for a walk
Naturally, this has been somewhat of a shock to the system for the pointy eared people, who originally executed a strategic retreat under the couch.
By now, they spend more time lounging in view, on the back of the couch or at a window, and occasionally onto the bed when Pepita is in her crate. Tito is much less disturbed than the other two. He has come as close to withing two feet from the pup despite her growling. Tito moves slowly, isn’t fluffed up and doesn’t tense up in fear when we pick him up. By now he is the one she is most accustomed to seeing, and I think he will be key in bridging “cultures”, our ambassador Tito.
Front to back, Tito, Titanescu, and Miss Jenny
Despite the original protests (Attica! Attica! Attica!) all the cats are managing to eat, drink and continue to use the litter box. As for Pepita, she hasn’t had an “accident” indoors, managing to do her business during one of her walks.
This will take time, just as the cats were still getting used to life in the trailer, but we can cautiously say so far, so good.
Miss Jenny and Titanescu having a snuggle
Tito spent a couple hours sleeping under covers in bed with me yesterday, while Jenny parked in her spot on the pillows between my head and the wall.
Titanescu comes out more often as well, but wants nothing to do with “собака” (the dog) yet. She barks, he hisses. Still, “war is more than just a bark away” at this point…
