So Long Ordinary

Let me catch my breath here.  I'm kinda (very) grossed out. The vet just left and.... s hudder . If you've followed this blog for long, you may have picked up on an unavoidable fact of life in the tropics.  At least for our family, pets have been a decidedly disappointing venture pretty much all 'round. Kittens.  We found some kittens at the dock just after we moved to Palangkaraya.  They were so cute!  (And look how cute and little Paige and Madison were!)  But they ran away pretty quickly. Chickens?  Um, do you mean oversized disgusting vulture birds? They were cute little chicks but we gave them to our helper when they got big and pooped all over our pump house next to our porch where we eat dinner.  Our helper loves them.  She named the mean rooster "Rocky."  We are happy her family can enjoy the eggs. Rabbits?  We  tried the cute little baby bunnies from the pet store.  They all died within days.  Not a fun ordea...

The girls have these books about four big chickens who get into all sorts of trouble.  I adore these books and so do the girls (and so does my mom, who gave them to us).  They are hilarious adventures...and becuase we have chickens, we know how accurate the books really are.  Just so you know, chickens are stupid and ridiculously skittish.  I love having them for the eggs and the entertainment value. I was washing dishes the other day when one of our hens suddenly jumped up pwocking and squawking and rammed her head into the wall next to the window over our sink.  She jumped a good 20 feet in the air and for the life of me, I can't figure out why.  No other creature was around, nothing was chasing her.  One of our hens, we're not sure which one becuase they all look the same, has found a fun place to lay eggs even though she has a perfectly lovely nest box for that.  To this hen, right next to Sean's saw and the spare umbrella in the garage seems ...

Our cat, Princess, is in heat. And boy is she ever. She can't seem to control herself - she's your typical hormonal adolescent. This is her first time experiencing all these new feelings and you can tell she isn't real sure what is happening with her so she's just going with it. Apparently, her mother was too embarrassed to go over the birds and the bees with her before they parted ways. She meows pathetically all day long. We can't stand her! I get really mad at the girls if they wake her up from a nap because she starts all over again. Twice she has managed to push her way out of a window in our kitchen that has a loose screen. We are so careful to keep her inside because we've had cats disappear twice from our yard - we have a lot invested in her and, besides, she's one of the only cats in Indonesia that has a full tail! We're very lucky to have found her both times she got out. What we don't know is how long she was out at night...we don...