Lovingheart

Last year before Christmas Monique and her two kids came by for some cookie baking. Before long Mds was having an allergic reaction to the cats that we have. He was sneezing almost non-stop, his breathing was not clear, he was getting hives and his eyes were very runny. I gave him a mega c drink (3-4 grams of C), and things calmed down enough for him to stay for a while longer. It didn't take long before his reactions became more severe and again a c drink calmed things down but they didn't stay long after that. His hives popped out quite a bit once they were home and it took a while for him to recover from being at our place for a couple of hours. Other times in contact with cats the c didn't work that well. It was at the point that we limited the kids seeing each other as even being in the vicinity of us (the two boys sitting on the couch together at their place) was enough for him to react to the cats on our clothes. The summer before I had felt so bad for him ...

We have a 'pet grouse'. This bird has been hanging around for a while and is getting more and more friendly with us. Kind of neat to have a wild bird hanging around and coming up close. He likes corn and has no problem eating it out of hand. I was taking pictures of him the other day and I was having a hard time being far enough away from him. I would step away and he would step forward. And what a chatterbox Mr Grouse is. He always has a lot to say – even while eating. There are problems with him as well. He likes to fly at moving objects. If I am running down the laneway he will run after me and then fly at me often flapping at my head. Same as when I am biking (once he even stayed on for a ride for a bit). When I am walking he will walk with me (well more like run with me). So I have a cat that will go for walks and a bird that will go for walks as well – who needs a dog? Mr Grouse also likes our berries and our apple tree. At this time of year there is nothing f...