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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

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Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

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Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

He really is that stupid.

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

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One way or another, he’s a liar.

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Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

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Come on, man.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Books are my comfort food!

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You are here: Home / Nature & Respite / Something Good Open Thread / Respite Open Thread: Ducks and Puppies and Kitties

Respite Open Thread: Ducks and Puppies and Kitties

by TaMara|  April 1, 202010:01 pm| 62 Comments

This post is in: Something Good Open Thread, I Will Cut You If You Muddy This Thread

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I had some requests for photos of my critters. Zander and Emma are MIA, they did not want to be bothered with photos today. I did manage to get the ducks to play along. They were spread out all over the yard, a sure sign of spring.

Mabel asking, “Why the heck are you following me, stalker?”

Penelope Pearl and Maddie haven’t quite caught on that I’m snapping them next.

Maddie, feathers ruffled, which is her usual manner when I’m around. I’m not her favorite person.

And finally, fan-favorite, Penelope

Next up, my officemates unconcerned with the day’s happenings, knowing I’m stocked up on the important things: their food.

I had put Scout’s blanket away around Christmas time, tucked it in the ottoman before a party and then forgot about it. She kept stealing my blanket and in the middle of scolding her the other day, I realized she needed her blanket. Problem solved.

Gabe asking nicely to go outside. The cats are so great about going outside. They come in when I call, never jump the fence and play nice with the ducks. Here Gabe waits patiently for the temperature to be warm enough for the patio door to be opened.

And finally the big guy. This is going to be a difficult week for me. On Friday it will be a year (!!) since I almost lost him. It’s easy to forget these days he was paralyzed for ten days just a year ago. I went back and read your comments today and seriously, you guys were a lifeline, helping me get through those long sleepless nights and hard days. Today, you’d never know it ever happened.  Grateful for every day I can, without thinking about it, yell at him for being a stubborn pain in my ass. He’s the biggest love and most stubborn, good boy ever!

One final thought:

Respite Open Thread: Ducks and Puppies and Kitties 6

I’m on my second week of working for clients who cannot pay me, but they need my help and I’m sure that down the road, as things get better, they will be able. We are all navigating the new reality of SBA loans and grants and unemployment insurance for the self-employed. The dogs and I walk every day and I reach out and check on friends and family often. Other than that, coping here.

How are you doing? Thinking of the words of encouragement you all gave me a year ago, I hope this place offers you the same during these strange and stressful times.

Respite open thread.

 

 

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Previous Post: « Earned Snark Open Thread: The Masque Goes Ever On & On
Next Post: COVID-19 Coronavirus Update (Domestic) – Wednesday/Thursday, April 1/2 »

Reader Interactions

62Comments

  1. 1.

    Uncle Cosmo

    April 1, 2020 at 10:05 pm

    Pleeeeez tell me it’s just a bizarre camera angle & that cat is not morbidly obese…

  2. 2.

    zhena gogolia

    April 1, 2020 at 10:11 pm

    @Uncle Cosmo:

    Look at the second picture. He’s not obese

    ETA: He’s adorable.

  3. 3.

    CaseyL

    April 1, 2020 at 10:15 pm

    My god, has it been a year?  Tempus fugits, all right.  Delightful to hear Bixby is fully recovered!  And as always, thank you for sharing the critters with us.   I didn’t know Maddie disliked you; ungrateful baggage.

    My kitties, who usually do their napping upstairs in bed, have started to do some of it on the ottoman by the sofa, so we can all be near one another.   It’s quit endearing.

    I’m holding out pretty well.  Online has enough content to keep me entertained, and there are always books to read.  I wish I was more active, though.  I may tune into an On Demand music channel and dance around a bit.

    This blog, the FPers and people here, are a godsend.  News, commentary, learned discourse (and the other kind), conversation and snark, all in one place.  THANK YOU BJ

  4. 4.

    Sab

    April 1, 2020 at 10:18 pm

    Why do duckbills make those particular birds so cute?

  5. 5.

    catclub

    April 1, 2020 at 10:19 pm

    @zhena gogolia: The fur coat makes him look stout.

  6. 6.

    TaMara (HFG)

    April 1, 2020 at 10:21 pm

    @Uncle Cosmo: Don’t make me pie you. ?

  7. 7.

    John Revolta

    April 1, 2020 at 10:24 pm

    @Uncle Cosmo: I dunno about the cat but that Maddie is one big old hunk o’duck!

    ETA: Okay, I see she is just “ruffled”. Never mind! She looks pretty funny though with her little feets sticking out of this big blimp body.

  8. 8.

    Adam L Silverman

    April 1, 2020 at 10:24 pm

    @Uncle Cosmo: He’s floofy!

  9. 9.

    Redshift

    April 1, 2020 at 10:29 pm

    If you wanted to do a post about the new unemployment insurance at some point, in sure it would be appreciated. It’s not my personal situation, but I know plenty of people who it applies to. (And in light of the “Democratic establishment rolled over and the relief bill is just corporate bailouts” rhetoric floating around, there are people who don’t know they need to know.)

    Sorry to put this in a respite thread, but since you brought it up…

  10. 10.

    BC in Illinois

    April 1, 2020 at 10:29 pm

    My daughter just sent four pictures from today of the four g’kids — 4th grade, 2nd grade, k’garten, preschool — each looking at a screen or mobile device. The p’schooler is just being entertained, the k’gartener is learning about bananas and their flowers, and the older two — who go to the St Louis Language Immersion School (a St Louis Public School, where they are learning Chinese) — are now learning the Chinese for “mute your microphone.”

    This generation will grow up with a different skill set than their Millennial parents and Boomer g’parents.

  11. 11.

    Adam L Silverman

    April 1, 2020 at 10:30 pm

    Well this certainly made me feel better!

    FBI raids Brooklyn man's home after he hoarded over 5000 boxes of N95 masks and was trying to sell them at 700% mark-up. pic.twitter.com/kxzKfmEzEf

    — CollapsePosts? (@CollapsePosts) April 1, 2020

  12. 12.

    Sab

    April 1, 2020 at 10:34 pm

    Stupid question, but is Mabel a mallard?

  13. 13.

    Nicole

    April 1, 2020 at 10:36 pm

    Love the photos; thank you!  It dawned on me this week, while on a solitary run in Central Park that the mallards must be incubating eggs right now, because I’ve only seen a few male mallard ducks out by themselves the past week.  DUCKLINGS ARE ON THE WAY.

    I haven’t had too much time to comment this week; we’re doing our best to stay busy, but I’m enjoying reading everyone here- FPers and commenters both.  Thanks for being entertaining and informative.

  14. 14.

    Fair Economist

    April 1, 2020 at 10:38 pm

    You bring Maddie food and she still ruffles her feathers at you? My rabbit doesn’t understand that at all. Food is love!

  15. 15.

    Elizabelle

    April 1, 2020 at 10:42 pm

    Los Angeles Times: Can pets get the coronavirus?

    This one is worth clicking for the photo of the little dog in the bright yellow mask. If TL;DR: short answer: no. Extremely unlikely. But this bit of advice:

    Animal healthcare experts agree that although there have been no cases in the United States of a human passing the virus to a pet, the best practice for anyone infected with coronavirus is to treat their companion animal the same way they would a human: Avoid all unnecessary contact.

    “If you’re sick, practice social distancing,” Rankin said. “The big thing is to not be in contact with anyone else — dogs, cats or humans — when you’re sick.”

    In practice, that means pet owners who are diagnosed with the virus should avoid petting, snuggling or otherwise being in physical contact with their pets, said Dr. Jerry Klein, chief veterinary officer for the American Kennel Club. They should also be sure to inform their veterinarian about their illness.

    If possible, a healthy household member ought to feed and take care of the animal, Klein said. If there is no one available to do so, ill caretakers ought to wear a face mask and wash their hands before and after feeding and otherwise caring for their pets.

    Social distancing from your pet while you’re both quarantined at home? Yeah, good luck with that.

    Also, have a backup plan for pet care in the event you are hospitalized.

  16. 16.

    Sab

    April 1, 2020 at 10:47 pm

    Many years ago my baby sister accidentally started a great tomato plant by abandoning half a BLT in the rose-garden. Since the garden stores will probably be dead by summer, should I try hatch tomatoes from one of the tomatoes I am about to eat?

  17. 17.

    Yutsano

    April 1, 2020 at 10:48 pm

    @Sab: Someone might beat me to this but yes.

    I made my first attempt at pasta con le sarde tonight. It’s very good and I know the adjustments to make next time I make it. And it’s different but surprisingly good!

  18. 18.

    TaMara (HFG)

    April 1, 2020 at 10:50 pm

    @Sab: Rouen – about 2-1/2x the size of a mallard.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rouen_duck

  19. 19.

    Sab

    April 1, 2020 at 10:52 pm

    @Yutsano: What is pasta con sarde? Possibly sardines?

  20. 20.

    TaMara (HFG)

    April 1, 2020 at 10:55 pm

    @Redshift: I will try and do that. We are still trying to figure it all out, but there are resources.

  21. 21.

    Sab

    April 1, 2020 at 10:56 pm

    @TaMara (HFG): Big duck there! And Penelope is bigger!

    This blog is bad for me. We already are overrun with cats and dogs. Now I want ducks and goats.

  22. 22.

    Yutsano

    April 1, 2020 at 10:59 pm

    @Sab: Yup!

  23. 23.

    ziggy

    April 1, 2020 at 11:02 pm

    I posted this below, but I think there was a food fight and everyone left. Speaking of puppies and kitties, the new Shenzen law bans eating them in China. Hopefully it will become a permanent law. Sounds like fantastic news!

    https://twitter.com/StephenMcDonell/status/1245523685449936896

    ETA–I guess this is just one area of China, but influential.

  24. 24.

    Sab

    April 1, 2020 at 11:05 pm

    @Yutsano: Damn that sounds good, but spouse is appalled. Midwestern values and all. Sigh.

  25. 25.

    Sab

    April 1, 2020 at 11:12 pm

    @TaMara (HFG): That is so cool. Mega-mallards. Or are mallards mini-rouens. All sizes, like poodles. My own personal experience with ducks is migrating mallards in my neighborhood. Quacky little guys.

  26. 26.

    Amir Khalid

    April 1, 2020 at 11:18 pm

    @Yutsano:

    I have worked out scale patterns for all the modes of the harmonic minor and melodic minor scales. I shall add these to my practice routines. For my next adventure in music theory, I shall attempt to learn the modes of the chromatic scale.

  27. 27.

    Yutsano

    April 1, 2020 at 11:32 pm

    @Amir Khalid: If you really want to have fun, learn chromatic solfeggio. To be fair, I still get it wrong to this day.

  28. 28.

    frosty

    April 1, 2020 at 11:35 pm

    How are we doing? I retired at the end of January, we hitched up the trailer and started a 4-month road trip to Florida and then the southwest to see half a dozen National Parks.

    Coronavirus has forced some changes. Joshua Tree closed this morning so we’ve now gone to ground in Arizona state parks for three weeks to see what will happen in California and Utah.

    Social distancing has been pretty much the same for us as everyone else, except our house has wheels.  We hang out in the trailer, take walks or bike rides, go to the grocery store, stay away from other people.  From our experience the whole country is complying.

    The trip so far could make an unusual On The Road piece.

  29. 29.

    delk

    April 1, 2020 at 11:39 pm

    Have you seen the  new Meow Mix ad?

  30. 30.

    Kattails

    April 1, 2020 at 11:44 pm

    I had a lovely British gentleman who’d visit the store I worked in occasionally, and when I’d ask how he was doing he’d say “All the better for your asking, thank you!” How sweet is that?

    Love Gabe’s face, he always looks so thoughtful & a little bit worried, I remember when you got him and all the name suggestions, that was fun. And so glad your gigantic boy got better.

    Hoping to do a little visit with my sister one of these days, lots of outdoor walks around the lakes area she just moved to as long as we remember not to hug. And she got a video of a woodcock in her front yard yesterday, sent me a still, good heavens the thing is half beak.

  31. 31.

    Jay

    April 1, 2020 at 11:49 pm

    Sandra the orangutang started washing her hands because she saw all the zookeepers doing it repeatedly during the COVID-19 crisis.Wash your hands. Be more like Sandra.?❤️?? pic.twitter.com/t8TTizDGeD— Rex Chapman?? (@RexChapman) April 1, 2020

  32. 32.

    Keith P

    April 1, 2020 at 11:50 pm

    This is gonna be a bad year fleas, it appears.  They have absolutely blown up on my cats in the last couple of days, and I had dosed them with Cheristin 2 weeks ago (last year, a single dose of that knocked out visible fleas for 3+ months).  I thought I’d get a jump on them this year, too, since I usually don’t dose until April or even May.

  33. 33.

    Kattails

    April 1, 2020 at 11:56 pm

    It’s just a kiss away

  34. 34.

    Yutsano

    April 1, 2020 at 11:57 pm

    @Keith P:  It is April 1st so…you’re not that early.

  35. 35.

    debbie

    April 1, 2020 at 11:58 pm

    Neither Scout nor Bixby look comfortable in their repose; if I slept in those poses, I’d fall off the couch.

  36. 36.

    joel hanes

    April 2, 2020 at 12:01 am

    @Sab: 

    It’s almost always the hen mallards who do the quacking and flight calling. Drakes mostly do a kind of quiet grumbling chatter among themselves.

  37. 37.

    sfinny

    April 2, 2020 at 12:03 am

    @Redshift:  Many of my neighbors have told me about being furloughed or fired, and didn’t know about the supplemental unemployment insurance benefits.  I make sure to tell all of them about it because I don’t know if it kicks in automatically.

    Also just downloaded the form for a small business loan to give to my boss.  He may be able to get a forgivable loan to pay my salary for two months.

  38. 38.

    joel hanes

    April 2, 2020 at 12:04 am

    @Sab:

    If you have any cherry tomatoes about the house, that’s what I’d use for seed.    I used to grow eight or ten cultivars each season, but the only volunteers I ever got were indeterminate cherries from the excess Sweet 100s

  39. 39.

    mrmoshpotato

    April 2, 2020 at 12:07 am

    Grateful for every day I can, without thinking about it, yell at him for being a stubborn pain in my ass.

    LOL That’s love!

  40. 40.

    Kelly

    April 2, 2020 at 12:08 am

    Martin by the window. There are Steller’s Jays nesting level with this 2nd floor window about 30 feet away.

    https://imgur.com/oKl8SRF

  41. 41.

    frosty

    April 2, 2020 at 12:12 am

    @Amir Khalid: Now do it in Open D. With a slide!

    Seriously, I’ve been writing my own guitar book a little at a time, since I haven’t found one that works for me. Last year I figured out 6th and 9th chords, just the top 3 strings. And no, without a slide. That’s just crazy!

  42. 42.

    joel hanes

    April 2, 2020 at 12:13 am

    @Kelly:

    Steller’s Jays are one of the most beautifully blue things there are, in a class with spiderwort and gentians.

    The first time I saw an Indigo Bunting up close, I gasped.

  43. 43.

    Amir Khalid

    April 2, 2020 at 12:15 am

    @debbie:

    Their limbs are much lighter, relative to the body, than human limbs, so Bixby and Scout can hang them off the edge of the couch and not risk falling off.

  44. 44.

    Kelly

    April 2, 2020 at 12:21 am

    @joel hanes: Our Steller’s fake hawk calls apparently just to mess with the other critters.

  45. 45.

    Amir Khalid

    April 2, 2020 at 12:22 am

    @frosty:

    You know what kind of guitar book I wish I could find? One with sample practice routines and a comprehensive list of exercises for beginner, intermediate, and advanced players. I have been flying blind for the past couple of years, and such a book would be a valuable resource for the player who’s teaching themselves like I am.

  46. 46.

    NotMax

    April 2, 2020 at 12:33 am

    Got the call today that landlady’s car repair is complete so drove her into town to pick it up. While there made a quick stop at Whole Foods to see if they had restock on rye flour (sold out when stopped there March 10).

    Score! As they had lots and lots of it on the shelves got three packages. Which isn’t as much as it sounds as each package is only a pound and a quarter.

    Do have a very slight headache now from the bleachy chemical fumes of the cleaning products they’re using in the store, which are absolutely permeating the place.

  47. 47.

    burnspbesq

    April 2, 2020 at 12:45 am

    Thread needs otters. Now with bonus orangutans!

    https://youtu.be/Wfh72kj_xJ8

  48. 48.

    joel hanes

    April 2, 2020 at 12:58 am

    @Kelly:

    One of my favorite parts of camping in the Sierra used to be watching the Steller’s Jays do their early morning patrol : starting on the ground, then to a tree on a low branch next to the trunk, and flap-hopping to each successive branch in an ascending spiral around the trunk.

  49. 49.

    Jay

    April 2, 2020 at 1:10 am

    No way that cat will get through this! pic.twitter.com/Jr6SSVtegt— jamie (@gnuman1979) March 31, 2020

  50. 50.

    HumboldtBlue

    April 2, 2020 at 1:22 am

    I haven’t touched a fellow human being in just about a month.

    I recall texting my sister a month ago when the decision to shelter in place came as expected.

    “That may be the last hug I share with my friend.”

    We talked outside the window today in an awkward aside.

    I still can’t hug her. But fuck that’s awkward.

    Ain’t the same and Horace Silver knows it.

  51. 51.

    HumboldtBlue

    April 2, 2020 at 1:46 am

    Ellis Marsalis Jr. has passed.

  52. 52.

    Suzanne

    April 2, 2020 at 1:46 am

    I just gave Spawn the Youngest a little bit of a cookie for the first time.

    Guess what? I’M POPULAR.

  53. 53.

    HumboldtBlue

    April 2, 2020 at 1:50 am

    A little bit of sugar makes everyone smile.

  54. 54.

    NotMax

    April 2, 2020 at 1:56 am

    @Suzanne

    “Azuk glrbl.”*

    *translation: “Screw the strained spinach, lady.”

    :)

  55. 55.

    Keith P

    April 2, 2020 at 2:01 am

    @Yutsano:  I dosed them 2 weeks ago, before any fleas started to hit. I usually wait until they explode. Last year was pretty bad, since I was initially using Frontline, and fleas were heavy two days after dosing both months I used it. Cheristin KO’ed them immediately, but they may be resistant this year

  56. 56.

    Suzanne

    April 2, 2020 at 2:04 am

    @NotMax: This kid is a Hoover. We have described her as “thicc”.

  57. 57.

    frosty

    April 2, 2020 at 2:07 am

    @Amir Khalid: I’ll give it some thought. I’ve got one for bluegrass flatpicking that seems like what you’re looking for with progressive exercises. Might not be your style but it’s good basic rhythm guitar. There’s a progressive series of books too.

    https://www.flatpick.com/product_p/2437.htm

  58. 58.

    Origuy

    April 2, 2020 at 2:17 am

    @frosty: You might want to check out the Bureau of Land Management campsites. Probably few if any hookups, but they have suspended fees for the time being. Usually they are a lot less crowded than NPS sites.

  59. 59.

    mrmoshpotato

    April 2, 2020 at 2:19 am

    @Amir Khalid: Tenacious D can help.

  60. 60.

    frosty

    April 2, 2020 at 2:52 am

    @Origuy: Thanks, we’re looking into those. However, all of them are closed near Moab. They’re chasing people out of dispersed camping. Can’t blame them. I read that the local hospital only has 17 beds. Hard to believe with all the mountain bikers crashing in the summer.

  61. 61.

    joel hanes

    April 2, 2020 at 3:13 am

    @frosty:

    Dunno if the sites along the Ten Sleeps canyon in the Bighorn National Forest in north central Wyoming are open, but if I were to be dawdling, that’s an area in which I’d like to dawdle.  Hwy 16 between Thermopolis and Buffalo.

  62. 62.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    April 2, 2020 at 4:20 am

    @Origuy: All the BLM campsites in the CA desert region are closed.

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