Loving Ling Ling

Hello, Dear Friends, it is with a heavy heart 

that I tell you that Sorrow has knocked upon 

our door once again, and we have lost 

our sweet Siamese, Ling Ling. 

We had been treating her for what we thought

was an inner-ear infection, 

when it became clear over the New Year's holiday

that it was much more serious. 

She had become increasingly disoriented
over the last two weeks- 

 stumbling and circling, 

eventually this past weekend, unable to get up at all.

We gave up New Year's plans to stay by her side

and a very compassionate, local Veterinarian,

Dr. Robin Gardner, and her dear husband, 

drove all the way out to our home 

 to assess the situation, but it was determined that 

our dear Ling Ling had a possible neurological event,
and was ready to cross that Rainbow Bridge. 

So, on a cold and snowy night, held 

tightly in my arms, we said goodbye 

to our sweet Ling Ling and summoned 

the Angels to assist her on her way. 

Ling Ling came into our lives under sad circumstances,

but brought so much love and joy along with her. 

She was my Parent's beloved cat, 

and when my Mother passed away in 2011, 

she came here to live with us. 

I wrote a short story about her for my
Newspaper column back in 2011, and due to scheduling changes,
it was never published, but I will share it
with you now.

Loving Ling Ling

When my Father finally had to go to live in the nursing home after battling Alzheimer’s disease for years, my Mother was left alone to live in the home that she and my Father had built together. They were married for 58 years and rarely spent a night apart. The Siamese cat that my Father loved became my Mother’s comfort and loyal companion. Even though Mom had five daughters willing to help, she wanted to remain independent as long as possible. When I would arrive to help her clean the house, or to take her to Dr. appointments, visits to my Father, or errands, I would always find her sitting in her special chair, her faithful companion in her lap.  She confided in me that if it wasn’t for Ling Ling, she didn’t know how she would have made it through the long, lonely nights without my Dad.

Mom’s health began to decline soon after Dad’s move to the nursing home. She had heart disease and diabetes and it was clear that both diseases were taking its toll on my frail 75 year old Mother. After a series of hospital stays due to her progressive heart condition, it was decided that she should be moved to a nursing home for some rehabilitation and to stabilize her condition. She was able to move into the same room as my Dad, something she was looking forward to, as she missed him so. But she worried about her precious kitty, and it was decided that I would take Ling Ling home with me and my husband during her stay.

Ling Ling would be joining a full house, as I already had two cats, two dogs and one cockatiel. At first, she was frightened and wouldn’t come downstairs. For weeks she stayed upstairs in the bedrooms of our empty nest. We let her be, as we had so much on our minds, attending to my Mother’s rapidly declining health, my Father’s Alzheimer’s and the many decisions and heart ache of facing the possibility that my parents would never come home again.  I had many heartfelt conversations with my Mother during that time and it was then that she made me promise that I would take care of her beloved Ling Ling, should she not be able to come home again.

After being in the nursing home for several weeks, it was clear that my Mother would need heart  surgery. After the surgery, she desperately wanted to come home. So it was agreed, we would bring her home and divide her care among all of us. Her precious cat was brought back home to bring her comfort. But after only one week, my Dear Mother passed away in the home she loved, her beloved Ling Ling by her side.

After that terrible day, I went back to my parent’s empty house to bring Ling Ling home with me. My heart was broken and so was hers.

During the next few weeks, Ling Ling and I sought each other out. I knew how much this small bundle of fur was grieving. I could see it in her sad blue eyes and drooping tail. We had suffered the loss of someone we loved very much. Through our grief, we formed a close bond. I could see why my Mother loved her so. She was gentle and sweet, with loving, knowing eyes. I could feel my Mother looking down with happiness whenever we were together. And like my Mother and my Father before her, I fell in love with this sweet little bundle of comfort.

It has been a year now, since my Mother’s passing. Our grief has softened around the edges a little bit. Ling Ling is part of the family now. But she will always hold a special place in my heart, because we share in common, a love like no other. 

xoxo

Now we say goodbye to this special little soul
who brought so much comfort and joy into our lives.

I know my dear Parents are there to meet her
at the Rainbow Bridge.

We will miss you, dear Ling Ling.

We loved you so.
xoxo

Spring Surprises Are All Around Us

Spring Surprises Are All Around Us, 
If We Just Take a Closer Look

      Celebrating Easter is a sure sign that spring has arrived or is just around the corner.

  Of course, the signs of spring are already all around us; Singing birds, flowering trees, and longer, warmer days. This brings us outside to enjoy the mild weather for walks around the neighborhood or parks, gardening, going to the ball fields, or simply to soak up the warm sunshine.

  Spring is also a time of new life. The local farms are full of newborn calves, lambs, and fuzzy chicks. And here on the edge of the forest, the wildlings are being born, too. Watching a doe with her spotted fawn picking their way through a field of wildflowers, or a family of raccoons peering down from the trees, is a tender testament to the season. Baby birds, squirrels, and ducklings tug at even the toughest heart strings.  

  Sights like these are one of the reasons I am a country gal at heart. One of the first sights Hubby and I saw when we were deciding whether or not to move to our little piece of paradise was a field of cow elk, new calves by their sides, with Mount Rainier looming in the distance. It was love at first sight.

 Once in a while we get to see something really special, like the family of skunks crossing the gravel road that we live on, tails held high, all in a row. Or the mother bear I saw last spring in the woods behind the house, with her tiny, teddy bear cub. I wisely kept my distance.

  Early one beautiful spring morning, a few years ago, I was in my kitchen enjoying a second cup of coffee after Hubby left for work, when I heard my two big dogs barking and went out to investigate. Was I ever upset when I saw that they had chased a neighbor cat up the big Hemlock tree about 20 feet from the house.  I told those bad dogs to ‘go lay down’ and then tried to coax that poor, terrified cat down from the branch just above my head.

  I should have remembered my glasses, but even without them I could see that cat had an unusually thick tail tucked tightly around him and seemed to be on the large side, but I attributed it to the thick, fluffy, buff colored fur I could see on his underside. His large whiskered face was turned away from me, so I soothingly told him that everything would be alright and he didn’t have to worry about those big, bad dogs anymore and he could come on down now.

  He turned around to look at me and his tail came down, all three feet of it, and all at once I realized I was sympathizing with a half grown cougar! But like all babies, he was lapping up all that sympathy and looking at me like he was the most pitiful creature on earth, with big, sad, golden eyes and ears hanging down in a dejected sort of way.

  I don’t remember how I got back into the house. I vaguely remember floating backwards, calling the dogs along with me, all the while talking soothingly to our little guest while I tried not to hyperventilate.

  It took me quite a while to recover and peek back out the door, but by then baby cougar was gone. I shudder to think of what mama might have been doing while all that was going on. I’m sure if she made a move, my faithful companions would have disobeyed orders.

  Now, I never leave the house without my glasses. And I always let the dogs go first.  Because you never know what sweet little baby you might see this time of year, if you just take a closer look. 

xoxo

Today I am linking with:

Wednesday Wit and Wisdom

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Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?

    When you live in the countryside, being neighborly sometimes means stepping out of your comfort zone. It means helping out in some unusual situations not found in, shall we say, a more urban environment. This calls for an open mind and a willingness to jump into some strange circumstances.

     One sunny afternoon, I drove around a corner to find a huge steer standing right in the middle of the road. Now, even though it was a country road, the speed limit was 45, and that happened to be a rather blind corner.  Naturally, I couldn’t just leave him there; a disaster waiting to happen. It didn’t matter that I had on my prettiest summer dress and heels on my way to a baby shower.    

   There was no one else around, and being a good, neighborly country gal, I jumped into action.  But once I stepped outside the relative safety of my little pick-up truck, I realized this might not end too well!  There was no time to be indecisive, that steer was headed right my way and blocking the road, so I bravely started walking up the only driveway in sight, with Mr. Steer hot on my high heels. He seemed to be a friendly sort of fellow, so I just kept up a steady pace, calling him to follow in what I hoped was my best steer wrangling voice, and nervously looking over my shoulder for signs of flared nostrils, lowered head and  ground pawing.  Once I climbed the little hill to the top of the driveway, I could see where he had slipped right out of the unlatched gate. I knocked on the door of the residence with no answer, so I just walked over to the gate with my newfound friend and he was only too happy to go back inside to be with his buddies. I did leave a note on the door to let the folks know they had an escapee in their midst.

   I’m not the only one who comes across a situation that needs a helping hand. Not too long ago, I was driving home along our narrow, winding mountain road and had to stop behind my neighbor’s vehicle while she rescued a runaway horse in the middle of the road. As I watched, her little daughter searched the trunk for something to tie around the horse’s neck while Mother held the halter-less horse by the mane. All the little girl could come up with was a jacket, but that was put to good use by tying the arms around the horse’s neck. There’s no lacking of ingenuity when it comes to being neighborly.  Off they went, little girl leading the stray along by the coat sleeve, Mother alongside, back to his home, and all was right with the world once more.

   That brings me to the most recent incident in a long line of roadside attractions. I was on my way to the grocery store and had just turned the corner onto the road towards town. I was so glad that I took that corner slow because just as I drove past the first house, a frantic hen ran right out in front of me, followed by a tiny, black and white, long-haired dog.

   My concern for what might happen if another car came along, forced me to stop. As I got out of my truck and thought of what I could do, a young Mother carrying a baby ran towards me. “Oh, please help me catch my chicken,” she pleaded. “I’ve been trying to catch it all morning!” So, like the good country neighbor I am, I went into chicken-catching mode and together we rounded up that wayward bird with the help of one tiny dog. By the time she scooped the poor thing up, it was out of breath and so was I. She offered to let me pet the chicken, asking, “Isn’t she so soft?” to which I agreed, and then she was off to the other side of the road, baby and chicken in hand.

   It was then that the question sprang to mind, “Why did the chicken cross the road?” And I knew the answer finally! “To get to the other side, of course!”  Wouldn’t you run across the road if you had a Llapso Apso chasing you? 

Today I am linking with:

Wednesday Wit and Wisdom



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Wednesday Wit and Wisdom

Today I am joining Linda's blog, Senior Adventures, for Wednesday Wit and Wisdom

If you would like to join, post a photo and write a story around it. 

Such fun! Here's my  true story......

When You Plant a Garden, You Feed The World

One of the reasons Hubby and I moved out to the country was the dream of having our very own garden. We had visions of sun ripened tomatoes, crisp, juicy apples from our very own trees, and blueberry pie with just picked berries.

The first thing we did was hire someone with a tractor to till the ground. Mind you, this was ground that had probably never been turned over since the ice age glaciers came through. But, like I said, we had a vision. Who knew that many rocks lurked beneath the seemingly lush landscape? But being young and naive, we soldiered on, lugging bucket after bucket of rocks to the edge. We did make quite an impressive stone wall, though.

After a few weeks of hard labor, we were ready to plant. We were confident that we would have fresh salads and home canned tomato sauce, corn on the cob and Halloween pumpkins, all organically grown and full of life giving nutrients.

Yea, life giving all right; for every form of wildlife, big and small. It was as if we set the table and put out a call to every insect, critter, and bird to come and feast. We wanted to go organic, so we fertilized with fish fertilizer and bone meal. If there were two things on earth that attracted raccoons any faster, those would be it. As the little masked burglars searched the ground for this delectable new ‘treat’ of dead fish and bones, they uprooted everything in their quest, leaving the ground looking as if a miniature tornado came through.

As the remaining plant survivors grew to knee height, this attracted a taller patron to the feast; deer. It didn’t matter that we had two deer chasing hounds, a tall fence bordered by electric wire and whenever we saw them meandering through the garden, we ran towards them like deranged clowns, clanging our pot lids together. The deer would simply hop over the fence and wait until we left, calmly staring at us while chewing their cud.

When we turned over the earth after eons of quiet slumber, the weed seeds sprouted with new found vigor. Of course, these were not nearly as tasty and grew undisturbed by our new-found patrons. We couldn’t keep up and noticed that once they grew and flowered, they were actually quite pretty. One person’s weed is another person’s wildflower, I always say.

Apple trees were a favorite treat, not only for deer, but for hungry bears. The blueberry bushes hosted whole flocks of small singing birds, thanking us for the bounty. Soon the landscape became more like a fortress, with netting, fences within fences, and frantically running humans and dogs.  We had fleeting, evil thoughts of bearskin rugs, deer steaks, coonskin caps, and roasted wild pigeon.

Eventually we harvested a small basket of stunted gourds, a few dried beans the birds didn’t find, and three tiny pumpkins that somehow survived the cold, wet summer. Never in our wildest dreams did we think our biggest harvest would be rocks.

Hubby and I decided that farmers we were not, and down came the netting, the fences within the fences, the pot lids were put away and the dogs left to laze out their days on the front porch.  We became naturalists, leaving the berries and fruit for the wildlife and shopping for our fresh grown produce at the local Farmer’s Markets.  Now everyone is happy, we ‘garden’ in pots on the deck and nobody need know that the beautiful purple, pink, yellow and blue flowers are wild, planted by nature, and resistant to pests except for us, who leisurely stroll along picking bouquets for our own enjoyment, while the deer and raccoons curiously look on. 

I hope you enjoyed my (true) story today, 

Today I am linking with:

Wednesday Wit and Wisdom

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The Mists of Time

On still winter mornings, 

the mists of time veil 

the forest in gossamer light. 

The only sound from 

vapor'ed breath and quickened 

heartbeat as familiar paths

drift away. 

Landmarks stand in faded silhouette
like distant memories. 

Uneasy wariness descends,
as craggy fingers search for light. 

A shadowed creature appears in the gloom.

Breath is held, heart stops beating. 

Frozen fear, 

then silence breaks -'Baaaaaaa'. 

Relief. 

You smile. 

But all seems strange. 

Another world. 

Another time. 

Is it illusion? 

Or a forgotten dream.

xoxo

"There is no such thing as a true tale.
Truth has many faces and the truth
is likened to the old road to Avalon;
it depends on your own will,
and your own thoughts,
whither the road will take you."

Marion Zimmer Bradley, The Mists of Avalon

xoxo

Today I am linking with:
Good Fences



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