Pet sitting

Jane has gone to Florida, and I am bereft. We caught the edge of winter storm Gia Saturday. I sent her a picture of the snow coming down with a text that said, “What you are missing.”

What we had Saturday that Jane was missing in Florida

She sent back this picture with the same message.

What Jane had that we were missing

Note that in both pictures the ground is white. The similarity ends there.

She has also sent pictures of a roseate spoonbill and a pair of bald eagles.

Roseate spoonbill outside Jane and Jan's condo

A pair of bald eagles

Meanwhile, Terry and I are looking after Skippy, as we have for the past several years. Unlike previous years, Jane’s box turtle (technically a tortoise, since she lives on land), Dutchy, did not enter hibernation this year, so she had to come visit us as well. Up until Jane’s departure, Dutchy ate a little cucumber every couple of days. I hoped that she would go dormant shortly after coming to the cool of our house, but no such luck. And yet, she only stares at her food. Sometimes she lies on top of the food bowl with one foot in her water bowl. It is hard to know what will make a turtle happy. We found Dutchy in Michigan some 20 years ago and brought her back for Jane’s mom. She was very cute and tiny back then. After all this time, I’d feel bad if she died on my watch. I guess she’ll eat if she wants to.

Dutchy not hibernating in her birch bark tunnel

Skippy, on the other hand, is ravenous all the time. He is supposed to be losing weight, so I’ve been trying to keep him to a fixed amount of dry food every day. He would rather have a lot more. For the most part, he has settled right in. He sits on my lap and purrs quite a lot, which is a comfort if I’m not doing anything else. When I am trying to use my laptop, he insists on sitting between me and the keyboard. Occasionally, he will give me some respite by sitting on top of the futon (now covered with a sheet to protect it from cat hair).

Taking a break from nap time

If I am not the first one to sit down, he claims my chair as his own.  

Skippy laying claim to my chair

The good part about his diet is that whenever I really need to get something done and can’t watch him (while he chews on electrical cords less than when he was younger, I still don’t trust him), all I need to do is put a little food in his bowl. He walks right into the kennel, and I shut the door. Easy peasy. He has his snack and curls up in his bed for a nap.

I’m back to work for meetings on Thursday. Classes begin next Tuesday. Skippy will have to be in his cage all day then. He’ll be stuck to my lap like glue when I get home. It’s nice to be needed.