Pets of the Past

I've had lots of pets over the last 50 years, but I never got into birds.  When I was a kid, Mom had a parakeet or two, and I would spend hours repeating phrases to them, so they would talk.  They had a few words, but I wanted them to say "Hello Joe, what do ya know?"  I never succeeded, but one of them would say "Joe" now and then.  Once we visited "the bird lady" in Miami to trim the beak of one bird, and she had all kinds of birds as pets and being treated for illnesses.  One was a mynah bird, and he would say all kinds of things, it really tickled me.  Beautiful bird, too.  But I felt sorry for them, all caged up for most of the time. 

Here are the names of all the cats we have had:  Frosty, Shari, Misty, Whim, Mandy, Moxie, Mensha, Mali, Splotch, Emma, Mac, Gracie, Beans, BC, Dottie, Melly, Funny, Mouse, All White, Nearly, Ditto, Travelers (several), Mamma, A, B, Blackie (probably a traveler), Mismatch, Bro, probably more that I have forgotten, and cats we found homes for.  The travelers are male cats that hang out outside until they wander away again, usually in the spring when lady loves are crying out for a handsome fella.  I have loved them all, and when they pass they take a part of me with them.

The dogs are fewer:  Lady, Joker, Shadow, Simba, Lotsa, Magpie and Raven.  We still have Magpie (black and white Newfy) and Raven (black Newfy).  There will be no more dogs, cats, or horses when these pass they won't be replaced.  It is hard to keep that resolution, but there may come a time when we must move into town, maybe a condo or whatever, and pets make that really really hard.  Especially the horses, which cost a fortune to keep and even more of a fortune to board out.  I've had 10 horses/ponies:  Poco, Chacho, Jakate, Beauty, three pony foals from Beauty whose names escape me, Blondie, Willie and Maybe.  We still have Maybe and Willie, although they are in their 20s; they were both born here, by Blondie. No more after this.  And there is all of the tack, saddles and such to dispose of too.

Whew!  That's a lot to remember.

The weather is finally moderating, the snow is melting and the bitter cold is gone for now.  I feel for the unprepared Atlantans.  When we lived in Memphis, we bought snow tires and the natives laughed at us.  Then there was a really rare snowfall, and we were the only ones traveling without a problem.  Basically, they just wait for the sunshine plow.  Not fun if you are stuck on the interstate surrounded by jack-knifed 18 wheelers.  Although I did get tired of seeing the same footage over and over on the Weather Channel.

 Bumper Sticker for the day:  "I like you, but I wouldn't want to see you working with sub-atomic particles. "