Incompatibility

It’s evident to me

that hearing aids and diamond rings

are not compatible with my lifestyle.

The audiologist recommended that I wear my hearing aids

at least eight hours a day even if I’m  not talking to anyone.

“You need to train your brain to listen on that side.”

Fifteen years now I have been deaf in my right ear.

I’ve grown accustomed to turning my head .

The device in my right ear is designed to transmit sound

from the right side to my left hearing ear.

An interesting side note:

I complained to him that when someone sitting beside me in church

whispers in my ear, I can’t even tell she is talking.

“A whisper is perceived by the transmitter to be  the wind

and it actually blocks it out.  The sound has to be audible.”

Since visiting him, I have tried to wear them more

to train my brain

but how much time is left in a day

after I swim, shower, listen to my iPod with ear buds while triking

and spray my hair?  Or go for a walk in the rain or snow?

I wanted to start wearing my diamond ring again.

Well, it’s not my real diamond.  It’s a fake.  Moissanite.

Even after I found my real diamond, we didn’t pay to have it set.

I can’t tell the difference.

It took me several days to find my ring;

I put it on for church one Sunday.

Next morning I took it off to go swimming;

and never got back up to put it on again.

That was two months ago.

Hearing aids and diamond rings

simply do not seem to be conducive to my lifestyle.

Hard as I try.

What did you say?

Cat and Mouse

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Amy Hugh

Oh Pancake! My Pancake! Stuck 20 feet up a tree.
You've weathered every rack, each shed, trailer, roof & tree...

Pancake and Gnocchi usually greet

Amy when she comes home from work.

Last night

No Pancake.

Right away Amy knew something was amiss.

She scours the neighborhood after checking every

closet, cubbyhole and cubicle in the house.

“She’s high up in a tree in Olsen’s backyard,”

she reports on her return.

“How did you find her?”

“I spied her from the church parking lot.”

Pancake never made a sound.

That’s how we’ve found her before

when she’s gotten into trouble.

“Did she meow until she had no voice?”

We called DeRay to bring the hook he fashioned

when Pancake was stuck high up in a pine tree

when she was a mere baby.

He couldn’t find it.

Meanwhile,

we see a 12’ ladder by Olsen’s shed.

We borrow it without permission

since they obviously are not home.

I don’t dare climb two steps

but Amy climbs clear up on top

holding onto flimsy tree branches.

She can barely touch Pancake

who is clawing in for dear life.

Eventually, Pancake falls down to the next branch

hell-bent on going out on the limb.

Amy holds fast and pulls

At last, Pancake lets go and

Amy hands her down to me.

Its obvious Pancake blames Amy

for her wretchedness:

Being stuck in the tree for maybe eight hours;

and the bruises she sustained when Amy tried to pull her down.

She was petrified, trembling, but fierce.

To her, it was no doubt a matter of life and death.

Pancake didn’t go down to bed with Amy as per ritual.

She didn’t go to her perch on the back of the velvet chair

by the window to scrutinize the front yard.

She curled up on the foot rest of the lazy boy.

All through the night.

When Amy came up in the morning;

Pancake slinked down, avoiding her.

Gnocchi brought a mouse and laid to at the sliding doors

 mayhap as a peace offering.

Pancake briefly checked it out

then went back to her perch on the chair.

A total personality change.

Why did Pancake climb high in that tree two yards over?

She usually browses on a soft chair on our deck.

Amy thinks something must have frightened her.

But since she won’t talk,

we’ll never know.

Next time,

I’m grabbing no rescue paraphernalia, 

only my camera.

Action shot; 
squandered again.

Auf Wiedersehen

THE LAST OF THE MAGNIFICENT

BLUE SPRUCE

The cats favorite hunting tree.

The roots and stump

Off to the dump.

Amy said they should have called in the Elders;

the High Priests are old men.

Blaine Taylor, on left, turns 82 this week.

He has the equipment.

 So long.

 Farewell.

 

 We miss you.