4/24/16 

Love her/this song. 

http://www.bing.com/search?q=youtube+alanis+morissette+that+i+would+be+good.&form=PRTOSH&pc=EUPP_UE07&mkt=en-us&refig=017fd71c917a4831bb4979152e5f847d&pq=youtube+alanis+morissette+that+i+would+be+good.&sc=0-47&sp=-1&qs=n&sk=&cvid=017fd71c917a4831bb4979152e5f847d

Remembering Skye Kitty

Remembering Skye Kitty

Summer, 1997 to September 25, 2014

Death is a part of life, and unfortunately most animals do not live as long as us humans.  This past week, my cat, Skye, passed on. She was a very important part of my life and gave me so much joy. For 16 years.  It is the longest I have had the privilege of having a pet in my life. I am writing this blog to celebrate Skye's life and write about my memories of her.

Erik and I moved to Mammoth Lakes, CA. from Santa Barbara, CA. in 1997.  Erik was 8.  In 1998, I bought my first home.  A wonderful mobile home in Ski Trails.  It was the location that made it so wonderful.  It was located at the end of the last culdesac, the last home on the right.  End unit.  My view was the Sherwins.  Dogs were not allowed at that time, so it was decided between Erik and I that we would get a cat.  I saw an add regarding kittens needing homes at the local pet shop and called.  The woman, living in Crowley Lake, advised that there was only one more kitten left, and that she was already coming up to Mammoth for other reasons, and she would stop by our home to see if we wanted to take the kitten.  So, our kitten, who we named Skye, was delivered to us in September, 1998.

Skye Was A Great Hunter 
 

We had only lived in our new home for about a month, but we already had a mouse problem. I had seen mouse droppings in various indoor places since we had moved in.  Within a week of Skye arriving, I never saw another mouse dropping in the house again.  Skye had an appetite for critters.  She also liked to play with them.  As much as I don't like mice in the house, I don't like to see an animal suffer.  Skye would capture mice and put them in my big bathtub to play with before doing them in.  If I was there when this occurred, I would rescue the poor mouse and let him/her go outside.  I think those mice I rescued warned all their mice friends not to come into our home unless they wanted to die.  As Skye got older, her hunting progressed.  There were many mornings, opening the door to take Erik to school and go to work, where we had presents of critter guts left at our door.  That's what outdoor, hunter cats do.  They are supposed to be gifts for us owners.  There were a few animals I remember trying to save from Skye.  One was a chipmunk that she brought inside the house.  I put Skye away in a room until I could get the chipmunk back outside.  It was quite a feat.  Another time, I was outside during the summer when I saw Skye with a baby cotton tale bunny in her mouth.  I chased her down and rescued the baby bunny, who ended up dying overnight from internal injuries.  I had a graveyard in our backyard for these bigger critter deaths from Skye.

It's one thing for Skye to hunt, kill, and eat critters, but killing birds is not OK with me.  She rarely did this (as far as I knew), until Peter, Erik and I moved to our Crowley Lake home in 2006.  We lived on a beautiful piece of property, close to one acre, in an aspen grove with a creek and pond.  The aspens attracted a lot of birds in the spring and summertime.  It was a symphony of beautiful bird songs outside that time of the year.  Especially at daybreak.

 I don't know why, but Skye preferred to hunt and kill bats, but she did not eat them. She would stalk them down at the pond in the evenings.  The bats would swoop down to have a sip of water, and Skye would swat them dead.  It was the weirdest thing.  She would kill 2,3,4+ bats in a night and line them up on our rail wood ties.  Bats are a good thing.  They eat mosquitos and other small insects.  We started making sure that Skye was indoors after that during the batting hour. 

Many people where I live in the mountains do not let their cats outside much or at all because of the chance of coyotes killing them.  I would not of wanted a cat unless it was an indoor/outdoor cat.  Cats are naturally inclined to be outdoors.  When Skye was in her prime, she spent most of her non-winter month nights outside.  Cats are nocturnal.  She was in her element.  I would  rather Skye only live a few years living in her element and possibly dying young for a dinner for others than forcing her to live an indoor life.  Up until about 5 years ago, I joked that Skye could of probably taken down a mountain lion or coyote with the combination of her hunting and survival skills.  (Coyotes can't climb trees or go up on a roof.)  Only the fittest survive.  Skye was the fittest.

I had Skye spayed when we got her.  I love, love, love, kittens, and ideally, I would of loved to have Skye experience one litter of motherhood.  However, I know better.  There are too many unwanted, or unhomed, cats/kittens in this world.  I did not want to add to that statistic with any of Skye's offspring.

Sparktisity or Sparkkisity

Ha ha. I think I just made up that word.  Skye requires a few paragraphs of her sparky personality. She developed it from the beginning because of Erik messing with her.  He would be playing with her with his hands, kind of an "I'm going to gitcha", but she would swat him instead.  She soon did not trust anyone to pet her.  It was not that Erik had abused her or anything, it was just that when she saw a hand coming towards her, she was going to "get" them;  they were not going to "get" her.   Any time I had friends over, I had to warn them, "don't pet the cat".   It was difficult finding people to feed her when we were away from town.  She drew blood from a few of my friends.  She left a scar on my friend, Julie.  When my dad would come up to visit during the holidays, he brought and wore kitchen mitts when he was around Skye. 

However, she was a super cuddly kitty and loved to snuggle up to me and Erik. As long as she was in control.  She slept with me every night (except when she was outside), as cats will do.   Although she did not trust hands, she did not have an issue with feet.  No feet had ever tried to "get her".  She loved feet rubs.  Whether I had shoes on or was barefoot, she would body slam my feet/shoes and rub and rub and purr and purr.  She also loved to be swept with a broom.  Any time I was sweeping, there she would be. 

Next Chapter
 

In the summer of 2003, I sold my mobile home and bought a house and moved to a new location in Mammoth.  I also met my husband to be that summer, Peter Sheldon, who happened to live in a house on the same street, 6 houses down.  Erik and I lived in our home for a year before moving in with Peter.  Skye was not as happy at either of these new locations. She was the queen of our previous place/surroundings, but not in this new neighborhood.  A lot more homes, people, cars, dogs and cats. 

In 2005, we got a new addition to our family:  Hana, a small, adorably cute yellow lab puppy. Skye made it clear from the beginning that she was the alpha between the 2.  Hana is now 9.  For most of Hana's life, she would of liked to be friends with Skye, but Skye wanted nothing to do with her.  As time went on though, Skye "tolerated" Hana, and ending up liking her, I believe.

In 2006, I sold my house that I had been leasing and Peter, Erik, Hana, Skye and I moved to Crowley Lake to our new home that we purchased.  Skye loved this property/place. She was back in her element.

This is where she did her thing with the bats until we realized what was going on and did not let her out at that time.  She loved warmth.  In the summers she would bask in the sun on the outside deck.  In the winters she would lay by the fire, usually sprawled out on her back. 

A few years later, Erik left for college.  Skye started being more social with Pete and I as time went on, especially in the summertime when there was not any snow.  I liked to spend my free time outdoors reading or gardening or what have you.  She would follow me and/or Peter around in the back yard, or hang out near us if we were sitting down relaxing. 

Hana is spoiled and sleeps with us.  And of course, Skye sleeps with us, because that is what cats do.  When I first moved in with Pete and we slept in the same bed, Peter tried to make it clear to Skye that she needed to sleep on my side of the bed by launching her over to my side.  We have a king size bed, but most times I had no wiggle room, wedged in between Hana if she was sleeping in the middle and Skye on my other side.  I could always get Hana to move if needed, but not Skye.  I would try to get her to move by aggressively nudging her with my hands or feet under the blankets (I did not dare try and move her with my bare hands) but it was like she was stuck to Velcro in that one spot. There were a few instances where Pete or I would be woken up by Skye's violent attacks of our feet or fingers twitching in our sleep. Blood drawn many times. 

Some people would not put up with a cat like this, but she was awesome! She had many more good characteristics than bad ones.  She had the loudest purr I have ever heard from a cat, and she purred a lot, especially when she was sleeping next to me.  She preferred to sit on me when I was sitting down on the couch or recliner, and she would just purr and purr and purr. 

As she got older, she would still go outside at night, but only for a few hours.  When she wanted to come in, she would tap on the door that led to the back patio because we could see and hear her tapping it, especially when the screen door was closed.  If the screen door was not closed and we did not notice her or hear the tapping, she would go around the house, up the front stairs, climb on to the top of the wood pile, tap and meow.  The couch is on the other side of this window.  We could not hear her meow, but we could see her and hear her tapping, 

All our animals our kept up with their shots, etc.  One year I took Skye to our vet, Nicki Micceili, at Bishop Vet, to have her blood work done because I had noticed that she had started drinking a lot of water.  More water than I have ever seen a cat drink.  Her blood work showed that she had kidney disease.  No big deal.  Her diet was changed to a special cat food for cats with renal (kidney) disease.  Nicki advised us to put water in more than one place for her to drink, which we did.  She preferred to drink out of glass or mug versus a bowl, so we put her water in a glass. 

Skye developed a lot of affection for Peter, and Peter reluctantly allowed it.  If he was sitting on the couch, Skye would come over and sit right next to him. 

Life went on like this for Skye until about a year ago.  We had to short sale our beautiful home/property in Crowley and we moved back to Pete's house in Mammoth, which we had been leasing.  The move was fine for all of us.  We moved back the last week of October, 2013.  Skye was much less active at age 15, but she was very content.  If I sat outside in the sunshine, she would be out there with me.  Soon, the snow came, and Skye was in bliss laying next to the woodstove.  She slept a lot. 

In December, 2013, I took her back to our vet because she had started throwing up every morning.  Nothing came up, but she would gag and gag.  Blood work showed that her kidney disease had gotten worse, which is usually what happens.  Skye now had to have fluids given to her twice a week through an I.V. The fluid bags were not expensive at $6.00, but if I took her to the vet to have it done, the cost would be $30.00, which would total $120.00 a month. It was easy to learn to do it myself. Nikki showed me  how to do it that first time, and then I went home and looked at a few youtube videos (I love youtube!) of this being done on cats.  Being that it was now winter and we had a fire every evening, we had a ritual.  Warm up the bag of fluid in a bowl of warm water, put a towel down next to the woodstove with a little bit of food, and give Skye her fluids.  It took about 5 minutes or so.

I had to take Skye back to the vet to recheck her blood work 8 weeks later, and the prognosis was not good.  Her kidney disease had progressed and I now had to give her fluids every other day.  I took her home, and for the next few months, everything was fine.  Since starting the fluids, Skye's gagging had stopped for the most part.  She was happy and not in any pain.  Her appetite was good. She probably slept about 20 hours a day. She became very clingy, which, per our vet, is normal for most cats when they are nearing the end of their life.   Peter felt bad for Skye, knowing that she would not be with us much longer, and he started letting her sleep next to him at night as well as on his lap if he was sitting down during the day.  In the evenings, or anytime there was a fire, she was next to the woodstove.

Summer came and Skye would still come outside with me and/or Peter if we were outside during the day if it was warm.  Around August last summer, Skye had had enough of the I.V. needle. Pete and I tried and tried to work with her, but she was over it.  We knew we were not going to pay the cost of having the vet do her I.V. 3 times a week.  We decided that if she showed any of the following signs that we would have her euthunized:  any sign that she was suffering, lack of appetitite, or not using her cat box.

Skye lived her last few months pain free and content until the day that she "crashed".  Peter had been out of town for a few days.  In the early morning of September 25, 2014, I woke up to use the restroom, and I panicked.  Where was my normal warm, fuzzy, purring machine Skye kitty? Did she go outside last night and I forgot to call her in?   My heart sank at this thought.  I raced around the house calling her, and went outside and called her.  No Skye.  I went back to my bedroom to put some warmer clothes on, and there she was, in the corner, in the phyenx position. 

I knew this was it.  I took her to bed with me and held her body next to mine under the blankets, crying.  I could feel her little body shutting down.  No more purr left. Her breathing, struggling.  Soon I got out of bed, wrapped her in a blanket, which I put on a pillow and took her to the living room and set her down while I made coffee and turned on the computer.  Once the coffee was done, I set myself up in the recliner with my coffee next to me, my laptop where I could use it, with Skye in the blanket on my lap.  I wanted to research the signs of when a cat is dying.  That is where I learned that when cats go into the phynix position, it is because their organs are shutting down.  They go away from people because it is just too much stimulation for their nervous system.  It was now past 7:00 a.m. and I knew that Peter would be awake as he would be driving home from Reno that morning.  I called him, crying, and let him know what was going on with Skye, and asked if he could drive us down to our vet in Bishop when he got home.  When the vet's office opened, I called and spoke with our vet, Nikki, and explained Skye's symptoms.  She agreed that it was time. I made an appointment to be there with Skye at 2 p.m.

It was a sad last few hours that day with my beloved Skye kitty. She was on my lap the whole time, including when Pete drove us to Bishop. We drove around to the back of the building , and Nikki came outside and euthnized Skye while she was in my lap.  Very sad day and evening for me.  Peter has a hard time with death. On our drive home, I told him that it's OK to be sad.  It's OK to cry.  It's OK to grieve.

When we got home, I took Skye, still wrapped in a blanket in my arms, and sat outside with her on our front porch for a bit longer.  We would be burying her at Laurel Springs the next day, so we put her in the garage for the night where is was cooler.

The next day, Peter, Hana and I had a lovely burial for our Skye kitty.  Peter had buried a dog that he had before I met him who had died of old age near there.   He knows how to properly bury an animal so that other animals, like coyotes, don't dig them up and eat them. 

Goodbye Skye. It was a privilege to have you in my life and be part of our family. What a sweet, sparky soul you are.  You will be in my heart forever. 

Emerald Lake and Sky Meadows Hike

  Sky Meadows Hike

October 20, 2014
 

 

                      

 

Fall is my favorite season in the Eastern Sierras.  I love the quietness, the changing colors of the foliage, and the deep colors of the sky as the sun travels lower.  My work as a massage therapist at In Touch is very slow in the fall.  Besides doing various other projects at this time, I enjoy the outdoors.  In Touch does not open until 11 a.m.,  and if I do not have an 11 a.m. scheduled for the next day, the soonest I would have to be at work would be 45 minutes later.

 

This morning Hana and I headed up to the Lakes Basin in Mammoth Lakes to do a short hike to Emerald Lake.  I hiked it earlier in the summer as well.  It is short, approx. 1.5 miles round trip, and the trail is right next to Coldwater Creek.  We only saw 2 different parties of people during the entire hike.  Quiet times. 

 

These beautiful hikes in the Lakes Basin are incredibly accessible to the back country.  My house is only 4.7 miles away to the trailhead of today's hike at Coldwater Creek.  Once I started my hike, I got to the John Muir Wilderness sign in about 3 minutes. 

 

A hop, skip and a jump away and we were already at the lake. 

 

Emerald Lake

I decided to continue up to Sky Meadows, which is about 3/4 of a mile up from Emerald Lake.  The trail continued next to another stream.  I love hiking hearing the sound of water next to me.

Babbling brooks abound.



  Sky Meadows

It's nice to lay in an alpine meadow

 

And listen to the sound of the creek



Or lay on your back and watch the clouds go by.




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

45 minute hike from my car, and I am at this beautiful place.   

 

 

 

 

 

                                    

"Breathe, Breathe In The Air"

Just noting down some random memories from my other blog I will be writing in the future: Growing up at the end of the lane.

I think I was 13  or so when I came across the piece of paper on a dresser in my grandmother's(Dorothy Roland) sewing room with the words she had copied from the song, Breathe, by Pink Floyd. This was typical of stuff I found that my grandma had copied. She had some notebooks where she accumulated writings that she came across that she liked, but she also had stuff like this just laying around. Here are the lyrics that she had copied from Pink Floyd’s song. 

 "Breathe, breathe in the air
 Don't be afraid to care
 Leave but don't leave me
 Look around and chose your own ground
 For long you live and high you'll fly
 And smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry
 And all you touch and all you see
 Is all your life will ever be

 Run, run rabbit run
 Dig that hole, forget the sun,
 And when at last the work is done
 Don't sit down it's time to dig another one
 For long you live and high you’ll fly
 But only if you ride the tide
 And balanced on the biggest wave
 You race toward an early grave."

Here is a version of the song for those who want to listen: The video is trippy art. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v3JaCYFNzs 

Some important people in my life have left, and I don't know where they are.   For those people who were important and special to me who left, this song reminds me of you.  
“Leave, but don’t leave me.
Look around and chose your ground,
For long you live and high you’ll fly
And smiles you’ll give and tears you’ll cry
And all you touch and all you see
Is all your life will ever be."

 Missing these people:

Lisa Roland/cousin
Steve Tucker/friend
Steve Frye/friend
Rick Mosher/step dad (deceased)
Michael Cuomo/ex boyfriend
Marco!!/friend

 

Hana and Jenn's Excellent Adventure: Santa Barbara, CA February, 2014

 

In the first week of February, 2014, I had the opportunity to visit my hometown of beautiful Santa Barbara, CA. to attend a grant application workshop at the Fund for Santa Barbara.  It is my goal to learn how to write a grant proposal this year so that I can write them for non-profits that I support, mainly related to environmental and animal non-profits.  Since I grew up in S.B. and now live in the mountains (Eastern Sierras), I really miss the ocean and need my regular ocean fixes. 

The workshop was for two afternoons, but I planned my trip to stay another 2 days so that I could play more.    My husband, Peter, could not go with me as this was a spontaneous trip.  Since I would be staying at my dad's condo, I took my dog, Hana.  I have so much fun with her.  She most definitely increases the quality of my life.

On our way out of town, I stopped in Bishop to see my horse, Caartouche.  I normally ride him 3 days a week, and although I did not have time to ride him on this day, I turned him out.  In the picture posted here, you can see what a beautiful area this is.  I have another blog I do related to my endurance riding:  http://easternsierrarider.blogspot.com/2014_01_01_archive.html

My awesome 100 mile endurance horse, Caartouche.

 

Hwy 395

 



We arrived in S.B. around 9 p.m.  I had a nice visit with my dad and went to sleep.  The next morning my workshop did not start until noon, so I took Hana to Goleta Beach and walked with her up on the bluff to Campus Point and then because it was low tide, we walked back on the beach.  It was a brilliant, sunny, clear, warm, day. The ocean was glistening in the sunlight. Unfortunatley I forgot my camera at home so I could not take any photos.  I had so much fun with Hana throwing a stick in the ocean for her to retrieve and then watch her roll, roll, roll, and then roll some more.  I also practiced the art of skipping stones over the ocean.

Before moving to Mammoth Lakes in 1997, my son, Erik, and I lived at my dad's for Erik's first 8 years.  My dad lives approx. 5 minutes away from Goleta Beach and Campus Point.  I have so many great memories of Campus Point.  My dad, Erik and I would go there most weekends in the summer months and surf or boggie board.  A few years before I moved I bought an Ocean Kayak and spent not only the weekends at Campus Point, but many evenings surfing in my kayak while the sun set.

After exhausting Hana, I dropped her back off at my dads and then went to my workshop, which was amazing. 

When I got home, my dad, Hana and I went back to Goleta Beach to take a walk and watch the sunset.  I kept Hana on a leash because I did not want her to go in the water since it was getting late.  The sunset was spectacular!

My dad, Jim, and Hana girl

 

 

 

The next morning Hana and I were limited in our adventures because something wonderful happened:  it RAINED!  California is experiencing a severe drought this year, so rain was much appreciated and needed.  Before my workshop, I spent a few hours downtown visiting the Environmental Defense Center (EDC), where I volunteered the last few years before moving, as well as checking out Antioch University's new campus.  I went to college later in life, and I received my B.A. from Antioch the same year that I moved to Mammoth in 1997.  The new campus is much larger and even more beautiful than the last campus location.  I did not have my camera with me, but if I did, I would of taken some photos of the patio/deck on the top floor and the great views.  (I now realize that I just need to have my camera with me at all times.  I do not have a smart phone to take photos with.)  If you click on the link to Antioch University at the bottom of this page, there is photo that comes up on the homepage that is the view you see from the top deck. 

 

When I got back to my dads around 4ish, the rain had stopped, so I took Hana for a walk at Lake Los Caneros, which is about 5 minutes from my dads.  It smelled amazing after the rain, mostly of eucalyptus. 

 

 

 

I had a great evening that night.  My sister, dad and I went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant that I have been going to forever in Goleta, Pepe's, and then we went and saw the movie Gravity, which was showing in 3D.  It was pretty funny the 3 of us watching the movie with those funny glasses on.  (Again-should of had my camera).

The next day was Friday and although it was not sunny, it was not raining.  It was cloudy.  I had the whole day to play, and Hana and I had a great day!

 

  First we took our usual morning walk around the neighborhood, and I brought my camera to snap some shots of some of the beautiful flowers and other growing things.

 

 

 

 I love the smell of Jasmine.

 

Then we headed off for the day and went for a hike up Rattlesnake Canyon, which is one of my favorite hikes in S.B.

 

 

I live a privileged life.

 

 I am on a (extreme) budget.  Besides gas money, I had $50.00 spending money.  (As a side note, I realize that for the majority population of the world, someone could probably survive a year with $50.00).   I brought a cooler with my own food for meals, and of course, I brought Hana's food. Besides the luxury of dinner and a movie out with my sister and dad, and $20.00 set aside for the Farmer's Market, I had about $8.00 left. 

 

After our hike, I headed over to The Mesa to go for a walk on the beach.  I had planned to stop by one of my favorite markets in S.B., Lazy Acres, prior to going to the beach.   I feel so much joy just walking the aisles of that store.  After finally deciding on one of the numerous yummy smoothies that they offer, I placed my order and got my drink and set off for my own adventure viewing all the healthy and  nutritious offerings.   Besides the smoothie section,  I especially love their deli, bake shop, cheese selection, and fresh fish selection.   Oh-and their salad bar and wine and beer selection.  And the olive bar.   They have a great produce selection, but IMO the best place to purchase fresh, local produce is the Farmer's Markets in Santa Barbara.  I would of liked to get some fresh, local  halibut to take home with me, but the price was too high for me at $27.00 a pound.  I am not complaining at all.  I think that all fish and meat should cost close to this.  I just did not have the money this trip.  I ended up purchasing 2 notecards with Santa Barbara scenery from a local artist.

 

Then we went to the beach.  There are a lot of beaches in S.B.  I have a few favorites based on my past experiences besides Campus Point which include Hendry's Beach, Butterfly Beach, and 1000 steps.  We went to 1000 steps because it was on the Mesa (which is where Lazy Acres is).

 1000 Steps

 



 

  

 

 

Friday evening I stayed home at my dad's to visit with him more.

 

Saturday morning I packed up the car after a leisure morning, including walking Hana in the neighborhood with all the pretty flowers, and headed home.  I had a few stops planned though.  First stop, the S.B. Saturday Farmers Market.  

 



 

 

My trip had been beyond excellent, but on Saturday at the Farmer's Market it got even better.  I ran into my cousin, Jill, who was working at a booth there.  I had not seen or talked to her for some years.  I learned that she is the coordinator of Santa Barbara Backyard Bounty.  I have the link listed below. One of the things that her team of awesome volunteers does it go to people's homes and harvest the excess fruit and/or vegetables that otherwise would go to waste.  The harvested produce then goes to the Santa Barbara Food Bank.  The work she does is very inspiring!



 

Next stop was in Ventura, which is on my way home to meet up with my Uncle John, one of my mom's brothers, and his girlfriend, Barbara, who I had never met.  I had not seen John in over 10 years.  We met up in Ventura and John and Barbara took me out to lunch,  then John and I took Hana to the beach to get some exercise before our drive home.

My uncle John and me.

 

As much as I miss Santa Barbara and the ocean,  I love living in the Eastern Sierras even more and working and playing in the mountains.  I just need to figure out who I can help to get a better supply of local produce in our area. 

 

 

 

 

Goodbye Santa Barbara.  Goodbye Ocean.  See you next time.

 

Links: 

S.B. Farmer's Market:  http://www.sbfarmersmarket.org/

S.B. Backyard Bounty:  http://foodbanksbc.org/backyardbounty.html

S.B. General Website:  http://www.santabarbara.com/

Lazy Acres Market:  http://santabarbara.lazyacres.com/index.html
The Fund For Santa Barbara:  http://www.fundforsantabarbara.org/
Environmental Defense Center:  http://www.edcnet.org/
Antioch University, S.B. http://www.antiochsb.edu/