| August 2009 Daniel Taylor |
August 1 (Saturday) 7:22 pm
A new month, and time moves inexorably onward. Buster lounges nearby. All the animals are in good
shape, and so am I. July was a busy month for work, and I am thoroughly exhausted. My boss is going out
of town next week, and I think he is going to let me work from home toward the end of next week. Actually,
working from home is the reason I am so tired. When I work from home I generally work much longer hours.
Driving to work everyday is tiring, but it is difficult to say which is more exhausting -- work from home or
work at the office.
The shelter has a new director, and I am hopeful that things at the shelter get turned around. The
directorship of the shelter has tentative plans to hold a fund raiser event for the shelter in which I
ostensibly will take part with my book. We shall see.
August 5 (Wednesday) 6:20 am
Another opossum this morning. This one was in with Buddy and Darkly, and how he got in there I couldn't
see. However, I helped him out. Yet as I was driving away this morning he appeared to be trying to reenter
that cage with the cats. Go figure.
Buster got a little extra time out yesterday. I have had a water issue lately, and Larry and a coworker of his
came out Monday evening and did some repair work on the water line between the house and the meter.
Yet I am still having water problems, so my boss let me leave early yesterday to return home to check on
that situation.
Boss will be out of town tomorrow, and it appears that I shall be working from home tomorrow and Friday.
August 7 (Friday) 12:00 pm
I am in the office today, but I started work around 4:30 this morning. I worked early from home, and arrived
to the office later than usual. We had a big upgrade at one of our client sites and it was necessary that I be
on my toes. So far the upgrade appears to have gone over okay with no hitches.
Buster wants so bad to go outside! But he will just have to get used to being an indoor kitty. I would like to
attach a dog kennel to the side of the house with a window allowing access so that Buster and any other
strictly indoor cat can have access to the outside. It is an idea that I have thought about but not yet
implemented.
I am way behind on yard work. My grass is higher now than it has ever been, but I did get some of the
mowing done yesterday. I sure do hope to get the rest finished up this weekend.
August 10 (Monday) 6:35 am
Buster is making his adjustments. He does so want to go outside, but for now he will just have to settle for
being a strictly indoor kitty. I would really like to bring Buddy and Darkly inside. I just don't know if I can
trust those two to stay within the area if I free them from their cage. I used to have to go down to my
sister's house to retrieve them now and again, and I simply do not have time to do that anymore. But I may
go now and fix up a room with access to the outside, and an area confined by a dog kennel for those cats
who need to be confined.
I went to bed last night not knowing the whereabouts of Cleo. I looked all over the house and yard near the
house, but could not fund her. That is always nerve-wracking. I can go to bed not knowing the
whereabouts of just about any of the cats, but if I don't see Cleo, or if I don't see Cougar, I let that bother
me. Fortunately, when I awoke sometime during the night I made an excursion into the kitchen to find Cleo
snoozing comfortably away on the kitchen cabinet.
August 14 (Friday) 6:45 am
Cleo has quit getting lost during the day, for now. Buster continues to grow calm, and appears not to be so
anxious to find a way out of the house. The other cats are slowly adapting to Buster's presence. Book
sales are virtually nonexistent. I knew that within reason the books would not simply fly off the shelves.
The stories are good ones, but the compilation could have benefited from further work. Besides, as with
any endeavor, sales is an absolute must, and without someone else actively selling the book (since I do not
have time), the book is not going to sell itself. No product sells itself -- not without copious advertisement.
The shelter has had a lot of less-than-flattering press lately. The new director was "fired" within a week
after taking over; so now I do not know where we stand at the shelter.
Things at work are getting tougher. Boss does a lot of whip-cracking. I'll say it: the man knows how to run
a business; he does not know how to run a company. He knows how to separate the client from his money,
but he does not know how to motivate his own employees to do what he wants. He uses "bully" tactics, and
threats by innuendo. And he uses the "F" word a lot. He is less than professional and way out of line in his
public decorum.
But I guess he is not alone in that.
The past month and a half have been dark days at the Corinth Alcorn County Animal Shelter. First, a front
page article announcing my book appeared in the local newspaper, the Daily Corinthian, followed shortly
thereafter with an article about the imminent demise of the shelter due to budget woes. That was followed
by an article in which the then director revealed that hundreds of animals were being euthanized monthly.
Another article appeared announcing the resignation of that director and the hiring of a new director.
Within a week, another front-page article appeared announcing the new director had been "fired."
My, oh my. You can read everything here.
So far my book costs have been $575.27, with sales totalling $431.47. So I am still $143.80 in the hole, but the
book stores owe me money, and I have about 25 books in my possession. Perhaps when I do a book signing
I shall have caught up and made a little money by then. I really didn't expect to make a lot of money from the
books, but I had hoped to at the least increase the positive exposure to the shelter.
On the positive side, all 25 members of my furry family are healthy, alive, and in good spirits. I finally
managed to capture Buster, whom I have been stalking for about four years. You can see a picture of him
on the front page of my personal website.
August 16 (Sunday) 7:24 am
Buster is slowly adapting. Twice he has ventured outside the house to return again. Both times, however,
he didn't go far -- no more than to exit the door and turn around, but that is progress. Buster will sit in my
lap facing me with his paws on my chest and make circles on my face with his -- my nose at the origin of the
circle.
The Prednisone pills given to me by the vet appear to have cured Lu Lu's problem of eating herself up due
to her allergic reaction to the flea bites. For some reason I have had a serious flea problem this summer.
August 17 (Monday) 6:35 am
I came close to leaving Buster out last night when I went to bed, however Cougar and Willie sorta freaked
out when Buster tried to rub noses with them, so I decided in the interest of a good night's sleep, peace
would best be served by Buster spending the night in his room. This morning I toyed with the idea of
leaving him out, but decided to confine him for the day. Buster is close -- almost is he ready to be turned
loose.
August 19 (Wednesday) 6:45 am
I left Buster out last night when I went to bed, and he was still there when I awoke this morning. He did
have cockleburrs on his fur this morning, however; so perhaps he made an excursion into the night --
outside, of course -- yet still managed to return before I awoke. If that is the case then great! No more
worries about Buster. I would like to get Buddy and Darkly to hang around so that I can let them out of their
cage, where they have been ensconced for a year and a half.
August 20 (Thursday) 6:15 pm
I have definitely created a monster. Buster was inside the house when I arrived home yesterday evening,
but he has definitely figured out that he can go and come inside and out. The monster side of Buster sees
him creating havoc for the other cats and the dogs -- he tends to bully them. But it is apparent that
everyone involved is making their adjustments.
August 23 (Sunday) 7:15 am
I had a little excitement last night. The dogs managed to get the front gate open -- the one that opens
between the front yard and the drive. Grainger, Taz, Grace, Scamp, Oscar, and Sam escaped to the outside.
I didn't know about it when it happened -- only until some time afterwards. Nevertheless, when I did
discover that the dogs were gone I once again had to experience that feeling -- that sinking feeling.
Fortunately I did eventually managed to gather the dogs back in, but the interim wasn't pleasant: Taz and
Grainger were the first to return, followed closely by Grace and eventually Scamp. Oscar and Sam, old
hands at going "over the top" returned on their own within a short time. All are safe and sound now.
August 25 (Tuesday) 9:15 am
The weather has been very conducive to the good life lately. This summer has been pleasant, with low
humidity. Even though we are still in August I find myself a bit chilled when I arise mornings. I flirted with
the idea of starting a fire in the fireplace Sunday morning. The dogs got out of the fence Saturday night,
and that alone was enough to send chills throughout my body, but then Buster managed to make himself
scarce for most of the day on Sunday, and even though I really was not too concerned I was a bit put out at
his lengthy absence.
I had it out with boss this morning. I stood my ground with him, and I believe he realized that today was his
turn to acquiesce. Proving myself to be right was not my goal -- even though I was in the right -- but I was
determined to let him know that even though he is the boss, he will respect me. I think he got the message.
Cold weather will be here soon, and I am looking forward to using the fireplace. I love the fireplace!
August 28 (Friday) 4:15 am
Those dogs! They insisted that I arise earlier than usual, so around 3:00 this morning they managed to drag
me out of bed. Anyone out there want a dog? Well, it was worth a try.
Summer draweth to a close, and we have had a relatively mild one by Mississippi standards. With warm air
rising from the gulf, baptizing us in oppressive humidity, to meet the cooler air drifting in from the North, we
often experience wild swings in weather, sometimes with violent thunderstorms and at other times
dangerous tornadoes. Oh well, winter draweth closer.
At least winters are relatively mild here. But we do look forward to those cozy warm nights in front of the
fireplace!
August 30 (Sunday) 4:30 am
Larry and his family invited me to go with them to the Memphis zoo on yesterday. Melinda's (Larry's wife)
parents went also. The three children are Christina, Bo, and Mikey. When asked if I would like to go along, I
responded, "I live in a zoo; I commute to Memphis every day to work; sure, I would love to do something
different. How about drive to Memphis to visit a zoo?"
Anyway, I genuinely enjoyed myself. The zoo residents were all very interesting, and the ambience and
atmosphere of the place were fantastic. There were barnyards and water wheels and African savannahs,
Native American villages, and rock outcrops from Southwest US. I especially enjoyed the areas that were
fixed up to look like farmyards, replete with cows and pigs and chickens, and even little patches of corn
and cotton. That made me envision what Willow Oak could be like, were I to have the time to work on the
place.
Larry and his cohort, Kenny, delivered a load of firewood to my place yesterday evening after we returned
from Memphis. They delivered about a cord and a half of really good red oak. Ah, we are going to have
some fine, warm and cozy winter evenings.
| This Meerkat sentinel seemed perfectly oblivious to our presence. |
| This cheetah demonstrates the proper form for drinking water from a river. |
| Sweet potato plants proliferated, as in this shot of one of the barns. |
| From left to right: Larry, Melinda, Christina, Mikey, Bo. I failed to get the name of the cow. |
August 31 (Monday) 8:55 pm
I shall not render details, but my career as a software engineer have come to an end. Today was a
gorgeous day. The weather was very cooperative for my new gig: tractor operator and owner. Larry had to
make a trip to Memphis, and I tagged along. On our return trip to Corinth, we stopped at a tractor
dealership, and I purchased a 40 HP Mahindra tractor, with bush hog and trailer. Before we returned home,
Larry's partner already had work lined up for us. We worked for a couple of hours before returning home,
but I shall be on the job very early tomorrow morning, probably by 7:00, my usual starting time at my
previous job. Of course, now I only have about a 10 minute drive to work instead of a 1.5 hour drive.
The job we have lined up for us will pay me in two days what I received in salary for two weeks on my
previous job. I have worked couped up in an office long enough. It is now time for me to do some work
outdoors that requires me to move around a bit. I shall make more money, have more time for my animals,
and I shall be much happier and better off all the way around.
While we were at the tractor dealership and as part of the deal we made on the tractor we acquired a
couple of rocking chairs, which I believe Larry's wife will enjoy. The dealer, who also markets farm
products, gave us some dog and cat food, and enough baseball caps for each of Larry's children. I am
wearing one of the caps in the third picture below.
| We have just arrived home from Memphis. The truck that I recently gave to Larry is attached to the new trailer and tractor. They look gorgeous sitting in my backyard! |
| Larry prepares the tractor to be driven off the trailer. We left the bush hog at my house then drove to a site not far away where we did some heavy-duty work. As I sit here writing about this, I am sore and tired, but very satisfied. |
| Larry snapped this shot of me as I prepare to back the tractor off the trailer and onto the grounds of Willow Oak for the first time. |