A Day In The Day Of
Sleep
last night was impossible. Between tossing and turning, my bastard cats
got the zoomies and I kept hearing things crash to the floor and guitar
strings thrum as if being pulled by razor sharp pitiless claws, which
they were. At 6 I gave up, got up, started the coffee maker and
showered. Thank God the mirror was fogged up and I couldn't see
my reflection, moribund old rabbits are not at a premium here and I get
enough of that at Walmart. I got dressed, selected the day's boots,
straightened my ears and tail, and then fed my demon kitties. I sat
down and went through my internet routine, answering messages here on DA
and reading the left wing news sites I am so addicted to. I then went
out to the porch and had my first smoke of the day, it was cold and
bright and anyone else would have been cheered by such a lovely
morning. Not me, Hell no. I kept looking for the coral snake I
inexplicably let live and then remembered that I had lost my driver's
license, without which no one may be able to buy cigarettes and alcohol, except he who is having the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Great. Happy Halloween, Thumper, how's that adulthood thing working out for you?
We
have two Great Blue Herons to feed and medicate, both probable
casualties of car impacts. It is very rare for a Great Blue to survive
more that a couple of days in captivity and we have had both of these
for weeks. They occupy our only two cages in the hospital large enough
to hold them which means that dosing them and cleaning their cages is a
two person job. I fed the goose and the ducks and the doves and the
pelicans and then went inside for the heron fun. I always wear a full
face shield after one of them stabbed me in the temple with that needle
sharp beak. The younger heron had diarrhea, wild birds are nasty at
best and this guy was above and beyond. He had tossed his fish around
the cage and in general was a sanitation nightmare. I threw a towel
over him, grabbed his wings and beak, and brought him to the autopsy
table we use for exams and such. This took half an hour and we still
had one Blue to go. The other is full grown, grouchy, and it's a rodeo
bringing him to the table. He ripped open both my hands and got me
twice with his beak before I could get him calmed down, i.e.,
immobilized. I pried his sawtooth beak open and we got his meds in him,
I held him while my boss changed his floor pads. When I brought him
back to the cage he got loose and struck me with his beak and I threw
him into the cage, earning myself a rebuke but saving my eyes, or so I
told myself. I mopped the floor and went outside for a smoke. I spent
the rest of the day winterizing pelican cages while being attacked by
clumsy, clownish water birds without a smidgen of gratitude or affection
for those keeping them alive. About two I went home and my cats curled
around my feet as I looked at the vase smashed into grit strewn across
the floor. I ate a light lunch of cold Spam and generic Mexican
crackers and fell asleep. 10 minutes later I received a phone call, it
seemed that one of the pipes had burst and water was a'bubbling across a
walkway. I got that sorted out and was about to go back to the house
and pass out when we were told to stand by for a pelican with a hole in
it's throat. I cleaned out a cage for him and after an hour it turned
out that no one could catch the bird so we stood down. I went back to
my place and fed the cats again. Then the guys building the education
center started up with the nail guns so I watched the ceiling fan revolve until they finished. I went
outside to view the sun going down from the front porch while I had
another cigarette, I was feeling mellow and almost happy when something
inside shattered, very loud, and I remembered that I had not secured my
latest thrift store find, a porcelain unlicensed Felix knock off that dated to the twenties.
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