Thinking of discontinuing this blog

I rarely get here anymore.  And I'm trying to reduce my online footprint in general.

Yet this does give me a place to put my birds.  Not that anyone actually looks at it.  Amazingly few views in all the time it's been in existence.

So.  I don't know.  I'm thinking about it.

Is there anyone out there?  Does anyone give a damn?

Spring has sprung - at least for the moment

This little guy was sitting on my front porch this morning.  He's a House Sparrow.  I also think he's a sign that spring is either here or not too far off.

The temperature this afternoon is in the 70s.  It's still February.

We went to the DP this afternoon, because Pablo is bored with the Same Old Walkies.  I was happy to see that it was not muddy, and jam packed with dogs.  He chose his love of the day, and had fun chasing him around, as well as chasing other dogs away so he could enjoy his exclusive claim on the Mini-Pin, who is just a bit bigger than Pablo.  This is his thing, he latches onto one dog and bugs him (always a him) until he's too tired, at which point we get back in the car and head for home.

For the readers who have been wondering where I've been, I'm here.  No promises how often.  It's been difficult, with Pablo's heart condition, to get him thru the extremely cold weather, of which we've had a lot; and get him thru the snow, which has been not plentiful but a pain when it did come; and keep him taking his meds even when he doesn't want to.  We won't discuss the fights with the vet and the pharmacy about filling his prescriptions correctly and on time.

The times that make me nuts are days like today, when just last night Pablo got up to go outside to pee, but wasn't able to walk straight, and his head was bent around to the right and he couldn't look forward, so he was limping around making right turns.  I thought he had had a stroke.  And here he was this afternoon, charging around the dog park like a much younger dog.  I think the thing last nite was from having slept on his right front paw funny, and maybe it went to sleep on him or something.  His circulation isn't the best these days.  The ups and downs are maddening.  I spend so much time getting ready to put him down, then give him another chance because it's the middle of the night, or a weekend, and I'm not taking him to RBVH because they'll rip me off for exorbitant fees, why can't we do this when our regular vet is open....and then he's fine, or as close to fine as he gets these days, and I'm trying to get over the whole thing again.

Because it's not just about me.  It's also about my Mom, and it's about her neighbors, who Pablo loves like family and has to drop in on every day he can, and check to make sure they're ok and feeling good.  He has other people he looks after, too.  So there's a whole mob of people who love him, and it's not just my convenience that keeps him here, he has work to do.  And I can't stop that just because he's being a pain in the tuchas for me.  I'm his Mom, where else would he let it all hang out but at home?

So here's a pic of him a couple of weeks ago, before our woodsy park melted and turned into a mud hole.  It was still chilly out, and this was the first time in a while he had been out and walking with his tail up, like his old self.