New Side Quest - Catch Them All

Hello Darklings! 

The weather is getting hotter and muggier here in the midwest. Chigger season creeps upon us, which means any dog walking ends with me jumping into the bathroom to wash off my feet and legs. We’re struggling to keep the mosquito population down after all the rain caused an explosion of the bloodsucking itch fiends. That's hampering my attempt to enjoy the weather before my area becomes a boil on the arse of summer. 

Mind you, I don’t dislike summer. My meds just make me much less heat and sun tolerant. 

Recently, I decided I needed to get myself a bit more organized. I’m a fan of checking and crossing things off the list, so got a program that does that to help spur my distractible brain into tackling things. Hopefully, it works and gives me that hint of satisfaction for whittling down the list. 

Also, I was today-years-old when I figured out Scrivener has a Dark Mode. My eyes are super thankful. 

I’m working on writing a few short stories to enter them into some local writing contests. Submitting them doesn’t deny ability to publish elsewhere, even if they win. But I’ve rarely entered contests before. So wish me luck! 

Weird things searched on the internet that has surely put me on a list somewhere: 

• What color dead people’s teeth turn

• Body Farms

• Humboldt Squids murdering divers

Beasties update: We have kittens. 

Yes. Little cute fur balls with sharp ends. We were walking the dogs when my roommate said, “Uh, there’s a kitten over here?” 

So some backstory: I live in a high drop off area. Stray cats coming and going are nothing new. But there was one that stuck around long enough I decided to feed him. He’s a pretty gray tabby with wide stripes and dense, short hair, and the most glorious Resting Bitch Face. Used to be, I would hardly catch a glimpse of him, but that changed when he realized if I saw him, I put a cup of cat food out for him. 

Now, Vash, as my roommate dubbed him, will pointedly sit and stare at me when he wants his kibble fix. We also confirmed he’s male, because his boy-puffs are definitely intact and on display when he trots away from us. I wasn’t so worried about neutering him in a hurry, since all my cats are fixed, so it was just one of those things I would “get around to”. 

Well, tail end of the winter, started catching glimpses of another cat. We dubbed this one Knives. This kitty was just as shy as when Vash first showed up, solid ash gray with white socks, fairly petite, and always ran with its tail low. So it took a while of us feeding and making the new kitty less shy to confirm my suspicions; this was a lady feline. 

So, I called and made an appointment with our spay and neuter clinic as soon as possible (next month), hammered out details to rent the humane traps so I could catch the two before they could add to the unfortunate stray population.

But apparently four or five weeks ago, Knives had already popped some bitty kitties out in the shed. They’re in that clumsy, stubby tailed but bright-eyed stage where they play and explore. There are three, a solid black, a Knives mini-me, and a Vash mini-me with his RBF. 

So now I gotta plot how to catch three skittish kittens. This will be a fun little side quest. 

Keep cool, Corvids. 

Momma Knive and Pappa Vash wanting their kibble.