Our Olde House: March 2025

The front and back gutters are still clogged with leaves since I am on ladder probation. I did manage to ride the big mower around the back lawn to chop up the few leaves that had fallen on it; the mower uses all hand controls so my right foot was not doing anything. And, we have a litter of kittens walking around our back yard from a stray cat, all of whom need to make a visit to the vet.

I purchased some professional type critter catchers to help me round up the extra cats. One device is the classic dogcatcher pole with a loop on one end, which you are supposed to loop around the cat’s neck and tighten enough so the cat cannot slip out of it. This may work on TV, but these cats will not sit calmly while I lasso them; basically they run and go under the fence as soon as I get within twenty feet of them.

I also got a pole with a net on the end which can be closed around the animal. This is also a non-starter for the same twenty foot reason as the dogcatcher pole, plus I was unable to figure out how I would get the wild animal out of the net and into a cat carrier. These devices are supposed to be for catching live animals, but I doubt they will work on anything that is not already dead.

Keeping in mind the twenty foot rule, I purchased a casting net, which is for fish, thinking that I could maybe throw it twenty feet over the cat in order to catch it. The casting net has enough weight to it that I am unable to throw it more than ten feet; it might go twenty feet if I were an Olympic shotput or hammer thrower. And then, I have that same transfer from the net into a crate unanswered question that made me give up on this method.

So, we do have a live trap for racoons and possums that manage to get under the house, which I decided is also suitable for wandering cats. I caught two of the kittens in the trap using sardines as bait, but the last kitten and its mom are playing hard to get. Miss Sherry used some catnip spray to entice the last kitten into the trap, and now all of the kittens have had their shots and were ‘fixed’. Momma cat is still at large, but Miss Sherry is working on it.

I went back to the orthopedic doctor for another x-ray of my foot to see if any progress was made growing my bones back together. Yes, the broken little toe bone now has new bone about half way across it, and the other minor injuries seem to be pretty much fixed. I was very excited with this news, as was Miss Sherry, so I asked the doctor if he thought my foot might be completely healed in another four weeks; he deadpanned ‘Maybe, but it might take a year’. Great, but not the best news; I made an appointment in another six weeks to check the bone growth progress.

The rover is fun anyway, especially on the incredibly smooth floors in Kroger and Walmart. Both stores have slight slopes in places so I can pump twice with my left foot and coast at least fifty feet down some aisles. Miss Sherry got me a little bag to hang on the handle bars so I can fetch items in the stores and bring them back to her buggy. Some rovers come with a basket but that would look silly, and they cost about $50 more.

I did find one issue with my rover, probably due to riding it over bumps at a higher than the recommended speed; I have a sore spot on my knee where it contacts the seat of the rover. I started wearing a knee pad which helps tremendously, but if you get a knee rover I suggest wearing a knee pad right away and not waiting like I did. And maybe avoid the large bumps and seeing how fast you can go on it.

The list of things needing attention around the house continues to grow, and at a much quicker pace than my toe bone. Everything can wait; allowing my foot sufficient time to heal completely is the highest priority. I am now able to stand, drive a car and walk on my foot for short distances without triggering any pain, and this increased bi-pedal mobility helps greatly with my mental health. I do get a chuckle at people at Kroger who see me exit my car, walk to the back of the car and remove the rover, close the trunk and then ride the rover into the store. It must look like an insurance scam to a few, based upon their expression as I zoom past them. I try to find the entertainment value in every situation.