Journal of a Sabbatical
January 20, 1999		Moses' nose
Before Journal Index After Home Copyright © 1998, Janet I. Egan		Moses is sneezing. Jaguar is jumping. Cubby is peeing. Joey is hissing. The sun is out. There's a cardinal at the feeder. We've got two new volunteers. The washer and dryer are humming. We've got plenty of bleach and dish detergent. Clinton is still president. The ice is melting. It's actually a nice spring day here in January. You can tell from the pictures I took at the beach after my shift, that there were clouds and they kept shifting, making for interesting lighting conditions as well. Maybe the mild weather is responsible for Jaguar's sudden burst of energy. He normally moves slowly and cautiously as befits his age (14 or so) but today he leaped from the top of Sadie's cage to the top of the left side wall of cages, quite a leap even for a young cat - and also Lucas and Downey's exclusive territory. He didn't stay long up there. He jumped back and forth from surface to surface with a grace and energy I have never in nearly 4 years seen him exhibit. Of course Bonnie had to remind me that older cats sometimes get a sudden burst of energy right before they croak! Arrgh! Jaguar is fine, and white cats often seem to live longer than other kinds. Don't know why - and the evidence is only anecdotal. Anyway, I think Bonnie was just yanking my chain. With Roberta not working Wednesdays anymore, somebody has to tease and get teased. Everybody dutifully reported Moses' sneezing and the snot on the walls of his cage in the logbook. Bonnie made an appointment to take him downstairs to the vet for a look-see. It is so convenient being directly upstairs from a really good vet. Although having her as our landlady is a bit strange. Anyway, Moses' nose was also looking a little irritated or something and folks were starting to wonder whether he'd got ringworm. I hope not. I don't think he could stand being deprived of cuddling while it healed. He is one cuddly dude. So off the lab with a sample (the lab is a box under Eileen's desk). Good thing I'm not taking him to Brigham this week! "Moses' nose" is not as hard to say three times fast as "ringworm room", but it sure does sound funny. By the time I left the shelter it was so much warmer that I had to take a walk on the beach. The weather was so nice there weren't many waterfowl close to shore. I saw not one single eider at Emerson Rocks. I walked for well over an hour and used most of the roll of Tri - X film I started at Point Judith the other day. Nancy says I'm really into photographing things half-buried in sand. I hadn't really thought of it that way, but I guess she's right. I love the contrast of the shells with the sand, and I love their shapes. I didn't move any of the objects I photographed today. They are all in exactly the position the surf left them in. I'd forgotten how much I like black and white. I had a major black and white phase in the mid-1970's but had done only color since then. Istvan's bark photos inspired me to pick up a roll of Tri-X a few weeks ago, and I finally got around to putting it in the camera on Monday. I feel another black and white phase coming on.