Muskrat Love

I’m multitasking tonight. As I type this, my students are taking a test (a test so well written that there surely won’t be any questions…I can dream. It may happen someday) and my grading is caught up for now. Today is a very busy day, so I'm using this time to accomplish something that otherwise wouldn't get done today. I’m really enjoying the little break from teaching tonight. Okay, semi-break, as I’ve already had to jump up and run over to answer a question.

L is enjoying a girls’ night with Grandma until I pick her up after class. My dad is working at the homeless shelter tonight, so L was happy to have a night with Grandma all to herself!

Jasper and I put in a long night last night, which made for a long day today. He hates the collar, but it’s for his own protection. I’m only supposed to take it off for five supervised minutes per day to allow him to groom. So I took it off last night for his five minutes of grooming. As soon as he started on his wound, I made a noise and told him “NO”. He stopped. We did that about three more times. Then he started eating, so I allowed him to continue his meal without the nasty collar. I went to put it back on after he finished his food, and he growled when he saw it. Jasper is not a growly cat at all. He’s so laid back and chill—a very sweet, mellow guy, so it was a surprise to hear such a reaction from him. I decided as long as I was home, I would just watch him every minute and leave it off until I had to give up and go to bed. He was so happy! He relaxed and slept much more peacefully than he has since the surgery and ate much better too. After a few hours, it was time for me to go to bed, but he still hadn’t tried to pick at his wound, so I was having a really hard time with the idea of putting that collar back on him.

I’m an insomniac and light sleeper anyway, so I just decided that I would stay on duty through the night. He snuggled over my arm and went to sleep. Every time he moved though to get up and shift position or go to his box or eat more food, I woke up to supervise him. We made it through the night that way. When my alarm went off to get ready for work, I wanted to cry! The worst part, though, was that I had to put the damned collar back on before I could leave him all day for work. It will have to stay on until 8:45 tonight, when I get home from class, because I can’t give him my undivided attention until then. My poor little guy!

Sunday afternoon the in-laws drove up for a visit. They will be heading off to Europe shortly and will miss her dance performance, so she had to put on an impromptu performance for them. It’s not nearly as cool without the costume and makeup, but still impressive.



We went for a nice little hike through the UW Artboretum—one of our favorite spots, but the in-laws have never been there. It was a perfect day for it! The high point of the day, unquestionably, was the muskrat L & M spotted along the pond. We watched that her/him eat duck weed for the longest time. That little muskrat was so damn adorable! I wanted to take it home with me forever, but of course I couldn’t, so I did the next best thing—took tons of pictures.

We were planning to take the in-laws out for lunch/dinner at the Green Owl for MIL’s birthday. We arrived shortly after 3 to find a sign saying they closed at 3. On a Sunday! WTF?!? Then we decided to go up the street a bit to Dobhan instead. Same situation there. Again…WTF?! Don’t people eat out after 3pm on Sundays in Madison? On to plan C, which was Taj. We discovered only after we had nearly finished our very delicious meal there that they were actually closed between 3-5 pm! Their open sign was lit up and the door was open. As soon as we walked in, they seated us and never said a word. We had to leave an extra generous tip to try to repay their very kind accommodation. Great food, great service at Taj in Madison! I even have some leftovers to look forward to for dinner tomorrow night.