Fun with Hearts

I didn't mean to go this long between blog posts, but what can I say?  Night playtime the last two weeks, with the exception of one night, has been in my office and not in the tent. All four gliders have a good time running and climbing. They can go an hour an a half like that on most nights. We also have a wheel in the room and it gets a good workout- three of them are spinning around in it right now.

This week they have enjoyed the challenge of playing "hearts", so to speak. M picked up some small heart-shaped plastic containers used for candy. She made a few small holes in the container lids. She has been filling them with about 6 meal worms each, and we put them out for the gang to try and open. It usually takes a while, but they eventually get them open for their reward. It is a hoot watching them try to get the containers open, wrestling it and pushing it around (as if that is going to get it open). When one glider is working on one, a second will often come over to help out.  When they do get it open, well, then often the others show up to enjoy the reward.

Tonight Virga was the persistent one. She stayed with it and eventually opened two of the containers. CB is usually the more adept one at opening them, but he wasn't very interested tonight. I did manage to get some video of Virga and Cirrus working hard to get one of the containers open. They eventually do, and either CB or Foehn (not sure which) joined them for a meal worm. We keep the light at a low level in the room, so the video is a little dark.

Virga works at getting a heart open for the meal worms inside

Shirt Tales

Now that the holidays are over and things have settled down again the gliders are back into their routine. M still gets up in the morning and brings them into the office for some yogurt and some exercise, and then gives them a kefir and meal worm snack in the afternoon. We really haven't done much time in the tent the last week because I've been letting them have the run of my office.  We put sheet on the floor and set up some of their toys. Once they get their evening treat, off they go. Well, at least three of them.  The last couple nights CB has crawled into my shirt for a nap, and seems to come out to play only when I'm ready to wind things up. 

They have also been spending time in M's shirt after their afternoon snack - all four of them. M usually wears a long sleeve cotton shirt over a long sleeve pullover and they are finding it very comfortable between the shirts. I'd take a photo but I don't think M really wants a photo of her looking like she is wearing an inner tube. Well, it's not that bad, but she does look pretty lumpy. The problem is that they don't always settle in one place, and move around her shirt finding a more comfortable place to settle down.  They seemed to be especially active today. There were a couple of exclamations for M this evening when she felt small areas of "warmth", shall we say, spreading on her shirt. So, we decided to start "office time" a little earlier. Right now CB is currently in my shirt starting think about coming out, Foehn is taking a nap in their soft-sided boat, and Cirrus and Virga are running in the wheel.. They have been going for well over an hour now, so it's about time for me to gather them up and get them back to the cage for their dinner and yet another nap. Ahh, the life.

A Bridge in the Distance

I recently learned that my sister, who raises and trains horses, had suffered a second unexpected loss of one of her horses in a matter of less than two months.  The first was a horse she had raised, trained, and rode for more than 12 years, a horse she had a special bond with. This horse succumbed to a sudden infection. A few days ago she lost Snickers, a 9-month old filly, in a freak accident. I had a chance to give Snickers a scratch between the ears when I was there on a visit last summer when she was a little over a month old. She had a good temperament, was friendly, and a good looking horse. A twinge of sadness came over me when I learned of the accident, not just for Snickers, but especially for my sister because I know how much she cares for her horses.

Occasionally I read through the Real Stories forum on Glider Central. This is where members post stories about medical and other challenges with their gliders, or memorials for gliders that have passed away, euphemistically called "crossing the rainbow bridge". Many of the stories are poignant, and it's clear that the glider owners feel a real sense of loss. When I read these I sometimes wonder how I will feel when one of our gliders passes away - not that I am looking for that to happen anytime soon. We have only been at this a little over a year, but in that time these four energetic marsupials have definitely captured our hearts. We know their personalities and they pretty much know what to expect from us. They have bonded with us and us with them.  It will be a little difficult to deal with when they are gone. 

There was a time when I did not quite get why some people got as upset as they did over the loss of a pet. I had pets as a child, mostly what I call "look at" pets - turtles, chameleons, goldfish, etc.  We did get a dog when I began high school and she was terrific. However, after I left for college I spent little time with her and what attachment I had faded away as the years passed.  To that point I never had suffered the loss of a pet that I was really attached to. In the many years since, through the experiences of family and friends, I came to realize how pets can become part of the fabric one's life and family. That's where we're at now. I hope the bridge remains just a speck on the horizon for a long time.

A Bit of a Scare

I was still in a morning haze in bed Wednesday when I heard M calling me from the family room. She had gotten up to bring the gliders into the office for their morning yogurt and exercise (sounds like a spa, doesn't it?). As is often the case, Cirrus was still out and about the cage. Cirrus climbed on to M's robe, which normally is followed by a short trip to the office. Well, this time Cirrus had other ideas. She quickly jumped to the outside top of the cage and then crawled to the bottom where M could not reach her. Virga was already out of the pouch and climbing on M, so she decided to get the three of them into the office and come back and get Cirrus. The trip to the office and back is 30 seconds at most. When M came back out to get Cirrus, she was nowhere to be found. There was no scurrying of little feet or other sounds that would point to a likely location.  That's when I got the call.

Typically when one of the gliders is loose you can here them running around. As I slowly went through the family room and adjoining rooms I didn't hear a sound. That was not good. Cirrus is a very active glider and she especially has a good time in the morning, so it wasn't likely that she hunkered down to sleep in that amount of time. With some dread I went down into the basement to see if she might be there. I checked the areas near the stairs and did not see or hear anything. I headed back upstairs to look around some more, but no luck. On place I did not check in the basement was the area we discovered Foehn in during their summer "breakout".  I went back downstairs and checked the utility area. Within seconds I heard and then saw Cirrus climbing around the stuff down there. She was not about to come to me or let me grab her - she was having far too good of a time. I dashed upstairs and grabbed a pouch and went back down. I held out the pouch and she crawled right in. She joined the rest of the gang in the office moments later, but not before she got a little bit of a talking to by me. That leaves Virga as the only one who hasn't headed to the basement, and we'd like to keep it that way.

It still amazes me how fast the gliders can move. It also amazes me that they can get down the stairs so fast. Getting down the stairs is the easy part - getting up the stairs appears to be more daunting.

The basement stairs - a tall order for a small glider.

Room to Spread Out

After three months of waiting I was able to pick up our new (assembled) cage December 10th. I started assembling it that weekend and finished it up this past weekend. On the fist day I assembled the main cage, which meant connecting two 30 inch wide panels each for the front and back to make a 60 inch wide by 60 inch high panel, and then connect the sides, top, and bottom to them. Apparently on the first Saturday I must have been still a little strung out from trip the day before. When I finished assembling the cage, M noticed that I had attached one of the front panels upside down, which was obvious because the doors were upside down. Then, I noticed that I had installed the end panels opposite to where they should have been, and the doors on both opened the wrong way. So, last Saturday I spent more than an hour removing a few dozen "c" rings from around the upside down front panel, removed it, an installed it correctly. For the ends, I just swapped the doors. Once that all was done, the rest of the assembly went quickly. The new cage measures 60 inches wide by 60 inches high by 24 inches deep, exactly twice as wide as their previous cage.

That afternoon we rolled out the old cage, which was going to our son for his glider, Molly, and wheeled in the new one. M had new cage stuff all ready to go, including a neat "Santa Pants" sleeping pouch. That night we passed on tent time in order to let them come out and check out their new home. Virga was the first out that night, and she checked out the whole cage, sniffing everything. The others eventually came out, all a little wary at first.  They have since settled in and seem to be enjoying the extra space. We haven't really had the chance to see them playing around in it as we are in bed before they really get going . Most nights they take a post tent time nap after they are returned to their cage and don't going until later after we are in bed.

The gliders' new cage, complete with holiday decorations.

Road Adventures

A week ago we finally got the call we have been waiting for since early November. The new cage we had ordered in September was ready to be picked up. I originally had requested a price quote in late August, but for  a variety of reasons we didn't get it until late October, and then were told it would probably be another two weeks before it was ready.  Five weeks later they called. Ironically I was only a hour away from the company, located in southern Wisconsin, when the call came but I was working and did not have my own car. So, I decided to head up last Friday, the one good day between two storms.

I was going by myself because M had a lot of things she wanted to get done at home. I wanted to get an early start so that I could get there and back before dark. I pulled out of the garage and made my way about a half-mile toward the highway which would take me to the Interstate. When I approached the stop sign and hit the brake, the pedal went all the way to the floor and lights lit up the dashboard. I had no brakes.  Not good...not good at all. I backed up, turned around, and drove the half-mile home very slowly. The car was not drivable and would have to be towed to the repair shop.

The towing company showed up with a flatbed and loaded up the Durango. I was left to make the tip north in my 18 year old truck with 193,000 miles. That wasn't my first choice, but it would have to do. I followed the flatbed to the repair shop. We weren't very far down the road when I realized that I had no heat in the truck. It appeared the thermostat was shot. This was going to be a long, cold day.

Once the Durango was at the repair shop and scheduled for service I headed north. Fortunately it was a sunny day, but it was also only in the 20s. I started to get uncomfortable after an hour or so. It didn't help that there is a rather large hole in the body of the cab (rusted through) that provided unneeded ventilation. I had a wool blanket that I wrapped around my legs, and that helped. I made it to my destination in good time and picked up the cage panels and parts, and then headed home. The ride home was OK until the sun went down, and then it got really cold. By the time I got home my feet were like ice and my legs were cramping  because of the cold and sitting for hours. Mission accomplished, however - we had the cage.Well, we had the parts.

The cage was not assembled, and what I came back with were the pre-cut panels and other parts. The panels had doors installed where we wanted them, but I asked them not to assemble it so that transportation would be easier. I put together most of the cage on Sunday, and should have it finished as soon as I get some time this week. We hope to have the gliders in their new home this weekend. More on that later.

Catching On

I'm pretty amazed at how fast our "gang of four" adapts to changes in their routine. Back when we had to move the cage out of the office into the great room M was resigning herself to the fact that she wouldn't be able to spend time with them in the morning anymore because we couldn't let them out of the cage. She was taking them in their sleeping pouch from the cage to our bathroom while I was painting and laying a new floor in the office. They quickly learned that that's the way it was going to be, and now wait in the pouch for M to come and get them. Instead of the bathroom, they now get to run around the office where there is plenty of space. Cirrus is the "lookout" in the morning. When she hears one of us come out her little head pops out of the pouch to check who is there.  M brings them into the office where there are some things to climb on and a wheel to run on. Cirrus is often on the wheel when I come into the office to get my stuff for work. When I come in, she usually jumps off of the wheel and comes over to climb up my leg and arm to my shoulder. I like to think she is glad to see me, but it could also be I'm the tallest thing in the room for her to climb and jump off of!  Either way, it's pretty neat. They have the run of things for about 45 minutes until they decide to call it a night. When they are ready to turn in they crawl into the sleeve of M's robe, and once they have settled down she carries them into our bathroom and lays her robe on the heated floor along with their pouch. While she is getting showered and dressed they eventually make their way out of the robe and into the sleeping pouch, and into the cage they go for the rest of the day.

There is one more big change in the offing - a new, larger cage. I'll be going to pick that up in a couple of days and will have more to write about it at that time..