Spice’s biopsy is NEGATIVE!

Yay! Spice does not have cancer! It seems that her severe stomatitis was caused by either an infectious process or an autoimmune process. We will continue to treat this with steroids and antibiotics as well as continue the novel protein foods for the next 3 – 6 months and see how it goes. She has a follow-up appointment with the vet on December 19th. I am thrilled!

After we brought her home, Spice had a very rough night and would not eat anything until the following afternoon. We attribute this to the pain from the biopsy. We brought her indoors, so we could keep a closer eye on her also. She is doing much better now, both eating and drinking! I had to soften up her new venison food with a bit of water to get her to eat it. It is kind of like a meat slurry. We were very excited to see her exhibit a new behavior, she cleaned herself after eating!

I have been brushing her with a furminator because I have allergies to cats and her fur is a complete mess and loaded with mats. She just loves it and becomes a little purr box when she sees it! I use it on both my cats and dogs and it works wonders; if you don’t have one, I highly recommend it!

Also, I bought some kitty litter that is for training cats to use the box and it is called Dr. Elsey’s Cat Attract, and it is amazing! It has her using the box, which previously has been an issue for her. It cost the earth, but it had a money back guarantee.

But twice a day, I become the bad guy, because I have to give her meds with a needless syringe into her mouth. She really dislikes that. I give her a pain medication [Buprenorphine] and an antibiotic [Clindamycin]. She has already bitten me! Oh no!

But we wait for the biopsy results. We should know by Friday.

Spice is very sick

This is a photo of her in her hospital cage earlier this afternoon, when I picked her up.

All along she had not been cleaning herself and was getting thinner. We thought it was because of stress from being relocated and getting accommodated to Moonshadow, her roommate. But then we went on a tiny vacation during Thanksgiving and left her some dry food and water; when we got back, she was much thinner. We fed her canned [soft] food only and she ate it voraciously. The next day I thought we should feed her paté, as we had been feeding her shredded food. She also ate that voraciously. The next morning, she would only lick the goop from the bottom of the paté can and not eat anything at all. That was last Saturday. I got a vet appointment and rushed her in.

The vet opened Spice’s mouth and she had advanced stomatitis and there was a pea-sized mass visible on the back of her throat on her right side [where a tonsil would be]. He asked us her FIV status and we didn’t know, so he planned to test her for that and feline leukemia [both were negative]. He planned hospitalization with support on antibiotics and pain medications over the weekend while he did a full blood work. Then on Monday, he planned to biopsy the mass for pathology to see if it was a malignancy.

She improved over the weekend, eating everything offered, but her globulins on her blood test were extraordinarily high, so the vet suspected irritable bowel syndrome [IBS], and switched her diet to venison. Plus, her stools were bloody, which could be the cancer or the IBS and her mouth was also bloody, again that could be the cancer or the IBS. Stomatitis can be seen with either cancer, IBS or with infections. So, that is where we were at discharge. We wait now for the biopsy results and buy venison for Spice to eat. The bill so far has edged over a thousand dollars.

Spice is home and resting. She was quite traumatized by events of the last few days. We have been given pain medications and antibiotics to administer to her while we wait for her results. She is a very sick kitty. We are hoping for the best.

I've got Flare!

After the show I visited my brother in his domicile and played with my nephew's albino corn snake "Flare".


This is Flare as a hatchling. Isn't he to die for cute?

Massachusetts Orchid Society Annual Show!

This past weekend I drove up to meet my brother Verne at the Massachusetts Orchid Society Annual Show and Sale, “A New England Rainforest”, which was held at the lovely Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, MA.

The greenhouses were neat as a pin, with nary a stray leaf to be found on the floor. Here is a photo of the orangery.


There were many camellias in bud, but only one was beginning to bloom, it was called Yuletide.

Most of the more common orchids that we would readily recognize are of the genus Phalaenopsis. Here is a table of these orchids at the show that I took because it was pretty and colorful:

But mostly I wanted to get photos of unusual orchids that take forms I wouldn’t readily recognize as being orchids. Good thing I had Verne in tow to point them out to me!

I didn’t manage to get a photo of the label with this one, but look at how it seems to be fingers on a hand!

I could not believe that this Robiquetia cerina was an orchid! But if you look closely at the flowers, you can clearly see the 6 petal arrangements.

I just kind of liked these!

These Schomburgkia Wellesley are unusual for their lower liplessness. Whereas lady-slipper type flowers have a lower lip, these do not and that is highly unusual in orchids. There is even a fancy botanical name for it! [Of course Verne knows it!] Pretty lavender color too!

I got very excited when I saw these tiny orchids growing in moss because I had written about Teagueia orchids growing in moss for my Fair View Fantasy Ecuadorian Equinox series [NSFW]. However, this was another species entirely. But I was so happy to finally see orchids growing in moss!

These very interesting orchids have separate moving parts. The little round things bobble up and down like an insect to attract small birds and insects. The effect is more noticeable when the bobble is dark, but this flower is prettier!

This Angraecum distichum hardly looks like an orchid at all; looking much more like a fern or a cactus!

These are sort of ordinary, but I liked the colors!

Verne was partial to these.

As well as these!

These hanging chains of orchid flowers were pretty and had a wonderful fragrance! This was a tiny plant compared to the giant below that filled an entire corner of the building:

The flowers are not yet open. Notice the pine tree next to it for scale.

This is one I noticed in Singapore that I wasn’t able to identify, but here it was with a label!

It is a Pigeon Berry. Note the orange berries and purplish-pink flowers.

A murder in Georgia that history will never forget

At 11:08 PM Troy Anthony Davis was murdered by the State of Georgia by lethal injection. The “reason” was the verdict from a sham trial that found him guilty with plenty of doubt of the murder of Officer MacPhail over 22 years ago. The real murderer in this crime is most probably still at large and has yet to face justice. Seven of the nine eye witnesses were coerced into perjuring themselves by police, who were under pressure to resolve the case of a slain colleague. There was no physical evidence entered at the trial.

Troy Davis goes down in history as a martyr for abolition of the death penalty since this from of punishment is the ultimate justice a criminal can receive and should never, ever be the penalty when there is a reasonable doubt, such as there was in this case. The death penalty should also never be reached based on emotional reasons or for revenge.

The State of Georgia and moreover, the United States of America, will be judged very harshly tomorrow for this murder of a man who was not proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. We will be called savages, barbarians and maybe worse things. I’m afraid I will agree them about us. We are unenlightened and don’t seem to know anything about the rule of law and how to enact it. We are kindergartners in a world of upperclassmen. I am ashamed to be an American today. Ashamed.

I am Troy Davis.

Candle-Light Vigil for Troy Davis

The candle-light vigil for Troy Anthony Davis was held as planned at 6 PM yesterday and began at the Deep River Public Library. I would like to thank those who showed up in support of Troy and especially State Representative Phil Miller [Democrat] for coming. Phil galvanized us with a few inspirational words. He said that though we were few, we were in good company and mentioned those around the country and world who supported clemency for Troy, including President Jimmy Carter, former FBI Director William Sessions, Bishop Desmond Tutu, and others. He showed us a NY Times article from the 20th talking about opposition to the execution. He told us that Gandhi got his start this way, by peaceful resistance. He also said that Martin Luther King, Jr. said that it is not the color of a man's skin, but the content of his character he should be judged by, in his "I have a dream" speech. He said that applauded our efforts and said that we made a difference and that this is what America was all about. Then we all lit our candles.

Almost immediately, a young blond woman stepped out of her car with her iphone to snap a photo of us. She said she was from Georgia and wanted to post the photo to her Facebook to show her friends back in Georgia how the Troy Anothony case was being protested up here in her little home town. We tried to get her to join us, but she didn't want to. It was good enough that she posted us to her Facebook. As we strolled down Main Street, cars slowed to see our sign. Some pedestrians stopped us and asked who Troy Davis was. Phil showed them the NY Times article and added any explanation if needed. The responses were interesting. Some cars honked in solidarity. A few people frowned and walked away quickly. Most people looked very sad for Troy. Some people stopped and commiserated with how misguided the verdict was. One woman who works at town hall yelled "Let him die!" Most people had never heard of Troy Davis, probably since the news held off coverage until the final clemency was denied.

The police kept a close eye on us. I have never seen so many police in downtown Deep River since the Muster! Even the K9 Unit was there!

At 7:30 it was impossible for passing cars to see our sign and our candles had brunt down to nubs so we called it quits. And now today, I wait to see if they will really execute Troy Davis. I cannot believe it is really happening after all this time. Troy is at peace with it, but I am not. How can this injustice happen in my country? It is happening with my knowledge and I feel defeated because I can't do anything about it. I have done all I can and wish I could do more.

The rest of the world must think we are fools. They are right, we are. We are barbarians. We know nothing; we slaughter our own people with no good reason, or for emotional reasons. This is not justice, it is hate. It is revenge. It yields nothing. It grants no peace. It is outright murder. We are not an enlightened society. We have so far to go to become one. Troy Davis becomes a martyr for this cause. The price is too high. Way too high. But here we are. With a dead man and no enlightenment. I pray for enlightenment for our country once we get past our hate and blinding bigotry.