Most of the week’s news concerns Pam and her “cat project,” aimed at reducing the number of feral cats in the neighborhood.

Two 5 month old kittens were taken to the shelter for spay/neuter operations and, after a few days of recovery, were re-homed with a friend of Pam’s. The lady needed a couple of barn cats. Initially set up in a large enclosure (with food-water-cat box), this pair will soon call the entire barn their new home.

Another pair of older cats will go into the Rifle Animal Shelter this week. Both are very friendly; we believe they may have been house cats that were dumped when their families left town. Pam has named them Fonzie and Cloudy Day. We hope they find homes with new families who might be interested in an older cat or an indoor-outdoor animal.

Fonzie

Cloudy Day

So that relocates 4 cats, leaving at least that many more to try to capture and take to the shelter for operations then, probably, release back into the neighborhood. The February round up continues.

Turning to other topics…

We have bald eagles in the area. We see them quite often as we drive to work, perched around a nest near the river,  but the other day one came closer to town. Sitting in a tree near the Colorado River, the eagle flew off as I approached on foot while trying to get a photo. Good to see them at a closer range, though. The bald eagle is an impressive bird.

Bald eagle flying away from me—only shot I could get!

The Olympics started a few days ago. Mixed curling is an Olympic sport? I don’t mind watching an end or two, but an Olympic sport? A brother/sister team from Madison, WI were the main reason we tuned in to watch. (An “end” in curling is something like an inning in baseball.)

A light snow fell yesterday (stuck to grass but not to streets and sidewalks) which made for a good day to stay inside and watch some of the Olympic events on TV.

Retirement house update:  Pam has begun an initial review of Midwest locations and houses for retirement. Cost of purchasing a house is lower there than Colorado, but other costs (colder winters, higher property taxes) tend to make up for some of the difference. Still, the idea of having a small (or in some cases zero) mortgage payment into retirement is quite appealing and offers us more financial options. I would still have “my” mountains (The Lot @ Sanderling) to come to in the summers. Who knows? The possibility of moving back to the Midwest is not something we’d seriously considered before. But we are more open to the idea after seeing some of the listings, particularly a number of “Grandma houses” that appeal to Pam. (These are older homes with intact woodwork and some include covered porches – also looking for larger lots and trees.) The search continues…

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Nickel’s Worth:

Beginning a housing search in a “new” area that was familiar to us decades ago has its challenges.  We don’t want to move “back” in time to a location where we lived before. At the moment, I’m looking at the lower peninsula of Michigan near the Indiana-Ohio line. Michigan property taxes are on the high end of the spectrum nationally (as are all the Midwest states), but the state has something called a homestead property tax rate that I need to check on, which might help mitigate high property taxes.  Michigan also exempts a certain amount of retirement pension income, which would be helpful to us going forward. (Can we live in a state that helped put President Cheetoh electorally into office?  A definite question which speaks to the political climate of the state.)

Two towns I keep an eye on are Albion and Adrian, MI.  Each has two colleges for “culture,” Adrian also has an old time Opera House and community band. (Take a look at any house for sale on Dennis Street in Adrian and follow the Google street view up and down the street.  It’s like a Disneyland of old architecture.  Very cool.)

If you have been blog readers during our Pacific Northwest property search last year, you are well aware this Midwest search may or may not pan out. Our first choice has always been another location in Colorado, but the CO housing market is rapidly moving away from what we can afford.

Since the death of my friend Mary last August, I have been considering our relative social isolation from family and childhood friends here in the West. I’m pondering if a retirement relocation to the Midwest would be satisfying or disappointing socially? Many things to consider. Where ever we end up, it appears we will be bringing along a bunch of cats…

Happy Trails.

(Internet graphic.)