I hope the new year has been kind to each of you so far. Prayerfully, we will all make it through this year with beautiful stories to tell and many memories to store for safekeeping. I am sure we will need all the happiness we can get as time hurries on and 2025 turns into 2026 and beyond. Peace and blessings.
Because, even after all these years, my sweet baby still loves ice, and she will wait patiently for some every single time she notices that I have something “cold” to drink.
She’s so incredibly smart, and she keeps me on my toes to this very day.
I thought, maybe all of you, could use a smile or two. Happy Sunday.
The night sky winks
At the purple moon.
October is almost in
The rearview and November
Waits with bated breath.
The dog stretches in her bed.
She kicks her back leg out,
Wiggles her creaking body,
And turns over to another set
Of dreams.
The TV is background noise
While I give birth to
Two poems, microfiction,
And a lamentation that’s been
Trapped in my heart for a week.
Monday is around the corner,
Shaking its head at the job
Ahead of it–it loathes us just
As much as we do it.
Sunday kicks its feet up,
Positions itself comfortably
On my couch, and kisses the
Night goodbye.
Tomorrow, I’ll be drowning
In headaches of the pre-meditated
Kind–they’ve been
Waiting for me to clock in.
It had been nearly seven months since Zumi’s terrarium had been cleaned from top to bottom. It was time to do just that and discard the old wood chips and dirt.
I ordered two bags of coconut substrate bedding. The brand is ReptiChip. I used one bag, and I have another bag for the next time I do this which will be in May of next year.
Per the Zoologist, I should thoroughly clean the terrarium and replace the substrate every 6-8 months. I got ZuZu on March 23, 2024, so it was under seven months last night when I took on the challenge.
Let me tell you, beautiful human beings, this is not a task for the faint of heart! Once I transferred Zuse to its portable terrarium, I carried its main terrarium to my kitchen where I used the sink hose to rinse and clean the space. I used Dawn dishwashing liquid, Fabuloso, and hot water. I made sure it was rinsed, and free of film and soap and then, I hand-dried the terrarium with a cleaning cloth.
I set up the terrarium with the new substrate bedding, all of Zumi’s fake plants, food and water, the favorite hidey-hole/cave, and then I put Zuse back in its home.
While ZuZu was in the portable terrarium, it pooped. I said to it as I lifted it to transfer it back to where it should be, “Aww, Zuse! You weren’t even in here for thirty minutes!” It just looked at me as if to say, “You’re the one who bought this comfy and sweet-scented bedding, Mom. Now, clean up my mess!”
I live in a building that does fire drills to test the alarms. The fire department comes out every few months, runs the drills, and then leaves after 30-45 minutes. The last time this happened, I gathered up Jernee and ran out of my apartment.
I totally forgot about Zuse! But even if I remembered, I had no portable terrarium for my baby, so I couldn’t take it with me anyway. After that drill, I made it a point to remedy the problem.
We are to treat the drills as if they were actual fire alerts. So the next time one takes place, I’ll be prepared for Zumi. And this fact makes me feel a lot better about all of our safety.
Some days, it still boggles my mind that I am Mommy to a 16-year-old Chorkie and a Red-Footed Tortoise. A comfortable home is what I want for all of us, and that is what I aim to give us every single day. Zumi’s new portable home and its clean terrarium with new substrate bedding are pieces to our overall comfort.
Saturday night was meant for change, and I am glad I made time for it.
humidity sits on the
sidelines, jealous of the
calming sun.
the dog and I walk to
loosen up my shady knee.
her little hips wobble and
creak, but she presses on.
we’re both breaking down
in different places, but Autumn
lets us relax in ways we
never dreamed we would.
I, eyes glued to the TV,
watching men violently crash
into one another for the grip
of tightened leather.
she, asleep for most of
the day, no worries on the
horizon.
we found ourselves comforted
by Sunday’s kiss and Autumn’s
embrace–we sunk into an
ocean of quietude, blended with
satisfaction, and stayed there
until evening made its
appearance.
neither one of us is
ready for Monday.
but it’s coming anyway.
I am in love with weather that
pulls you into a tight
embrace and offers you time
to appreciate death & dying
for the renewal of strength
and life.
It is shaping up to be the
time of year when animals
scrape at the barrels of
nature to begin their pursuit
of unlimited rest; the time of
year when sun settles
into the clouds a little longer
and wind shimmies in,
performing its best act.
Our walks will be longer.
Our food will be hotter.
Our clothes will be warmer.
And everything that makes up
Autumn will sashay into
the rooms of our hearts, making
this state a bit more tolerable
in the weeks to come.
I will drink in the goodness
of a season that is always
on time.
The dog and the tortoise are
growing old and I am
an ancient soul trapped in
this aging body still yearning
for the Fountain of Youth
to offer its purity in life.
For now, I will take this
shift in weather as a
peace offering until
healing comes at the heels
of our feet.
We’re all eager to walk
this road of life temporarily
unscathed.
I long for Autumn when it is not around, and in just a few weeks, that will be a truth I will love to embrace. Happy September! And Happy Labor Day, if you celebrate. May today be full of rest, relaxing, and enjoying good food, friends, and family.
Peace and blessings.
A Cornered Gurl 
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