Pets – Senior Warrior

This song came to my mind as I watched my two tiny foster kittens sleeping, because the silence that falls when these two kittens are sleeping is as intense as the the silence of a baby sleeping. It is a different silence than the simple silence of being alone. What gives it such intensity and what makes it so different from the silence of an adult sleeping are questions that pose a true riddle.

I gave my love a cherry it had no stone, I gave my love a chicken it had no bone, I told my love a story it had no end, I gave my love a baby with no cryin’.

How can there be a cherry it has no stone? How can there be a chicken it has no bone, How can there be a story, it has no end? How can there be a baby with no cryin’?

A cherry when it’s bloomin’ it has no stone. A chicken when it’s hatchin’ it has no bone. The story of our love, it has no end. A baby when it’s sleepin’, has no cryin’.

The Riddle Song is a traditional children’s folk song with many versions.This one was collected by Jean Ritchie, a daughter of Eastern Kentucky and “The Mother of Folk,” who collected songs from her native Appalachia and introduced mountain dulcimer music to the outside world. Jean Ritchie, a senior warrior herself, died June 2, 2015, at the age of 92 in Berea, Ky. NY Times Jean Ritchie obituary.

SAMSUNG — *Cherries Without Stones* – Cherry Trees in the Conservatory Garden, NYC

Yin and Yang IMG_0822 — Meet my newest “fosters”, Yin and Yang

Although this photo looks quite a bit like a pastry, it actually shows my two foster kittens curled up like a Yin-Yang symbol in their cozy doughnut bed. Yin is the white kitten, Yang the black. My wonderful violist friend, David Yang, has black hair so I chose Yang for the black kitten! Yang likes to drape himself (purring loudly) over my shoulders when I’m working at the computer.

Support networks are critical for older people, whether they live alone or not. These foster kittens are part of the support network I am still creating.

My daughter made a splendid suggestion to help counter my sense of isolation when I was housebound and lonely during the last three months. She suggested that I begin fostering kittens who are waiting to “make weight” (2.5 lbs) for their neutering surgery so they can find permanent homes.

Most of the kittens are strays that have been found wandering in various locations and turned into the Animal Care Centers of NYC. The Center has two main locations, one on the East side of Upper Manhattan, one in Brooklyn. They offer transport and supplies for the kittens, and once you have completed the application and been accepted as a foster facility, you’re set to go.

On the average, I have them for 2-3 weeks, and they are delightful company. People ask me if it isn’t hard to give them up and return them to the shelter. I compare it to grandchildren visiting. You are delighted to see them arrive, and even more delighted to bid them farewell. Learn more by contacting the shelter, but be warned! It’s very hard to resist the photos of these adorable creatures. Animal Care Centers of NYC.