9-26-21 – This will be about everything that has been going on in the last month except the kitchen sink…

8-14-21 – I got a new ladder since I fell off the old one. The new one has interchangeable feet for use on hard surfaces and soft surfaces like outside in the grass. This will be a huge help when I need to repair Max’s wire roofing and other features in his enclosures. Video on YouTube.

We had some hot days in August. 8-16-21, I gave Max some ice in his water dish and a frozen water bottle. He was somewhat interested but too hot to do any real playing with it. However, he really liked the crushed ice I gave him… lick, lick, lick. I put a water tub in for him, too. At first, he dipped his foot in it, but then just marked it as His! Eventually, I had to remove it because of the smell and standing water is an invite for mosquitos. See video Max & the kitchen sink

As you have read from an earlier post, I needed to get a new freezer for Max. The upright started not staying in the frozen zone. I couldn’t find another small upright as due to the pandemic, many items stopped being manufactured. I had to opt for a small chest freezer instead. I received my order quickly and was so excited because I needed to travel to purchase 200 pounds of red meat for Max on 9/4. Well, after an hour, the freezer was not chilling. After 15 hours it was only 60 degrees. I reached out to Amazon and the rep was very helpful. He ordered a new one and told me to chuck the old. He also upgraded the delivery and within two days I received another freezer which chilled right immediately. Well, here is the snag of the whole freezer situation. I received an email from Amazon stating that the freezer needed to be returned or I would be charged. What the heck? I had it removed for scrap and the rep told me to chuck it. I saved the email confirmation too. So, I get on the phone and spent almost an hour trying to unsort the mess. The rep I spoke with was extremely helpful and between him and his supervisors the mess was sorted out. Or at least, I hope! Evidently, I had started to complete a return order when I decided to ask for help. The first rep should have cancelled that return order paperwork, but didn’t. The second rep said the freezer should have been sent back but I was only following instructions. The second email said they mistakenly charged me for the freezer which really isn’t the truth. I wasn’t charged for the 2nd freezer (replacement). So, if my credit card gets billed at the end of the month, I will 1) Call my credit card to have it removed and 2) Get back on the phone with Amazon. Oh boy! Video on YouTube.

8-21-21 – I finally got around to placing the fountain in Max’s enclosure. I set it on a couple patio stones and filled it with water, hooked it up and presto…. a beautiful flowing fountain. Look out…. Max said, it’s mine… over and over. I was only turning it on during the day. I found that if there is any breeze, water would blow out of it. If I didn’t place a screen over the bottom hole, the pump would clog. With water sitting still at night, mosquitos laid eggs in it. So, then I added vinegar to kill the larvae and to help with the urine smell. Well, the mosquitos were taken care of but Max said… it stinks, I shall pee on it more! Evan said, it’s Max’s urinal. He was right. Gross! The smell! I recently removed it. Had to scrub it down and it’s stored for the winter. A video will be uploaded soon on YouTube.

Now that leaves me with the pond. The water tub was another object for Max to mark. So, does that mean the pond will be no different? It is larger than the tub but look, do I want to dig a foot down to put in a pond, only for Max to pee in it? How will I change out the water? And it’s a large pond! I don’t like wasting water and always worry about my well. I have found a mosquito deterrent which is safe for wildlife, so that will take care of that problem. I don’t want to put vinegar in it. I want Max to use it to cool down if he needs to. I have seen concrete ponds at zoos for tigers. Do they not pee in the water? How do they keep it clean? Well, I’m sure they have a filter system which is not something I can install or afford. I purchased a small solar fountain but it’s so frickin small. They claim it can be for a pond but it’s only three inches tall which means setting some sort of something in the pond to raise the pump close to the surface. Stupid. I’m glad I didn’t waste a ton of money on it. Anyways, I will still place the pond in his enclosure next year but will only dig down a few inches to steady it. I’ll place some patio stones around it and will research a pump to keep the water flowing. I loved this idea of a fountain and pond but really should have known Max better. He marks everything! This is HIS enclosure and HIS toys, and features. He will do whatever he wants. Anyone want a fountain for their patio? A video will be uploaded to YouTube soon.

9-3-21 – Max goes to the Vets – Yes, Max went to the vets last year in December but he needed a permanent ID per my state license requirements. My vet does place microchips in pets and this is what we went in for. Besides the microchip, I ordered a full blood panel. I know, it was expensive but Max hadn’t had a full panel in four years and I wanted to make sure that everything was functioning properly. It was all pretty much the same as the last one but the values showed he possibly had a pancreas infection BUT he had a normal temp, normal stools and was not losing weight. We are monitoring him. Typically, they would run the test again in 10 days but that’s not possible with Max since we have to sedate him. BTW, we reduced the sedation meds and Max was up and running around 4 hours after the dose. He actually started coming out of it a little over an hour later and I kept him crated until I knew he had his bearings. So, Max is currently a 43-pound healthy lynx.

9-18-21 – Wildlife Festival – We travelled two hours to exhibit six hours at a wildlife festival. I gave Max a little relaxer for the trip and he was actually good. It doesn’t always work and he’s not always stressed but I didn’t want to take a chance. There were tons of people and Max let them know if he thought they were too close, he would growl or hiss. He would do that every time my friend, Beth, would walk by him. She’s an amazing educator and helped me split the crowd in educating them about the specimens I brought and the live animals too. It was a long day on my feet but the exhibition will help towards paying Max’s insurance. A short video will be uploaded soon on YouTube.

Max relaxing

Moose, fox and fisher

All about Max table

Burt Parrot

Smudge Hedgehog

Live animals, wolf and ringtail cat

What are you looking at?

9-26-21 – If you have made a comment on YouTube requiring a response and haven’t received it yet, I apologize. With everything going on, I’ve been lax about checking my channel. I spent two hours the other night loving, liking and responding to two weeks of comments. I believe it’s important to acknowledge Max’s followers and will need to adjust my evening time to include popping in to YT and responding to comments. Heck, this post and the three videos-in-one I uploaded took me two hours not including editing the videos. It’s all very time-consuming.

Max’s book – 115 pages of stories & photos and 32 gallery pages. As of today, I hadn’t worked on it in 6 days! However, I got in a few hours and it is 99% completed! *YAY* I need to add some photos from this year, dedication, introduction, table of content, notes, a final thought and the cover.

On 10/1, I’m undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery and will be laid up for the weekend. This will be a perfect chance for me to catch up and complete his book. Also, I’ll be taking the following week off from work which will give me even more time… healing, relaxing for the most part.

Well, that is it for now. Love and purrs to you all.