in an afternoon

I came home early from work to be with Iroh and make sure he was okay. He seems a little down in the dumps. The vet likes to use the term "punky," but I'm not quite sure what that means. In any case, he had some diarrhea, so I called the vet. They said to keep an eye on him, and if he doesn't get better in a few days, we should call again.

Seeing him so blue is very sad. I hope he perks up in the next few days; otherwise this will be a long two weeks. At least on Thursday we can remove the patch that has been bothering him so much. On top of him having stitches and wearing the cone, Selina has not been very nice to him since he's been back. I've read that cats may have trouble accepting an animal who has spent a lot of time at the hospital. I'm looking forward to when we can remove Iroh's cone, give him a bath to hopefully get all the hospital smell off him, and not have to worry about his stitches getting messed up by him or Selina.

I also took the opportunity to bring the Goddesses outside for a little while again. Since they seemed hot last time, I put them in the shade this time. They were wandering around pecking and scratching away in no time! They stayed in one small area and mostly stuck together. Whenever they would hear a bird overhead or see a shadow, they would all stop chirping to look and listen. If I made any sudden movements, they would all dive for cover.

Watching them was a lot of fun, but I was only able to let them out for just under an hour since I was worried about Iroh. Once the time came for them to go back in the back, though, they freaked out a little. Most of them are getting used to be held. Even though they still try to get away from approaching hands, they don't immediately jump out of your grasp or seem as scared as before. I'm glad to see them getting accustomed to handling. Every once in a while I will inspect them to make sure everything is in order, and also just to get them used to being looked at and held. Some of them look as if they are getting their adult feathers in already. They grow so fast!