Sherman was really bugging me today and I didn't know why. Then I realized that each time he afterward turned his body in one direction so I looked and there was Chiclet. She had climbed up high and wasn't sure how to get down. I got her down and Sherman just danced. Then I asked him if he wanted a treat and he did his lie down and roll over trick. As you can guess he's having a big praise day. 2:30 a.m. I wound up moving the trolley with the its 5' ferret cage down the hall into the LR. There were remaining traces of a gentle spot carpet cleaner that has never caused any problem before kind of nearby the cage and Ashling had begun to cough. She also was sniffing hard so I think she might have been making herself cough trying to understand the odor, but just in case I wound up moving them out of the room for the night. She was fine immediately which is a good sign; inflammation would have taken longer to go away. We'll be more than normally careful though, when we have to clean there again in the future. (Obviously, they don't have access to such areas till they are dry, and today they are romping all through the rear of our condo.) We'd had trouble with them going to the bathroom under and beside a bookcase in our bedroom, so about a month ago we tried putting disposable aluminum roasting pans in those places (crunched beside it, and turned upside down and wedged in beneath it). For the first time in years it was not used as a toilet. I wonder how much these communications from TSC are also triggered by hearing from Wolfy? I wonder if she is asking the Oracle to make the transmissions more clear? Here is what I got today: Sun setting, TSC spreads her long neck wattles and with the whoomps and swooshes of several flaps she begins to rise, higher, higher against the setting sun while over the ridge a cadre of bird watchers exclaims, "There it is again! What is it? The body reminds me a mite of a heron, but the wings look like a sting ray swimming..." while the glare of the sun renders their binoculars useless. TSC with her tannin wrinkled and time shrivelled body continues oblivious to the wonder below on to the parapet of an ancient structure where ferret tourists, Ferretone intoxicated, climb tapestries and call down their wonders. It will be a long night there trying to watch over the little furries... again. TSC wraps her wattles around her for warmth and settles in as she has each night since she was raised. [Posted in FML issue 4147]