Wednesday, January 20, 2010

The LC Burial Project

This is not truly a project, but a sad responsibility for me.  But it meant something to me to do the burial with effort and care and love.  I did not think it quite appropriate to place this on the Mark's Mews Blog, so it has to go here.

It was fortunate that the temperature went above freezing for over a week.  LC died on the 13th and the ground was too hard to dig.  But it was forecast to stay warmer for a whole, so I waited.  This morning, I was able to push a thin metal rod through the freeze zone.  And tomorrow it is expected to start freezing again.

So I went out this afternoon and brought my strongest digging implements:  the solid steel spade, the "Mutt" (think of a 6' chisel), and a post hole digger.  I was expecting to need my electric auger, but was spared that.

I dug the topsoil into one 5 gallon bucket.  The next foot was clay and gravel in another bucket.  Below that was pure sand.  This whole area used to be a silt plain.  I went through the same thing when I dug Skeeter's grave 13 months ago, but there I hit a lot of house construction debris.  At least in LC's spot, it was clean.

So I got the hole 3 feet deep.


It doesn't look it, but the camera shows no depth.  I measured it with a yardstick.  There were three 5-gallon buckets filled from a 1.5 sq ft hole

I laid dear LC out on the ground next to it...

 
When I was sure the hole was large enough, I set her in.  
 


That was very hard.  I placed a couple favorite toys, some of her only favorite kitty treat, and some fresh catnip on her.  Then the final part.  I covered her body with dirt.  


That was the hardest part, yet it must be done.  So final, yet so merely mechanical.  Dumping dirt from a bucket...  Why does truly saying "goodbye" mean covering someone with dirt?

Well,  I will build a small wooden marker to match Skeeter's, but for now I will use a paver stone to mark her special spot.


Farewell LC...  You were A Very Good cat, but you are over the Bridge now with Skeeter.  You have moved on and now I must do the same.  See you again someday...


13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Goodby LC , fly home and be free,
it will not be long until we all join thee.
~~~
this part of saying good by is hard.
a bit of you rests under the sod.
May the moving on be easy
and pain free.
Kay lee Kelly

Milo and Alfie said...

This was very moving and mom cried a bit. She so understands how hard this final act of love is. You did your very best to give LC a beautiful dignified end. Well done.
(((((((hugs))))))) from Mom and PURRS from us.

Jacqueline said...

I know this had to be so hard for you-it made me cry...Goodbye is sooo heartbreaking...I understand your pain and am very sorry for this tremendous loss.

Shaggy and Scout said...

Rest in Peace sweet LC.

Just Ducky said...

{{{HUGS}}}} you did good by LC. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust".

Jans Funny Farm said...

I know how hard this is to do! It's so final. But it's also an act of love.

Goldie, Shade and Banshee said...

That was so lovingly done Mark. We can't write much, the PM can't see through her tears.

Purrs

God Speed dear LC.

Chrissie said...

She was a Very Good Cat.

Well done, BT.

Angus' mom says: "My heart is with you, Mark. You did good by her."

Samantha & Mom said...

Thank you for sharing that with us Mark!! It was very touching!! We will miss LC so much!! Mom has been sick so she didn't know!!! Till we meet again at the Rainbow Bridge LC!! We will always remember you!!
Your TX furiends,

KitKat said...

Oh, Mark I know how extremely difficult this was for you to accomplish. Geez,words just escape me for the moment. Skeeter and LC were your special little babies. May they rest in peace. I lost my favorite cat of all time last February. Next month will be the one year anniversary of his passing. I am dreading it. His name was Norman but I called him 'Normie.' And my husband who I was married to for six and a half weeks passed away just two months later after Normie died. A was a really shitty year.
If you want to write my e-mail is jmagedson@bak.rr.com. I am friends with Parker and Miss/Mrs. Peach. My cats don't have a blog.
I have two Burmese, Mika and Sasha, and an SPCA graduate named Grady (formerly known as 'Vestor' whilst in the shelter.) Grady is a sweetheart.
Kindest personal regards,
Joni

Anonymous said...

Hi, I have read the adventures of your girls for a few months without commenting and appriciated how you looked after LC. Just saw that your cat blog is not on the net. Hope you are ok. and LC is being remembered but life is moving with sweet memories for you Ayela and Iza

Cavebear said...

We have moved our blog to http://marksmews.blogspot.com/

It was too hard to see the blog URL as "skeeterandLC" any more. We did the move clumsily, but hope that our friends will find us there again.

Mark

Cory said...

It took me awhile to be able to read this post. So moving and loving. Rest in peace sweet LC.

Refrigerator Troubles

You may recall I was planning to have a new refrigerator delivered tomorrow.   The deal was that I would have the new one in the kitchen, th...