Iza Burial

Part of the reason for this blog is to opine on various subjects and part is to just document my life.  And some of that involves sad events.  That can sometimes be disturbing to my readers and friends.

This is Iza's burial event.  So be aware there are some pictures that can upset gentle souls...

I mentioned previously having to wait to dig the hole due to a knee problem that flares up now and then.  And after that, I had difficulty with the hard clay soil under the 6 inches of topsoil that has built up in the flowerbed over the years.  Filling the shallow hole with water each of several days helped, and I finally got through the clay to sandy loam beneath, and the full 2' deep was easier.

First, I placed a blue towel on the bottom.  She always looked good on blue.

Then I placed Iza's body on the towel.

She loved to rip the skin off her rattley mousies (I sure bought a LOT of them during her life)  and I scattered most of them around her.  I saved a few as remembrances for me.  I also added 1 brand new one.

I will leave out filling the hole...

I placed her marker over the spot.

Iza has now joined the original Mews, Skeeter and LC.

And 2 pictures of her memorial marker, in place...

With the shrub behind them cut down, I plan to place a large sheet of heavy-duty corrugated cardboard under the markers and covering the area where the shrub was to prevent weeds and shrub roots sending up new shoots.

By the time the cardboard decays in 2 or 3 years, the area will be weed-free and I will plant some nice non-spreading weed-smothering perennial flowers behind the markers and place a narrow strip of plywood under the markers to keep the markers weed-free.

Iza Marker

I finished making the Iza Memorial marker yesterday.  I couldn't find the right size brass letters at first and then it took 2 weeks for them to arrive.  Apparently, 2" brass letters are actually only 1 3/4", so they match.  BTW, these came with simple slot-head screws.  Any company who provides such nearly-unusable screws should be ashamed.  Phillips heads are managable, square heads are better, star heads are amazing. 

And, naturally, I had to make it match Skeeter's and LC's markers and I had gone all fancy then.  Couldn't be a simple box or upright stand.  No, I wanted an angled front so the letters would show up.  Now I have to keep doing that.

Well, I don't mind; it's a labor of love and remembrance.  But I keep having to figure out the angles of the cuts, and after 10 years, I didn't remember exactly.  I messed up a couple of pieces.

But all turned out well...

I had initially removed the perennial plant between Skeeter's and LC's markers a couple days after Iza went over The Bridge, but my right knee fails sometimes so I couldn't dig deeper.  I have been careful with the knee for weeks, so I was ready to dig again today.

Shrub branches and briars were in the way, so I used a cordless hedge trimmer freely.  The briars were interwoven with the shrub.

But I plan to remove that large shrub anyway.  Golden Euonymus.  Evergreen to yellow leaves.  The label said 5' high and 3 feet wide,  HAH!  They grow to 10' high and 5' wide.

I only mention that because the spot where I want to bury Iza is covered with 2" thick roots from one.  I spent an hour yesterday digging up offshoots, briars, and poison ivy.  Can't have those above my sweet girl!  I think I will place black plastic or corrugated cardboard over the soil under the 3 markers to keep the weeds down.

But the shrub roots are thick.  I could cut some with an ax, but I have serious tree roots from a neighbor tree on the surface and making mowing BUMPY like driving over railroad ties.  So I've ordered "landscaping blades" for my reciprocating saw.  They will arrive in a week.

Every delay hurts.  Iza needs to be properly buried deeply and with some few artifacts of her life.  But Iza's spirit is free even if her body is triple-bagged in the freezer.  I hate that, but I have to wait yet again...  I need the saw blade to cut through the shrub roots and pry them out.

Damn, digging holes with a pry bar and shovel in frozen ground for both Skeeter and LC was actually easier.  But I am determined that Iza will be buried no less deeply nor without a few things she loved.

Iza's Marker

I've been slowly building Iza's marker box to match that of Skeeter and LC.  They were bit of odd constructions with lots of angles.  The detailed work seemed a sign of respect.  So I copied them for Iza.

Somehow, tradition matters to me about OTB cats.  I want a sense of continuity and equal respect, so the markers have to be the same.

I started by taking one marker box into the basement and measuring it carefully.  It felt a bit weird having the marker box in the basement, but it was meant with respect.

Then I started cutting and assembling new boards.  It was very comforting, and I did it with Iza in my thoughts.

I cut pieces of preservative-treated wood ( for durability) to size, tilted the table saw blade of 30 and 60 degree angles to match the previous markers, and made some slight adjustments (not all boards are exactly the same thickness and width).

But I got it assembled with wood glue and clamps to hold it all together.

One can never have "too many clamps" but this didn't require all of mine.  

I didn't get all the angle cuts perfectly, but weather will expand the wood slightly.  I've learned to leave slight gaps on outdoor wood.

I leave the back open on these because I don't want to encourage critters to hide an burrow over the cats.

Here is the constructed memorial marker box.  I sanded some slightly mis-matching edges and added countersunk exterior-grade screws.  Glue won't hold long, but screws will.

And then I used rubber cement t attach the last brown resin cat figurine I had.  They came in 3,  Skeeter, LC, Iza...

Closeup of the Iza figurine... I apologize to her that it was the least expressive of the 3, but I really wasn't expecting to use it hoping to find more of the original set.  Or so soon.

I have brass letters on order for delivery in a week, and will attach them then.