Fri 12 May 2006
Friday Cat Blogging: Lizzie
Thu 11 May 2006
Working Title
“The only safe thing is to take a chance.†— Mike Nichols, who has earned Oscar, Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Awards.
Notice anything different around here? It’s not a big change, but now there’s less punctuation in the title of this blog. Last September, I took a chance, installed the WordPress blogging software and then started posting, instead of worrying about getting all the details just right before starting. In most of life, I’m expected to sweat the details, but this is just one blog out of millions, y’know?
So at the beginning, there was one title one week, another title the next week, until settling on this one. The unorthodox punctuation and capitalization of “…it’s all Good.” was meant to show its relationship to the Good Cats and “What a Good Cat!” But now, after 8 months, it’s time to simplify the title and drop the quotes and the ellipse. (The period at the end can stay for now.)
Wed 10 May 2006
Miss Maggie May (And She Will)
There’s a cute little calico kitten named Miss Maggie May who has just found her forever home.
MMM is already learning important things, like what to eat and who not to bite and — especially important — how to train her human.
It’s Hard Out Here For a Hawk
Warm and sunny today, and the Good Cats were all more than ready to go outside. I slid open the screen door and got out of the way as all 4 surged toward the sunshine.
Lizzie quickly picked out a soft sunlit spot in the grass and lay down on it. Kelly and Nicky looked for grass to eat (and soon after, to regurgitate).
Caitie crouched, wiggled her tail, and bounded across the back yard to the little landscaped area we refer to as the Island. (It’s one of the identifying landmarks Pat and I use when describing where the cats are: “Kelly’s in the catnip next to the shed, Nicky’s in the garage, Lizzie is next to the maple tree, and Caitie’s back on the Island.”) I followed her in case she saw a bird and got any ideas about an early lunch.
Scanning the bright skies, to the north I saw a redtailed hawk that was being harassed by unidentified smaller birds. As the hawk banked and tried to gain altitude, more birds joined the group in pursuit. At least half a dozen were swirling and swooping around the raptor by the time they disappeared from view behind a line of tall trees.
I hadn’t brought the camera with me, but they were just specks in the sky as it was, and without a strong zoom lens they wouldn’t have shown up on a photo anyway. A few years ago, I had the camcorder outside when a similar situation unfolded, and even with its more powerful optical zoom, I got these shots; not as clear as the ones you can see at the site devoted to New York City’s Pale Male, but you, um, get the picture…
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Mon 8 May 2006
Caitie, Stretch Kitty
Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic, has nothing on our Calico Diva, who in this 1999 photo is paying very close attention to a bug on the other side of the window. Behind her, Kelly is showing a more reasonable amount of feline curiosity.
Sun 7 May 2006
Happy Gotcha Day, Derby!
Just in time for the Kentucky Derby a year ago, a kitty mom in America’s Dairyland adopted a clean-cut Adonis of a buff-colored cat and named him Derby.
Early Sunday…
We used to have a lawn mower from a little shop in the town where Caitie and Nicky’s vet has his practice. The mower was good, and the service was very good. Then in 2003, we got a new mower from Sears that I think was based on a model that Honda sold at the time. The mower has been very good — much lighter and easier to maneuver than the old one. But I was concerned about service. How could Sears match the service we were getting from the small private shop?
Yesterday’s answer was “Very well, thanks.” Just as courteous and professional, and faster, too — instead of waiting a week, the Sears service had our mower ready before the end of the afternoon. Even cost us less than the old place, too…
…Sears had a guy help me lift the mower out of the PT Cruiser, and after he rolled the mower inside he found a ladybug on his shirt. He took it outside, tried to get it to fly from his hand, but eventually he set it down gently in the grass. If this man has any pets at home, they are probably pretty well-loved…
…The scene: bright sunshine, and bright yellow male goldfinches and their less golden mates flying low in our back yard, stopping and feasting on plentiful dandelion seeds… Pat looked out the window at them and said, “Eat faster.” Or call your friends, I guess. Despite the mowing, there is still enough for every bird who wants it…
