Genius

"Genius without Education is

like Silver in the Mine."

--Benjamin Franklin

An Excellent Speech

"A good indignation makes an excellent speech."

--R. W. Emerson

Charity

Charity begins at home.

--Proverb

They Mean Wealth

"People say law

but they mean wealth."

--R. W. Emerson

Barking Dogs

Barking dogs seldom bite.

--Proverb

Equal to Yourself

"Have no friends not equal to yourself."

--Confucius

Plague of Mankind

"My first wish is to see this plague of mankind

--war--

banished from the earth."

--George Washington

A Dog Named Rebel

Exactly six years minus ten days ago, I first laid eyes on Rebel. I had been chipping away at the ice in my driveway, when I heard the pitter-patter of paws. Standing next to me, I saw a skinny stray dog, who appeared to be no more than a year old. Making a long story short, I took him to the local animal shelter, with the understanding that I would adopt Rebel if no one claimed him. Well, today is the sixth anniversary of Rebel's adoption.

The Heart

"The heart knoweth."

--R. W. Emerson

A Kitten Named Karma

"You are excellent examples of why I do not believe in karma," I had wanted to tell certain people, years ago, when they asked me if I believed in it. Instead, I bit my tongue and replied, "Not until I have a kitten named Karma." And in a few months, it will be seven years that I have believed in Karma.

What goes around comes around. Sometimes. Certainly, not always. It's like a game of craps. However, if people need to believe in a reward and punishment system in order to do good and refrain from doing evil, then I am for it. As for myself, I am more inclined to believe in poetic justice. Mostly in books and movies.

Look

Look before you leap.

--Proverb

The Mice

When the cat's away, the mice will play.

--Proverb

Tropical Kiss

This photo was taken during our first blizzard in February. On the 6th, I think. We've had so much snow, I'm losing track of the dates and the amount of snow. Actually, I stopped measuring the snow a while back. I'm also done taking photos of the snow for the season. Therefore, if I happen to post any new snow photos during the remainder of this month, they were taken earlier. At this point, new snow photos no longer interest me. Right now I'm debating: should I go snow-walk the inch of snow we got yesterday or should I start working on filing my taxes. That's a toss-up. First, I think I'll go make some Tropical Kiss coffee, which arrived in a surprise package yesterday, and pretend I'm on vacation somewhere warm and sunny.

Historians

"Historians relate, not so much what is done,

as what they would have believed."

--Benjamin Franklin

A Universal Feeling

"A universal feeling, whether ill or well formed,

cannot be safely disregarded."

--Abraham Lincoln

Still Waters

Still waters run deep.

--Proverb

Eating Snow

Rebel enjoys eating freshly fallen snow. And day-old snow, as long as it tastes fresh. That reminds me, my mother has the talent of being able to tell if a bakery cake is really freshly baked or if it was frozen. Our family has ordered more than one birthday cake which was pre-baked and frozen, before being defrosted and sold to us. So, if Grandma says "it's fresh," the cake gets her seal of approval and everyone is happy. As for Rebel, fresh or defrosted, cake is cake and yummy either way.

Explanatory Explanations

"I fear explanations explanatory of things explained."

--Abraham Lincoln

My Friends

"My friends have come to me unsought.

The great God gave them to me."

--R. W. Emerson

To Err

To err is human.

--Proverb

Snow Cavalry to the Rescue

Whether or not my car can squeeze out of the garage remains to be seen, because a high wall of snow has been erected across part of the driveway. And that would be the circular part of the driveway, which I use to back out of the garage. Theoretically, I should be able to make a three-point turn on the cleared part of the pavement. Excuse me, at least a six-point turn is needed in order to get the car out facing forward. There's no way I plan on backing out the entire length of my long and curvy driveway. That would be comical, I'm sure, to see me hitting the walls of snow on both sides of my narrow snow maze. Even if I did make it to the top of the driveway, there's a good possibility that I would slide into the ditch across the road. At any rate, I do not intend to chance it.

I had almost resigned myself to being snowed-in until the spring thaw, but then the snow cavalry came to my rescue yesterday. I was thrilled to see them. First, my next-door neighbor arrived with his snow thrower. Getting a new spurt of energy upon the arrival of help, I shovelled snow until I could do no more, and then Mikey and I sat in one of the Adirondack chairs on our snow-covered deck. With my eyes closed and feeling the warmth of the sun on my face, I imagined myself on a beach somewhere. I digress. In the evening, the snow cavalry arrived on two ATVs with plows, and they were impressed at how much snow my neighbor had blown off the driveway. Well, the two ATVs could only do so much, since there was very limited room to push the remaining snow off the driveway. Nevertheless, I am thankful that they gave me enough cleared-off space to make my theoretical three- or six-point turn. As for the wall across the circular part of the driveway, it will stand until the spring thaw, I'm afraid.

Taking snow drifts into consideration, our last blizzard brought us somewhere between 26 and 37 inches of snow, according to my neighbor. I didn't measure it, but another person told me we got 36 inches of the white stuff. Plus, we already had snow on the ground. Therefore, the snow on my deck will have to stay there until it melts. I did, however, shovel a narrow path to the shed, just in case a feral cat or another animal decided to wait out the blizzard under there and then found himself buried by the snow.

Oh, a friend of mine phoned on Sunday to warn me to shovel snow for only fifteen minutes at a time and then rest for five minutes, etc. I laughed and told him I like my system better: shovel snow for five minutes and then rest for an hour-and-a-half. Unfortunately, this is potential heart attack snow.

In Their Own Cause

Men are blind in their own cause.

--Proverb

Reputation

"Glass, China, and Reputation,

are easily crack'd and never well mended."

--Benjamin Franklin

The Snowstorm

"The frolic architecture of the snow."

--The Snowstorm, R. W. Emerson

Seeing

Seeing is believing.

--Proverb

A Friend

"A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere.

Before him, I may think aloud."

--R. W. Emerson

Karma, Featured Cat of the Month

Nearly seven years ago, I obtained special permission to bring Godot to the local shelter in order for him to choose a companion, because I had decided two years of being an only child was long enough for my energetic tuxedo kitty. Besides, I thought maybe he was lonely when I was at work. Therefore, getting a playmate for Godot was an excellent idea. Taking him to the shelter, however, was a bad idea. A very bad idea. Godot turned into a wildcat as soon as we walked into the shelter.

In the room where we were going to interview prospective companions, so to speak, Godot started climbing the walls. Literally. He wanted nothing to do with anybody, and he hissed at every single feline that was brought into the room. Had it been up to me, I would have chosen a handsome, long-haired, gray-and-white male kitten, who was approximately four months old, but Godot was quite rude to the young fellow. Karma, on the other hand, was not afraid of Godot. (She was one of four kittens brought into the shelter with their mother, a tortoiseshell. I suspect the kittens were feral, since none of them wanted any kind of human contact.) Tiny Karma crawled into the cat carrier, where Godot was hiding, and proceeded to fall asleep on my cat's back. The rest is history.

Karma has always adored Godot. As for liking other new cats brought into our household, not so much. She would rather be alone with Godot. And as for humans, Karma has no real desire to be around any of us. Well, except for me, a little. After all, I am the provider of food. But I must say, when people who do not know anything about cats talk about cats being aloof and not providing real companionship for people, in comparison to dogs, that is, they are thinking of cats like Karma. But Karma is the exception rather than the rule, since most cats make great companions for people, in my experience. Nonetheless, since Karma is Godot's true companion, I have always respected her aloofness toward people. If she were human, Karma would definitely be called an introvert. And I can certainly relate to that.

More Pancakes and More Snow

I got a late start snow-walking and shovelling today, since I made more yeast pancakes for brunch. I would say I probably cleared somewhere between one-third and one-half of the driveway. That is, one-third if I plan on clearing the entire driveway and one-half if I don't plan on clearing all of it. I could be clearing more snow right now, instead of typing this post, but I happen to be stiff and sore, not to mention having back pain. And to think my rest breaks were far longer than the actual amount of time I spent dealing with the snow! No, I'm not complaining; I'm just dreading the next snowstorm which is fast-approaching. Okay, take a deep breath, one day at a time.

On the bright side, I saw Eggroll's paw prints in the snow by the deck this morning. Eggroll is the young opossum who lives under the deck. Judging by the size of his paw prints, he is no longer small. Does the opossum know his name? No. I only recently decided to name him. The opossum who died here last year was referred to as Mr. Opossum. Perhaps Eggroll is his son, who inherited his father's home under the deck. Opossums are nomadic, supposedly, but I know Mr. Opossum had lived here for several years because I used to see him walking across the deck in the evenings. Contrary to the belief of some people, all opossums do not look alike. I've seen them in varying shades of gray, black, silver, and black-and-white, not to mention the one that had Mikey's coloring. Besides, Mr. Opossum had a short tail, so I could tell him apart easily from his relatives and friends. As for Eggroll's name, it is sort of self-explanatory--I have seen him roll an egg in attempting to pick it up.

Groundhog Day

Since it is Groundhog Day and I don't have a single groundhog photo, I am posting this photo of an opossum I accidentally ran into on my deck over a year ago. By the way, the opossum was drooling because he was trying to make himself look unappetizing, since he knew he was cornered. Anyway, I am amazed whenever I hear anyone call an opossum a rodent, especially since opossums like to eat mice. And some of them like catfood. Opossums are marsupials, and they get along with cats. This I know from observation. For example, I wish I had taken a photo of the little opossum who was friends with Ponzo and my neighbors' young black cat; one day the three of them playfully surrounded Godot, who was hiding under my car. That would've made an interesting photo, but the little opossum ran under the deck as soon as he heard my footsteps. Godot, of course, had been acting like a screaming banshee under the car. But the three friends really had been trying to be friendly with Godot, who wanted nothing to do with them at the time. That was probably back in early June of last year. Well, Happy Groundhog Day! We're expecting more snow.

Pancakes and Snow

Pancakes and snow--not necessarily in that order. I find that wintertime is conducive to baking, especially with yeast, which is why there is a kitchen towel covering a bowl in my fireplace photo. You see, last year I discovered that the fireplace is a great place for dough which needs to rise--and rise it does, quickly! So, I must always keep an eye on it, if I don't wish to end up with prematurely baked dough, thanks to the warmth of the fireplace. Anyway, I decided this past Saturday was a great day to make yeast pancakes, because it was snowing again; and before going outside to do some snow-walking, I needed to fortify myself against the bitter cold with some filling pancakes, a good comfort food, which Rebel looked forward to sharing with me.