Nine Lives

A cat has nine lives.--Proverb

The Cat

"Of all God's creatures there is only one

that cannot be made the slave of the lash.

That one is the cat.

If man could be crossed with the cat

it would improve man,

but it would deteriorate the cat."

--MARK TWAIN

Black-White and White-Black

In the Summertime

The hydrangea (not the plants in the large flowerpot) did not have a single bloom this year. And as you can see, the grass is dry and brittle, but Harry does not seem to mind the summer heat.

Mikey Annoys a Squirrel

Mikey enjoys a good squirrel chase every now and then. These chases always end with Mikey sitting at the bottom of a tree (usually this particular tree) and staring at an annoyed, chattering squirrel. By the way, squirrel hunting is not allowed on this property, and the volunteer game warden (Rebel) is very strict about enforcing our no-hunting policy.

Fly Pride

"Fly pride, says the peacock."

--Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors, 1592-3

The Old Justice

"Time is the old justice that examines all offenders."

--Shakespeare, As You Like It, 1599-1600

Learning to Play Guitar...

...by osmosis.

Cauliflower

"Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education."

--MARK TWAIN

Mikey Was Upset

A month ago, Mikey was upset after getting her annual vaccines. She stayed in "the cats' underground railroad passageway" for nearly twenty-four hours, before emerging on the deck. I am sure she was also sore from the shots, since it took her about forty-eight hours to return to her active self.

Men Shut Their Doors

"Men shut their doors against a setting sun."

--Shakespeare, Timon of Athens, 1607-8

A Thesis

"Sometimes a scream is better than a thesis."

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

A Wise Fellow

"He was a wise fellow that,

being bid to ask what he would of the king,

desired he might know none of his secrets."

--Shakespeare, Pericles, 1608-9

Sorrow Concealed

"Sorrow concealed, like an oven stopp'd,

Doth burn the heart to cinders where it is."

--Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus, 1593-4

Quick Eyes

"Men of cold passions have quick eyes."

--Nathaniel Hawthorne, American Notebooks, 1837-40

Valerian Plant in Bloom

This is the valerian plant which Quentin had eaten down to its roots. It recovered quite nicely and quickly, once it was removed outdoors, away from Quentin's grasp.

Elephants

"Elephants are always drawn smaller in life,

but a flea always larger."

--Jonathan Swift

Harry and Rebel

It took Harry no more than four days to decide to become friends with Rebel, who had been eager to make his acquaintance instantly. But once Harry made up his mind, he wasted no more time in becoming close buddies with his new dog friend.

A Living Statue

If only I had taken my camera outside with me that one evening when I stood motionless, like a living statue, breathing in the night air, before bringing Mikey indoors for the night! Hearing a commotion coming from the direction of "the cats' underground railroad passageway," I turned my head and noticed Harry Potter, our cat guest, staring at someone who was about to make his presence known to me.

A few seconds later, Shakespeare (our favorite raccoon) came around the corner of the house. Not expecting to see a motionless human--or was I some sort of scarecrow?--Shakespeare stopped dead in his tracks and stared at me from a distance of no more than fifteen feet. I did not even blink as I acted out the part of a living statue. So Shakespeare decided to stand on his hind legs, stretching upward as far as he could to smell me from a safe distance. He reminded me of a bear cub standing upright. Anyway, Shakespeare got a good whiff of my human scent and quickly scampered back into "the cats' underground railroad passageway." His dinner of leftover catfood would be delayed that night.

Hand of One Person

"The hand of one person may express more

than the face of another."

--Nathaniel Hawthorne, American Notebooks, 1841-52

A Splash of Orange in the Woods

There was a new flower in the woods on my property this year. I spotted three others just like it along my road. These flowers bloomed last month, long after the regular orange daylilies.

A Pink Daisy

I was happy to see my first pink daisy, followed by another, then another, then another.... I had planted a lot of assorted seeds last year, but barely any of them had come up, and so these pink flowers were a nice surprise.

Whetstone of the Wits

"The dulness of the fool

is the whetstone of the wits."

--Shakespeare, As You Like It, 1599-1600

A Favorite Photo

My Butterfly Friend

I took this injured butterfly away from my neighbors' black cat. First, I had tried to pick up the yellow swallowtail with a large leaf, followed by a piece of cardboard, and finally with my bare hands, all to no avail; the butterfly kept trying to get away from me. Then when I offered the swallowtail my outstretched open right hand, it instantly calmed down and walked onto it, settling on my wrist, where it remained for quite some time, until it eventually decided to stroll up my arm. Actually, I was able to move the butterfly easily from one hand to the other, as I observed it for approximately an hour while it recuperated from the traumatic experience of being wounded by a cat.

Since I decided photos were in order, the butterfly and I went inside the house for my camera. Only Rebel noticed the butterfly on my hand, before we quickly went outside again. I know I took a risk in going indoors with my beautiful winged bracelet; if it had decided to flutter on my hand inside the house, I am certain at least one cat would have spotted it--and cats are quick, needless to say. But the butterfly seemed content to stay put on my hand, no matter where I went. So I sat back down on the deck, where I took yesterday's posted photo of the butterfly watching Harry Potter, who sat down next to us. By the way, the swallowtail seemed to get agitated when Harry first approached, but it calmed down when the disinterested cat walked past us. With great curiosity, I observed the butterfly watching the cat. This may sound odd, but I truly believe the butterfly felt safe on my hand.

I have always wondered how a butterfly would feel on one's hand, even though I have never had the desire to capture one of the delicate creatures with the fragile wings. Truth is, I did not think I would like the sensation of large insect legs moving around on my skin. However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the butterfly's legs reminded me of cat whiskers against my skin.

Making a long story short, after it had recovered sufficiently, I put the yellow swallowtail on a tall, flowering woodland plant, where it stayed for a while. By evening, it had flown away, along with all the assorted butterflies which had visited my yard that day.

Butterfly Watching a Cat, Close-up

The Story of a Love

"The story of a love is not important--

what is important is that one is capable of love."

--Helen Hayes

Never Yet a Philosopher

"There was never yet a philosopher

that could endure the toothache patiently."

--Shakespeare

Summer Will Have Its Flies

"Do what we can, summer will have its flies.

If we walk in the woods, we must feed mosquitoes."

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Two Weeks Ago

Two weeks ago, my viewing of The View was interrupted by a knock at the door. A woman who introduced herself as my neighbor from up the road inquired if I had been missing an orange cat with a fluffy tail. Apparently, several weeks ago, the woman's orange cat with a fluffy tail had gone missing. Then one day the woman's husband discovered the cat, muddy and soaking wet from the rain, killed by a vehicle on our road. The man quickly buried the cat, and his wife went to work in a distraught state the next day. A little time passed, and then, much to their surprise, an orange cat with a fluffy tail showed up at their door. It was their orange cat with a fluffy tail, which meant that they had buried someone else's orange cat in their yard.

I thanked the woman for searching for the deceased cat's owner, since I certainly would want to know if it had been one of my cats. But I referred the woman to my next door neighbors, because it has been many weeks since their orange cat with a fluffy tail has been in my yard. She laughed and said that perhaps it had been her orange cat visiting my yard because these two cats were identical. Anyway, while I still do not know whose orange cat lies in a grave up the road, it is heartwarming to know I have neighbors who care about their pet-loving neighbors.

Where's Waldo?

A few hours ago, Ponzo and I had just started to view 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama on Netflix on the computer, when Rebel started carrying on, barking the way he does when there is a black bear in the yard. So I grabbed my camera and, after ordering an excited Rebel to stay indoors, I went outside.

The black bear had already made his way into the ditch across the road; every now and then I would see his head, as he made his way slowly down the ditch. I waited for him to emerge out of the woods, which he finally did, more or less, and I noticed he was a full-grown bear, although he was still partially hidden. I figured I would wait and take my photos of the bear when he was clear of the woods, since it seemed that he had decided he was going to walk on the road. But the bear was very interested in something down the road, because he suddenly stopped in his tracks and he did not even glance my way.

A minute later, I learned what had captured the bear's full attention: a man and his black dog had been walking up the road. With the exception of the racket that Rebel was making inside the house, silence prevailed. The black bear, the black dog, the man, and I were silent, as I watched in amazement: the man allowed his medium-sized dog, who was on a retractable leash, to run right up to the bear, who turned and left quickly through the woods. And then the dog and his owner continued walking in silence, as if they had never run into the black bear. Nobody had even noticed my presence, but I decided that Waldo would be a good name for the bear. By the way, he is in the photo--or is he?

Charlotte, Featured Cat of the Month

Charlotte, the fourth of Ginny's kittens, was born at exactly 6:45 pm EST on April 17, 2008. Watching the kitten struggle immediately upon birth, the seconds seemed like minutes to me, and I was on the verge of peeling the fetal membrane off the kitten's face, when Ginny suddenly turned her attention away from the other three kittens and picked up her newest one, which had been behind her back since coming into this world. Skillfully, Ginny removed the membrane from the kitten's body, thus, relieving me of my duties as an inexperienced midwife.

I named the calico-tabby kitten Charlotte, after my favorite college professor, whom I greatly admired as a person. Many years later, I met another nice person named Charlotte and, of course, there is the famous Charlotte of Charlotte's Web. Besides, I thought the name Charlotte would go well with the names of two of her siblings, Darcy and Emma.