In Review

No new photos are available, since I have yet to purchase a new battery for my little camera. Actually, I took very few photos last year, despite the fact that I even had my wildlife camera up for several weeks--until I noticed someone was interested in "borrowing" it during the night a couple of times, and so I took it down. One of these weeks, or possibly months, I intend to post some of my wildlife photos. Since Ponzo was in charge of our posts last year, you see, I have gotten out of the habit of posting.

In 2011, we experienced illnesses, births, and deaths. We also had many black bear sightings on our property and, needless to say, I was absolutely delighted, especially with my pleasant, once-in-a-lifetime encounter with a mama black bear and her three little cubs. It truly could have been called the Summer of the Black Bear. As for my lowest point of the year, that was the death of Zorro, our winged feral cat.

Strange Cats

You will always be lucky if you know how to make

friends with strange cats.

--Colonial American proverb

Because

"Why did I write?

Because I found life unsatisfactory."

--Tennessee Williams

Not Worthwhile

"It is not worthwhile to go around the world

to count the cats in Zanzibar."

--Henry David Thoreau

Philosophers

"What sort of philosophers are we,

who know absolutely nothing

about the origin and destiny of cats?"

--Henry David Thoreau

Equal

"All animals are equal

but some animals are more equal than others."

--George Orwell, Animal Farm

Turtle

"All the thoughts of a turtle are turtle."

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Tools

"Men have become the tools of their tools."

--Henry David Thoreau

A Vegetable Invented

"An onion can make people cry,

but there has never been a vegetable invented to make them laugh."

--Will Rogers

Four Legs

"Four legs good, two legs bad."

--George Orwell, Animal Farm

City Life

"Millions of people being lonesome together."

--Henry David Thoreau

A Comma

"This morning I took out a comma

and this afternoon I put it back again."

--Oscar Wilde

A New Day

"Finish each day and be done with it.... You have done what you could;

some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can.

Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it well and serenely."

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sabbatical Leave

I have an announcement which is rather bittersweet: I shall be taking sabbatical leave from And a Cat Named Ponzo next year. Had it not been for Ponzo's great assistance, support, and encouragement, I am afraid I would have been unable to post something every day--and that was only because I could schedule posts in advance.

I wish to thank everyone who visited my online journal. But now I am happy to inform you that I shall be putting And a Cat Named Ponzo into the capable paws of my wonderful assistant, Ponzo, who has decided to post one of his favorite quotations each month along with a different monthly photo of himself. On that note, I wish everyone a very happy 2011!

Living with Bears

I was in the middle of writing a long post about black bears, but my assistant, Ponzo, strongly suggested I delete it and, instead, recommend a book by Linda Masterson entitled Living with Bears, A Practical Guide to Bear Country. I do highly recommend this book to anyone living in black bear country or anyone going camping in black bear country.

I have sometimes wondered what would happen if I ran smack into a black bear--something I almost did a few nights ago. I know that although black bears are shy by nature and do not want any trouble, a person is wise not to turn their back and run--unless, of course, they foolishly wish to be chased. Okay, it was nighttime and Rebel was tied in the yard. Since it was a nice night, I took a little stroll in my yard. Simultaneously, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as Rebel let out his there's-a-bear barks and I heard the heavy crashing sounds through the woods next to me. I suspect the bear had been sitting there until I got too near him, and then we both turned and walked off in opposite directions when Rebel started barking. It was only then that I realized I had turned my back to the black bear, who, by the way, had also turned his back to me. I think it must have been the little guy who has his own bear crossing path through my yard.

No Photo Today

My camera has decided to be uncooperative today. Otherwise, perhaps I would have attempted to take a photo of Ponzo insisting on giving Rebel a love bite; needless to say, Rebel does not desire a love bite from anyone, especially not from a feline.

Boring Me

"Somebody's boring me...

I think it's me."

--Dylan Thomas

The Play

"The world is a stage,

but the play is badly cast."

--Oscar Wilde

365 Days

Ponzo, who was diagnosed FIV-positive, has been doing very well for 365 days now. I know this because I have been keeping a record; he gets two smiley faces on his calendar for each perfect day, so to speak. I used to also write down exactly what food he ate plus the supplements he received daily. Unfortunately, I have gotten very lazy, so I have only been writing down his supplements for the past few months. I do know, however, that Ponzo has been on the same dry catfood for the past 365 days. He has been eating Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diets: Green Pea & Chicken Formula, Green Pea & Duck Formula, and Green Pea & Salmon Formula. Incidentally, Ponzo is the only one of my cats who really likes Natural Balance L.I.D. Cats tend to be finicky eaters, and so everybody seems to have his or her own food preference. Of course, Ponzo also gets fed homemade chicken soup and, occasionally, homemade catfood.

Heat Wave

Instead of a photo of my cat assistant, Ponzo, who has been constantly scampering across the computer keyboard today, I give you one of Rebel, who seems to be enduring the heat wave okay, since he is constantly asking me to let him go outside, but only for a few minutes at a time. Mikey, on the other hand, prefers to stay outside in this dreadful heat, despite her Himalayan coat, although she does come indoors for short visits throughout the day.

I, on the other hand, prefer to stay indoors all the time, drinking iced coffee instead of hot while I watch my favorite talk shows. I was glad to see the return of encore presentations of The Bonnie Hunt Show, even though I viewed most of them when they first aired this past television season; for me, it's the equivalent of sharing a cup of coffee with an old friend.