Spring means new bumper stickers

Embiggenable.

Friday cat blogging plus other stuff

This is Jellico.

The opossum retreated to shelter when I came home.

The turtles were out sunning today. Every year they get a little larger. Probably 8 or 10 inches long now. Fun to watch but getting within good photo distance is impossible.

Spring won't really be here until the oak trees lose last year's leaves.

Friday cat blogging

Shirley's cat

Friday cat blogging on Monday

PuddyTat learned this trick from LittleOne when he was too small to jump. Now he jumps as do all the others. Not PT. She's as lazy as her servant.

Seen on a Sunday walk in February

With some new cheap boots to wear - gotta save the Muck boots for serious work - I braved the mud and cinders of the "tracks" for a mile and a half walk. If you look closely, you can see a couple of light spots which were rather obviously beaver felled trees. I had to investigate.

If you look closely you can see that the nearer tree was a successful fall but the farther one was not. Why not? None of it fell in the water and much more work will be needed before any of it is transportable or edible.

The dam is in the same pond but several hundred feet to the left of the photo above.

The dam that has the pond higher than it has been in years is even farther up the tracks. The following three photos are of the dam. It is maybe 15 feet wide and now 6 feet tall. They have worked on this for years. When the pond gets too high, the neighbors poke holes in it. For that reason I wonder how long the beavers will be able to use this ledge.

This is the outlet to the lake. Water always seeps thru under the tracks.

This photo of two geese was taken just to the right of the previous photo. I need to watch for the geese and chase them off the yard. Our annual battle is beginning too early this year.

First signs of new life 2012

I'm pleasantly surprised that the daffys don't have squared off leaves from the frosts. These are very close to the house. the ones in the yard have yet to poke their leaves above the surface. Probably wise.

Friday cat blogging on Thursday

All four of the clan waited for me this morning. Tim was "outside" as there was no room in the inn. Well, there is an additional box to the right of what you can see but I don't think anybody uses it. They want to see what is going on inside the house. Jellico on top, PuddyTat below and LittleOne on the right. All were damp. I don't like petting wet cats and they don't like it either but they still mob me for attention.

After eating, LittleOne went about his business while the other three settled in for a nap. I've tried to get a photo of the difference in size between Tim and PuddyTat. This is as close as I've come. Tim is FAT.

Kitten season is upon us. I haven't seen any strays lately and hope there aren't any in the neighborhood. LittleOne came home with a wound on his head a week ago so there must be at least one female worth battling for.

Here a scaup, there a mallard, everywhere geese, geese...

The waterfowl flocked to Conneaut Lake where bubblers keep the ice away. The clump of smaller birds swimming away from me to the right of the dock on the left was a flock of scaup. There were mallards scattered thru the crowd of geese. I didn't try to count. The open water was covered with geese. There is still a huge flock there but nothing like on this cold day in January.

A visit from a notcat

Tim above and PuddyTat below seemed unperturbed by the presence of the other critter munching catfood for breakfast.

The possum seemed unperturbed by the felines.

When I went out s/he retreated to the cardboard catbox and watched me.

When I went back in s/he checked out the other catboxes and the window. I could get nose to nose without alarming the obviously young visitor.

S/he pushed up the blanket to reveal the heating pad. I was afraid s/he would settle in between and was relieved awhile later to find my newest notcat was gone.

I don't like seeing these critters in the daylight as I worry about rabies. This young one seemed quite healthy, just hungry. I don't mind the possums because they just eat and leave. The raccoons play and do lots of damage. I won't put up with them for long before setting the trap. I never saw any critters last winter. I wouldn't be surprised to see the groundhog if we have a week of warmth.

On a Sunday

The snow on the foliage along I-79 looked like cottonballs as I drove up to North East for the latest in their Second Sunday concerts.

The "concert" was more like eavesdropping on friends who were playing thru their favorite music than a formal concert. Their choices were wonderful and fun in a classical music sort of way. At least for me all but one were familiar favorites from various combinations of instruments and voices played simply (well, the music wasn't all simple to play) on horn and piano. I'd like to hear more of the Faith piece.

Chelsea Nelson was the featured performer accompanied by Carol Carlson. Chelsea is from North East and is in her first year at Eastman. She is excellent.

Brahms: Scherzo from Serenade in D, Opus 11
Rachmaninoff: Vocalise
Mozart: Concerto #3 in E-Flat, K. 447
Richard Faith (b 1926): Movements for Horn and Piano
Schumann: Widmung
Schumann: Im wunderschönen Monat Mai
Purcell: "I attempt from Love's sickness"
F. Strauss: Nocturno #7
Beethoven: Scherzo (Allegro molto e vivaci) from Septet in Eb

I heartily recommend these concerts at The Episcopal Church of the Holy Cross in North East, PA.

Back to cats

 PuddyTat and Tim are more interested in the running water than a little warm milk. LittleOne likes the milk.

Our Bible study group (all but me and one other) updated

How I managed to capture us in moments when we aren't laughing is a mystery. We look like such a dour group when we are in fact very lively and funny. We are usually in the church tho not this particular night when we met before an Open House where the people who came stayed long past the advertized closing hour.

At the request of two, I have removed the photos of people. I will email the admittedly not too complimentary photos to members of the group who request them.

I rarely identify individuals on my blog. In this case I did not even identify the location. There are few who actually visit the blog and most of those who do are relatives, close friends or people from who knows where who stumble on it. "Local" people are few and far between and always related via church. Nevertheless some are especially sensitive and I honor that.

Family Christmas 2011

I know you've all been waiting with bated breath to see the world's cutest grandnephew and niece tear into the latest parental offerings. Well, you'll have to go here.

Happy New Year.

Cat story

This is NOT how my cat clan began.

The story is here.

Only Tim(id) and PuddyTat remain. Today they are looking out on the world from heated blankets.

Open but closed

This is a church. It has no windows. Well, it has windows in the Sunday School part. When I saw it I wondered if the lack of windows signifies their unwillingness to allow any outside opinions to corrupt their beliefs. Probably totally carpeted and padded with lots of electronics and closed minds? It looks very unwelcoming.

RIP Tommie

This was battered, very male Tommie in better days. Lately he has had a respiratory problem that got steadily worse and noisier. Unfortunately he had never been handled. Tho he always wanted my attention since he has been sick, he wouldn't allow me to pick him up. Today I came home to find him on the ground under the cathouse, still warm but lifeless. I'm so glad his suffering is over! I'm glad he was home so I know what happened to him. I'm not good at grieving but I am a little tearful. Weird. Surprising. RIP old man.

A box, a cat

PuddyTat found the box that Jellico once occupied. LittleOne looked on while I took the photo. I need to replace the box the raccoons demolished last winter. Or maybe not. There are plenty of others plus the barn for warmer retreats when the weather gets cold. The heating pads are already in the boxes above but they only get plugged in when the temp is below 25F and there is a cat in the box to enjoy the warmth.

An adult Thanksgiving 2011

My nephew

His wife did most of the cooking

My bro and sil

The gorgeous canine in the family

My bro needed a little extra help

My sil and nephew began Christmas decorating

My bro and me

My sil and me

It was a long wonderful day

A Saturday

Tommie on top with Jellico and PuddyTat below were waiting for breakfast.

A beautiful weather day followed. There were many fishermen in boats dotting the lake. A little unusual for November. Yes, one or two people are fishing almost every day possible but this many boats is odd. I counted a dozen on our end tho they aren't all in the photo.