Daily Photo: A Little Conversation
What do you think, mom? Should we make a break for it? It’s a really pretty sunny morning out there!
Mewsette, do you think you’re going to open the door?
Well, maybe not. But you can always convince Bernadette we need to go outside! I haven’t been outside for sooooo long!
It’s cold out there, Mewsette.
Pleeeeeeease! Just for a few minutes!
You don’t like it and you just want to go back in.
Because that’s all I wanted!
We get our harnesses and leashes on and that takes longer than we’re outside.
It’s worth it!
No kitty wants to go outside more than me, and I think it’s a better idea to just sit here in this nice sunbeam.
You’re no fun!
I’m your mom, I know what’s best.
[Mewsette has the best eye rolls.]
We haven’t had many sunny mornings lately!
Shared on Instagram
The girls were very organized in the kitchen this morning.
Supurrvisors showed up after all the work was done. Blockprinting cards all afternoon in the basement while they all napped, let’s hope I managed to produce anything worthwhile.
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Photos from previous years…
What’s the Password?, 2018
“What’s the password Hamlet?”
Mariposa suddenly became a troll, requiring a password for all who would walk along in front of the shop display. The tables have turned from last week when Hamlet was there and Mariposa came down the steps!
Really, she only did this to Hamlet. They’ve been starting little bits of play lately.
“There’s never been a password to walk here, Mariposa. You just made that up.”
“Well there’s a password now, Hamlet, and you’d better start thinking about it or you don’t get to walk here. I helped to make these things so I get to make the rules.”
“I helped to make them too, and I sit here all the time. (I don’t know what to do.)”
Hamlet is possibly the most submissive cat I’ve met, and where other cats would smack that little brat Hamlet really isn’t sure what to do, but he’s not going to raise a paw. Eventually he backed away and left Mariposa to own the shop display area. Which is how she ended up in the photos of the new votives instead of him. And she did actually help to make those, but…
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What other photos did I post on or around this date?
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Sun, Flowers and Silhouettes, 2017
Bella settled at the upstairs window and then Mimi joined her. All that wonderful soft light made two housepanthers appear very introspective.
Above, Bella enjoys the view with her geranium.
Below, both girls enjoy warm sun.
Black and white, in silhouette.
The whole view.
Now Mimi wants up on the wardrobe.
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What other photos did I post on or around this date?
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A Chain Reaction, 2015
So this is an artsy shot of what they were doing on the bed today. I was working in the studio with Giuseppe as my supervisor, napping on the blanket in front of the heater vent, but every time I stepped outside the studio door one more cat had gathered on my bed. At first there were four and I thought that was pretty sweet. Then Teddy joined them, then Bella, then Simon—I guess those foster kittens know to follow their ninja mentors’ actions! I took photo after photo, of course, but when they were finally all in place, and all lined up, it was just too much!
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What other photos did I post on or around this date?
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Daily Cat Photo: Cat TV, 2014
Smokie, Mr. Sunshine, Bella and Mimi have front row seats for all the action at the bird feeder while Giuseppe sits at the table. Judging by their actions, I would guess the squirrel is making a fool of herself out there.
Below, they are rather mesmerized by watching all the flapping and fluttering, just before they all settle down for a nap.
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Daily Cat Photo: Making Pies, 2013
I let them explore and inspect everything I’d be working with before I started so I could accomplish making my pies without paws, and wouldn’t have black cat hairs in my pie crust or in my pumpkin pies. Jelly Bean got to wear the badge of honor of the flour on his face. Typically this goes to Sunshine, who must inspect all my tools and materials no matter what I’m doing.
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From the Archives: Kitty Keep-warm Lamp
The days are getting cold, and under the kitty keep-warm lamps is the place to be. Here, Cookie caught some watts on the top of her head under one of the lamps at my desk, keeping her tortie spots in prime color over the winter. I kept it adjusted so it was just the right height for her.
Now, variations on the Fantastic Four and Mimi lounge about on the desk under the lights.
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Daily Cat Photo: You Really Must Clean Your Desk! 2011
Cookie: Mom, we’re afraid we’ll get lost if we try to sleep on your desk. Sometimes when I walk across it I slip around on the stuff. I know you don’t like me up on this shelf (and you didn’t know I could get up here, either, I’ll bet) but I just can’t see to walk around down there.
Kelly: And it’s not really comfortable anyway, you’ve got little boxes and tablets and all sorts of other things there. Can you please move things? I want to take my bath and have my nap!
Me: It’s like that because there are always cats all over it, and God forbid I should move you when you are relaxed! I’ll go get a box.
By the time I returned with the box the girls were already curled up on the desk. When I set down the box, Mimi jumped into it, followed by a succession of her children. I simply sat down and got to work with the status quo restored.
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Daily Cat Photo: Pretty Bean, 2011
Jelly Bean looks out the door into the rainy day. I love the little brushes in his ears; all of Mimi’s Children have white hairs in their ears with varying quantity, though Mimi does not, but Bean has the most, plus they are short and tend to stand forward. He’s had them since he was tiny, and that was how I told him from the others until the paint on the ears since without that they were all just uncoordinated balls of black fur.
Sometimes I can manage to get an interesting photo that is somewhat abstract; what does the rest of the image matter but Jelly Bean’s little face? And it’s a different view of his face, intimate and detached at the same time. I love to observe them like this.
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From the Archives: 5-cat 3-D Puzzle, 2009
From November 29, 2009…
Another from lazing about on the shawl, the next day. This time it’s all five happily tucked together and warm, napping and watching the birds out the window by turn. Lots of nice subtle jewel tones in this, and nice graceful shapes. If I’d been daily sketching at that time I can tell you I would have sketched this.
Now, really, what would you have done if you’d come upon this warm pile of black cats purring together like a hive of bees? After the photographs, I dug my hands in there to mix them up a bit—kneading as it were, human style!
This is also an example of my poor camera trying to do its best in poor lighting conditions. The light is bright coming in the window and I can tell you that in the winter when the leaves have all fallen it’s quite glaring north light, but five black cats are absorbing it all. There was no angle that worked with my tripod, so all the photos, except a few where I could position my tripod or rest my camera on something, are a little soft. Sometimes my camera just beeps at me because it can’t find anything to focus on. I have to turn to the non-digital 35mm fixed-focus lens I got with my camera 30 years ago for an f-stop low enough to work with the conditions.
Not that the kids aren’t doing anything interesting right now, but I found these photos I’d never posted and decided I’d share these. Back to current events soon!
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It’s the first day of spring and a gorgeous morning. Mimi waits by the door, keeping an eye on me over her shoulder so I don’t wander from the kitchen and forget the importance of getting outside before the busy part of the day begins. It’s a position and an expression I see on her face most days, even cold or inclement ones, and I also saw Cookie and Namir and Kublai in the same position with the same expression at the same back door, waiting to go out on the same deck into very similar sunny mornings. Read more and purchase.
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