Daily Photo: Daily Shenanigans

April 9, 2020 Bernadette

cat peeking over blanket — Mariposa shenanigans.

Same shenanigans, different week. Mariposa loves the bed. She also knows she gets my attention no matter what she does. Or doesn’t do. Have I created a little monster kitty?

The cupboards are bare. (Don’t believe them!) That’s where I keep their cat food.

two black cats in cupboard — “The cupboard is bare.”

Mariposa approves of my hunting skills.

cat with cat food cans — Mariposa approves.

Potential yellow tulip. The only one the deer haven’t eaten.

You can tell I’m desperate for something growing in my yard when I photograph a tulip bud. Well, the slight bit of yellow on the tip was new, and I know that means it will bloom very soon. This tulip is special. It’s part of Allegro’s Garden outside the dining room window, under the river birch, that I planted with him next to me that horrible autumn when I had lost Kublai, then Allegro. This garden has really struggled with hydration since the river birch has grown. Many more bulbs sprout than bloom, so this year I have plans to renew this garden so the bulbs get more water in their spots. For now I’m just happy to see the purple, yellow and blue flowers in succession each year. Below, you’ll see a photo of this garden from a different year with a link to one of the stories. You can also read Allegro’s Garden.

From around this date in past years

Mimi the Purrfessional Model, 2019

Mimi's unique pose. — Mimi’s unique pose.

I might call this “Calm in Chaos”.

Mimi just does things like this. I don’t pose her. Sometimes I just think of how cool a photo of her somewhere would be and she goes there and finds a good pose. I know we all think in images, and she must be deeply tuned to mine.

It helps to have a back yard full of odd stuff as props for her, but she never ceases to amaze me with the places she finds to be, and the poses she settles into. I use this broken stool for a large basin with geraniums in the summer, so it doesn’t matter if the seat is broken. Mimi would have been interesting if the seat had been whole and she’d sat in the middle or off-center or anywhere she pleased, but she chose the lower side and counterbalanced herself with her posture. And then she looked here, and she looked there, and held each pose long enough for me to play with lenses and f-stops and other sorts of fancy camera stuff, and in all I took about 20 photos, not counting the ones I’d taken on my phone, which are nothing like this. Such a muse, this little black cat.

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Sunday

Wow, that was a good #napforseven. Guess I’ll change the bed later. Mimi and the kids plus the two fancy boys.

Monday

Set down my overshirt and a piece of paper with information for a phone call to make, but apparently this was the true purpose I set the things down, as if they were waiting for them.

Tuesday

I got the work done despite my supurrvisors Bella and Sienna sleeping on the job and on my calendar.

Photos from years past.

Cuddling on a Snowy April Day…, 2018

Can you even tell those lumps are cats? It started out with five of them gathering one by one to sleep in what I think is a kind of a chilly spot, by the big window, as the temperatures dropped, the wind gusted, and snow squalled outside…on April 4. Well, I was working at the downstairs computer in my office today, surreptitiously attempting to lure Sienna downstairs. But apparently she was cozy on her bed.

Then suddenly a squirrel leaped onto the bird feeder outside, spun around and fell onto the shelf below the window with a loud “clunk!”. Even Bella awoke from her basket bear my desk to see, adding up to six cats! Hamlet walked through at this point too, but I missed photographing him. Mimi was not impressed.

Basil and Bella keep watch for the little twit, as they call him, while everyone else settles back to baths and naps.

Jelly Bean isn’t quite sure what to do…settle back down and cuddle, or find another spot.

Apparently I’m looking a little lonely, but I soon discovered he was only interested in the gum bands I was taking off of printed materials.

Bean decides he's going somewhere else. — Bean decides he’s going somewhere else.

They have other rooms and warmer spots, but they always seem to settle near me.

Below, I’m shocked to see that last year I not only had daffodils blooming, but forsythia and even forget-me-nots!

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What other photos have I posted on or around this date?

Bella at the Door, 2017

I really don’t retouch Bella’s eyes. They are very bright and clear light green, and I get the best photos of her when she’s facing a light source, as here where she’s looking out the door. But her eyes always look bright and clear, that’s one of the things that’s so beautiful about her.

I kept running outside today, with Mimi and to take photos. The weather was fairly warm, it was sometimes quite windy and with bright sun then heavy dark clouds. We were as unsettled as the weather. Bella felt the need to keep an eye on us when we were in the front yard so I could photograph the special daffodil, below.

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Little Tree Panther

I never have to tell Mimi how to pose. I just follow her around.

Boys at the Door

Among all the reflections and shadows you can see Basil’s round eyes in the center, and just in front is Hamlet who came to the door with Basil. In the reflection you can see my feet, but Mimi moved. I’ll be glad to get all the recycling into the bin tonight!

Spring Welcome Kitty

My stone kitty on the shutter above the table next to the door always keeps watch. Right now I have forsythia in the vase and it makes a nice composition.

Welcomes Kitties Ready for Work

All the kitty things that welcome people to my yard and porch are collected and ready to get to work for the season. Mimi and I have some work to do out here.

Out in the Yard

The First Forget-me-nots

I’m a little surprised to see them here all of a sudden. I’ve been watching the rosettes of elongated fuzzy leaves coming up all over the yard but really didn’t think they’d be blooming for a few days. I always associate them with the cats who’ve joined me in the yard. You can see these and more of the things we find in the back yard on my photo blog Today.

A Special Daffodil

I planted this daffodil 21 years ago and it has not bloomed for years. You can read a bit about that planting in a post on my writing site, Paths I Have Walked. I’ll be writing about this daffodil and that garden a little more on Sunday, on a different topic.

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What other photos have I posted on or around this date?

What I Did This Weekend, 2016

A young cat in surgery prep for his neutering--the green collar indicates he is a pet, not a feral cat, and the green tape on his ears remind the staff that he is not to be ear-tipped. — A young cat in surgery prep for his neutering–the green collar indicates he is a pet, not a feral cat, and the green tape on his ears remind the staff that he is not to be ear-tipped.

Well, I did a few other things this weekend, but I got some time outside and with other humans, a rarity for me of late. I helped my neighbor up the street try to trap the rest of her feral cats on Saturday and went to the HCMT clinic on Sunday.

When we’d trapped three weeks ago, which I didn’t share, come to think of it, we had only trapped five of eight cats she’d been feeding on her deck since last summer and fall. That was a great day for trapping cats, sunny and mild, but Saturday here was wildly windy and though it was sunny the wind had them all spooked and any movement sent them back into hiding.

We had planned to rebait the traps in the evening because that was when they came back the last time, and often winds will die down at dusk, but the temperatures had dropped, ending in rain and snow!

I’d volunteered for the clinic because I was to transport the cats we caught plus a few others from my area, but it turned out the other person had caught two cats, neither of which needed to go to the clinic. They had needed some help in post-op so I went anyway, almost two hours late for locking my keys in the car with the engine running. Things went fine after that, and I was asked to take photos of the clinic for a story about us on local TV. It’s always a wonderful time to be there and it’s been nearly a year, but I get to see people I only see virtually, all the time, in our groups. Plus I always get a chocolate doughnut. So until the next time, here are a few of those photos.

Lindsay Joyce prepares a cat for neuter.

Mindy, Ardelle and Donna in recovery area.

Eileen and Cindy do paperwork and rabies certificates.

That was enough for a weekend plus some art and creative stuff, and Hamlet and Ophelia have been out more and are slowly adjusting to the house. I couldn’t be happier, but I couldn’t be busier. More to come!

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Giuseppe Performs, 2012

black cat on desk — Giuseppe put on quite a performance on my desk today!

Breakdancing? Recumbent disco, perhaps? A dramatic death scene from some Wagnerian opera? His team won?

Ah, a sweet message from his amour, Mlle. Daisy Emerald Marguerite. Be cautious, Giuseppe, Mlle. may be a little shocked to see you in full ecstasy!

No, Giuseppe says, “Lighten up mom! Life is good!” This is one of the good things about living with cats.

Enjoy the rest of Giuseppe’s performance.

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