Daily Photo: Getting Ready for the Zoom
Bella is cleaning up before her Zoom call meeting. Apparently kitties have their own kitty Zoom calls. I thought they just sat in on photobombed Cat Ladies for America Zoom calls. And any other Zoom call that’s available. Cats are known to adapt to new conditions when necessary, and I guess they considered this necessary.
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From the Back Yard and Beyond
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From Portraits of Animals
“Let’s Go for a Ride!” on a Summer Back Road
From around this date in past years
Mimi and Mewsette Monday: Black Cats Indoors and Out, 2020
On this morning it all began indoors, with Mewsette creating a striking composition of angular geometric shapes balanced by a rounded soft shape in the center. She seemed to be the one who took that position far more often than anyone else over the years. I always loved her shape, and how she tended to find a comfortable posture, either sitting or reclining, and hold it until I had the chance to take a bunch of photos of shadows and light.
Once we got outdoors, Mimi walks our little flagstone path from the deck steps to the garden and patio. I love how Mimi is standing purrfectly on one stone, purrfectly in a spot of sunshine. She has such a sense of composition. I’m still photographing her out there in dappled sunlight!
I placed the stones in this little path from the deck to the garden the year after I moved in here, and since then I’ve loved watching my cats strolling along, especially in dappled sunlight. It always gets overgrown, but I do try to dig it out from under the grass each spring. In the past two years it was especially important to dig it out and get photos, just knowing what might happen…
I found a morning of photos from June 1, 2020, Mimi and Mewsette plus flowers blooming at that time and I had only used one photo. Probably because I had taken so many, again, and thought I’d get to them sometime soon. Well, four years?
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Just a note…
Mimi has a follow-up appointment with her veterinarian tomorrow, and to be honest I could use a little help with that. A customer sent a check but the replacement postal delivery person can’t find my address, so it’s out there but I haven’t received it and won’t before tomorrow. Morty’s little escapade cost me a bit that wasn’t in the budget.
If you want to give us a little help: PayPal @bernadettekazmarski1, Venmo @Bernadette-Kazmarski or visit www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net and do some shopping! And thank you!
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From Instagram
Mimi and I took a week off for mornings of deep contemplation.
No, really, it was to give my eyes a little bit more of a rest. My hands too since handling my phone takes a little bit of a toll. Feels much better now, and I’ve modified a few things about my computers and my phone while we were away. And I seriously tried to get myself into the habit of my post-hip-replacement PT moves and some yoga each morning. You can see that Mimi helps with that.
We are all pretty hot here, but Mimi’s doing well, Morty’s feeling better, and the rest of the household is having some of their best.naps.ever.
Below, in the heat Mimi’s wheelbarrow bird bath pretty much dried up. But we had a couple of brief downpours last night that managed to give her a little refill.
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And a video!
Tiger Swallowtail Morning
Well someone is just as excited as I am to see the phlox is blooming.
That’s a female dark morph Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly enjoying, not a native plant but close to it, my good old-fashioned tall phlox, phlox drummondii. From the time I moved here and planted the phlox in my yard the tiger swallowtails have been here for it.
Beautiful way to start the day!
For all you fans of Mimi, she was snoozing on the deck–in the shade! She’s been enjoying those shady naps and does.not.want to come back inside. We go out extra early when it’s cooler. She could easily become overheated in this weather, even just walking around.
From around this date in past years
A Green Morning of Adventures, 2023
We had just come out the basement door and after some likely sniffing of the peemail on the peonies the girls began their morning grazing session, moving slowly along the flagstone path. The buttercups were brilliant this year, and I’ll always remember this combination of yellow and green with Mimi’s and Mewsette’s black fur—every sunny morning it was just stunning.
These photos are from a very green morning, May 15, 2023, just a couple of months ago. Both girls were roaming and enjoying the sun and the taller grass before I cut it once again, grazing together then going their own ways, then coming back together on the green wicker loveseat. I’m not sure what the opportunity was on this particular day, but we seem to have gone outdoors twice, the afternoon outing shared in my Sunday post about Mewsette. Everything was so beautiful and I took so many photos. I’m so glad I did.
“Passing on your left!” as Mimi turns around but Mewsette wants to move forward. As I ride my bike on the Panhandle trail this is an oft-heard phrase as we bicyclists pass the walkers along the outside edges of the trail.
Then, settling in for more good grazing in new spots. Through the years they were outside together I often saw Mewsette and Mimi mirror each others’ activities or postures.
Then they split up and head off for their own favorite activities, Mimi to the woodpile for a good scratch…
…and Mewsette for the end of the yard for an adventure among the overgrowth, and probably a pee out there. She got to like that, maybe more comfortable than the litterbox, or maybe she was more comfortable after moving around in the sun to squat and pee, and maybe a little bit of a territorial venture, covering another cat’s or animal’s scent with hers.
And then…the green wicker loveseat! Mewsette’s favorite spot as soon as it warmed up in March, she visited it almost daily, usually with Mimi joining her, and sometimes me too.
Mimi gets the message and heads for the wicker.
Then it’s time for the two of them to have a face rub fest!
The whole exciting morning then settled down for a few outdoor naps, Mimi on the deck and Mewsette on the wicker in a photo I shared in June when I posted an update on her condition…
From around this date in past years
Mariposa’s Comfy Cradle, 2022
Mariposa loves her new bed, like a cradle for her little fluffy body. Really, wasn’t this made for a kitty? All those bars to drape limbs through, and shaped like a cradle? She let me know how happy she was that I had provided this for her. It’s actually my print rack, the slope-sided holder for my larger art and photo prints, but I’m sure it doesn’t mind spending some time as a cat bed with a happy purring kitty inside.
It’s a great day for the kitties when I start moving things around in some area of my house. They will have new climbing places and new views from them, and the best thing is that they can come back a while later and it’s all different all over again. Such is the organic kitty enrichment in my house. In this case I was unloading my car and unpacking from my show in June (yes, this was from nearly a month ago!). I love watching their enthusiasm to explore and inspect when I stack up my bins, move them around, open them and pack or unpack. Their environment changes in these little ways all the time.
Below, you can see what kind of full-body support the print rack gives to kitties!
From Instagram
Catching up from the beginning of July…
Mimi decided to start the #boxpawty by crawling into the bottom box of a stack of boxes in the basement and having a nap, then totally ignoring me while I raced around the house looking for her. I only maintained my composure and sanity because I remembered seeing her go in there another time when I was in the basement.
Cool cats in the morning before the day got hot. Hamlet and Sienna. There’s something I love about this photo. We may not have seen the last of it.
#caturday morning second breakfast with Mimi and the kids.
It’s your Sunday #catpuzzle. Good luck solving.
From the back yard and beyond
From around this date in past years
Still Life With Three Cats and Tomatoes, 2021
I don’t always know what I’m going to get when I walk into a room, but it’s sure to be entertaining, and often inspiring. They are posed like a post-Renaissance pastoral painting except they are indoors, but there is a bowl of fruit, well, tomatoes are fruit, and it really doesn’t fit the genre, but it works for me. In any case their eyes are saying “mind your own business”. Guess I’ll get out of their scene.
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From Instagram
Don’t know why that squirrel isn’t exploding with the force of all the feline death rays being sent in its direction. The fool is actually out there looking them in the eye. From the left, front: Sienna, Mewsette, Mariposa. Back: Basil, Mimi, Mr. Sunshine.
From the back yard and beyond
I’m a little behind but I’ll be sure to catch up on my daily photo blog Today.
From around this date in past years
Housepanther Brainmeld, 2020
Hamlet has got a kind of a guy cat crush on Bean. I find them together a lot lately, but it might just be Bean’s turn. Hamlet has been napping with each of the other cats. Hamlet is named so because of his internal conflicts, and in this he’s not entirely comfortable, but something is telling him to do this, so he does.
Here is what they looked like when I walked past the bedroom door, which is what made me stop and take the photo.
Below, they were napping on the table by the window, or Bean was, then Hamlet was there, then Hamlet was spooning with Bean, with his arm over Bean’s shoulder.
Then they were both asleep.
Someday Hamlet will realize it’s all okay.
From around this date in past years
Pondering, 2019
Basil dozed off while watching out the front door. In profile, he has such whiskers, so long and curved, and all over the place. Those big mittens and all that fur. He’s such a big teddy bear.
He wears a calming collar now and then, and now is one of those times. It seems to be a summer thing, and to my best guess all the unidentified noises that come in the newly opened windows and doors frighten him. He’s on edge, overreacts to noises and situations, and sometimes acts defensively, and that’s just not my sweet Basil. So the calming collar it is beginning in May, and he is fine through the summer. Sometimes I leave the same one on him, and sometimes I remove it just to see if he’s good without it, but he only seems to need that annual reintroduction of the outdoor sounds to become accustomed to.
Oh—he woke up!
Okay, get this if you’re going to keep pointing that thing in my face!
Photos shared in past years
Lots of Daily Photos, 2017
I love cat shadows. It’s difficult to get them around here because we are so crowded, and sometimes I don’t get the chance to sweep the floor after I scoop and refill litter boxes in the morning…But that’s when I get the best light coming in the door to create one of those long, exaggerated shadows, like Mewsette’s here. I took quite a few, with my camera no less, as she turned her head this way and that, looking for a good position for both her real self and her shadow self. And I always like the mottled effect on the basement floor in black and white photos.
Just when I’d grown accustomed to posting to Instagram, Facebook and The Creative Cat using my handy tablet, I dropped it far enough into the dishwater that I can’t use it anymore. It’s far easier to post with a tablet than a phone, so I’ve fallen behind on sharing photos here. That means you get treated to ALL the photos I’ve posted in the past couple of weeks, all in one post! Then I’ll try to start over again.
Part of the premise of The Creative Cat is to share the daily goings-on, as they happen, not at some random date. I still enjoy that on IG and FB but this is where it all started, so it’s my goal to do that along with sharing at least one really nice photo that I’d like to feature, and also featuring photos from past years. That’s kind of how it is in my head, and that’s no lie.
So here we go, all the way back to June 17!
JULY 3
JUNE 29
JUNE 28
JUNE 27
What were they waiting to see?
The Baby Finch program was on CatTV again today! And they had a flight lesson. RIGHT OUTSIDE THE DOOR! The CATBIRD is singing her fool head off out there, but Bella decided to have a session in the litterbox…
JUNE 26
JUNE 25
Really innovative program on CatTV! Mama House Finch feeding fledgling Baby Finch RIGHT OUTSIDE THE DOOR! Lots of flapping, cheeping and really exciting scuffling noises. Two thumbs up!
JUNE 24
Mewsette is Mimi’s favorite snuggle partner, she’s the purrfect size to curl around Mimi.
JUNE 22
Hamlet enjoys a cool breeze through the screen. He loves to sleep by the open doors.
JUNE 21
Apparently hanging out laundry is exhausting work.
JUNE 20
Looks like Basil is “all out of love”. Only people of a certain age will get this. 😉
JUNE 19
Mimi and me on the front patio.
JUNE 18
Hot. Open window with fan. Still they cuddle.
JUNE 17
Just out earning your keep, my lovelies.
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I’d been thinking of signs, and begun to visualize a few of them on the wood I’d gathered.
Then Mewsette did this on the steps to the deck. Read more or purchase.
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All images and text used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission, although links to your site are more than welcome and are shared. Please ask if you are interested in using and image or story in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of an image or a product including it, check my animal and nature website Portraits of Animals to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.
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Such a sweet Zoom kitty!
bella….noe kneed ta kleen up fora zoom call …peepulz go two them in ther pa jam asz !!! ☺☺