Friday, March 29, 2024
black catscat artworkcat craftscat merchandisecatsdaily photoeventsfoster catsgiuseppeMariposamimimr. sunshineSienna

Daily Photo: Happy Boxing Day!

Happy Boxing Day!
Happy Boxing Day!

Just put a box anywhere and it’s immediate feline happiness. The contents of this box evolved over several days, but mainly it was Sienna wondering why everycat else wouldn’t stay out of her box! You’ll see this box a few more times because it was around the kitchen helping me sort recycling and other things when it wasn’t a cat container.

And I realized I have Instagram photos I haven’t shared here that go back to the beginning of the month! So I’m going to share a few here each day in groups, sort of. I’m so happy to be back to posting that I want to share them all right now. Soon I’ll have my DSLR repaired and be back to beautiful photos again, but it’s also fun to capture day to day images.

That gray bed by the furnace vent was a favorite spot during the cold weather we had, and was also convenient for visitors who wanted to pet sleepy kitties.

December 6

Curled with your fur brothers and ninja mentors, best place to be on a cold day.

Curled with your fur brothers and ninja mentors, best place to be on a cold day.
Curled with your fur brothers and ninja mentors, best place to be on a cold day.

December 11

Mariposa kneads the edge of the bed while considering the best way to join the warm purring pile of housepanthers. She is very clever this way.

Mariposa kneads the edge of the bed while considering the best way to join the warm purring pile of housepanthers. She is very clever this way.
Mariposa kneads the edge of the bed while considering the best way to join the warm purring pile of housepanthers. She is very clever this way.

December 17

Cold day, warm nap with fur siblings.

Cold day, warm nap with fur siblings.
Cold day, warm nap with fur siblings.

. . . . . . .

Photos from around this date in previous years

What’s the Password? 2018

What's the password, Hamlet?
What’s the password, Hamlet?

“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.”

There's never been a password to walk here, Mariposa.
There’s never been a password to walk here, Mariposa.

“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.”

Well, there's a password now, Hamlet!
Well, there’s a password now, Hamlet!

“I helped to make them too, and I sit here all the time. (I don’t know what to do.)”

Let me think about this.
Let me think about this.

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…

Mariposa has been learning fast and was instrumental in creating and photographing these votives.
Mariposa has been learning fast and was instrumental in creating and photographing these votives.

. . . . . . .

What other photos did I post on or around this date?

.

Sun, Flowers and Silhouettes, 2017
Bella enjoying her geranium.
Bella enjoying her geranium.

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.

Sharing space.
Sharing space.

Black and white, in silhouette.

Two silhouettes.
Two silhouettes.

The whole view.

The tall narrow window.
The tall narrow window.

Now Mimi wants up on the wardrobe.

Mimi wants up.
Mimi wants up.

. . . . . . .

What other photos did I post on or around this date?

.

A Chain Reaction, 2015
seven cats, six black cats one gray cat, daily cat photo
It was a chain reaction.

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! Below are two photos I shared on Facebook.

Because they just look like a blob, from the top: Teddy Bear, Simon, Mr. Sunshine, Mewsette, Jelly Bean, Mimi, Bella.

Then a little later…It was a chain reaction. They’re still at it up there. I have a lot of photos….

It was a chain reaction. They’re still at it up there. I have a lot of photos….

As usual, I wondered how I managed to get anything done!

. . . . . . .

What other photos did I post on or around this date?

.

Daily Cat Photo: Cat TV, 2014
Five black cats watching birds. Daily Cat Photo
Five black cats watching birds.

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.

Four very intent cats. Daily Cat Photo
Four very intent cats.

 

. . . . . . .

Daily Cat Photo: Making Pies, 2013
black cat with flour on his face Daily Cat Photo
Jelly Bean was integral to the success of my pumpkin pies.

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.

. . . . . . .

From the Archives: Kitty Keep-warm Lamp
Daily Cat Photo
Cookie keeping warm.

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.

. . . . . . .

Daily Cat Photo: You Really Must Clean Your Desk! 2011
two tortoiseshell cats on desk Daily Cat Photo
Clean your desk!

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.

. . . . . . .

Daily Cat Photo: Pretty Bean, 2011
black cat at door Daily Cat Photo
Jelly Bean looks out the door.

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.

. . . . . . .

From the Archives: 5-cat 3-D Puzzle, 2009
five black cats curled, Daily Cat Photo
5-cat 3-D Puzzle

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!


Gifts featuring cats you know! Visit Portraits of Animals

AfterDinnerNap-Etsy

Fine Art • Photography • Gifts • Greeting Cards • Books • Commissioned Portraits & Artwork

Three seriously cute housepanthers
Three seriously cute housepanthers

These three really have to stop this sort of thing. I have work to do and I can’t be distracted by such serious cuteness. Mimi, Sunshine, Jelly Bean. Read more and 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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Weekly schedule of features:

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Bernadette

From health and welfare to rescue and adoption stories, advocacy and art, factual articles and fictional stories, "The Creative Cat" offers both visual and verbal education and entertainment about cats for people who love cats, pets and animals of all species.

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