Daily Photo: Keeping Our Tails Crossed
We normally roll with whatever the weather brings because if we don’t like it, we just need to wait a few minutes and it will be different. But after this winter we are really done with cold and snow and we were ready for all the windows to be open all day, especially our favorite window in the bathroom. Just 24 hours after this picture was taken it snowed. It was totally unfair. We hear it’s going to come back again but we’re not so sure.
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What other photos did I share on this date?
Patterns, Textures, Light and Shadow, and Mimi, 2013
What a lovely sunny morning to spend on a nap in the sun.
Not only does this photo contain Mimi, who has apparently been my photo muse lately (you haven’t seen the half of it, whatever that phrase means), it also has all the other elements I like in a black and white photo as listed above—clear patterns, varied textures, bright highlights and intense though not heavy shadows. All the direct and reflected light catches all those textures and patterns, and in turn the light is refracted and reflected into all the dark areas. The floor on the landing has always been an interesting subject for me with its old mixed woods, some hard, some soft, some with finish still on them, and that piece of rolled corrugated has more than earned its keep as a cat toy and lounging spot as well as photo and art backdrop, something the cats and I can share while using it for our own very different purposes. And of course, the princess herself adds an organic softness to all those lines. I just wish I’d moved the vertical stack of matboard in its segregated plastic bags, it’s not so pretty, but does add its own texture and some nice reflected light.
The one thing that’s been a little difficult to decide with these photos on the landing is whether I use them in black and white or color because the colors are almost monochromatic, certainly a limited palette, very warm and inviting.
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“I Don’t Like What He Has to Say,” 2012
We have a huge forsythia. It’s bigger than my car, big enough for lots of little birds to settle in on a winter’s day while awaiting a chance at the feeder, and big enough around that it covers a lot of ground.
Which, in a neighborhood of outdoor cats, means a lot of messaging, in the feline manner. I used to say this forsythia was like a chat room, but now perhaps it’s more like Facebook, or maybe Twitter. How much can you say in a quick little stream of pee? I’d say 140 characters is about right.
And the forsythia is like a public computer, or a series of networked public computers, or perhaps it’s like the WiFi in Starbucks or Panera where everyone gathers and logs on and checks their messages, as Mimi is above, and correspond with others, though hopefully they don’t do it in the feline manner or it would really screw up someone’s laptop.
Mimi takes a moment to think about the message she’s just received. She is exhibiting the “flehmen response” wherein cats get a fuller sense of a scent by allowing it to pass by an organ in the roof of the mouth as well as into their nasal passages. This is common with cats of all species and breeds, but is not limited to cats. Mimi is understanding what animal it was, how long ago it passed by here, possibly its state of health, and a few other things a spayed cat shouldn’t care about. As for her blank-eyed, open-mouthed expression, I’ve seen people look this way after reading texts and e-mails as well.
I’ve also seen this look after humans have read certain messages. Mimi is tiny and delicate, but she makes up for it with her eyes and her postures. I would not want to read her blistering reply, if she indeed deigned to send one.
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Giuseppe’s Afternoon Nap, 2011
An afternoon nap on the bed, but where is the cat?
Giuseppe has to be under the quilt, not on top of it.
I don’t know why, but every time he does this I have a good laugh, a big lump under the covers but he probably thinks no one can see him. He has no idea what I find so funny. He takes himself very seriously.
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I do hope that those tails crossed bring you luck with the weather..I heard on the news that you had snow again out there..We just had pouring rain most of the day here..The photo of Giuseppe under the covers reminds me of a beautiful long hair calico girl I had many years ago named Samantha..She loved to sleep the same way..I would touch the lump on the bed and she would make that little cooing noise that some kitties make..I do miss her so..
Bluemoonalone, it was highly unfair that is snowed all day! Today is cold but sunny, but the cold won’t last.
I love it when kitties acknowledge you like that. It’s something you never forget.