Daily Photo: Mother-Daughter Conversation
Mimi and Mewsette make some plans in this morning’s mother-daughter conversation. Got to keep an eye on these two. I wish I’d had my better camera because Mimi looks all speckled.
They are so happy out here any time of day, but we go out first thing, even before breakfast, as soon as I get my coffee. I love that time. I started taking my good camera with me.
I’m not sure what the topic was, but Mimi was definitely in the lead with this exchange. They have their little routines now.
I think Mimi was giving Mewsette the lowdown and the best sunny spots.
Mewsette moves off to give it a try. No, I don’t want to go back inside either, but everyone is hungry, including me.
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From Instagram
After a run of exciting sunny days, it’s time to hit the baskets first thing in the morning for an all-day rainy day nap.
Do not disturb.
How many housepanthers can fit on the top of a cabinet? Despite the blur, because Giuseppe is talking in this one.
Well, only six in this case, though we could actually fit a few more. They are otherwise occupied this morning.
Dogs and bunnies and frogs and turtles, but no kitties in the animal statuary at Lowe’s. Purrhaps that conspicuously empty spot is where the kitties were? And they’ve gone off to play!
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From the Garden and Beyond
Click the photo to read more.
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From Portraits of Animals
Flowery Garden Flags Anticipating Spring
From around this date in past years
The Fallen Branch, 2022
The morning was so sweet and sunny that it was time for all of us to explore. Mimi decided to get to know the fallen branch at the end of the yard, and it’s just her size.
The branch had actually fallen last summer, but I was working on keeping the girls out of there for the presence of ticks. I haven’t found any on me, so I’ll just be careful and check the girls and try to get to a veterinarian for a prescription for Revolution.
But in the meantime Mimi had lost time in letting the world know this was her yard. Many face rubs on the branch established Mimi’s territory.
She could even step up and stand on another level, rubbing her face even more.
I could practically hear her purring from where I stood.
Sometimes, though, I know she wishes maybe Mewsette would find her own thing to do.
So, Mewsette sets off in her own direction.
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From Instagram
I asked Mimi if she would pose for a pretty picture of her with the crocuses. I’d call this “grudging”, at best.
It’s kind of unfair. I yawned and stretched my arms above my head, and they think I might be about to swoop down and give them a treat. But they’re fun to watch.
General Tso’s tofu, it’s what’s for lunch. I guess if I’m in the kitchen and actively cooking, there is always hope.
It might be raining but we’re getting the most out of all the warm weather before it’s gone later today.
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From the Garden and Beyond
A walk in the woods and more crocuses
On Saturday I had a birthday lunch with a friend, and then I had a birthday hike! I went barefoot on the trail and took many photos, shook off a long week of work and enjoyed short sleeves in the mild air. Please visit Today for the whole report!
And I published an essay on Paths I Have Walked specifically about the benefits of walking barefoot. Read that brief essay here. I really need to get back to all these wonderful things again!
It takes both rain and sun to bloom.
Click the photo to read more.
From around this date in past years
Sunny Days, 2021
For the first time since last autumn, Mimi makes her way to the picnic table and looks over her yard.
After what seemed like a month of overcast days, the sun came out! And after what seemed like a solid month of snowcover, it slowly melted, allowing more and more open space in the back yard for Mimi and Mewsette to enjoy. I know Mimi was tired of it because there were days when she didn’t even bother me to go out on the front porch for a few minutes, so we both enjoyed the seasonal miracle when things completely changed. I like a good, clear seasonal change like that, dark to bright, heavy snow melting, and then finally increasing temperatures.
Black and white compositions work better with bright sunlight too, with more contrast and more detail. Mimi is such graceful model.
I included a photo of Cookie from 2010 in my post this past Sunday that echoes these of Mimi, in bright sunlight on the picnic table in March just over a decade ago.
Even before that, the picnic table was always a magnet for my cats when we were out in the yard. I look at that bedraggled picnic table now and regret not taking better care of it as boards have fallen off, others have decayed when I haven’t cleared the leaves in autumn, and the benches are falling apart. I have so many cat memories there at that table from the mid-90s when my brother found it discarded at a yard cleanup he was hired to do and we went to pick it up. And then I realize that the table is probably ready to let go now, after decades of service! I love having it out there, but as I renew my yard is it too far gone to repair? I guess we’ll see.
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From Instagram
We’re going back into snowy February!
February 24: The girls got together for a sun party.
I think Mariposa is pretty excited about another sunny morning!
Yesterday, at least there was sunshine even if there was still a lot of snow, and Mewsette could do a little modified pole dance.
February 25: Small, skittery things are running back and forth past the bottom edge of the basement door, making exciting scritchy noises.
Rude! Doesn’t the UPS driver know this is our nap time, and to keep the racket down out there in the street?
I had work to do that wasn’t getting done fast enough so I couldn’t run off into the woods and do a painting on this beautiful sunny day as I had planned, but I did find some pretty cool things to photograph out on my deck. The sun makes everything beautiful. Any creative activity is good.
February 26: O.M.G.
Look what was under the snow when it melted.
Color.
Life.
March 3: Nice and sunny today, but apparently still a little too chilly for Jelly Bean.
Joy!
Sun and warm.
They waited to open up after the weather turned cold and overcast, now they’re all in, or out.
Tonight’s dinner has been postponed for an exciting special episode of Mousewatch. There’s another group in the basement just below this. Somehow, mice manage to find their way inside the kick plate under the kitchen sink. I can hear it scratching around under there. They can’t get to it, but everyone brings their enthusiasm and special talents.
Kind of a trippy little video of Mimi and her shadow enjoying the sun.
March 4: Giuseppe made a big messy game of his drink at the faucet but he couldn’t have been happier. We have a fountain in the bathroom and he uses it, but he also likes our longtime routine.
March 7: Variations on Basil and Bella.
Not sure what they’re planning.
Meanwhile, celebrating caturday, four cats are neatly lined up on the throw on the foot of the bed. They definitely have a sense of design and organization.
March 8: Cold but sunny. We’ll take it!
Sunny money. (Money plant, or lunaria.)
No bunnies here, move along.
March 9: Mewsette has arrived for the group meditation in the 10:00 sunbeam on the landing.
Mimi got to look in the shed today. You can tell it was exciting!
Basil and Bella discuss something about today’s menu.
Mimi’s nap was visited by a rainbow. That’s usually how Lucy appears, especially in the studio.
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From around this date in past years
I Will Not Look At You, 2020
Who taught Mariposa not to look at the camera?! She’s always been amazing, even before she was fully socialized, looking right at me and the camera, and she’s so photogenic! But now she’s playing games with me, looking somewhere else.
Finally I annoyed her enough and she looked at me with that long-suffering expression. “What do you want?” Kids!
From Instagram
Bella is trying to shame me for eating lunch in front of her, without inviting her to share. I’m pretty certain sweet potatoes and green beans are not in her list of approved foods, but that’s my fault too for not choosing a species appropriate meal. Her species, not mine.
. . . . . . .
Photos from around this date in previous years
Near Purrfect Symmetry, 2019
Tell me she doesn’t have a natural talent for a pose.
I headed up the stairs just to go up the stairs to actually work, then I saw Mariposa all the way up there on the wardrobe, perfectly centered on the mirror, which made a striking semi-circle above her. I slowly backed down the steps, hoping she wouldn’t follow me, and put the zoom lens on my camera. I managed to get two photos before she decided she needed a bath.
She is purrfectly beautiful.
Shared on Facebook
Monday morning strategy meeting convened.
Sunshine, Bella, Hamlet and Giuseppe.
I couldn’t find Hamlet this afternoon, then I found his purrfect camouflage, trying to impurrsonate greeting cards.
Photos from years past.
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Not Moving, 2018
“I hear you but I am not moving.”
You know when their ears are turned in your direction that they are listening, but when the rest of them isn’t moving you might as well give up. Bella slept all day.
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What cookbooks are for.
I wouldn’t have guessed Mimi as a paper towel shredder. I couldn’t get a video, it was all a blur. I keep forgetting 15 is considered senior. Mimi gets a new tag.
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Artsy Foster Kitty, 2019
I took photos of Cleetus and Cuddlebug, and I was so excited when Cleetus discovered the windowsill. There’s just something about this photo, looking out, paw raised, cobwebs, old stereo and all, that I just love.
Shared on Facebook
Co-bathing, one of those things these siblings are famous for — reaching each others’ difficult spots. These sunny mornings bring out the best. Looks like Mewsette is trying to wash the shadow off Mr. Sunshine.
Photos from years past.
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I Was Here First, 2017
Sunshine and Jelly Bean have been killing me with extreme cute in this basket. I cleaned up the place a bit and put all the zebra cat beds into the basket, knowing it would be THE BEST CAT BED ever. Every day since then, almost two weeks, Mr. Sunshine and Jelly Bean arrive there after breakfast, one takes the basket, the other invades, they bathe each other, wrestle and throw each other out, then I look over and they are wrapped around each other, fast asleep.
. . . . . . .
Daily Photo: Surely You Remember? 2015
How could I resist those eyes?
Even after months of not having access to their favorite “drinking fountain”, Mr. Sunshine and Giuseppe are right back up there each morning, along with Bean. Three or four of them gather at the sink, and it’s just like the good old days.
It’s been a long week, and I had to cut back on posting or I’d be totally sleep-deprived instead of only somewhat, still trying to catch up from my week on the Lincoln Gallery. That has not stopped me from photographing my famous felines, in fact I’ve taken so many photos it’s hard to choose which ones to use each day, and trying to choose only one from a series is especially difficult! We have them “framed”, we have them in the basket, we have them in twos and threes and each one of them had their special moment when I could not stop photographing. And the violet mousie played a very big part in some days. I expect to see some posts with multiple photos very soon.
In the meantime here is a photo I posted on Facebook way back on February 16! I was going to use it as Wordless Wednesday, but it’s just as well here.
Blow Dryer Monster
Other daily photos shared on this date
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For Mademoiselle, 2014
O mio amore, my dearest, most precious jolie Mademoiselle, I would so love to se pelotonner with you under the quilt, faire une sieste under the rocker where no one could see us. I would share my green sparkle ball with only you.
It is so cold, ma chere, just la pensée of you warms mon cour. Che gelida paw, se la lasci riscaldar*, I dream of serenading you and holding your paw in mine. May my love fly on the wind to you in Verona, mingled with the snowflakes, each delicate and unique, just as you.
Always,
G.B.V.
*“This tiny hand is frozen, let me warm it here in mine.” From the famous aria of the opera La Boheme, with apologies to Giacomo Puccini, Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.
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Read about Mlle. Daisy Emerald and the long-distance affaire between the mature French-Canadian feline lady and the young American opera star.
They so enjoy writing florid Victorian-style letters to each other, sometimes the poets, sometimes the artists, sometimes the bonneted Mlle. Daisy Emerald and the beplumed Giuseppe Verdi in their Revolutionary roles.
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And here are two more photo from this session…
Professional Models
Now, do they have a lot of self-awareness or what? They didn’t pose the way I’d hoped they would, and they did many other things, but then they also did this. Mr. Sunshine occupied the chair and would not give it up, Giuseppe settled underneath, and Jelly Bean worked on looking sweet.
They really are modeling. I needed some settings for an illustration so I draped my quilt over my rocker and it was immediately covered in cats, and then they got creative, as they do. Mr. Sunshine in the classic cat modeling pose, reaching for a toy.
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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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You two sweeties are adorable!
They are exceptional. I am so lucky they are in my life.