Daily Photo: Smackdown Over the Basket, Guess Who Won?
Mariposa has a point. She was in the basket first, and she was purrfectly happy with that. Bean decided he wanted to share, but she was having none of it even though he does have a certain amount of seniority. But we who live with cats know that seniority doesn’t always count for much when possession is 9/10s of the law—one of those human laws cats will happily adopt for their own purposes.
So out came the big white mittens! And lots of whiskers!
But guess who won?
~~~
From Instagram
Saturday
Make it stop.
Monday
Double, double, toil and trouble…
Nah, it’s too hot to do the cauldron thing today, besides, there are four of us.
Nap?
Best thing.
Chillin while we can.
Tuesday
Well, that was an exciting little power outage. Let’s see it doesn’t happen again.
Thereby hangs a tail, belonging to Basil who found a cool (in more than one sense) spot. Mariposa is apparently a little envious.
All lined up on the basement steps. You can just see their toes and ears over the edges of the steps. Once the sun goes over the house a breeze sweeps in the door and up the stairway. It’s been a favorite summer cat place since I’ve lived here.
From the back yard and beyond
Saturday
All day in the yard yesterday (Friday) until 2am, got a lot done that’s been waiting, some of it 2-3 years. Great exercise, once again thankful for my hip replacement 9 months ago.
I know this is also the full Buck Moon, but I’ve always preferred the name Thunder Moon. It corresponds with what I remember of July while growing up. This one was particularly yellow, and with all the extemporaneous fireworks happening last night I actually thought it was a big firework when I saw it through the trees.
Monday
This clouded sulphur butterfly fluttered all over and around and around with apparent excitement. He apparently couldn’t believe his luck that he had found teasel with flowers, finally found one to land on and wanted all the flowers at once.
Standing perfectly still in full sun on gravel along railroad tracks in 97 degrees waiting for this guy to finally land and stay in one place long enough to get a clear photo was totally worth all the dripping sweat in the world.
Tuesday
The creek is spectacular when it’s in full green. I remember canoeing around that bend and trying to look and photograph every direction at once, the trees, the reflections, the shadows and light, the birds and insects, so much there.
…
This is a view from a bridge just near where I photographed the clouded sulphur yesterday on Mayview Road in Upper St. Clair. If I hadn’t been headed for another destination I would have been in that water.
Water simultaneously holds and reflects all around it, as do we, every moment full, every moment changing.
From around this date in past years
Big and Little Sisters, 2019
It’s been soooo hot and we do not have air conditioning and I would think they’d want some space in between, but determined kitties will cuddle, at least earlier in the day. Bella and Mewsette are sisters in fur but enjoy each others’ company. They lingered on the cabinet after breakfast and decided to watch the world from there. They may be watching a squirrel, or some birds, or someone walking out in the street. But eventually that was over and they got down to the serious activity of napping.
Photos from Instagram
Speaking of Instagram, today is our fourth anniversary of posting!
I had no idea it’s been four years since our first mimigram. She really wanted to join all the other kitties on Instagram. You can follow us @bernadettee.kazmarski.
Sunday
There’s apparently going to be a mutiny if I don’t stop playing around and serve dinner now. Better go.
Monday
She stacked up these boxes! We fixed that, and now she has to step over us.
Photos shared in past years
Sparkle Ball Envy, 2018
Giuseppe happily pushes the sparkle ball around his paws…while Hamlet closely watches. You might think that Hamlet’s big fluffy paw might slap up onto the plastic container and swipe that pink sparkle ball. But that’s not who Hamlet is. He watched and watched and watched, and when Giuseppe was done he quit watching and went back on with his life. Hamlet is so submissive, just watching from that close would be daring for him. He is too sweet.
~~~
From Instagram
Yep, it’s hot.
I know when Mr. Sunshine is up on his back. In fact, I can almost tell the temperature by what Mr. Sunshine is doing: hot, really hot, and too hot.
I have lots more photos of hot cats in compromising positions, but it’s been too hot for me to do anything about them.
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From previous years
One Patient Fur Brother, 2017
Bella was curled in the basket but knew Jelly Bean was was minding his own business napping in the box behind her. But she just couldn’t let it be and unrolled herself and reached behind her to invite Bean to wrestle. Look at her curled toes. She’s really pleased with herself.
Bean is clearly not interested and tries to just ignore her.
Bella will have none of this and reaches even farther.
Now Bean is up and he’s not happy and Bella may be sorry. But Bean is a lover, not a fighter, and likely she’ll just get a bath.
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From Facebook and Instagram
Thereby hangs a couple of tails. Just a couple of cat butts.
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From previous years
Mimi, Inside and Out, with appearances from Kennedy and Kelly
Mimi has not been getting as much time outdoors as she feels she needs, and she is not happy. She’s not concerned what I need to do, she needs to go outside. We’ve been spending some time in the studio…well, a lot of time in the studio. But we also had a few nice late afternoon breaks outside in the courtyard.
And a few mornings out on the deck.
All three photos above were shared on Facebook and Instagram last week. And I am almost caught up…
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What other photos did I feature on this date?
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Daily Photo Reprise: Kennedy Owns the Room, 2014
Kennedy joined our household as a hospice foster on June 16, 2014, so he’d been with us for about two weeks by the time I posted these photos. He’d had his mandatory two weeks in quarantine, but was safe to start an introduction to the household. They were ready to welcome their new brother.
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Kennedy has been doing very well, no seizures at all, good appetite for the most part, very affectionate and very happy with his own room. We had some high temperatures last week and I don’t have air conditioning, so I did my best to keep his room cool with the blind pulled down and a fan in the window. Older cats, and cats in compromised health, can’t always regulate their body temperature well and he could easily become overheated and even slip into heat stroke. He was a little lethargic and didn’t eat as much as usual, but once the temperatures dropped he eased back up to normal. He loves his water but is very sensitive to its being stale and at room temperature so I pulled out the fountain I had for Lakota and Emeraude and set it up for him and he has a nice drink several times each day.
I had given him toys at the beginning, but they only seemed to confuse him and aside from stumbling over them he just ignored them. I decided it was time to try them again. I had a brand new toy that can be refilled with catnip, so I let him sniff the ‘nip before I filled the toy. He seemed interested, and while he rubs his face on everything in the room all the time, the pace quickened every time he sniffed.
Then I tickled his nose and ears with the toy and let him sniff and rub his face on it. He sniffed and rubbed on it, then walked away and didn’t show any more interest. I kept it in there, and tossed it in his bed, just to have it there. No other toys were of any interest either. He wants love!
When I fed him it attracted quite a crowd. I looked out the door over the baby gate…
I stepped out to get something and they didn’t move. I guess they decided it was a better idea to just wait and see if they’d get anything! Each of the Four have hopped over the gate to see if they can eat his food and if he’s sleeping and I don’t notice they actually get away with it, but if he’s awake he’s ready to come after them to swat them back out! But it’s a friendly swat, more like a poke.
He sits at the baby gate and waits to see if anything is happening.
Mr. Sunshine and Jelly Bean look at his food and try to decide what they should do (like “Two Great Minds”).
Kennedy has an answer for that—he comes over and pokes his paw through the mesh!
He’s still a little stiff when he walks and sleeps most of the time, and I hear a little cough now and then that might be from the mass in his chest. But he’s really happy and shows no signs of giving up on life any point soon. I so enjoy visiting him with his face rubs and purrs, and he is so happy to eat it’s a joy to feed him.
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The Latest on Reality Show “Mousewatch” on Cat TV , 2013
Mewsette and Mr. Sunshine have settled in spots on the basement steps with the best view for another exciting evening program of Mousewatch.
Patience is a virtue that is rewarded for good black kitties. Mousewatch is a little more engrossing in the basement episodes because this is where the mice are stupid daring enough enter a house with multiple cats, very near where the main litterboxes have always been placed, directly under the steps. But some kitties need to wait for hours until finally a mousie quietly enters.
From several heavy rains lately we’ve had floods of water in the basement, and even when I sweep the puddles to the drain, under the discerning supervision of basement kitties, the floor still stays damp, as you can see on and around the basement doorstep. This means that the soil outside is still damp, and this encourages the mice to enter, though through what entries I can’t really find.
And I still wonder if these mice are being paid by the network to engage in high risk behaviors for the entertainment of feline audiences.
Read about the premiere episode of Mousewatch.
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Hi, I’m Kelly and I’ll Be Your Studio Cat Today, 2012
[2012] Not much has changed from last year to this, including Kelly’s love of the windowsill. The room is still in some sort of chaos, but it’s creative chaos lately.
Kelly has always enjoyed this windowsill, but she doesn’t care at all for chaos which is pretty much what we’ve had in this room for the past two months as I rearrange, remodel and reorganize.
Back up to explore, Kelly approves of it so far, especially her spot on the windowsill. I love to have my cats near me while I work.
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A Delicate Profile, 2011
Despite the fact that Mr. Sunshine is apparently the mancat around here, he has a lovely delicate profile, especially when his features and each whisker are gently highlighted by morning sun.
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Another tabby and white kitty in a box from years gone by. Sophie “In the Box” is available in the set of note cards “Feline Pencil Sketches”. 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:
Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life
Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters
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And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!
dood….that was veree nice oh ewe ta let yur sisturr thinked her winned 😉 ♥♥
Bean’s used to being the undercat.