Daily Photo: Supurrmodels
I got back to a little product photography, using the same little shoeshine bench I’d used last year for some of my votive lamps. I remembered those photos because as soon as I put the bench down where I’d want to use it, Mewsette was all over it, literally, so I let the supurrmodels take over for a bit.
I used a few photos last year but remembered I had a few I hadn’t used and I wanted to remember the event, and Mewsette looking fit and well. That is, when she hasn’t gotten too close to the camera and blurred her face. She had some things to learn about meowdeling.
A little later, when I was considering using the stone wall by my rhododendron, Mimi came out front with me and posed by the big pink blooms, just as I’d always wanted to photograph. This was one of the lesser photos where she is not in focus, and she knows it too, by her expression. Well, Mewsette was out of focus too, so that’s how it is with humans sometimes.
I shared this photo on Instagram the other day and thought I’d include it up here with current photos rather than with IG photos since it has a paragraph of text.
Mimi enjoys her favorite wicker chair with lots of face rubs once again.
It was difficult to get her to go outside after we lost Mewsette, and being outside is an important part of her socialization and health. At her age I notice a difference in her physical activity and even mentality when we are indoors for too many days. Sometimes she’ll even develop a urinary tract infection over winter days.
After the rain stopped I finally managed to coax her outside onto the deck a couple of times but she only wanted to stay there. Then, I’ll admit that I let the garden get overgrown including the paths, but she would bypass the garden completely and end up back on the deck.
The last few days she’s been asking to go outside, and I’ve weeded the garden paths while we were out there. This morning she just did her thing like she always did. I hope we maintain this. It’s funny how it started out with just her and me for so many years after Cookie died. And now it’s back to her and me again.
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NOTE: I had been planning to get back to the schedule this week and actually have photos and posts lined up, but my schedule will change, hopefully for the last time.
For one thing, Farmers Markets start this Sunday. That eliminates one weekend day which is often when I catch up on posts and plan new ones. Also, I will have a temporary change in my studio spaces for a few weeks…
I had mentioned a few weeks ago that I had been approved for one of the low-income/senior home repair programs and I’d be having a good bit of work done soon. Well, it starts this week! I had no idea they’d start this soon, but I am so ready for it. They’ll start the roofs this week—main roof and porch and deck roofs—and also start the basement where they’ll be building an interior French drain as well as upgrading the electricity to a breaker box. I’ll have all the cats and litterboxes upstairs for about a week, then when the basement is done we all move to the basement (Morty and Mr. Max will stay in the studio for now), I’ll move my things back in the basement and set up my studio again. They’ll work on the kitchen and bathroom for 3-4 weeks, probably a break, then the kitchen cabinets and windows will come in and be installed.
Starting today I’m packing up things in my basement to move out under my tent in the back yard so they can work on the basement, then I’ll be moving things out of the kitchen onto the deck. I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to post during this time, but I’ll try to keep up with it. It’s a lot of work and will take a lot of time and effort but I can’t wait until these repairs are in place.
Mr. Sunshine is feeling good enough (below), but I’ve been confining Jelly Bean in the bathroom pretty constantly so that he can nibble food all day long and get a few ounces in him until I can report back to a veterinarian and see what we’ll do next. I’ll still be able to do that until the basement is done, probably a week and a few days, which will be good. This will be tricky, but will work out. I’ll check in as often as I can. Can’t wait to show the finished photos when it’s all in place. I’ve been waiting years for this.
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From Instagram
Mr Sunshine is doing well, and I think I’ll say he’s on the mend as he enjoys the morning sun.
His temperature stayed between 103 and 103.5 since Tuesday, but never got any worse, and he slowly started showing interest in some snacks, and started getting up and moving around.
It doesn’t look like this was the same condition he had last fall when he had a lot of abdominal pain and the fever had high spikes and just wouldn’t quit.
He’s been in the bathroom with his own food and one of the fountains from the kitchen. I think he’s getting to like room service. We’ll see about that.
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Today’s array of supurrvisors sleeping on the job .
Some sort of bird drama out on the front porch. Basil, Jelly Bean, Mariposa.
Basil does everything he can to stuff himself into this little basket, but how he can breathe in this particular position I really don’t know. Happy #caturday !
Hey, Skipper!
A silver-spotted skipper enjoying the just opened sundrops on a wet morning. One of the bits of magic Mimi and I share out in the garden.
From around this date in past years
Drinking from the Bird Bath, 2022
Mimi just can’t pass up a drink from the bird bath. I do have a water bowl outside for her but I think she just finds it fun.
Yes, things have been busy again, and this site has been running slowly for some reason. I have to tune up my databases, and it will be a while before I get to that, but I can at least post daily photos and an article now and then. After a week of not posting, I don’t know what day it is! I have photos and articles planned for this week, so let’s keep our fingers and tails crossed.
Mr. Sunshine is doing great! I just caught him counter surfing in the kitchen, and last night he chased and caught a moth for a midnight snack, definitely back to normal.
I will be raising funds, and I don’t want to wait too long, but here is my quandary: I have found funding sources that will reimburse many costs through programs for vaccine site sarcoma, pet cancer, cat cancer, and general help with veterinary bills that will cover at least half of the cost of his surgery. However, it’s reimbursement, which means I have to come up with the money ahead of time. That’s a challenge! And if you’ve donated to help with the cost and then I’m reimbursed, what do I do? Do I reimburse you? Trying to determine this…if you have any ideas, please let me know! But I’m so happy to see Sunshine back to himself.
All these photos are from the end of June. Figured I’d start there, then catch up with July.
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From Instagram
Another #Chewy order, and black cats once again mysteriously appear in my #chewybox. Is it any wonder I live with so many black cats? And if you have an #adopted your #blackcat during #adoptacatmonth then we just haven’t worked hard enough to show you how excessively wonderful black cats really are to live with.
Tough day at the office for #littlemimicat. And here is me with the keyboard on my knee because she’s sleeping on my desk where the keyboard should go because the sun is there and she stretched out and pushed it off onto my lap. What we #catlovers don’t do for our kitties.
Hamlet and Mr. Sunshine settle cheek to cheek for a nap. Kind of an unusual pairing, these two. It was Hamlet’s idea. Eventually, he wins everyone over. Temps have dropped dramatically and it’s snuggle time again.
From the back yard and beyond
From around this date in past years
Sharing a Sunpuddle
These two don’t look too happy at being caught sharing a sunpuddle. I’ll admit it’s a little surprising, but they both like this spot and there hadn’t been too much sun. For a good sunpuddle, I guess it’s worth sharing. They just kind of mind their own business most of the time.
Sometimes one of the other cats provides entertainment, and Mariposa is often the one.
Sienna tells Hamlet she’s tired of this paparazzi in their face with the camera. Looks like Hamlet isn’t too happy either. Guess I’d better get out of their faces.
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From Instagram
Very boring of me to only post on Instagram cat photos I’d already posted here. With the heat and then the rain there weren’t too many indoors or out.
From the back yard and beyond
But I did share a walk through my garden, covered with rain drops. Click this image to see a bunch more.
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From around this date in past years
Adorable Studio Supurrvisor, 2020
Isn’t she adorable? Sienna knows exactly how to use that head tilt. She spent a couple of weeks in my studio, even when I wasn’t in there. That was after a couple of weeks on the bed in my bedroom. She gets around! I’m glad. Sienna is a little nervous when too many cats gather, and until this year she pretty much stayed downstairs on the refrigerator or table by the window, sometimes following me to wherever I was working that day. Recently, I think the bed got a little crowded for her, but she’s been moving around without following me. That’s progress. A few weeks ago she let me know she no longer needed the calming collar by getting her front leg into it. I watched her do this, and it wasn’t easy because I have it set to that’s pretty much impossible. But I thought it was a clear indication for her that she was ready to handle the world without help for a while.
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From Instagram
A purrfect morning. Hamlet and Bella at the door, and Mariposa playing around in that nice warm sun. After two excessively hot days, this purrfect morning was welcomed by all of us.
Of course, no one can see Mimi cleverly hidden behind my bike. I parked it there and she immediately sat down behind it and peered around to watch the yard. I’m thrilled with this bike. I’m so glad I got it when it was on clearance. No more back pain or numb hands.
And underneath all that grass is my brick patio. I haven’t been able to keep it cleared of growth for a couple of years, but I started at the far end and worked my way to the front edge, so the next photos you see will show the bricks exposed again.
And photos from the back yard and beyond
Seen out the front window by my eagle-eyed ace predators. These two visit regularly and always spend some time wrestling for our amusement.
Spiderwort, tradescantia, widow’s tears, spider lily, Indian paint, this spring flower has a bunch of names and is native to North and South America. It’s one that we sent back to Europe to become an invasive perennial instead of the other way around. This variety is tradescantia ohiensis. It’s blue to purple and can vary in the same yard depending on the light and soil. Other times of the year they just look like tall grass.
From around this date in past years
Rainbow Naps, 2019
Pride weekend was everywhere here, and my cats are all about acceptance, so we got out the rainbow blanket to celebrate with rainbow naps. As soon as I put the blanket on the table by the window Sunshine and Bean were hopping over and stepping onto it. Throughout the day everybody had a nap on the blanket, just a revolving set of at least three cats at a time. We had some rain pass through so I didn’t get photos of mixed batches, but I did get Mariposa on the windowsill after she’d been squeezed out when Giuseppe added himself. Then the really big nap, kind of a landscape of cats.
The kids had a really quiet weekend because I was totally preoccupied with framing art and making stuff. In fact, I was apparently so dull that they didn’t even join me in the studio but slept all over the upstairs rather than trying to sleep through the noises I was making. That’s okay, I don’t like working with picture glass around them, nor the brad gun I use to secure art into the back of a frame. And I really don’t miss opening a framed work back up because there’s at least one stray black cat hair that I missed the first time around. No, the little handheld vacuum isn’t very popular either. But then after framing, and exciting cookie cutters along with dozens of other polymer clay shapes, I needed to sit down for a while and got back to portraits.
From Instagram
We can all share the rainbow blanket with Pride.
Sleeping on the job. Mimi, Mr. Sunshine (unintentionally, another rainbow).
Photos shared in past years
We Are Still Here, 2018
Basil and Hamlet want you to know they feel very left out of things, and while they often complained about me and my camera…they kind miss the attention.
“Ever since she’s been coming home smelling like other cats and dirt and sardines with dew on her shoes it brings back a life we remember…and don’t ever want to go back to. But that’s about all she’s done for a week, and we want things back to normal,” the boys said.
They are right, I haven’t done much else lately and they haven’t gotten the attention they usually do. I don’t know if they understand that I’m saving some kitties as they were saved, but I know that Mimi does, and I’m sure she’ll let them know.
I miss photographing them every day and capturing photos like these six of these two long-haired princes looking absolutely gorgeous.
From Facebook and Instagram
We have a lot to catch up with!
MAY 26
Today’s forecast: Lots of sun and a fair chance of catnip! Turn on your favorite CatTV station and enjoy!
MAY 29
When your mom says it’s too hot to share the basket, but you think she won’t notice if you just have your paws in there.
MAY 31
It’s the new place to be! Four bins of merchandise to be put away is the tallest thing in the room and an immediate cat magnet. Guess I’ll have to walk around the leaning tower of cat stuff for a few days.
It’s a tale of three tails. That’s it, I have to work somewhere else in the house or I’ll just photograph them all day long.
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Photos posted on or around this date in previous years
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Thinking About Staying Home For Once?, 2017
The boys are getting a good look at me before I leave the house once again lest they forget what I look like. At least I know they miss me.
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Other Photos Posted On or Around This Date…
That Darned Catbird! 2016
Mimi is just about over that catbird and all her chatter! She stopped her bath to glare in the direction of all the noise. And then the darned catbird had the gall to start meowing!
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Shared on Facebook
The view from here. Giuseppe and Mimi enjoy speckled sunshine, I enjoy them.
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Other Photos Posted On or Around This Date…
Daily Photo Reprise: Time Out for Charm, 2015
I posted a few photos on Facebook today and forgot to add them to today’s daily photo post! But here they are…
Chipmunk! But wait–one of those cats is distinctly NOT a sleek black housepanther! No, it’s Charm, enjoying a little kitten-free time. She’s been locked in a 6′ x 6′ bathroom with five kittens for four weeks and she is over that. She tested negative for everything when she was spayed and really needs to gain some weight so we are all about relieving some of her stress and she has had some time out each day.
Mimi fully understands this exact issue.
And Charm is self-medicating…
Charm also has an interested adopter! Even though she’s a little underweight this particular adopter would understand, and she was also interested in adopting Zorro. Speaking of Zorro, I caught the sweetest photo of her today when I opened the bathroom door and posted it on Facebook…
And I posted this one on Wednesday just to be silly. It looks like all the extra photos and a little video worked because we have several applications on little Zee.
And I have been posting photos of the others to help them be adopted and not posting photos of the little bit, but here she is, crazy in the sink, little Splash!
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Daily Photo: Watching the Sky Change
Basil watched me work outside the window in the early evening, and also watched the birds in the trees and the clouds going by. Always have the camera ready, you never know when you’ll get an interesting shot. Even though the screen shows as a pattern it’s still interesting. The colors in the background are the opposite hill in full evening sun seen through my back door on the other side of the kitchen.
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Shared on Facebook
A neat desk is a sign that you don’t have enough cats. On the flipside, they also give you an excuse for a messy desk. The boys made the most of their supervisory shift yesterday. I don’t think they will ever outgrow cuddling.
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The Magic Shopping Bag, 2012
Same boys, three years ago.
I unpacked my groceries when I got home, and just as I thought I had emptied the bag I turned around and there was a black kitty in there! Where did he come from?! I didn’t go to the store where they have kitties for adoption, so how could a kitty have gotten into my bag, and under all my groceries?
Then I saw the white brushes in the kitty’s ears—it was Jelly Bean! And he had neatly hopped into my really big and tall shopping bag without touching the sides. What a kitty! Then he jumped back out without touching the sides.
Not to be outdone, Mr. Sunshine was next. “Take my picture please,” said the confident Mr. Sunshine, waiting patiently while I focused on his nose.
And then Giuseppe saw what was up, and you know that all three boys have to do the same things together. Giuseppe hadn’t been in on the beginning so he wasn’t sure what to do. Still, when Mr. Sunshine jumped out of the bag, Giuseppe jumped in and sat down to look at me. “Is this what I’m supposed to do? Am I just supposed to sit here?” he asked. Giuseppe is a little bit of a worrier.
“That’s perfect, Giuseppe,” I told him. “Just stay exactly as you are while I take your photo…and in fact, you can stay just exactly as you are forever, all of you, because you’re all such perfectly nice kitties!”
So that’s the story of the Magic Shopping Bag, silly but true.
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Beautiful photos. I am glad you are going to be able to have needed home repairs done.