Tuesday, March 19, 2024
cat photographscatsdaily photofoster catsMariposaSienna

Daily Photo: Watching the Squirrel Show

two cats at window
Sharing a window.

We had a few warm days this week, unexpected after the last cold weather, and Cat TV did not disappoint. The squirrel was making a fool of herself out there trying to shake something loose from one of the empty feeders (waiting until she left to fill them) and then running up and down the river birch screaming squirrel obscenities and flapping her tail at us. Later, Mimi and I went out front and Mimi gave her a run for her money.

Mariposa and Sienna spent much of the morning and early afternoon by the window, then later I didn’t see them again until dinnertime. Watching Cat TV is exhausting!

~~~

An update on Simba and Midnight Louie

two black cats on windowsill
Simba and Louie enjoy an autumn afternoon.

On Saturday when they arrived, and then Louie hid from me, and hid from Simba, and Simba hissed at him and acted like he owned me, I only dreamed of someday seeing them just like this, on the windowsill, when I opened the door to their room. What a gift. Louie hid a lot in the house he’d came from, and even in the foster’s house he was timid and Simba regularly “put him in his place.” Having the two of them form a trusting, friendly relationship was more important than one with me, since the two had to spend all day together in that room. Louie still hides now and then, and sometimes the things I do that make some noise frighten him, but he’s always right back out. This weekend I’ll start opening the door, tall baby gate in place, and let them see the household who are always outside the door when I go in.

~~~

From the garden and beyond

That Moon With Venus Tho

The simplicity of the graceful crescent and the tiny star dancing in the sky for all to see was a thrill just to behold. The new moon was November 4, this was November 7 and you can just see the edges of some of the craters.

moon and venus
Crescent Moon and Venus

November Nature & Wildlife Featured Artwork and Desktop Calendar: The Bench

I took a photo of this brilliant scene years ago, one of the first photos I took with my brand hew Pentax K1000 film camera. A couple of decades later I was surprised one autumn morning to see it wasn’t terribly different. I pulled the original photo and saw the trees hadn’t quite grown in and there was more sun on the sidewalk and more rooftops to see so did a sketch of it in preparation for a larger painting. I never got past the sketch, but I like it as is. Click the image to read more and download this desktop calendar, or register for an account and order a free matted print.

Photos from previous years

Sienna of the Potatoes, 2019

Sienna of the potatoes.
Sienna of the potatoes.

I don’t know what it was about the potatoes but Sienna was just too cute trying to hide behind them. On some of these cold, dark, rainy days we have to make things up to make it fun.

~~~

Photos from previous years…

Purrfect Camouflage, 2017

Basil in the geranium.
Basil in the geranium.

Of course I can’t see a black cat hiding behind the red and pink geranium flowers with green leaves in front of a bright window!

I brought the geraniums inside on Halloween night because the temperature would go below freezing. Some years I put them back out but I don’t have time to move them each day and they’ve stayed inside. They usually end up in the corner of the basement for the winter and they do just fine until late winter when they start to bloom again. But I miss my houseplants and I’m giving them a try upstairs for now. So far, so good.

Basil is so silly! Each day he goes behind this geranium and peers at me through the branches until I see him. I’m glad it adds to his environmental enrichment. No doubt I’ll be posting photos of this frequently if he keeps it up.

~~~

What other photos have I shared around this date in previous years?

Mimi Modeling, and More

Mimi lets the world know that this chair and me belong to her.
Mimi lets the world know that this chair and me belong to her.

Mimi rubs her little face all over the leg of the rocker, and the leg of me. It’s true, she owns me.

Walking Into Myself. Mimi in a philosophical mood.
Walking Into Myself. Mimi in a philosophical mood.

Our little courtyard outside the dining room window is a wonderful spot in the late afternoon in autumn. The morning chill is long gone and the sun is warm, dappling through the yellow river birch leaves as handfuls of them spin and flutter down from the tree. I planted those river birches almost 20 years ago just for this effect, and the brilliant scarlet burning bushes at their feet giving us a little more privacy. So I act like sweeping up all those leaves is the most important thing to do and invite Mimi to supervise because, of course, I need supervision.

The magic of sunlight on Mimi. The leaves and shadows of branches look like water.
The magic of sunlight on Mimi. The leaves and shadows of branches look like water.

It’s been a pretty intense few months lately and I’ve barely been out in my yard, so neither has Mimi. We enjoy these moments of stolen time, and later I like to look out the window and see it looking neater each day. Mimi is much happier, and I get a physical break, a creative perk in photographing Mimi and the leaves and things, and actually breathe fresh air.

Composition in Red and Green
Composition in Red and Green

These photos are from both Saturday and Sunday, and were intended to be the daily photos from each of those days. So instead you get a post with a lot of new photos.

Great episode on #CatTV when our backyard bunny came to visit the front yard. Look in the circle in the center of the photo.

A great station on Cat TV.
A great station on Cat TV.

Margo greeted Mimi on her rocker when she came to visit today. Everyone has to greet Mimi. She runs this place.

Margo greets Mimi.
Margo greets Mimi.

I was struck by a funny thought later in the day. Have you ever said to your cats, “Excuse me, I need to use my litter box now.”

Giuseppe and Mewsette sitting on the toilet lid getting my attention.
Giuseppe and Mewsette sitting on the toilet lid getting my attention.

~~~

What other photos have I shared around this date in previous years?

Daily Photo: Autumn Adventures

Mimi plans her morning in the yard.
Mimi plans her morning in the yard.

Mimi plans her morning adventure, actually in the neighbor’s yard where she should not be. This necessitates a few changes to our daily activities and a few repairs of my fence around the yard along with a little cleanup—and I’ll be making a few repairs to The Creative Cat and my other blogs as well, a little more on that below. I guess autumn is a time for those things!

Once Mimi discovered the little tunnel through the brush along the fence she now heads right down the brick path in the garden and off into her little “wilderness” where as a human I’m too big and I can’t follow. It leads right to the “four corners” where our yards come together and a portion of my fence is down after a tree falling on it. The corner of the neighbor’s yard directly behind me is very densely overgrown, but Mimi emerges on the other side if it, stepping out into the grass.

Mimi starts her exploration.
Mimi starts her exploration.

The first time she did this I had an idea where she’d gone but couldn’t see or hear her, I just sensed where she was. Ultimately I saw a shadow her size moving through the brush, then heard the bell on her collar. She greeted me, and was very happy.

She would probably be fine, and twice I followed her on her little journey that way, meeting her in the neighbor’s yard, but each time she explores a little more and wants to go farther, and this is not acceptable because she will soon be on the street behind us. Mimi hates it, but she is back on her harness and leash. Hopefully over the winter when all the leaves have fallen I can clear more of the brush and grapevines and put my fences back up. It’s something I’ve been intending to do for several years anyway. I don’t like to see Mimi unhappy, and sometimes she hates her leash so much she just wants back inside, but I want to see her safe. She has begun to wander like this before and we just needed a few little adjustments to convince her to stay in her territory.

Off we go!
Off we go!

Such Cuteness, 2014

110114-SmokieKeyboard-adj
Smokie is exhausted at all the activity today, but he’s still got something to say.

We had a day today! Normally, during the week, I sit a lot, and I’m pretty dull. But when I’m up and about, so is the whole household, and we had things to do, or I had things to do and everyone had to supervise me. A good bit of it happened in the kitchen, and a nice warm and slightly steamy kitchen on one of the first cold days is a definite draw for felines, so all eight of us were pretty much in one room for most of the day, with momentary variations on who was using the cabinet for what, and it wasn’t always me. If anyone gets any strange messages from me, let me know. I think Smokie did fall asleep before he managed to actually send any messages. Mr. Sunshine, I’m not so sure. Someday I’ll catch up on all the photos I took today, but for now, I still have a few plants to come inside, and I really need to finish out my storm doors, but I can assure you that all felines were involved in everything, and Bella especially was part of each activity.

~~~

Alternative Cat Trap, 2012
two black cats on towels
Cat trap in use.

When a box, piece of paper, garment, newspaper, magazine, book or computer keyboard is not available, a small stack of warm laundry, folded or unfolded, is appropriate to lure and trap cats.

Sunshine and Mimi snuggle together for a nap.

. . . . . . .

That Wool Afghan, 2011
three cats on afghan
All four cuddled on the wool afghan.

I admit it has been a little cold at night, and it was time to put the wool afghan at the foot of the bed, just in case we had a really cold night. But it’s as if they were waiting for me to get the afghan out of the closet so they could cuddle on it, and I’ve barely seen them in three days.

Jelly Bean, in front, isn’t sure it’s worth waking all the way up, but Mr. Sunshine on the left and Mewsette on the right are fully awake and no way are they moving. The black lump behind them is Giuseppe, who they’d actually been using as a pillow. It’s the only time he sleeps on to of the quilt, though he’ll no doubt be back under in a few days when the afghan gets old.

I had to touch up their eyes as best I could because I had to use the flash and they looked possessed otherwise.

Once the leaves fall from the tree out front I’ll have more light, but four black cats on a primarily black afghan will always be a challenge.

. . . . . . .

Shadow Kitty, 2010
cat shadow on door
Windowsill Kitty Shadow

Jelly Bean casts a big shadow on the door from his perch on the windowsill. I really enjoyed how the glow of the sun is centered right behind him, as if he’s in the spotlight. He likes it there!

In the years since I took this photo I’ve also used it as an illustration for other feline-themed projects, which encouraged me to have my camera ready when I walked past the bathroom door on sunny days.

~~~

Wordless Wednesday: Discovery, 2014

black kitten
Discovery.

~~~

Daily Photo: Four Supervisors

It's Basil and his ninjas fur brothers.
It’s Basil and his ninjas fur brothers.

They look dangerous—it’s Basil and his fur brother ninjas! But all I’m doing is washing dishes and they feel the need to see around me. I think I’m safe.

. . . . . . .

What other photos did I feature on this date?

.

Kitten Room Invasion, 2014
two black cats
Bella and Smokie enjoy the bed while the boys are in the bathroom.

So what was Smokie discovering as he peeked around the bathroom doorframe in today’s Wordless Wednesday?

Yes, that’s right. As soon as I let Smokie and Bella out of their room in the morning Giuseppe and Jelly Bean walked right in and demanded to have their bathroom back. I can see why—it’s a snug and sunny little room, especially on a blustery day, and the two used to spend hours cuddling together on the bath mat. And, of course, they grew up in there…

Bella and Smokie didn’t know what to do—they were excited their ninja teachers were in their room, even if they were tired of their room and wanted to go exploring. So Bella hopped in the tub to play with Giuseppe and the cat track in the tub, and Smokie showed off how nicely he uses his scratching post. Soon they were ready to look out each window and spend some time exploring more of the basement, and Giuseppe and Bean did nap in there until afternoon. Smokie and Bella had the bed all to themselves for a while. I didn’t hear anyone complaining.

two black cats
Smokie and Bella have the bed to themselves.
But Whose Foot is It?, 2012
two black cats in basket
But whose foot?

The problem with black cats is you can’t always tell where one ends and the next begins.

Mewsette and Mr. Sunshine were lounging in their favorite basket, cuddling and bathing and getting up and moving around and settling back down again. I watched out of the corner of my eye, trying not to be totally distracted as they grew cuter by the minute, then this foot poked out.

Which one of the two of them was it attached to? Mewsette has much bigger feet than this, but looking at them from this level it looked like it was Mewsette’s and couldn’t possibly be Mr. Sunshine’s because he was curled the other way. Right?

Then the foot moved and Mewsette opened her eyes. Perhaps her expression might give you a clue.

two black cats in basket
Mewsette looks a little annoyed.

I had to move Mimi in order to stand up, but she understood. Finally I could see that Mewsette was curled to the left and Mr. Sunshine was curled to the right with his head on her back.

two black cats in basket
They were curled completely opposite of what I was thinking!

Oh, the silly things I spend time on.

. . . . . . .

From the Archives: Moses’ Nose
Moses’ nose.

I’ve mentioned Moses, my sweet formerly feral silver tabby, a few times in stories lately, and in researching photos for a project I flipped past this photo of her—of her nose, in a position I always loved as her chin was tucked into her chest, such a very common posture for her. I know she was purring her soft little breathy purr and the tip of her tail was tapping the wood of the deck with happy regularity. She was getting her daily thermonuclear treatment and nothing, nothing at all, was going to make her move until the sun was gone.

Read about My Favorite Feral, and My Enlightenment, and see other photos of Moses.

November is Adopt a Senior Pet Month, and I’ll be featuring the roles my senior cats played in my life all through the years they spent with me.


Gifts featuring cats you know! Visit Portraits of Animals

AfterDinnerNap-Etsy

Fine ArtPhotographyGiftsGreeting CardsBooksCommissioned Portraits & Artwork

Feline Photography from Portraits of Animals!

Sienna watches me in her own special way.
Sienna watches me in her own special way.

Office cat says I need to sit down and get to work. And that work is providing a lap for her. My that Sienna is getting bold, and what a talented model too, providing us all with this unique photo! Read more and purchase.



Copyright

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.


Subscribe to my e-newsletter

Subscribe to The Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter.


© 2022 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Weekly schedule of features:

Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life

Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters

Tuesday: Rescue Stories

Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork

Thursday: New Merchandise

Friday: Book Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy

Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats

And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!

 
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Art and Gifts featuring cats you know! Visit Portraits of Animals

AfterDinnerNap-Etsy~~~

Feline Photos from Portraits of Animals!

painting of tortoiseshell cat on flowered blanket
Draw Me Like One of Your French Cats, watercolor and pastel pencil, 8 x 10 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

I just couldn’t resist. when Sienna decided to help me make the bed by showing me her belly and looking coy. Especially on that woven throw with its all-over pattern of fruits and leaves, I just had to draw her! Well, paint her, but “draw” is what she actually said in the movie, so I’ll go with that.. Read more, and purchase.



Copyright

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.


Subscribe to my e-newsletter

Subscribe to The Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter.


© 2022 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Weekly schedule of features:

Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life

Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters

Tuesday: Rescue Stories

Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork

Thursday: New Merchandise

Friday: Book Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy

Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats

And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!

 
PORTRAITS OF ANIMALS WEBSITE
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | LINKEDIN | PINTEREST | TUMBLR | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE| EMAIL | PATREON

HOME

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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