Tuesday, March 19, 2024
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From The Archives: Lucy in Turquoise, 2007

black cat on table
Lucy strikes a pose.

By February 2007, Lucy had become quite the model. She was about 10 months old, still petite, but very aware of her posture and position, or so it seems.

When I had that round white table in the kitchen I enjoyed decorating the center of it, changing it at least monthly if not more often, and usually with seasonal flowers involved. Sometimes cats will explore new things to their environment, then sit by them, as if observing their space from a new perspective with the new thing in it. This little gathering of turquoise, black and white things in the center of the white table was a draw for Lucy. I have a few other photos of her in the center of this table too, Lucy with Flowers, 2006 and Lucy With Flowers, 2007

Purrhaps she was showing the black cat figure what a real black cat looked like. It’s a little wooden ornament that came my way on a wreath I think someone gave me; I’m not fond of scary Halloween cat figures, but the little ornament immediately became Lucy. It stayed with that vintage turquoise milk jug after that, even up to the bathroom where it is now, reminding me of these photos and of Lucy. When I started fostering in there I moved it out of kittens’ way because it immediately became a toy, but for me it still held Lucy’s memory.

You might notice that Lucy has her tail curled up against her hip, a constant habit of hers that made her look a little sassy. Once when I went over to the house she (and Mimi, later) had come from, Mimi was on the walk to their door, in a friendly crouch, with her tail curled up in the same way and I mentioned that to the woman who lived there. Later, when Mimi was here, I saw her do it again and remembered that. She still does it.

I often wonder if I’ve conditioned my cats to pose by flooding them with praise when they do? In any case, Lucy had it. Unfortunately, my digital camera at the time did not! I’m fairly certain I took these with the Olympus digital then, offering more than the 2MB point and shoot I’d been using for years but still not good with contrast and shadows, as you can see the grain, and I couldn’t catch the detail in Lucy’s face.

 

black cat on table
Lucy changes her pose

 

Also from the archives on or about this date…

Big Brothering, 2007

I see you!
I see you!

Lucy was a lone kitten in a house full of teenagers, but she made the best of it. The girls, Cookie, Kelly and Peaches, gave her daily guidance on how to bathe, what were the best napping places and how to use toys, but they left playtime for Namir. Namir accepted the role of teasing and chasing and comforting big brother easily, and Lucy adored him. She followed him around, imitated him, and got him to play silly games, like hide and seek, as you see above. Still photos don’t always convey what the subjects were like in moments when they weren’t standing still, so here’s a little playtime between Namir and Lucy when I gave up making the bed, just about 10 years ago.

Lucy thought she had a clever little game of sneaking up on Namir while he patiently sat on the bed and watched all her careful planning. First she leaped under the edge of the bedspread I’d pulled back. I’m sure Namir had no idea!

Lucy tries to get him from this direction.
Lucy tries to get him from this direction.

Then she realized she was in a dead end bedspread! So she turned around…

She figures out her mistake.
She figures out her mistake.

…and hopped in under the other edge. Pretty smart for a kitten! Of course, Namir still has no idea she’s trying to fool him.

Lucy sneaking under the covers.
Lucy sneaking under the covers.

Now it’s all set up! Namir clearly wants to know what the little shadow is under the edge of the covers.

Lucy reappears.
Lucy reappears.

Namir doesn’t move.

Lucy is watching to see what he does.
Lucy is watching to see what he does.

Namir still doesn’t make a move. I briefly intervene and lift up the bedspread.

I see you!
I see you!

Lucy reaches for him.

Come on, Namir!
Come on, Namir!

No response. Namir, do you see me?

Namir?
Namir?

He just doesn’t seem to get it. Lucy has to try a little harder.

 

Let's play!
Let’s play!

Don’t worry, Lucy, Namir’s just fooling with you. He’s like that!

I'm not sure he gets it.
I’m not sure he gets it.

He eventually did get some brotherly “licks” in, but no wrestling match on that day.

Two Views of Cookie and Namir, Plus Lucy, in the Sun, 2007

You may recognize the theme of these photos from “Darling Clementine”. I was taking photos in preparation for that painting from January through March that year, and I did include other cats as well as other props and views in that series. In truth, I’m still photographing my cats in the sun in that spot. I love seeing their long shadows in the sun just as much as seeing them napping.

Lucy was there too, and took Namir’s spot for a while, as he deferred to her, as he often did. Already she was such a model. I’m struck by how much she looks like Mimi here.

Namir and Lucy in the sun.
Namir and Lucy in the sun.

Seeing my cats in this scene through the years is a treasure.


Photos From the Archives and Vintage Photos

Photos pulled “From the Archives” were taken by one or another digital camera of mine between 2002 and, well, yesterday, but usually they are older than that, and I had never had the chance to feature them. Vintage Photos are from my film archives back to 1983 when I purchased my Pentax K-1000 camera. They’re a fun way to “introduce” other members of my feline family who came and went before I began blogging, and to illustrate my feline family in general from days gone by.


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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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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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