Harvesting the Potatoes!

Here are photos of my two recent potato crops.  They are little guys, 'cause they only grew for a couple of months... I found some old sprouting spuds in the back of the fridge when I was moving out of my old house.  I thought, hey, why not stick them in dirt and see what happens, and lo and behold, now I've grown my first potatoes!  

Wonderful fun.  Next year I will do it again, with an earlier planting so they have time to grow to full size.  It is such fun digging them up - like digging for buried treasure!!

The first bunch I dug up, a couple of weeks ago:

And my second harvest, which I dug up yesterday:

Gorgeous Chester

Here is Chester, photographed yesterday as he perched on top of a fence, framed by a bluer than blue New Mexico sky with a fluffy white cloud in it, and some nearly naked branches from a nearby aspen tree.  Such beauty!

Upside Down Griffin

Here is a photo of Griffin I took the other night.  He really enjoys lying upside down... 
It makes me smile to see him like that!

And here are a couple of kitties I've been boarding recently, 

Cyndie, with the blue eyes, and her younger brother, Gato:

Griffin Is Such A Handsome Love Boy!

Here are a couple of recent photos of Griffin. I've had him for around 7 weeks now, since adopting him from the local shelter. He is adjusting to his new home very well. He is slowly but surely learning the number one rule: The Cat Is Always Right! (Unless it's the neighbor's naughty cat, Simba, who is generally wrong.)

Henry On The Roof

A few weeks ago, on a sunny afternoon, I was enjoying myself sitting out on the back porch, reading a book, when I heard a sound above me. I looked up, and I saw Henry looking down at me from the roof. He looked so handsome, framed against the clear blue sky that I had to get some photos of him:

Fieldsie Watching 'Video Catnip'

I recently ordered 'Video Catnip' DVD, a viewing experience created to entertain cats. It has images of birds and squirrels for cats to watch. My order arrived yesterday and when I got home with it I popped it into the computer. Fieldsie was the first of my cats to notice it, and below is a short video of him watching. I think more of my cats will enjoy this soon, once they discover it. I'm planning on leaving it playing for them when I'm away at work.


 

Chester Likes The New Heater...

Well, he likes the box the new heater came in, anyway...

Zebbie & Fieldsie Napping

A few minutes ago I looked over and saw this sweet scene, with two of my orange boys, Zebbie and Fieldsie, snuggled up together, snoozing.

Sammy Sam Sams

Those of you who visit here often may have looked at the photos below and thought I was posting more photos of Chester, who seems to have become my newest cat.  But actually these are photos of Sammy, a wonderful kitty who has been boarding with me while his human is in Hawaii.  This is Sammy's first visit and I'm really enjoying having him here.  In addition to being gorgeous, Sammy is a great big sweetheart, with an excellent purr motor.

Enjoying some crunchies:

Watching the back yard action (note his reflection in the window):

Reacting to something tasty looking he's spotted in the back yard:

Looking out the other window, up at the birds:

Chester In The Flower Pot

It's a good thing I didn't plant tomatoes in this pot in the front yard, as I'd thought about doing, because Chester has decided it makes a very comfortable bed!

LaLa Music

I was standing in the living room, letting my gaze wander, not thinking much. I was looking at the sound system, when I had a bit of a surprise as I realized something was looking back at me! It was LaLa, who had found a new place to nap:

Henry Gets A Scolding

When I got up this morning, I heard a bunch of magpies complaining about something out in the yard. I went and looked, and saw they were all yelling at my cat Henry. I watched them for a while and then got my camera and recorded the end of it in this short video. After the last magpie leaves, and Henry is just sitting there, Chester walks up and bops him.  

Note the "What the heck was that for?" look that Henry gives to Chester, and then the shadow of Henry's twitching tail visible at the very end after Henry has walked off camera. I say Henry's got some real acting talent. What do you think?  

At The Old Dog House

In the back yard of the house I live in there is an old, weathered dog house.  About a month ago I was outside and I noticed Henry on top of the dog house.  He looked quite scenic, so I grabbed my camera.  As I snapped a few photos of Henry, some of the other cats, Rexie, Boo, and Fieldsie, came over to see what was going on, and to explore the dog house.

Finally A Survivor!

It's not uncommon for me to find a pile of feathers in the house, indicating that one of my cats has made a snack of one of the local birds.  Today I heard one of the cats come inside meowing the deep yowling meow that seems to mean: "I am a great hunter, returned to my lair with my prey."  

I got up and saw it was Boo, with a dark colored bird in his mouth.  The bird wasn't moving, and I assumed it was already dead.  I shooed Boo, with his bird, back outside, so as to avoid another pile of feathers being left inside for me to clean up.

I watched Boo as he went out, and then I saw him put the bird down, and much to my surprise, the bird flapped away a couple of feet, with Boo jumping right after him.  I ran and put on some clothes and shoes, and rushed outside.  I found Boo in the bushes, crouched over the motionless bird.  I picked the bird up and he struggled a little and escaped from my hands, gliding down and landing in the grass a few feet away.  Beating out several cats who were heading his way, I scooped him up again and took him inside.  He seemed alert enough, but clearly not up to flying, so I didn't think he'd be safe outside on his own.

I've set him up in one of the kitty condo cages I have for when I board cats, giving him some food, water, and sticks to perch on.  He seems quite well, as far as I can tell, but I'm going to have him stay for a few days of rest and recuperation just to be on the safe side.  He is quite a lovely little fellow.  Below are some photos I just took of him.  Can anyone tell me what type of bird he is??

Chester's Prayers

When I arrived home from work yesterday morning, I found Chester on top of the refrigerator, with his paws together in a position of prayer.

I wondered what he was praying about, 

but whatever it was, he chose to keep it private...

Chester, Part 2...

Well... Chester, the handsome orange kitty I introduced in my last post, is really making himself at home here!  I was walking around the kitchen a little while ago, and happened to look up, and discovered Chester snoozing in the cat bed on top of the fridge!!  I still don't know if he is my next door neighbor's cat, or if he might be a stray who actually needs a home.  It occurred to me last night, when he was also in and out of my house, that if he is the neighbor's cat, he might be unhappy at home because of Crazy Simba being there.  I can't imagine Simba being at all pleasant to a new cat in the house!   So maybe Chester is just hanging out here to get a little peace, without having Simba glaring at him...  Whatever the issue is, Chester's not telling me.  Here is on top of the fridge, where he still is as I write this:

Chester Comes Calling

A gorgeous new kitty appeared in my yard yesterday.  He stayed around my house most of the afternoon and evening, and I even spotted him IN my house twice, once helping himself to a snack up on my cats' feeding table!  I don't know who he is, but I suspect he may be the adopted brother of Crazy Simba, my next door neighbor's cat.  I had recently heard they now have an orange & white cat, but I'd never met him.  I have no idea what this cat's name is, but I've begun calling him Chester.  He's a sweetie.  Here are some photos he posed for yesterday:

Raggedy Ears

I've noticed some of my older cats have ears that reveal their history as warriors. Take a look:

(cough, cough) Flu (cough, cough)

I've been very sick with flu for the past week.  Blechhhhhh.  The house has been filling up with snot filled tissues.  Happily, today I am feeling a wee bit better, and was able to take out the trash before the cats and I became totally buried under disease debris.  

My illness doesn't seem to be bothering the cats, as long as I'm able to keep on filling their bowls.  Above is Gracie, taken a few minutes ago, relaxing on a window sill by my desk.  She looks pretty content, don't you think?  Or is there a certain sadness in her expression, one that is saying, "Gosh, I wish the human felt better..."?   

Alright, now that I have posted this, I shall return to my coughing and nose blowing activities.  Please send me good juju for a speedy recovery.  Thanks!

Cat Pile!

Last night I looked over to the left of my computer and caught Fieldsie, Zebbie, and Boo all piled on top of Rexie.  I grabbed my camera to document the occaision.  The cats were sleepy and not really in the mood for posing for photos, but I got a few quick shots to show you how cute they were.  Right now the same four cats are cuddled up in the same place again, but tonight Boo is the pillow.  Here is last night's cat pile: