Category: Pets

Peppermint Scented Cat

Whiskers a foot long
Her black coat soft, tinged with gray
Smells of peppermint

My own bonny cat
Thirteen years to her credit
Smells of peppermint

Like a dowager
Awaiting a grandchild’s call
Smells of peppermint

Luxuriant pose
Paws stretch horizontally
Smells of peppermint

Scout, my feline fair
Lingered, languished within sheets
Smells of peppermint

I’ve been trying to ward off spiders by using peppermint essential oils mixed with water as a spray for our bedding. Scout, our older cat, has become something of a peppermint junkie. She lounges about on my bed all day, smells wonderful, and seems to be spider-free.

peace, people!

Have Cat; Will Travel

Patches thinks I’ve been gone too much:

Maybe next time I’ll take her along.

 

Stranger in the Night

I have a fondness for wildlife, especially when I’m safely tucked inside my home or car or indeed anywhere that the wildlife cannot possibly physically impact me. Sometimes, though, these man-made barriers don’t hold up their end of the bargain and I find myself face to face, or as the case might be, butt to face with a denizen of the Florida fauna.

In the middle of the night I awoke with the urgent need to tinkle. As usual, both cats had to accompany me. Peeing alone doesn’t happen in a household of felines. Scout Kitty was her usual business minded self: “C’mon mom, get it over with and go back to bed.”

But Patches was hyper attentive, jumping up on the back of the toilet and meowing frantically. I felt a ping of moisture on my exposed derrière, and thought she had drooled on me. Ew. Still, something felt off. I finished my business and upon turning to flush realized that it hadn’t been cat drool on my hind end, but this:

  
Now, I didn’t shriek, but I did giggle as I imagined this little guy pinging off of my butt and onto the toilet. 

  
I carefully helped the little stranger climb into an empty trash can and carried him outside where he could rejoin the league of frogs serenading the night. 

“Run free little guy!” I called after him.

You might wonder what Studly Doright was doing during all of this excitement. Snoring. He was snoring. At least Patches had my butt, I mean my back.

How about a little Sinatra? Appropriate in this situation.

https://g.co/kgs/DLjynD

Peace, people.

Shell Game

While giving the cats their treats this morning I looked out the window next to their respective bowls and saw this critter:

  
I wanted to get a closer look, so I threw some jeans and a t-shirt on and hurried outside hoping he hadn’t had time to hide. A turtle can be surprisingly fast.

Of course the closer I got to this guy the further in he drew his head.

   
    
   
Until finally all I could see was the very tip of his nose. He didn’t trust this giantess. Can you blame him?

In other nature news, one of our magnolia trees is working overtime.

  
I have to confess that until I had a magnolia I had no idea what they looked like. The blossoms are super-sized, and the leaves look like they’ve been sprayed with Pledge. And they make a terrific mess on the forest floor. The flower on the left appears to be ready to blossom at any moment. 

Studly Doright has begun working on the beautification of our front entryway. We have quite a bit of work to do and no clear idea of how we want to decorate this area. I’m not a gardener, so I’m not entertaining  thoughts of planting anything, except maybe a few container plants. Suggestions are welcome.

  
   
The neighbors across the road have been busy clearing trees out of their front yard. Like a little kid, I love watching the work being done.

  
Every now and then I pinch myself. How did I manage to end up in such a lush paradise with a lake in my backyard? There are more trees in my neighborhood than within the city limits of my beloved hometown in the dusty Texas panhandle. 

I hope you’re where you want to be this morning. 

Stroke of Luck

I glanced at my Fitbit. I’d walked exactly 555 steps. Five is my lucky number.

I thought, “Wow! Something wonderful is about to happen!”

That’s when the cat puked.

  

Sitting on the Deck in the Company of Cats

Sunday morning wake up call, a pair of paws pat my face

Up, hurry up, we need a treat and then they’re off in heated race.

Pull on favorite Sunday wear, faded sundress and flip flops,

Splash some water on my face, run a brush through my mop.

Stumblebum into the kitchen, set coffee on to brew,

Putter bleary-eyed to the place where the felines sit and mew.

By their urgency one would think they’d not eaten in days,

Their respective weights dispel that lie in unambiguous ways.

Coffee’s perked, a cup is poured, I grab my current book,

And slip outside to honeysuckle’s welcome in my sheltered nook.

Ripples slide across the lake, while a tiny lizard scampers,

My cats examine its every move in hopes that they can batter.

And I sit and sip my coffee with a splash of Irish cream,

As breezes rustle through the pines and invite sweet daydreams.

  
Peace, people.

When One Cat Cannot Find the Other 

What a commotion she makes when her sister goes missing

Even though when they’re paired there’s often much hissing

Rooower! Rooower! Scout calls as she wanders

Come out! Right now! Where are you? She ponders.

When finally lured from her best hiding place

Patches stretches long, with disdain on her face.

Dear sister, Patches yawns, I was here all along

Why did you disturb me with your strident song?

But Scout is oblivious having now claimed

The comfortable spot on which Patches had lain.

Crafty cat Scout
Gullible sister Patches

In Praise of Eyeglasses

I petted a rug this morning. Bent down and stroked it before realizing it wasn’t my black cat.

Granted the lighting was dim, and I hadn’t had my first sip of coffee yet, but I talked to the rug in the voice I generally reserve for my black cat long before I got close enough to pet it.

I should’ve known something was up when she didn’t talk back.

Celebrating Spring

Cute pictures of baby animals with some simple verse interspersed. My work here is done!

  

Well there you are, Spring!

Full of promise, bright sunshine,

And budding flowers.

   
 
Shhh! Learn to listen

To birds chirping, bees humming

Nature’s symphony.

   
    

Grab a front row seat

To the pageantry and joy

No ticket required.
   
   

Peace, people!

bravery behind the barrier

A flump flump of great wings conveyed our visitor across the lake to the intense scrutiny of two ordinary housecats.  

“Oh,” said Scout, “if only we could climb through this screen you would make a fine dinner.”

“Two dinners, maybe three,” added Patches, who was better at estimating portions than her sister.

The visitor surveyed them with cold amusement. 

  
“Good luck with that, you silly house animals.”

And with that he flew away.

Note: Neither of the blue heron pictures were taken by me. I found them on Pinterest but was unable to find a credit. My own heron would not stay in one place long enough for me to snap. I guess he didn’t care for the fame and fortune being featured in my blog my bring him. His loss.