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.
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.
Our youngest cat has been totally into the Big 12 Championship game. We know she’s a Jayhawk fan even though she hasn’t actually said the words.
Peace, people!
(Note: If you’ve happened upon my blog this evening for the first time, I’m chronicling an epic (for me) road trip that began on February 17, and will hopefully conclude on March 6, when I’m reunited with my husband, Studly Doright, and my two kitties, Patches and Scout.)
Somehow I survived the rodeo and related events on Thursday night. With a heavy heart–at least a nine pounder, I left my brother’s home in Houston and headed three and a half hours south to see Studly Doright’s eldest sibling, the beauteous Lyn, who lives near Corpus Christie with her husband, Mike.
Mike is dealing with some serious health issues right now, but he’s tough as an old Texas boot, and I have every confidence he’ll recover fully. I just needed to go and give him a kick in the rear to facilitate his healing. He’ll thank me later.
I stayed the night with Lyn and made her buy me breakfast at Hester’s, a great bakery in Corpus Christie, before I dropped her off at the hospital where Mike is a reluctant guest. It was hard to leave her there. My heart gained an extra pound.
From the hospital I drove the overwhelming distance of 35 miles where I met my cousin Diane for coffee in Rockport. Diane and her husband have relocated to this Texas coastal town from California, and we hadn’t seen each other in years.
We didn’t get to visit long, but it did my heart good to see her. Our first comments to each other were exclamations of how much we looked like our respective mothers. Again I said a sad goodbye and resumed my trip. My heart weighs at least 15 pounds at this point.
Finally I set my GPS to take me home. Of course I needed to stop for lunch–heavy hearts need extra calories–and came across a little barbecue place in the middle of nowhere.
The pig statue at Auntie Jo’s Barbecue beckoned to me and soon I was enjoying a pulled pork sandwich.
This kitty kept me company as I ate. I might’ve snuck her a few bites from my sandwich. We bonded.
With lunch over I became serious about finding my way back to Doright Manor. The GPS informed me that I had 13 hours of driving ahead of me. With that in mind I set a goal to get at least half that distance behind me before stopping for the night.
I almost made it, too! Unfortunately I ran out of daylight around the city of Lafayette, Louisiana. My night vision has never been great, but lately it is awful.
Tomorrow I still have roughly seven hours to go before I get to see Studly and the cats. Tonight I’m tucked into a hotel bed, watching The People v. OJ Simpson on TV after having dined sumptuously on Taco Bell fare. Ah, the glamorous life!
Good thoughts for Mike’s recovery and for safe travels will be greatly appreciated.
Peace, people!
With a sexy, come hither look, Patches wears her heart on her cute little nose. 
I love this little cat, with her independent ways and squeaky little meow.
Happy Valentine’s Day.
February 14 is this Sunday. You know what that means? Love is in the air, all around, just waiting to be celebrated.
What’s that? You say you don’t have someone to love? Well have we got a deal for you!
This weekend at Tallahassee Animal Services fees are waived on all animal adoptions. That means you could have a Valentine this Valentine’s Day and every day for many years to come. Without the calories of a box of chocolates!
Here are some of our beautiful, available cats.
Love can be yours.
Remember, adopt, don’t shop!
Peace, people!
I was in bed, reading the latest adventures of Joe Ledger by the light of my Kindle Paper White when I heard the sound of scuffling cats. My feisty felines do not care for each other’s company, but when they disagree it’s with a great deal of hissing and noisy posturing. This sound was the one they make when in co-pursuit of another critter. Not a good thing to hear at bedtime.
My first inclination was to let them handle the situation, but then one of the cats made a sound of distress. I grabbed my trusty iPhone and activated the flashlight accessory, pointing it in the direction of the noise. Sure enough, there were Scout and Patches standing guard over a rather large lizard.
Cautiously I slipped out of bed and stood over the anxious cats and nervous reptile. I could see one white whisker poking out of its little mouth. The damned thing had attacked my baby!
Throwing caution to the night, I grabbed that lizard by the tail and tossed him out the back door where he landed on the porch with a satisfying “plunk.” That’ll teach him to mess with me and mine.
Of course now the cats are patrolling the bedroom with wide eyes and bushy tails. It might be awhile now before we can settle down to sleep. Maybe Joe Ledger and company can soothe my jangled nerves.
Or maybe not. At least it isn’t The King of Lizards!
Peace, people! I might be awake for awhile.
I love volunteering as a Kitten Cuddler at Tallahassee Animal Services. The two hours spent at the shelter on Wednesday afternoons are the best part of my week. This afternoon, though, there were just four cats!
We had a big adoption event over the weekend and most of our kitties found new homes. Yippee! Now they’re out there getting used to being loved and pampered, and that’s how it should be.
The downside was that it took me all of fifteen minutes to do the basic chores, like cleaning kennels and petting cats. I helped with the laundry, but even that wasn’t a huge job this week. So I went to the dog side, and had a ball, and a couple of squeaky toys.
At TAS the well-behaved dogs get to participate in play groups. I haven’t been trained to oversee a group, but there is an observation area where I could watch the fun.
I had almost as much fun watching as the dogs had playing. One dog was a clown, interacting playfully with every other dog in the group.
That’s Chip, above. He’s a charmer. Laid back and cool as a cucumber, but always up for a good time.
I’m not ready to be more involved with the canines. Cats are more my speed, but dogs like Chip almost make me reconsider.
Go find your perfect friend at a shelter near you.
Peace, people!
We’ve recently found ourselves saying final goodbyes to musicians who’ve left indelible marks on this world. Songwriters and vocalists who were the voices we turned to for solace and inspiration. David Bowie, Glenn Frey, and Natalie Cole have all been taken from us way before their time. It’s been a depressing way to begin 2016.
But as I was shopping for lotion and makeup at Ulta this morning, I heard these groundbreaking lyrics, “Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow,” and thought, yes, we are doomed. It wasn’t a lullabye, and it wasn’t a commercial for cat food. There were additional lyrics, but the meow really was the best part of the song.
And to think I have talented friends and relatives waiting for their respective big breaks in the music business and some schlub gets air time repeatedly singing “meow.”
It’s a crazy world.
Peace, people!
How about some Eagles to get your day started?
If you live in the Tallahassee area come find your new best friend! Purrs and wagging tails are also free.
Remember: Don’t shop. ADOPT!
Peace, people!
Praying for Eyebrowz 