Somethin' Fishy Around Here!

Our new baby, Cameron Clare. Blind Jack just loves her and licks her on the head, though he plays a little rough. This quiet tiny kitten from the shelter has turned into a wild waterdog who loves all water spots in the house & isn't into hugs. But she does give snuffly kisses in the night as she performs the ritual bedcheck. She was about four months old in this living room shot. Very cute! ANy new pets at your house?!

Santa's Best Friend

Santa and Boris see eye to eye during our recent Santa Paws event. Boris Osborn has his own Facebook page and is about a year old. I just love both their expressions!

Where do the months go when you're.....

...summer and autumn 2011 went peacefully around here, although we were deeply struck by the loss of three people very dear to us. Dad was buried and we learned that Kaimi and Leticia passed on as well. Sadness all around. Yet the summertime was glorious and extended way past Indian Summer days.

Kitten season hit early and hasn't let up yet. Dapple here is a character cat. They're all amazing. I help mainly in the infirmary with the babies and the sick ones. Someday we'll have more room!

This unusual orange female tabby is up for adoption--isn't she lovely? She's at the Siskiyou Humane Society Adoption Center in Mt. Shasta, CA.

Can you hear the loud roaring of the creek in Lithia Park, Ashland, OR?

And here's one of my yellow squash blossoms (which was supposed to print large in the middle of the page....sigh)...

Goodbye, July!!

Here's Heidi and sister Kathi, circa 1954-55, on our front yard in Camas, WA, right near the Columbia River. Numerous cats shared the household as well. About six years later, only my St. Bernard and I were left to migrate to California...

It's KITTEN SEASON!

Kate and Alyssa took these pictures--aren't they cute? We have many more!

Winter Friends

Animals are amazing!

Welcome to my world, circa Nov.

This month I turn 62. That's proposterous! :=
Life is pulsing...be as happy as you can and do as much good as you can!





What's it like where you are?

More Pictures of the Pets at Our Shelter

Jack and Family Wait for Spring

Mr. Jack begs your pardon for being gone from the blog so long, but it's been a hard winter! The worst storm in thirty years came after the holidays. Six days without power, and tons of trees crashing into homes, fences, yards, etc.

Jack's best sanity saver from cabin fever comes from fetching Netflix wrappers, faithfully depositing the crinkly paper at our feet almost every time. Otherwise he loves picking his way among the slowly dwindling drifts while on his blue harness. Happy almost spring from the mountains of far northern California!

Awash in Tomatoes

 

 

The green fruit is turning red in the baskets as fast as we can eat them! The last of the garden except for parsley and some hardy hang-on basil. Harvesting anything where you are?
Meanwhile, Jack shows off his working on the carbureator face. Dirty boy who wants out in his Jackyard.

Meanwhile, the main reasons I went to Ashland...

...to catsit for my friend.
Hey Greta you sweet ancient Siamese lady! Wake up that big lummox of a brother on his perch! Mr. Tux rolls over nicely for tummy pats and thunders through the house when someone rattles the kibble. You can see he doesn't miss many such rattles.

Thanks Jack for your little story!

 

Even if he's blind, Jack sees with his big heart. What a character. Share about one of your favorite pets in the comment section, if you like.

Jack's Tale End 5

 

When I, the royal Jack, sit on the backdoor steps, this is the view towards the garden. Note the beans are trying to escape, just like I do! But in Indian summer, who wants to go far when it's so lovely here??

Thanks for listening to my meandering tale from a cat's eye...

Jack, tale 4

 
Auntie Wilma is looking across toward the garden. Just behind her in the background is my escape route when I get outside on the back deck without my harness. I can get quite aways into the orchard before one of my people catches me! What fun to explore everywhere!

Jack Tales, 3

My folks brought back this nice shot of Obama llama and friend. I support most wholeheartedly the Progresive Democratic ticket, for people and the animal world!
Go out there and make it happen with peace and love in all our hearts. (Jack can even be romantic after 18+ hours of active play all day, when he runs down a bit.)

Heidi, the St. Bernard sister of this blogger, was a hellraiser, too, in her younger years. She'd tear aroung the circle that bisected our living room, sliding like crazy on the kitchen floor while her nails rat-a-tatted a scratchy hope for grip...yarping all the way.

What do your pets do that's hysterical?

My Auntie Wilma thinks mid-September is a good time for a purr-giggle...before the cold sets in again and ruffles her soft fur. Helpful, empathetic thoughts to the people challenged by Ike, and the other hurricanes. Easier to take, though, than the political storms of late, I'd say. (Jack is a very hep cat.)

Jack's Tale, 2

Wilma's feeling frisky around my home this fine Indian summer day, where the mornings are cool, but the afternoons get comfortably hot by 5:00 pm, my dinnertime. Actually, I eat whenever I come in from my Jackyard, to grab a snack and see what's up. The weird trick that most perplexes them is when I deposit my soggy toys into my food dish, for my own secret cat reasons--Aunt Wilma is slightly intrigued, too--(food dish viewing spared for delicacy's sake...)

Jack's Going to Tell You a Story....

Jack wants to tell you his latest tale. Let's have him meow it in the first person, though Jack actually ch-ch-chirps to communicate. (Bear with our silliness, por favor.)

 

Meanwhile, back at home

 

Jack the (blind) Man enjoys another exploratory leashwalk on the deck. This boy is really an extraordinary pet, and I'm so glad I rescued him on the Oregon coast two summers ago. He navigates by some sort of radar/sonar, and rarely runs into something unless it's in the direct path of one of his innumerable routes around the house.

Whether having a huge St. Bernard canine for a sister, back in the Fifties, prepared me to love animals so much, or whether it's the specialness and delight of the animals I meet, I love 'em. What was your favorite pet, and how did it shape your life?