Happy Birthday Jr. Cat Snack!

In March 2003, Peanut caught two baby mice. One was so young it didn't have it's eyes open yet, the other was the same size and did. They were smaller than the tip of my thumb. I didn't have the heart to let the cat kill them and I couldn't throw them outside or flush them or whatever. So, I put them in a cherry tomato container and waited until Michael came home from work. I figured he could do the dirty work.

Well, he didn't want to kill them either.

So that night we fed them milk with an eye dropper and put some cotton in the carton. I named the close-eyed one Lucky and the other became Jr. Cat Snack. I jokingly told them that if they lived a week I'd buy 'em a fancy cage.

Lucky, wasn't. The next morning I found a new container for Jr. Cat Snack, tossed in some raisins, oatmeal and a tiny dish of water and waited to see what would happen.

Here's Jr. Cat Snack on his First Birthday with a pretty fancy cage ...


If you look carefully you can see a nick in his left ear and a kink in his tail. Those are from an escape he made while I was cleaning his cage one day. Over the course of the next three days, the cats caught him over and over again and he made narrow escapes. I ended up putting his cage on the floor with the door open and his favorite food (yogurt chips) inside. A skinny and dented up Jr. Cat Snack ran back into his cage and hasn't tried to break out again.

Here's the Four Year Old now...


Every year on his birthday he gets another chunk of trail-tube, a new exercise wheel (he wears them out) and other toys. He earns his keep by being a source of torment for the cats... he lives in my studio -- a Feline Restricted Area.

Brilliant

For John

Up too late... work fell by the wayside hours ago... was surfin' around... saw these pictures and thought of you, Brother. Have you seen all the beautiful pictures of Saturn from NASA?

Brewski

That dirty, beer swillin' cat!

He's Ready for Lunch

I didn't pose Leo for this picture, believe it or not! I had my camera set up in the living room to photograph an orchid and he flopped himself over the foot stool like this. Doesn't it look like he should have a plate in front of him and a fork in his paw? Or maybe a beer mug near his bent elbow?

Coffee Mug Flowerpots

There are a lot of plants in our home and I'm always starting new clippings to give to friends.
Most recently, I had a bunch of baby jade plants that I'd rooted and needed to transplant. I bought these coffee mugs that look like flowerpots -- perfect for the little jades. When they outgrow these starter pots, my friends can re-use the mugs.

They were so cute I wanted to take a picture. Looks like Peanut thinks they're irresistable too.



















Then, while I was taking a picture of the FlowerMugs among some other plants I noticed ...

the "Christmas" cactus has buds! I guess maybe it's an Easter cactus? Or perhaps, it's just confused. What ever the reason, there are a bunch of tiny buds starting and now that I know what's going on I'll make sure to keep it watered and rotated. It has stunning flowers and I'll post pictures when it blooms :o)

February Catalog

Looking through Lee Valley & Veritas catalogs is like being a little kid with a brand new Sears Christmas catalog. Am I dating myself? Do you remember those fat holiday catalogs filled with wonderful toys and games and things? I remember scrutinizing pictures of a favorite item and imagining what I would do with it if it was mine.

Some things don't change.

MMMMmmmm... look at that tool. If I had that I'd make a ________. While visions of sugarplums danced in my head.

Anyway, this month's cover photo is amazing. It's "a half-carved jacket emerging from a single block of basswood" by Dan Driscoll of Toronto. Incredible!