The Return of Ms Kitty

I thought she was gone. Really, I thought she'd been out on a day pass or sneaky escape when we last saw her. We haven't seen hide nor hair since the last time I posted about Ms Kitty. Then again, we were gone from home for 12 days...

In fact, Ms Kitty is still around. Mike looked out the window last night and saw her uphill out the bedroom window. I talked to her for a bit from the bathroom window, but she wasn't too interested in seeing me when I went outside (read she ran away).

This morning she was hanging out with Mattie under the truck. The weird thing was that her fur was all over the place. It was like she molted. Or someone ripped her hair out. When she walked away it appeared she might have part of her skin ripped (I do not know if that was indeed fact).

I decided to lure her in with some tuna Pat got for Mattie last week (he only likes the juice, not the meat). It didn't take her long to come over and have a snack. I got some very bad photos with my cell phone that I'll just skip posting.

Little did I know that tuna must be an aphrodisiac for cats. For Mattie, anyway. Next thing I know, she's back under the truck with him, ass up and him, well, you know. Guess no one told him he's NEUTERED!

Plagued with rain tonight, I took some food out to the barn in case she was seeking refuge. She was in there and ran for cover when I went in. I put the food down and talked to her for a bit. I went in again later, scaring her again, and chatted as I walked by.

Maybe we'll have a new barn cat. I just wish I knew what was up with all this loose hair...

A week away

We are back from a week away in the Poconos. The Eastern Naturist Gathering was great fun. Though it did rain a few days, then warm sunny days made up for it.

We arrived back home around 4 pm on Sunday. Last night we caught up on the lawn, which hadn't been mowed for three weeks (the lawn tractor needed a part, and it would take me 3 hours to do it all with the self-propelled mower). That was fun :)

We did take a walk afterwards. It was very nice.


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More to come later on!

More flowers

Gosh, I am just flower obsessed and cat obsessed. Oh well, you knew already!

Mike's sister also gave us this plant...

So pretty!

A peony for your thoughts...

Our peonies are out now. I have snap pics quick while they last! Those pretty plants turn quickly...

I had fun taking photos of these... The first, from far away is in iAuto mode. The rest are in sepia and soft focus.

This plant was a gift from Mike's sister

soft focus 1

soft focus 2

sepia 1

sepia 2

I just love flowers!

More on Ms. Kitty

So... Yes, I am still on the kitty kick. And, I still think Kitty is a girl. I'm even thinking of names for her.

Don't get askeered for me falling in love yet; I don't think she'll be around long term (though it would be nice if it works out for her to be a barn cat).

We picked up the car from the shop yesterday and when we got home, she was in the driveway. She ran under the potting shed and we couldn't spot her. We gave up and went out for ice cream. When we got back home, she was out again. Zoom! Back to the potting shed.

As a sneaky way to lure her out, I took out some cat food. Tricky, right?! She came out and nibbled a bit. I got up to get my camera and some canned food; off to the potting shed again. She came out while I was inside (Mike stayed out) but then retreated when I came back out.

I sat up shop waiting for her to come back out. At that point, Mike had quite enough and went in to iron. After a good little bit, she made her way out.

I think she's thinking, "I see you see me, and I don't like it."

After a little bit she wandered over to under the front of truck. I slowly approached. Creep... Creep... She was watching. Mattie had enough of this creepy crap and just went to the truck. She came back to see him. I stopped about 10 feet from the back of the truck.

Hi, Girlfriend. Didn't know you were going to meet the folks today.

Really, mom, I'm not interested in her. We're just friends.

I'm now about 7 feet from her; she is perfectly happy and content

She even did a rolling around and stretching "I'm so happy" number

She's watching Mattie check out the kitty buffet

It was at this point that I decided to try to creep closer. No dice for me. She said, "Danger! Danger! Human too close!" and fled.

That progress isn't too bad for 3 days!

You know I'll keep you posted!

There's a new cat in town

We were outside on Sunday when we (Mike) noticed a cat on our stone wall. It was Mattie's size. He was with it, very closely following, as a matter of fact. I think it is a female because he was right with the other cat and not the least bit stand offish as he was with Midnight.

We got home last night and scared the dickens out of the little thing, who was sleeping in the driveway with Mattie on the patio table. She took off like a shot. I saw her later in the barn.

I'm not sure if she belongs to someone or if she is a stray. We left out food for her last night. I don't know if she ate it or if it was another animal.






I'm happy that Mattie has someone to hang out with. He seems to be having a good time. If that means having another kitty around for a while, that is ok with me. I'll try not to get attached.

By the way, the cat looks a lot like our first cat, Scrumpy. He was handsome and sweet -- I'm sure you've all heard his story by now.


The "new" cat has similar markings in the face and a fluffier tail. I don't have pictures of her yet (since she runs when she sees me, as all smarties should).



I will take broad liberties and post a few more pics of Scrumpy...

I'll keep you posted!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Grumbles and Growls

I called my gynecologist in November to schedule my April appointment. They told me, we don't book out that far, you need to call back. So, I used my handy dandy online calendar and set up a reminder to call early March for my late April appointment. Noper doodle. Not good enough. The soonest I could get was June. Well, ok.

I thought it was all set. A couple of weeks later, the doctors' office called again. My GYN wanted to go to a conference the day of my appointment and I'd need to reschedule. Hmm... Okay, I did.

My appointment was today at 3:00. I arrived 15 minutes early and quickly filled out the paperwork. At 3:25, I went to the receptionist to find out when I might be seen. At 3:35 I was taken back to the exam room and weighed. And there I sat until 4:10. No check-ins, no "the doctor will be ready in a few minutes". N-O-T-H-I-N-G. Oh, but I did hear the doctor outside the exam room BSing with the nurses for quite a while.

I initially planned to pick up Mike and his luggage (from a trip that was cancelled at the last minute) in Boston. The seriously late appointment precluded that and we changed to him taking the train (very inconvenient with luggage in rush hour).

I finally walked out at 4:10. Party because I needed to get to Southborough to pick up Mike and partly because, well, I was pissed. I mean, really, at least show me the smallest amount of courtesy and treat me like a semi-valued patient.

I left a message for the office manager on my way to pick up Mike. She is supposed to call Friday. We'll see if she does and how that goes. In the meantime, I've gotten a recommendation from my primary care physician and can see him in a pinch if I need to.

Sigh.

p.s. I failed to mention that I waited almost an hour to see the doctor last year after a 4 month booking for the "soonest" appointment... And, she is not an obstetrician, just a gynecologist, so there was no baby delivery or emergency appointments to blame. I really don't think I'm being bitchy (and even if I am, I simply don't care).

**Update **
I heard back from the office manager today. She was very apologetic and horrified about what happened. She is going to investigate the situation and call me back tomorrow. Maybe we can make lemonade out of lemons. I sure hope so...

A Peaceful Retreat

We went to our friends' house yesterday and had a great walk around their property. Their rhoddys are in full bloom and were just amazing.

A pretty welcome

 They have a nice pathway down to the pond their property borders. The retreat is a tucked away treat line with more rhoddys.

A great spot for sunning, too!

They even have fun art scattered around to complete the feel...

You just can't beat this solitude!

In addition to having pretty flowers, they grow pretty flowers (and veggies). It really is a sight to behold.

And you can't beat a deuce and a half as yard art!

Thanks for the great night, Steve and Helen!

A cool tribute to 9/11

I was working away yesterday when one of my coworkers said, "Hey! You have to look at the window at this motorcycle." I did, and was awed. This motorcycle was pulling a trailer with a miniature fire engine -- flashing lights and all.

Isn't that awesome?

I couldn't help myself. I grabbed my camera and went outside to talk to the owner. Turns out, he is a Newton firefighter. He wanted to make a tribute to the fallen firefighters from 9/11, who get so little press each year.

He bought the bike and had it painted with flames. He included a flag for the fallen firefighters.

Look closely to see the flag

The trailer was a 16'x20' dirt bike trailer he cut down. He made all of the engine himself, with exception to diamond plate. The top lifts up for storage and the lights flash.

How cool!!!

Mattie Lou

I just love him.

On the prowl

He's always on the move (except when he's not)

 

 

 

He's getting tired of this picture stuff

Rhoddy-o

So, are you ready for day two of this week's flowers? Our second plant(s) to bloom this week are our rhododendrons.

By the barn and milk house

By the driveway

By the front door

By the road

Even though the first three photos are of the same color rhoddy, they are in fact different. Really!

Happy days!

Flower Power

Our lilacs had turned after our long weekend away. Bye bye blooms... But the lovely thing about our yard is that we have new blooms now!

First up, the iris(es).

I'll more for you in the next entry!