kitty horse

So much has been going on to blog about and I say to myself, "ohh i gotta write that down.." then you know how it goes. We have been enjoying some great weather here lately so I can blame my lack of blogdates on that...that and reading other peoples blogs! grin. On to the recap! The best current event being that Tim was out in CA. visiting his family and packaging my new business venture, Amerika the riding simulator. She was shipped tuesday and should be here Monday, I cant wait for her to arrive! A huge thank you to clan Collins, who with out even a bribe, worked their hineys off to make it all happen. its good to have brothers and nephews!



Leelee, our rotten kitty has had some adventures of late, both involving neighboring kitties. Several weeks ago, one night, I heard a commotion on the porch. I see a grey blur, shooting up the sides of the screens, slamming into the glass door, and generally flying about like a pin ball. "What in THE world?" ( notice the southern emphasis on the word "the" pronounced"thee" not "thu") So out I went to investigate. The first thing I noticed was the God awful smell. Smell emanating from the streams of cat poop decorating the walls, screens , floor and yes, ceiling of our porch. She had suffered a bowel emptying fright that was for sure. I peered out into the darkness and heard some creature scamper into the weeds. Now unbeknownst to kitty head she is perfectly protected on the porch...locked in if you will. From where she sat in the portico I don't think she felt that way. It took her a good 10 minutes to come down, she hissed and spat and growled the whole time we mopped cat poopy off the walls. The next morning however she had undergone a change, she was happy to be petted on. Dare I say she was even a bit clingy. You know, like most grateful pets. Well, I really felt we turned a corner there in our cat/human relations. So flash forward a few weeks and I hear a cat fight out front. I look out to see two, big , strange cats in quite a tussle,then from the bottom of the pile of writhing fur pops leadens head. My neighbors got an earful , as I hit the stairs bellowing all kinds of cuss words in bare feet. The two big cats went left and Lee lee went right. I gave chase to the interlopers in hopes of imprinting on their feline brains that this yard was not a nice place to be. After I had sufficiently dispatched them into the weeds, I turned to locate Leaden. Scanning the yard, I see her, in the middle of the pond! She is paddling like a pro towards the far bank. "Hmmm, a water escape, very clever, young skywalker. Cats avoid water mostly, excellent plan. EXCEPT you too are a cat!". So I called to her,like she would come back. And she did! She swam an about face and headed to the shore by me. I tried to focus on the fact that she was doing quite well and ignore the "Jaws" music that had began to play in my head. Who knows what lurks in the depths of that pond...caymans, snapping turtles, nessy....one can only imagine! I did, oh, I did in those moments before her paws hit dry land. So I offered what any empathetic human would offer when faced with a pathetic, sodden, little body, I scooped her up thinking to comfort. Er, wrong move, she was mad! Mad about the fight, mad about the swim, mad about the soddenness of her little kitty self. She growled and grumbled and spat, and only let me get half way back to the house before it became very perilous for me to persist in the comforting. She continued to grumble as she did the step, paw shake, step, back to her porch and her bed. I tried again a bit later with a towel and received a puncture for my ministrations. But I did leave the towel for her in the sun and she continued her grooming on it at least. Again our relationship changed. She kept her distance all day, looking hooded and cautious. But by morning, the affection was double. You would have thought I was gone a week with the greeting I got. My ankles actually began to chafe from the exuberant twining of cat body. So we have settled into our new routine, that involves my morning tea with lee lee on her porch before i release her to the wilds of our yard. Its nice to have a cat again not the Tasmanian devil I thought we where stuck with for the next 14 or 15 years!