Mid-Winter Cabin Fever

Yup, it's mid-winter cabin fever big-time: the cats are bored and often cantankerous (not unlike the humans at times!) Manitou is so bored lately he has resorted to sitting in the bathtub watching the water drip, and here we see him laying claim to the scratch pad.

If they could, they would check out the The Friday Ark and then Carnival of the Cats on Sunday.

A sure cure for those winter blues!

Wordless Wednesday: Amaryllis Festival

Candle, I Ignite Thee With Mine Eyes!

Those others cats that keep spooking poor Longfellow better watch out - he's working on some amazing special effects!

As always, see more amazing feats at The Friday Ark and then Carnival of the Cats on Sunday.

Wordless Wednesday - Peace on Earth

For all creatures great and small: snuggly critters from Whispering Pines:

Equal Opportunity, Please

I have been receiving some complaints from the furry residents that my blog seems to be overloaded with photos of Manitou, AKA Macushla (an Irish term of address expressing affection, like darling), the Big Mac, Fluff-Meister, etc. Well, while it was not intended that way, I do plead guilty, but perhaps he's the one cat that seems to sit still the longest so his full splendor may be captured again and again. But I digress! On this Friday I am therefore including pictures of everyone, and yes, Macushla as well! How can I resist!





Angel says "it's about *&^% time you posted a picture of me!"









Timmy on guard.








Longfellow reposes.









Macushla eats too much turkey!









Bandito stakes out his territory under the Christmas tree.









The Big Mac waits for more turkey, having sufficiently recovered!

Check out who else has been pouting or posing over at The Friday Ark and then Carnival of the Cats on Sunday.

A Favourite Winter Poem

Winter Poem
by
Laurie Lee


Tonight the wind gnaws with teeth of glass
The jackdaw shivers in caged branches of iron
The stars have talons
There is hunger in the mouth of vole and badger
Silver agonies of breath in the nostril of the fox
Ice on the rabbit’s paw
Tonight has no moon, no food for the pilgrim
The fruit tree is bare, the rose bush a thorn
And the ground is bitter with stones
But the mole sleeps and the hedgehog lies curled in a womb of leaves
And the bean and the wheat seed hug their germs in the earth
And a stream moves under the ice
Tonight there is no moon
But a star opens like a trumpet over the dead
And tonight in a nest of ruins the blessed babe is laid
And the fir tree warms to a bloom of candles
And the child lights his lantern and stares at his tinsel toy
And our hearts and hearths smoulder with live ashes
In the blood of our grief the cold earth is suckled
In our agony the womb convulses its seed
And in the last cry of anguish
The child’s first breath is born

Mine - All Mine!!

Forget all those expensive kitty toys and condos - nothing spells happiness for a cat more than a new box - a big one at that! Here is Manitou claiming the box for himself, and for a long time was unwilling to leave it in case someone else had the nerve to move in. It's January - cold and boring - cats and humans alike have their grumpy periods, and revert to "cabin-fever" behaviour. When he's really bored and it's not too cold, but mild and snowy, Manitou can be found on the back porch catching snowflakes (or rather, trying to catch them). I tell you that is too cute for words watching him look up into the sky, purposely single out a really big flake, then try and catch it with those big mittens of his. Maybe I'll try and post a video sometime...cuteness value: unlimited.

Meanwhile, see how others are coping with winter at The Friday Ark and then Carnival of the Cats on Sunday.

Another year...and what have we done?

Well, for one thing, we saved the big and handsome Manitou from great misfortune (back in February). Here he is caught deep in contemplation, and shortly afterward, realizing he is being filmed, he poses more cheerfully: