Youngsters!

Ah - the young ones - carefree and playful - and always a joy to watch! Here Chaiyka (I often call him Chai-Chai) pretends to be asleep, while Chesney (Little Ches) has a feeling something is up,

A paw finally appears, and they're off!

This little game lasted a while - they can get pretty rambunctious, and even rough, but they are both declawed (NOT by me - they came to me this way), so no serious damage is done. I am pretty sure it's mostly youthful exuberance!

Just in Time - He Found us Just in Time

As the song goes....

I feel it is necessary to expand a little on Mr. Poole and how he has been faring here at Maple Grove Gardens since his arrival in early summer. He had appeared frightened, hungry and clearly sick, but most of all, he seemed just tired. Tired of being on the road – on the run, and as he lay in the grass, he had the look of saying “that’s it, I’m staying here – what will be will be - I just can’t go on anymore.” Long story short, every day he was coaxed to come closer and closer to the house (with food, of course), where we could see he was very much in a bad way: thin, poor coat, runny eyes and nose, red third eyelid. And not fixed. He was finally snatched away to the vet where the latter was taken care of, and all the rest. Luckily it was summer, and because it was warm outside, we were able to keep him outside in a basket on the porch, as bringing him in would have caused great distress amongst the other residents. Even in a sick state though, there was something “imposing” about this strange dark cat – he can even be a bit scary looking. But come inside he eventually did, and despite a few deep, low growls from her little highness, Angel, and from the Grand Manitou of the Townships of the East, things settled down, more or less.

And look at him now: clear eyes, glossy coat, with the type of fur that is more like that of a silky dog, not a cat’s, and his tail that seemed so poor-looking and oily even, has gained a bit of “puff”, and indeed, as if in competition with the floof-meister Manitou, seems to be acquiring a bit of winter-puffiness of his own, particularly around the neck and chest area. And he is heavy! Yes, heavy. When he comes onto the lap (oh yes – he sure knows how to do that!), it feels like a bag of lead has landed on your knees – his neck is thick like a football player, and his shoulders are massive – very solid and wide. I suspect it was this underlying solid and strong structure that enabled him to survive on his own as long as he did. But I doubt he would have survived another brutal winter out there – he found us just in time.

Check out more fortunate felines at The Friday Ark and still more at the
Carnival of the Cats on Sunday.

Laptops

Sometimes trying to work on a laptop is interrupted by one who thinks he is the primary laptop - oh yes, Mr. Poole rules.

Wordless Wednesday - Remembrance Day

Autumn Reflections

We are having some warmish days - and the cats seem to know that these are the last ones before the real cold weather sets in. So here they are, enjoying the warming rays of the waning autumn sun:

Blog Blast for Peace

I only found out about this at the end of the day, but apparently November 5 is when all bloggers should blog for world peace (or something), by posting a globe image found on a blog whose address I have lost (temporarily)! Anyway, my small effort is here nevertheless.

And I'll add a few lines from a song my brother loved to play, by Lonnie Liston Smith, entitled A Time of Peace:

All we need in this world is a time of peace,
A time for life and love, with all guidance from above...

We need peace for the children so they may lead a better life,
What a joy divine, what a perfect state of mind...

[I think some of those words may be off....and it's just a snippet...I'll try and post the whole lyric later].

Frankie and Rascal Update

Well, the bad news is that Frankie, the diminutive Siamese, simply stopped showing up - around the same time Timmy fell ill. Just gone. After a summer of snacking with us and even napping inside, he has vanished. Perhaps his owners moved, or gave him away, or... ??? I'd rather not think about the "or's", but it still feels suspicous to me. On the good side, Rascal, who first appeared in the early spring (see photos), and often showed up at the same time as Frankie, leading me to think they had the same home, is still skulking around, and we hope/assume he has a home. Only once this summer did he seem ravenous and so we fed him. But maybe his owners were late coming back from somewhere etc. (Some people actually have a very loose definition of cat-ownership and all it's responsibilities). He seems much less desperate now: he plays with my gang in the garden, but generally goes on his way. But I am sure he knows that if he is ever in dire straights, he can come to us. We also have a Chaiyka look-alike (who happily looks very healthy and has a collar with tags),and a sweet tortie and white from across the street called "Boo". My garden is the best spot in the neighborhood - a real haven for "creatures great and small"!

More updates on everyone else later this week!