Sun Dogs

This was the view that greeted me on my walk to the bus stop.
Many folks were taking photos this morning,
and a very cold one at that with minus 21 Celsius,
of a lovely phenomenon called "sun dogs".
With sunglasses on, it was even more spectacular,
as one could see rainbow colors on each side of the sun.
Pretty awesome.

Read more here:All about sun dogs

On the 4th Day of Christmas...

... the cosmos gave to me, oh no, another kitty!  Yes, on December 28th, some wretch of a human being decided to dump an approximately 4-5 month old kitten near my porch. This, on the heels of a devastating ice-storm - sharp shards of ice everywhere, and a day before the onset of the worst cold-spell we have ever had. Very cold for very long. Had my sister, who was visiting that night, not gone back to her car for something at the right moment, heard the plaintive meowing... Well, I shudder to think. She surely would not have survived the cold for so long. When I followed the sound, I spied a wee little thing, a kitten, maybe 4 months old. Grabbing it quickly and firmly by the scruff before it could escape, I exclaimed "it's a baby Zena" (the "new" kitty we had just saved this past fall). Oh dear.  Once I see them (read: have them in the house), I’m done – toast. Folks, there is a reason why "kitten" rhymes with "smitten"!! Such an incredible cutie, as you can see, with wide innocent eyes. She had a nice round tummy, not starved at all, and in very good shape all-in-all. Not fearful either, which indicates she had no been out on her own for too long.

Yes, she has claws!!
I say this happily because here in Quebec, the pet stores almost always declaw the kittens - so barbaric!
Especially since these poor babies so often find themselves outdoors with no protection.

Baby "Zena"

Zena has just barely settled in, and I mean barely – still chaos and “territory wars”. I don’t think she has ever been socialized with other cats. Days are not so bad, but she seems to be hunting our gentle giant Manitou at night – while he's fast asleep - awful! Not just for the sudden awakening to THAT sound, and cat people will know what I mean. Why him? He is so non-confrontational. I think in her former outdoor life, she spent all her time warding off potential danger and defending herself from other cats.  Nights must have been the worst, maybe she was ambushed a few times, and maybe this is why she behaves this way. Her sleep is sound and deep during the day. And now, this kitten….  

Anyway, time changes everything, as we all know, but for now the very familiar symptoms of "cabin-fever" abound, and we are all dreaming of spring, which seems so very very far away. The ice-storm just before Christmas was devastating. Much of the lilac decimated, and lots of branches snapped from trees. But luckily we were amongst those that retained power - some had a dark Christmas - so sad.  Here are a few scenes of the aftermath:

 

Everything drizzled with 2-3 inches of ice!

Intrepid Manitou inspects the newly transformed landscape.



"When's spring??"