Clover: "Growing old is not for sissies!" 
"Nothing's more playful than a young cat, nor more grave than an old one." ~ Thomas Fuller
It isn't easy getting old. Somehow I thought that Clover never would. After all, she will only be 15 this July and my Siamese have always lived long lives. Her sister Chloe is spry and feisty still. But somewhere between the moves and all the mayhem.... Clover suddenly got old. She lost weight and became extremely wobbly in her gait. The vet found calcification of a couple of her vertebrae but nothing else. So now she gets to stay in my room with a soft heating pad and access to her food all the time. She eats well, but doesn't gain weight. She doesn't jump up on the bed or anything else for that matter now and getting up from a nap or laying down for one is a very slow process. We both take glucosamine/chondroitin supplements and it doesn't seem to help either of us! Now her eyesight is going as well. She stays close to my leg as I move around the room and uses her whiskers to feel her way at times. She demands more, more often and delights in keeping me awake at night, then snuggling down to sleep with her stuffed dog as soon as I get up.
But Clover still purrs, in fact she purrs more now than she ever did as a younger cat. So as long as she purrs and eats and keeps demanding.... I'll keep giving in to her whims, keep getting her Fancy Feast in her favorite flavor and keep gazing into those deep blue marble eyes.
Clover will be a late comer over at Friday's Ark this week but she's old and slow so they'll forgive her. If she has any energy left she will head out to the Carnival of the Cats, hosted by Mind of Mog.
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Down by the bay! "We all like to congregate at boundary conditions. Where land meets water. Where earth meets air. Where bodies meet mind. Where space meets time. We like to be on one side, and look at the other." ~ Douglas Adams, "Mostly Harmless"
It was hot, but not too hot; certainly not like today, when you literally could fry an egg on the sidewalk! Perhaps not on the sidewalk, but definitely on the hood of a parked car. Yes, that hot! And it has been so for four days now. But on this day it was a perfect hot day, one with a breeze off the water, not too much, just enough to keep those of us who relish the low lawn chair in the shade, coolish! (Yes, I know coolish is not a word.) Anyway, the sea grasses swayed in the breeze and this had a most hypnotic effect.... the type that made any hope of movement almost impossible and kept your focus on the motion of the dark grass against the bright intense blue of the sky. All the cares of the world fell away and for a moment time stood still. Then with a click it was captured: the moment, the space, the feeling. And on these stifling hot, humid and hazy days, I can still "click" and again return to that moment, that space, that feeling.
Anna is ending her "Project Blue" tomorrow, so this will be the last "blue" entry here as well.
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Mr. Rhett... not so sure about this hammock.
(Click picture for larger view) "Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you." ~ Roald Dahl
Mr. Rhett wanted to go outside. He loves the hardwood floors, but he really wanted to go outside. So, Nyssa took him outside, to swing... with her in her brightly colored string hammock. He loved sniffing the air and looking at the trees and he kept one eye on the grass (tends to want to graze on it); but I am not so sure he knew what to make of the swinging. Here his eyes look a bit glazed over.... either he didn't care to see the ground moving beneath him or he was thinking about his friend Sophie (she asked about him the other day and it always puts him in this weird dream state).
It has been much too long since he visited aboard Friday's Ark or was able to attend the Carnival of the Cats. Rhett is hoping to do both this weekend. And he, along with his bright hammock are included in Anna's "Project Blue".
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"Hello, Mr. Bluebird... how do you do?""When God made the blue-bird He wished to propitiate both the sky and the earth, so He gave him the color of the one on his back and the hue of the other on his breast." ~ John Burroughs
This bluebird is part of a scientific study as noted by his banding. I saw him in a little park up in Williamsburg. We have bluebirds in Hampton Roads as well and mom wanted to put up a bluebird house at the new place. We have the pole just the right height and placed facing the correct direction..... there are woods close but not too close and a golf course nearby.
In February, three males showed up and checked it out. They went in and out and made a visit on two consecutive days. One put a bit of leaf inside.... I decided he must have been the real estate agent. Then they left. In April, they still had not returned and I noticed tiny chickadees going in and out of the box. I opened the box and they had filled it half way with a beautiful green moss nest, topped off with bits of down and clean lint from the dryer vent. I didn't have the heart to clean it out. Sure enough, they laid their eggs and successfully raised four babies (another post).
While the house was still inhabited by the chickadees... the bluebird showed up again and looked in.... I just shrugged my shoulders and said..."What can I say? You're late!" We cleaned the house after the baby chickadees left and now another bluebird has been visiting... Who knows if he will get his act together and let the female in on this prime property! We'll see!
Another entry for Anna's project.....blue! There are some fabulous pictures being posted!
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Bossy Blue Jay with a beautiful song!
(Click picture for larger view) "The moment a little boy is concerned with which is a jay and which is a sparrow, he can no longer see the birds or hear them sing." ~ Eric Berne
The birds have been amazing this past winter and spring in our new place. I have my boyfriend cowbird following me around from room to room, finches, wrens, chickadees, robins, cardinals, towhee, woodpeckers of several varieties and of course the grackles, crows and red-shouldered black birds. We also have squirrels and a couple of raccoons that routinely empty the "squirrel proof" feeder near the preserve. The blue jay is a different story. They are shy around here, not coming out when other birds are around. Only rarely do I see one brave enough to check out the feeder system near the house. So this was a treat! And they have a lovely song!
Another entry for Anna's project.....blue!
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Misty blue pansies. (Norfolk Botanical Gardens)
(Click picture for larger view)"The color blue is everlastingly appointed by the deity to be a source of delight." ~ John Ruskin
The heat has finally arrived with two consecutive days of 85 - 90 degree temperatures, so these lovely creatures are on their way out for the season. The pansies in all shades that stand up so well to the cold nor'easters of winter will faint under this sun. I enjoyed this group at the botanical gardens in March when my cousin and I took a rare afternoon off from the house renovation work. They filled one area of the bed with a sea of palest blue. When I sit quietly and gaze on this beauty, a feeling of calm and peace closes in.... I love that!
Anna at Anna Carson Photography has posted a new group project; this time the color is blue. I'm a little late as this is probably the second or third day but then, this seems to be norm for me lately.
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