The Elysian Fields

The other day, Deb and I were out on the porch to discuss some things without distraction (yeah, you could pronounce "distraction" as "Mr. B" =), and we watched our young neighborhood red tailed hawk soar low across the front yard with mouse (or maybe chipmunk) in hand. Or foot. Or talon.

I may not have been able to catch the booger on film, but he was most definitely a red tail.

~ ~ ~

This morning, Deb was out on the porch, sipping her coffee, and noticed Tika stop eating. The cat turned, looked out under the hosta, and leaped through the railing. She came back with a mouthful of green feathers that had, a few moments ago, been a sparrow.

1) List the names of every cat you've ever owned.
Three Maine coons: Tasslehoff Purrfoot, Tanis (brother), Tika (and, although a lot of people ask where we came up with the names, I'm sure most of my flist has at least a vague idea where they came from...)

Technically, we also have Dead Tanis, although only after the fact. And, for one week, while I was still in elementary school, we had a little golden fluffball of a kitten named Peter Criss, but had to give him away due to allergy issues.

2) What is the most memorable moment you have had with a cat of yours?
Watching Tas perk up when, after a long documentary where lionesses battled hyenas, the maned man jumped up, thundered across the Serengeti, and swatted the hyenas left and right. Tas stood up, walked to the edge of the bed, and cheered. He had never paid attention to the television before that one scene, and he never paid attention after that time.

3) What is the saddest moment you have had with a cat?
When Tas died. I remember walking along the canal in the rain.

4) What is the oddest moment you had with a cat?
When I found out that either Tika or Tanis had been seen chasing a bear. Or maybe when Tanis chased the frisbee. Or when Tika practiced being a pointer. Or when Tanis chased the German shepherd and chocolate Labrador off the property. Or when Tanis and Tika follow us on walks throughout the neighborhood - they like to keep watch over us and are very protective, especially when we walk in the woods. Essentially, they think they're dogs. And yes, Tanis does hide under chairs and get all pitiful when the DETM are out and about.

5) Would you ever give a new cat an old name?
Sure. If a cat told me his name was Methuselah, who am I to tell him no?

Oh, and an ice cream wagon with ringing bell and Beach Boys blaring just wandered through the cubefarm. So, caramel sundae. Yum.

Here lies Tanis, or at least that's what my wife thought when she buried him just beyond the rocks where his sister likes to sit. He showed up the next day, of course

This spot is just off the side of our porch, and will, one day, be somewhat obscured by a Japanese red maple. Unless the deer eat it, of course.

Of course, at least one cat picture must be present in every update...

Some mostly unrelated little things:

1) Saw another toad or frog - I saw it leap, Deb saw it, but wasn't sure which. I expect it was a toad, as we don't have enough water nearby to support frogs.

2) Neighbors reported that Tanis chases bears (add to the list: golden retrievers, German shepherds, white tailed deer, black bears.)

3) Mowed the lawn and got string trimming done Tuesday night. Expect the resulting clover explosion is why I was out sick Wednesday and Thursday.

4) Deb finally saw the ovenbirds, in the middle woods, just past where Tanis was buried. They have an interesting song: chertle-cherTLE-CHERTLE! that grows louder as they sing along, and she's been trying to get a positive id, but they proved elusive for a while. A week or so ago, I thought I spotted them walking around the edge of the deck and all around the backyard, but I'm still not sure.

5) Noticed that the deer hit the weeping willow and pussy willow prior to Tuesday, noticed last night that they also trimmed most of one of the new flowering crabs and took bits and pieces off of both elderberries.

6) Took a picture of a deer - came right down the path while kids were sitting at the table; opened the sliding doors and snapped a few of shots (flash going off, so he/she posed for some of them), and then we all went out on the front porch to watch the rodent slink off into the woods. Hadn't discovered the elderberry damage at that time, or I would have encouraged Tanis to take chase and bring it down. As it was, he stood on alert, but once the deer was walking away, and we were all standing around ignoring him, he decided to rub up against our legs instead.

7) Fixed the last remaining bug on the primary piece of coding for the project I'm working on - no worries, I'm sure there'll be more when testing resumes. Making progress on the worksheet print - going to hard-code it for three possibilities; a future release (when there is time and/or money) will make it dynamic. A mass-manipulation program and a navigational center were added to the task list - about one week before the betas get the software. Almost want to knock them out first because they won't take long (find-and-replace on some names, and a tweak on the recordset involved), but this worksheet has to work in mode 2 at the least...

This, umm, CATastrophe just in, via gwynraven...