Author: boolie

This May Be The Worst Picture I’ve Ever Taken

A close-up of our black cat Emma's face as she looks into the afternoon sun, squinting a bit making her look rather severe

Emma had been with us about a week and was sitting in the nice light of the late afternoon sun. We were still getting to know each other and while she was more than ready to be out of isolation, she was otherwise very good-natured and playful. I wanted to capture that expression on film but she must have squinted a bit when I tripped the shutter, turning her expression from peaceful to severe, so I didn’t end up portraying Emma as she truly is.

So Little

Our cat Sam sleeping on the couch next to some blankets

A picture of Sam zonked out on our couch, taken back in early January when he was just a little kitten and had only been with us a couple of weeks. I wanted to emphasize how little he was so I zoomed out and took a wide angle shot.

Homage

Our cat Sam sleeping in his heated bed with his ears just sticking up over the top

When I saw Sam sleeping in the heated bed with his ears sticking up over the top, it reminded me of a picture of Templeton in a similar pose and I couldn’t resist paying tribute.

Another Quiet Saturday

A close-up of our cat Scout playing in catnip

I haven’t done any hiking the past month or so, choosing instead to stay at home over the weekends. There have been different reasons on different days, sometimes I’ve had to work, sometimes I’ve been too tired, sometimes I haven’t felt that well, sometimes there was other stuff to be done. Today was a little mix of everything, I did some work early in the day, then worked in the attic to clean up the debris that fell when the new roof got put in. It was hot and tiring work and afterwards I needed to lie down for a while, then in the evening the cats and I went outside. Sam and Emma are well behaved enough out there now that I got some yard work done, trimming some plants and watering and snacking on blueberries and strawberries.

Sam and Emma have been with us for over six months now and have really brought a lot of joy into our lives, waking up at 5 a.m. to your toes being gnawed on notwithstanding. This picture of Scout playing in the catnip is from last weekend.

I Guess I Can Kiss That Pulitzer Goodbye

Our cat Scout rolling in dried catnip

So perhaps my exposé of the catwalk was just a little contrived. One of Sam’s paws was moving in his picture anyway, so it was pretty obvious he wasn’t sitting still. It was easier for Templeton to enjoy catnip since he loved to eat it and I could feed it to him inside the house, but Scout much prefers to roll around in it. Some of the neighborhood cats have been wreaking havoc on the catnip growing in the backyard, killing one plant entirely and breaking stems on the other. I decided to cut a few of the stems and lay them on the sidewalk in our backyard to let Scout have at it.

I was surprised to see Sam join in the fun, as Scout didn’t care for catnip as a kitten, but as you can see she has a grand old time with it these days.

Young and Old Alike

Our cat Sam playing in catnip

Perhaps the greatest tragedy of the catwalk is that it does not discriminate against the young or the old. This kitten, estimated at only 10 months old, has already given in and given up. I queried his owner (who refused to give his name) if he wasn’t ashamed to see his young charge in such desperate straits. He shrugged and said only in reply, “At least he’s not chewing on anyone’s feet.”

The Catwalk

Our cat Scout playing in catnip

While I love living in Portland, it has a dark underside that most choose to ignore. Known as the catwalk – short for catnip sidewalk – once promising felines lie about nearly comatose, drugged out and destitute. Once a cat ends up here, they are unlikely to ever leave, unlikely to ever recover.