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Our black cat Emma prepares to shove one of her toy mice under the door on December 27, 2007. Original: _MG_6565.cr2

Less than a week after her adoption in 2007, Emma shoves one of her toy mice under the door. She’d reach under to try to get them back but often they’d end up out of reach. When we moved and emptied the house I think we finally found all the remaining ones that had been shoved into the most obscure places, but I like to think at least one remains, a little reminder of a sweet black cat for whom this house was home.

Sam, Birdwatching

Our cat Sam looks towards the window from the top of the cat tree on August 9, 2009. Original: _MG_6182.cr2

Perhaps wildlife watching would be more apt, it might have been a squirrel in the big trees out front that grabbed his attention rather than a bird. From the summer of 2009 in Portland, this was our first cat tree back before it got so much love it had to be retired.

 Our cat Sam looks towards the camera from the top of the cat tree on August 9, 2009. Original: _MG_6185.cr2

Ready for a Nap

Our cat Sam as a kitten sleeping on my legs in January 2008. Original: _MG_7086.cr2

I’ve been editing some old pictures to bring old blog posts back online and was surprised to find this picture of a young Samwise snuggling up on my legs, adopted a month prior, never made it online. He turns 13 this month, with Ellie gone all the pets he grew up with have died. He loved being the youngest so I feel for the tender-hearted little fellow. He’s not wanted Trixie to snuggle up with him lately but that may be more a displeasure with the summer heat, we’ll see in a bit when the worst of the heat breaks for the year.

It Started Early

Our cat Emma looks over the back of a chair as she waits for me to toss her a string in January 2008. Original: _MG_6858.cr2

Emma waits for me to toss her a string early in 2008, not long after we adopted her. She never tired of playing with strings throughout her life. My camera at the time really struggled to focus on her in low light so I have a lot of slightly blurry pictures of her, but that’s better than none at all. This one is OK because I pre-focused and got lucky with where she placed her head.

Winding Down

Our dog Ellie lays her head on a pillow as she curls up beside me on the couch in October 2013

Ellie curled up on the couch beside me in the fall of 2013, the day winding down as the clock ticked towards midnight. When I got tired enough to fall asleep she’d follow me upstairs to the bedroom. I’m thankful I took a lot of shots of her doing everyday things like this, I didn’t do it enough in the early days with Templeton and Scout.