Scratcher of heads, rubber of bellies
Two, three, five, eight,
All our pets are really great!
Three, four, six, nine,
Next year they’ll be just as fine!
Snuggle buddies and flower aficionados Sam and Scout enjoy my favorite flower in our garden, the purple coneflower. Sam and Scout play the role of two and eight in today’s cheer, Sam turned two last month and Scout turned eight in the spring.
Scout regales us with a story of how she once defeated a whole band of ninjas. Normally with such an outlandish story I’d assume a fair bit of author’s embellishment, except that I vividly and painfully remember the first time we gave her a bath. The first and last time we gave her a bath.
One of the last pictures I took with my Canon 10D before upgrading to the 20D in March of 2005. It certainly wasn’t my last picture with the 10D, not even close, as I like to shoot with two cameras in the field and the 10D has soldiered on as my second camera.
Templeton didn’t care either way.
Photo Details:
📷: Canon 10D | Canon 24-85mm
🗓️: March 26, 2005
All of our cats are indoor cats, but during the warmer (and drier) months I let them outside into our fenced backyard for some supervised outdoor play. Templeton didn’t just enjoy his time in the backyard, he held court. I love the display of his proud and regal air to the minions who deign to share his kingdom.
Of my many pictures of Templeton, this remains a favorite.
Emma sneaks down from the top of the cat tree to poke Sam from above and catches the little fellow unawares, but not helpless.
I felt really rundown when I woke up this morning — I’m not a morning person but this was not something to be fixed with a hot shower, breakfast, and a shot of caffeine — so I’m taking my first sick day of the year. Sam took advantage of my unexpected presence to take a long catnap on my legs. Here my photogenic feline sleeps on the top of the cat tree in our dining room.
We arrived home late at night after a week-long trip to visit family in Mississippi and I knew I wasn’t going to get much sleep. Whenever I return from a long absence, Scout wakes me up throughout the night in 30 to 60 minute intervals to pet her and reassure her.
Even though we had a friend pet sit while we were gone, Scout doesn’t like strangers or disruption in her life and stayed hidden for most of the week. That first night back, however, she let me sleep more than I expected. She made up for it the next couple of nights and by the weekend I was pretty worn out. After she was satisfied that life was back to normal, she returned to her favorite haunts like the window seat and slept a peaceful sleep.
Scout sniffs the trellis where the clematis will eventually grow. The catnip in front of her was one of her favorite spots in the yard. It grew pretty well when Templeton was the only one eating it, but once Scout acquired a taste for its pleasures, it never grew much above the height it’s at now. It eventually died completely when some of the neighborhood cats completely smothered it, but once I blocked off their access a few years later by sealing off the bottom of the fence, a couple of volunteer catnip plants immediately took root and are now growing strong and tall once more.
A good man could walk by a scene like this without reaching in to give the kitten a belly rub and risk waking him in the process.
A good man, and a better man than me.
Templeton loved his outside time and if he wasn’t exploring the sights and smells of the backyard, he’d usually sprawl out in the grass for a catnap. But he also liked being in high places and couldn’t resist the occasional climb to higher elevations to survey the kingdom. This was especially true if I was enjoying a bowl of cereal at the table, he’d wait until I was distracted and then the sounds of slurping would bring me back to attention, Templeton face down and going to town on the milk.
Oh how I loved you little one.
Boolie 