Scratcher of heads, rubber of bellies
Trixie has been a bit on edge lately as she knows something is up from all the sorting we’ve been doing the past couple of weeks. She’s always adored our eldest cat Sam and seeks him out to snuggle with him, but never as much as now. Seeing them like this reminds me of how much comfort Sam took from Scout when he was younger.
I was thinking of the desert when I took this picture not long before leaving for an interview in Arizona, knowing I might soon be working with a palette of the browns of the Southwest rather than the greens and blues of the Northwest. Sam is not yet a desert cat, and does not yet know he’s about to be a desert cat, that secret will keep for a few weeks. He’s had to adjust to a big change every few years, first the death of his beloved Scout (and the arrival of Boo), then the death of Emma (and the arrival of Trixie), and soon a long trip to his new home. His coloration might be perfectly suited for the desert but he will be, as he has been, an indoor cat.
The city inspector arrives to inspect one of the Boo Boxes. I don’t think he’s convinced of the structural integrity of the roof.
Boo is not yet ready to receive visitors to his new Boo Box Condo, he says it’s just a prototype and isn’t ready for public viewing but I don’t know, I think it’s already looking pretty sweet.
As 2018 rings in, a picture from New Year’s Day a decade ago, about a week after we adopted Sam and Emma. Sam was allowed limited exposure to the house at large, which meant he also got to meet our oldest Scout face-to-face instead of under the door. She quickly became his hero. Today the roles have changed, he is our oldest and it is little Trixie who worships him. They are both curled up on my lap, but with fireworks in the distance he is too restless to sleep.
“May you curl up on your loved ones and watch new episodes of Doctor Who! Jo-die! Jo-die! Jo-die!”
“Ah, about that little one. Her episodes don’t start until the fall.”
“Noooooooooooooooooo!”
The internal medicine specialist called yesterday and said all of Sam’s test results looked fantastic, and since he is doing so well on the new fiber-laden food, the plan is to keep him on it and see if that continues. The little fellow’s energy levels never dipped too badly but he is on full song now, tearing into his favorite catnip toy with abandon. This picture of Sam atop the cat tree with catnip sprinkled around him is from October, shortly before his health issues started.
Ellie and I spotted this orange tabby while on our walk one sunny morning, and he certainly spotted us, freezing as he climbed between the wooden slats of the porch and watching Ellie intensely as I took his picture.
Boolie 