Scratcher of heads, rubber of bellies
The other night Trixie was sleeping on a pillow in front of my office window when a flash of light and a loud bang sent her scurrying from the room, without even looking I knew she’d be hiding under the bed. The thunderstorm raged for a surprisingly long time, rattling the windows and one tortoiseshell’s nerves. By 1 a.m. with the weather calmed she finally emerged to wake us up and let us know it was long past time to move back to Oregon.
📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-70mm f/4
🗓️: March 29, 2024
Today marks Bear’s 1 year anniversary with us! We’ll count it as his birthday since we don’t know when it really is or even how old he is (he’s probably 7 or 8 now). He wasn’t as easy an adoption as Ellie but easy is not the same as worthwhile. Glad you found your home sweet home, pup.
A few weeks back Bear showed signs of pain around his neck and the vet recommended some pain killers and no playing or walks until the medicine ran out. So far the long rest seems to have done the trick, I was able to leave work a little early on Tuesday and took him on a short hike in the desert and he practically dragged me down the trails. Friday afternoon we took his first hike to the Marcus Landslide where lots of wildflowers were blooming, yesterday we took my favorite loop up at Brown’s Ranch. His rattlesnake training got pushed out a month due to his injury but thankfully we haven’t encountered any of the bitey bits of the desert yet.
As a kitten in addition to her normal allotment of whiskers Trixie had three thick white ones. Once they fell out they never grew back, at least not until recently when one made its bold return. It fell out a few days back and so far its siblings have stayed dormant, so she’s back to looking like her normal self. This picture is from December when White Whisker was in full force.
This is the sort of thing I would have painted had I been a master in the Renaissance.
Trixie sleeps on a throw pillow in the fall, in between the sound and fury of the summer monsoons and the gentler winter rains. Even in winter if the rain comes with a bit of wind she may sneak beneath the blankets, just in case. So spare a thought for her and her brothers with the storm coming on Monday, as we’re getting the roof replaced. And unlike the house in Portland, there’s no respite two floors down where you can hide, this house is but one floor.
Sam and Boo were sleeping on my legs until I needed to get up, upon return I found this snuggly scene with both brothers having stolen my spot. Couldn’t bear to move them so let them be and sat down beside them.
I awoke last weekend to a proper Portland rain here in the desert, low clouds as far as the eye could see, temperatures in the mid-60’s, a steady but gentle rain that lasted for hours, the water soaking deep into the ground instead of running off into the washes. Trixie approved and slept on the pillows on the futon all day, though this picture is from July when Mother Nature’s preferred form of water delivery is considerably more violent and sends her into hiding for hours at a time. We did get a thunderstorm later in the week as monsoon season came to a close so she went into hiding for hopefully the last time this year.
Normally I would have headed off to one of the county parks to literally soak in the delightful weather but I was resting a sore arm and stayed home. I worked in the yard today and it’s been OK but we’ll see how it’s doing tomorrow.
Boolie 