Scratcher of heads, rubber of bellies
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.
New Year’s Day arrived with a steady and gentle rain, Bear and I took advantage with a long walk in the neighborhood we had all to ourselves. It almost felt like Portland save for the saguaros standing in the mist. Trixie slept in my lap most of the day, when daylight fell the winds picked up and she hopped off my lap and hid under the blanket beside me. She disappeared when a thunderstorm arrived with the night so I went into the bedroom to check on her, bending down to kiss the tiny lump under the covers on my side of the bed, thanked with a quiet squeak. When the storm passed she returned to my lap but I was chagrined my promise there would be no thunder until July didn’t survive even a day into the new year.
Today’s thunderstorms are the last of the year, I PROMISE!
I assured Trixie monsoon season was over (in my defense, it was) but we had a couple of boomers roll through the first week of October. If you see a tortoiseshell with the tiniest little suitcases and a placard that says “Oregon or Bust” please let us know, she’s not allowed outside much less to hitchhike across the country.
The pup is not shy about asking for belly rubs.
Boo spent much of the summer behind the wooden shutters in my office but on this occasion Trixie gave it a try. Generally if she’s by the window she prefers the pillow, though at the moment she’s sprawled down my legs with Boo curled up tight against me.
Bear relaxes by the pool after a late summer swim. Ellie had her classic spread eagle pose but Bear’s signature sit is to tuck a paw underneath. The other night I went out on the back porch to watch an approaching monsoon, Bear indicated he wanted to join me but I was a little hesitant as I wasn’t sure how he’d feel about the storm. However I also didn’t want to have to put up with the most serious side-eye from the other side of the sliding glass door so I brought him out and had him sit beside me. We watched in silence as lighting constantly lit the mountains until he rolled over and asked for a belly rub. Not much later he fell asleep in the occasional darkness, when the storm finally passed I woke him and we went inside and I had my answer as to how the pup feels about thunder and lightning.
Trixie of course was buried under several layers of blankets in our bed.
One night in July I woke to my teeth chattering so badly I had to clench my jaw to get them to stop, not exactly normal for the middle of the Arizona summer. The thermometer confirmed a low grade fever and the rapid test confirmed Covid, which I later discovered was quietly sweeping through the plant. I quarantined in the bedroom, at first we kept the pets out but after talking with the vet we allowed them in when I was feeling better. Boo even slept on my chest at one point, something he hasn’t done since he was a kitten, he usually prefers curling up beside me.
In the early days Boo and Trixie occasionally complained outside the door about not being let in, with paws swiping under the door to try to catch my attention, but if Sam was still with us we would have had to let them in and just brought in litter boxes and food. He would have curled up on my chest and been annoyed if I coughed too much, but not so much as to actually get up. I would have been serenaded to sleep by the purrs of a cat who was happy so long as we were together.
Boolie 