Tag: Scout

The Empty House

Our cats Templeton and Scout on the hardwood floors of our empty living and dining rooms

Templeton and Scout on the empty hardwood floors of our living and dining rooms in our house in Portland in 2004. We weren’t moving in, we had been there a couple of years. We weren’t moving out, we’d be there fourteen more. We just never had furniture in the front two rooms of the house the entire time we lived there. It was a bigger house than we needed but all of the smaller houses we looked at weren’t as good a fit in other ways. For all of that this house was much smaller than our previous home in Keizer which was ridiculously large for what we needed but again in other ways was the best home for us from what was available. That house was completely carpeted while this one had hardwood throughout but both cats quickly made adjustments to avoid running into cabinets and walls.

Five Years Gone

Our cat Scout sleeps on a pillow

It was five years ago that we had to say goodbye to my beloved Scout. I’d say I hate this day more than any other but today was actually a pretty good day. Picture is from 2001, a few months after we adopted her.

The Door Walker

Our black-and-white cat Scout sits on top of the door

Scout wasn’t the only one of our cats who liked to sit up high but she was the only one who you’d sometimes find sitting on top of open doors. This is from 2006 when she was five and I’m thankful for the pictures as she eventually stopped doing it, either from lack of desire or ability, and I might have forgotten about it altogether by now. The old cameras had a lot of limitations compared to those of today and I made the mistake of not upgrading them often enough – but to be fair to my past self I’m not much better at it today. I’m so thankful I have the pictures at all, it’s a joy to look back not just to remember the good times but also be reminded of how lucky I’ve been.

Scout Ascendant

Our cat Scout relaxes on top of the kitchen cabinets

I had forgotten how much in her early years Scout loved to be up high until I was looking through old pictures. Here in 2004 she’s on the kitchen cabinets, in other pictures she’s on top of bookcases or even on top of doors.

Scout Is Not Impressed

Our black-and-white cat Scout yawns while resting on the hardwood floor

I upgraded from the Canon 10D to the Canon 20D in 2005 shortly before a work trip to Japan. Although the cameras were similar, I wanted a quick test before leaving, so I photographed my two favorite models then took a trip to Ridgefield. If Scout wasn’t impressed with my new Canon 20D in 2005, to be fair initially neither was I. It seemed such a tepid upgrade from the 10D on paper that I didn’t order it when it first came out. But a user review months later convinced me that the improvements in operational speed would be welcome, and they were, I used the 20D for years until the shutter packed it in on a hike on Mount Rainier.

Our black-and-white cat Scout yawns while resting on the hardwood floor