The High Heat of Summer

Our cats Sam and Trixie sleep face-to-face as they snuggle on my legs in June 2019

As hot as it’s been in Scottsdale, it gets hotter when two furry furnaces are sleeping on your legs. I wouldn’t have it any other way. A quick snap with my iPhone a couple of nights ago, I was going hiking in 5 hours and struggling to join Sam and Trixie in slumber. My two sleep advisors suggested taking a nap in the afternoon and I’ve done that the past three days, an early hike then a swim then a nap. It’s worked out wonderfully but not tomorrow, don’t think they’d appreciate that at work.

Little Squeaks

An overhead view of our cat Trixie sleeping against a pillow on the futon in my office

Trixie is the smallest cat we’ve ever had, our recalcitrant eater clocked in at 8 pounds today. We once got her as high as 8.7 pounds but that required more than the normal feedings, she’d prefer to graze throughout the day but we can’t leave food out as other members of the household don’t need so much convincing to eat.

Sitting Idle

Our tortoiseshell cat Trixie sits on my orange rain jacket on the tile floor

Coming from Oregon I have a handful of raincoats I use for different purposes. They’ve mostly been sitting idle since we moved to Arizona although I do stuff one in my backpack if there’s a chance of rain. One morning I took the raincoat out since it was going to be dry all day but I returned to find it had been put to use after all.

On Paws

A close-up view of the paws of our tortoiseshell cat Trixie as she sleeps on my couch

Trixie is pretty good about keeping her claws retracted when she plays, the thing you have to worry about is when she’s snuggling all up in your face, if she’s excited she finds it hard to resist nipping your nose.