Thursday 22 September 2016

22/9/16 Summer Celebrations


Today is a day of celebrations as we have had our lovely Bubbles cat for exactly ten years! She came to us on 22/9/06 as a TINY nine week old kitten who just fitted across the palm of my hand! Since then she has grown into a beautiful, confident cat with the brightest yellow eyes imaginable. She lights up our lives every day with her love, affection & funny, clever, cat ways!

Many apologies to our regular readers for the big gap in between posts this year. I last updated My Diary of a Cat Owner in the Spring & since then Summer has been splendidly sunny - with temperatures on many days rivalling hotter climes. We have spent days adventuring out on bike rides, sunny walks, gardening & have had a wonderful holiday this year in Majorca to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. As usual, Bubbles was unimpressed with her holiday to the cattery. This year no blood was drawn but we were still mortified about last year's shambolic departure when we saw the cattery lady this Summer! All seems to have been forgiven though as Bubbles was welcomed back once more. This year she was just described as being "a bit hissy!"

We have now seemingly fallen into Autumn with cooler mornings & it is, in fact, the autumnal equinox today. Green grasses and brackens are fast turning into browns, oranges & purple heathers in the natural landscape. But our garden is still alive with the sights of Summer - with Sunflowers, Roses, Petunias & Geraniums, as well as the final few Sweet Peas flowering vibrantly against the whitewashed garden wall.

Most arachnophobes will recognise that the fall of Autumn brings with it the arrival of the dreaded arachnids. Bubbles is fascinated by these strangely scuttling eight legged creatures & chooses to do the "spider dance" around them - whilst I shriek & look for kitchen containers to capture them in - ready for my husband to release outside when I am safely out of the way!

Sunday 26 June 2016

June 2016 Fur Friends


This month I thought it would be fun for our Blog to focus on some of Bubbles' fur friends - AKA some of our reader's fur babies.

As you can see from the collage above - they all seem to be in a state of deep relaxation or professional picture posing!

Bubbles has recently been snapped sitting neatly in her "day bed" in a state of - what looks like - deep meditation. Actually, I think she is just about to doze off for a cat nap in her comfy fleece bed. She has the choice of two beds to luxuriate in.... Her day bed - featured below - as well as a snuggly night time fleece basket for her to sleep in upstairs at night. Sometimes, if she fancies it, she sleeps on the dressing table stool; where she is often caught admiring herself in the mirror!

Bubbles dozing in her day bed....



Bubbles relaxing in her night bed....




This is Mr Miyagi - belonging to Helen, Ian, Hannah & Sian. He came to them as a TINY kitten - all fluffy trousers, long fur & tiny toes....


Now just look at this handsome boy - all grown up - with his big Basil Brush tail....

  

Mr Miyagi likes to be wherever his humans are. The bathroom is no place for privacy as Miyagi likes to be with his humans - EVERYWHERE! He is also partial to a comfy pillow & many a night his human Mum awakes to find a furry friend curled comfortingly around her head.

This gorgeous Tiger striped tail girl - Amber - looks as though butter wouldn't melt....

 

But her owner Veronica informs me that she too, is unable to visit the bathroom in private without a CATastrophe striking! Once, Amber was so put out she was not allowed in, she scrabbled furiously at the carpet outside the door - ripping it up & creating a blockade - so poor Veronica was stuck inside!

I'm not sure how your boss would take the news "Sorry I'm late - my cat locked me in the bathroom!" It is possibly on a par with "My dog ate my homework" but in this case is very true.



Now this long haired lovely - Boots - has a definite look of cheekiness about her!


Her current mission in life is trying to eat as many mobile phone chargers as possible.... Then look completely innocent about it! "Who? Meeeeee? Miaow!"

Her humans - Cassie & L.B. - have had to resort to building reinforced lego charging stations to thwart Boots' devilish ways. But who could resist that furry face?

As well as practicing her best alien impressions....


Boots is often found impersonating a human baby....


At home, we made the recent discovery of a little brown field mouse - chomping cheekily on cat grass seeds under a bell cloche in our zip up plant grow house. It was dark at the time - so I feel I can be forgiven for my initial panic that it might be a bat or a rat.... I.E. hopping from one foot to the other while making squeaky noises while my husband quickly fetched a torch. Well it WAS dark at the time so it could have been anything! But sure enough, the torchlight lit up a beautiful brown furry creature with little pink almost translucent ears and a very worried little face.

We think the mouse is a pretty permanent resident in the garden as we see it scurrying to & fro in the late evening, however, Bubbles has yet to meet this real life rodent. I am sure she would be delighted to have the opportunity to play chase - but I think the mouse may disagree.

Needless to say - Bubbles was most put out not to be receiving her cat grass & the cheeky mouse did very well out of the deal. He even received a nice chunk of cheese as a welcome present.


 What antics do your furry friends get up to?

Please feel free to leave a comment & post a picture

 
 










Thursday 5 May 2016

May 2016 Spring Warmth

It seems finally, after many months of cold, dark days and nights, the winter has been able to at last give way to new life in a late Spring season.

Finally the trees are beginning to turn green and my first geranium bud of the year has opened in merriment to celebrate the warmth of the sun at last - after weeks of almost trying - yet - not quite daring to brave the chilly days and icy nights. The geranium in question was a final gift from my Dad last summer when he gave us a bright trio of red, pink and white geranium plants for our hanging baskets. It feels somewhat poignant to know it too has braved the awful harshness of last winter and somehow has managed to stumble into Spring - finally emerging - fragile and scared - tentative and small but trying its best to survive and carry on living.

It is nice to see pretty plant life appearing in the garden and birds feeding at the feeders; squirrels scurrying up and down trees. I think the multitude of unwelcome yellow headed dandelion weeds bobbing brightly in the untended borders - bringing a splash of colour and no doubt hard labour - is a welcome sight so much preferable to the harsh deadness of the winter we have fought.

Salad vegetable seeds have sprouted tiny green shoots - well hidden under netting from the watchful eyes of the greedy garden pigeons. Warm sun on skin is uplifting as is the act of throwing off the shroud of winter hoodies and coats. An act that has felt unimaginable over the winter months.

Bubbles constantly follows the sun around the house - seeking warm sunbathing spots on cosy cushions, a sunny windowsill to sit watching the garden wildlife flourish and her favourite - a comfy upholstered dressing table stool.... ....Well it's even suitable for admiring her own appearance in the mirror! She basks with the early morning sun shining on her warm fur - revealing the beautiful red undertones of her black coat that glisten and shine. Her coat looks bushy and full as she starts to shed her winter coat to a lighter spring jacket and is pleased it is becoming "garden weather" at last.