Mr. Troublepuffs

 I realize that while I have devoted a post to Stretch the tuxedo cat, I have not done so for the feral tabby who visits the back yard snacks. And so, let me provide more information on Tall Kitty. 

He is very shy and only comes in the dark of night. It's hard to tell what color he is from the pictures, but he's quite gray (much like one of Offspring the Third's kitties), from the few times we have seen him in the porchlight. 

He seems abnormally tall for a kitty (or perhaps Offspring the Third's gray kitty is just... particularly stubby?). 

He's got a bit of a baby face, but he seems to be full grown. 

He and the skunks appear to be buddies -- or at least acquaintances.

He's quite cautious and looks around a lot while eating. 

And he really has a magnificent fur pattern.

Finally, we are sure he is a boy, because one photo -- which I won't share here, because it's a bit up close and personal -- has a clear view of his nethers, and his visible... troublepuffs make it quite apparent that he's not neutered. It's more than I ever knew about feline gonads previously.  Learn something knew every day! 

On the bright side, the tuxedo kitty has an ear clipped, indicating that it has been part of a TNR (trap, neuter and release) program -- so even if she is a girl, at least they will not be burdened with an excess of new teeny kitties. That's too much to ask for a feral kitty. 

Stay well, Tall Kitty. We'll make sure you have plenty of snacks. 

Carbo-meme

 Hahahaha sigh. 

All the Way Across the Sky

It had rained just a tiny bit (though the thunder had been quite more significant), and I stepped out the front door to go fetch lettuce for the bunnies. And lo and behold, there it was, all the way across the sky. 

Lovely.

Are there Birthday Candles in Gan Eden?

 Herself speaks.

My lovely Daddy would have turned ninety-two today.  

Happy birthday, Daddy. 

I miss you. I don't want to dwell on sad things on your birthday, but I have to say that nothing is the same without you here any more. I miss your calm reliability, your dignified presence, your quiet kindness, your good humor.  I hope that wherever you are now, you are enjoying peace, beautiful music, and love all around you, and that the care that you showed people during your lifetime is returned one hundred-fold to you. 

You were an exemplary human being. If there were more people like you in the world, it would be an infinitely better place. 

Twenty-Five

 Herself speaks.

It has been twenty-five years since the planes crashed into the twin towers.

I remember where I was when I heard:  I had just parked down the block from the grade school, and was walking Offspring the First and Offspring the Second to class (Offspring the Third being too young to go to school yet), when another mother just ahead of me on the sidewalk said something about it. It didn't seem possible or too serious, yet.

Oh, how little we knew then. 

The unimaginable unfolded over the course of the morning, and by the time I fetched Offspring the First and Offspring the Second at the end of the school day, the world was never the same. 

-----

It is still horrifying to see photographs from September 11. The World Trade Center and New York City, the Pentagon, the Flight 93 field. It will never not be shocking. I always think of the statement by Obi-wan Kenobi in Star Wars, when he says: "I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened." The ghosts from that day, in those places, will forever remain. 

We remember the lost, and we honor them. 

Godspeed.

For The Birds

 The birds have been quite adept at tidying up any dropped kitty food on the patio. And then some. 

Inside Friends

 While we are viewing kitty pictures, let us enjoy some pictures of Offspring the Third's kitties, who are paying us a visit. 

One inside kitty supervises outside tuxedo kitty. 

Comfy kitty. 

Comfy kitty, again. 

Two kitties momentarily sharing a nest. 

Pensive kitty. 

Kitty on a teeny couch.

Comfy couch.