Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Tonight, since I could not sleep, I went outdoors to enjoy the air. Soon I remembered I needed to re-pot a tomato plant, so I went to the garage to do that. As I worked in the garage, putting potting soil in the pot, I heard Spring, our cat, just outside the door making a lot of wierd noises! I looked, and there she was, solidly perched in the Rose of Sharon bush/tree, catching and playing with the flying critters that had come to the light bulb! Needless to say, my camera was in the house, upstairs!! 
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
A few days ago, I came out of the tunnel and had to immediately slow w-a-y down (we live in a port area, so we have 2 tunnels and a bridge to choose from to traverse from west to east!). I had to yield to a family crossing the road. Dad, Mom, and at least a 1/2-dozen children were walking across the road. No big deal, but some photos would have shown the Canadian Goose family enjoying a walk together. (Yes, yes, I know… geese don’t “enjoy”! They were likely just looking for another feeding area, or a place for the children to practice swimming!)
By the time I found my camera in the bottom of my purse, they had crossed and traffic had begun moving again. Oh, for a camera attached to my eyeglasses!!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
This morning, I noticed Spring, our cat, playing with something in the yard. She was lounging in the grass, and occasionally put her paw out to pat something. I saw the something move, but thought maybe it was just a twig.
Moving closer, I saw that the “twig” was actually a small green snake about the size of my little finger and close to 24″ long! The little snake had reared its head and with mouth open ferociously, it was hissing at the big, bad cat!! With a smile and some calm, mommy-like words, I gently picked up the snake. Yes, it bit me… I didn’t catch it close enough to its head, but remembering the lizards we caught in Kansas years ago, I just pressed my finger farther into its mouth which loosened its grip. You see, you don’t want to just pull your hand away, because snakes and lizards have teeth that angle inward toward the throat (keeps the prey from getting away). I loosened the snakes grip a little with my fingernail, and held the snake gently and closely to its head. I put my hand under its trailing body and it gently wrapped around my arm.
Then I took the little green snake and released it behind the garage into the low-lying deep-green ivy. The little snake slithered away “happily”, and “relieved” to have made its escape!
I sure wish I had had my camera!
Friday, March 23, 2007
Our cat, “Spring”, brought a bird into the house again this morning, fully alive and flapping!! Richard watched, then intervened, then came upstairs and filled me in on what happened (I slept through it all!!)…
We have a doggy/kitty door so we don’t have to keep letting Stretch and Spring in and out, but Spring likes to use it to bring in her “treasures” to play with. Actually, she turns the house into her personal aviary!! THEN she goes “hunting” - chasing the bird, jumping 5 feet in the air clear, no problem, hitting all the high places in the room, while the bird flies around looking for a perch out of her reach! You can imagine what we find … besides feathers!!
Anyway, this morning, Richard reached out and caught Spring in mid-leap and the smooth, sleek, lioness instantly froze rigid in his hands, wondering what in the world just happened?! He deposited her in the bathroom & closed the door, then went looking for the bird. As he reached, the bird started to fly but Richard really is quick, so he caught a foot and hung on! He gently closed his hands around the feathers and went outside, setting it free. Of course the bird gratefully and in great surprise flew quickly up and away!!
Here’s our “sweet kitty” Spring… and our “Lioness-Hunter” Spring!! (Click on the images for a closer view!)
