The Girls vs Cat Food, And Then There is Butter!

 

 

            “Toots! Calling Toots! Are you there, Honey?” said Suzy one night, gazing into the sliding glass door. “It’s been a long time! Are you there?”
            Feeling something on the air, Toots hopped up to her window perch, gazing into the glass. She had to squint pretty good because there was light behind her. “Is that you, Suzy? I have been thinking about you too!” she said. “So what’s up with you? Everything nice and sleepy there?”
            “I have some stuff to tell you. It’s just me and the Fluffbag now. Willie left us. He Went On™, leaving me in charge,” said Suzy, seriously.
            “Well, that’s a step up, but I’m sure you would prefer to be under his paw, of course,” said Toots.
            “I had no idea that being First Cat carried so many responsibilities! It makes my head swim sometimes, Toots.”
            “I quite understand,” said Toots. “First of all is the whole matter of Cat Food. Very serious! One must be so careful not to acquiesce to a substandard food!”
            “I had no idea! I always just let Willie decide which was acceptable on any certain day! It’s hard because a few weeks ago, she got the notion, from a podcast, no less, that what we had eaten since we got here was suddenly ‘bad and dangerous.’
            “Oh, really,” Toots laughed. “We had a little of that here too! ‘Change for the better!’”
            “Well, who’s to decide what’s better? Shouldn’t we be taken into consideration? I’ve had to impose a little discipline! Somebody has to take a hand, er, paw in this. This is just part of it,” said Suzy.
            “It takes nerve and determination to refuse a weird cat food!” agreed Toots. “But there’s no other way!”
            “Then, there’s that whole butter thing! What’s that about?” asked Suzy.
            “It’s that MEOW blog. They all decided that cats love butter. Gotta have it. Well, some do, some don’t. They did it out of an excess of kindness, Sweetie,” said Toots. “Sammie loves the stuff. Not me! But I can’t really complain.”
            “I don’t think any of us wanted butter. Bless their hearts,” Suzy laughed again.
            “The next order of business, my dear, is much more serious even than weird cat food,” whispered Suzy. “She is looking at kittens! I don’t know what to think! What if she loves the kitten or kittens more than she loves me?”
            “Oh, Suzy, Honey, I think we better Purr™ about this. Two things come to mind. One, that she will get the right kittens! Two, that you know, all the way from your whiskers to the tip of your tail, that no kitten will ever replace you! That your spot in the sun and at the dish is secure and permanent!” said Toots.
            “OK,” said Suzy, with a little mew in her voice.
            So, though separated in space, they closed their eyes, bowed their heads and Purred™ until everything was right in their hearts. This kind of faded into a nap, but of course it did. After all, Toots and Suzy are kitties, and kitties sleep a lot.

🧡

Knitting and The Book of Knowledge

 

            I think that it’s useful sometimes to take a look back at how things came to be, to examine one’s own history. It’s easy not to. Maybe it’s just my nature. I like to look at the germ of things. Maybe it’s just to enjoy the contemplation.
            I have thought frequently of early esthetic experiences, or  what looked pretty to my child’s eye. One of the first that I can remember was the ruched, or gathered, red cellophane Christmas rope for the tree that I could see lights through. Beauty, to my mind! Red was my color from the beginning.
            Now, way back in American history, beginning in 1870, there was a children’s encyclopedia published by the Grolier company called The Book of Knowledge. It was an adaptation of a British encyclopedia meant for children. My parents bought a set sometime in the late 1950s from a salesman who came to the door completely cold. It was immediately consumed by me and to some degree by the younger sibs.
            That’s all very well, but what I am getting to is that the germ of my determined and dedicated push to knit started with an illustrated article about knitting in a volume. Typically, it was the drawing that caught me. The simple, but well drawn, illustration made me want to go and do that too. It was the drawing.
            I didn’t have knitting needles of course. No problem. I whittled some out of some kind of wood stock around the place, got some yarn somehow. Probably it was purchased for me. And I began to practice the stiches. I still  have those little sticks in my chest of historical stuff.
            I also became a relentless nuisance to a couple of neighborhood women that I knew and who knew how to knit. I hope they got a little bit of a giggle out of the obsessed kid! I would not be denied, they had knowledge, and I wanted some of that.
            I have always intended, now that it would be no problem, to reproduce the sweater in the illustration. I haven’t done it quite, but I did make a pullover version much like the cardigan in the drawing.
            Why does one kid go nuts for cars, another horses, another skating, or whatever? Well, that’s just it. I think it’s something built in, part of the child’s makeup responding to a fertilizing image or experience.
            No one exactly introduced me to knitting or drawing or painting or sewing, but somehow we found each other!

📕

About That Floor

 

            Spring continued to unfold. The snow was gone. Sunlight came earlier every day. Every day there was more birdsong in the Great Forest, not just the harsh calls of crows, or the knocks of common ravens.
            One morning when Ralph opened his eyes, the Project came to mind. He reviewed their progress, his and Ooog’s, so far. Those alder trees were cooperating well. It had been a couple of months since he had sung to them, asking them to grow together at their tops and interlace their branches. Every time he went out to check on their progress the dome effect was stronger. Even Ralph was amazed. He really needn’t have been.
            As he lay there, dozing beside Ramona and her delicate snores, he thought, “We are going to need a lot of sand, and a lot of nice flat rocks!” This was manifestly true.
            Another pleasant thought that came to his mind was Ooog’s garden wagon. Why, the plan was forming up in his mind as he lay there! Ralph smiled, there in the morning darkness.
            “Da! Are you awake too,” whispered Cherry from further back in the cave. Blue raised her head and made an inquisitory wuff.
            “Well, yes I am. I’m thinking about the floor in the Alder Tree House,” said Ralph.
            “Can I help?” whispered Cherry.
            “I’m not sure what you will do, but yes, you may help,” said her father. “Something will come up I am sure.” He sat up and yawned.
            Ramona woke. She said, “Are you going to work on the floor today?”
            “I’m going to go talk to Ooog about his garden wagon,” said Ralph.
            “I see,” said Ramona. “Well, you better eat first, so I’m getting up.”
            Bob and Berry woke and came down from their ledge, and all of them went out to see what kind of morning it was and to have a little something to eat. It turned out to be boiled potatoes from Ooog’s last year’s garden and butter, which makes a very nice breakfast if you’re fond of spuds.
            It was the kind of morning that makes a person want to Do Things. Gardeners start thinking of spading soil, that sort of thing. The out of doors people always get subtly excited in early spring. It's like the whole year is spreading its wares before their eyes and their minds.
            The family and beasts in the Home Clearing felt that same tug. It was like a scent in the air. “Nice,” said Bob. “Yes,” said Berry. They all felt the same way.
            Right on schedule Maeve appeared for some potatoes and butter. Evermore!
            “Why don’t we all go see Ooog and Thaga?” said Ralph. “I want to talk about moving sand from the river banks to the Alder Tree House.” It was always fun to visit there, so everyone was eager to go.
            “Birdie,” said Ralph, “Will you go warn them that we’re coming?”
            “You got it, Boss,” she said, and blasted off for the stone cottage.
            So, like a bunch of players in a fairytale, Ralph and his Ramona, Cherry and Blue, with Bob and Berry all set off for the short walk to the Neanderthal’s cottage. It was a magical trek through the awakening meadow. All along the path were tender new leaves, and the freshest grass. Soon there would be shy young blooms. Crows came to see what was up and to make commentary among themselves.
            When everyone got to the cottage, Thaga and Maeve were standing by the open door, with Harold the big tabby Tom cat. “Meow,” remarked Harold, and everyone crowded into Thaga’s kitchen where Ooog was sitting at the head of the table eating biscuits with butter and blackberry jam and drinking hot tea.
            “It’s about that time, Ralph, isn’t it?” said Ooog, once he had swallowed his current bite.
            “Woke this morning thinking about moving sand, and I remembered your big garden wagon,” said Ralph, as they were all getting seated, people on chairs and creatures on the floor.
            “Only reasonable,” said Ooog. “I wonder how many loads of sand we will need.”
            “Four!” said Cherry. Blue looked as if she believed her.
            “You’re probably right,” said Ooog. He was smiling, but seemed to really think so.
            Everybody had some of Thaga’s biscuits. But they ran out and she had to quickly make another batch. Fortunately it doesn’t take long at all to make biscuits.
            When all the biscuit eating was over, and everyone’s tummy’s were quite full, Ramona and Maeve decided to stay with Thaga, and Cherry with her dad and Ooog went out to take a look at the wagon. Ooog had two shovels, so they threw those into the wagon and Ralph pulled it back up through the Home Clearing and out to the riverbank.
            When they arrived at the shining, silver river, whispering its way along between the banks and the stones, Ralph and Ooog cleared an area, setting the stones aside for possible use later. Then they filled the wagon with sand. It was heavy now, but no problem for Ralph. He pulled it back through the Home Clearing and up into the meadow to the alder trees. They shoveled the sand into the center of the trees. They did this three more times, just as Cherry had said.
            “I think that’s enough,” said Ooog, the builder, as he was.
            “We can spread it out later. I think we should build a little stone wall among the tree trunks to hold the sand,” said Ralph. “Before we do more we will need to bring in loads of stones.”
            Ooog looked up at his friend Ralph. He smiled a tired but happy smile. “That’s enough working today.”
“Yes. That’s enough,” said Ralph. “It’s going to be great, a floor built like a beach!” Even Cherry was tired, just from floating along and watching every step of the work. Blue was tired from watching too.
            Ooog nodded, then they took the wagon and the shovels back to Ooog’s house.
            Dinner was ready when Ralph, Ooog, and Cherry, and Blue, got to the house. Ramona and Thaga and Maeve had talked about everything they could think of during the day, and worked on dinner. It was a big pan of sausages baked with onions, and apples, and sauerkraut. There was milk for Cherry, and coffee for the adults. The cats and the wolf drank water and had plain baked turkey for dinner because they wouldn’t have liked the sauerkraut dish.
            “Another day, Ooog?” said Ralph.
            “Another day, Ralph,” said Ooog.
            Since evening was just about there, Ralph and his family walked on home to the Home Clearing to sleep in the cave behind the clever green door.
            And all during the night, the wind and the stars spoke mysteries.

🌿🍀🍃

Suz Reporting & Open Thread

 

Greetings
Meow!

            She said she was busy, though I doubt it, so that I should write something. Alright. I'll try. My toes don't reach the keys very well. It's kind of a dance of the toes. Here and then there. One key, then another!

            Oh, I'm sorry. I got distracted.

            The question of the day is a question of kittens. I'm still considering the wisdom of the whole thing. I mean, I just assumed leadership around here and now a usurper may appear!

            I expect that she will return to her regular schedule today. 

            

Suzy Q.

🐾

Happy Catfurday Open Thread!

             It was a lovely gloomy PNW day, Feb. 8, 2020, when my Navigator took this shot of some flooded farm fields up in the Skagit valley.
            We didn't see much snow that year either!

            Flooding is just a part of life around here in February!

🍁

What's A Girl To Do?

 Meow Alert!

Danger!

    

            Behold the nest of kittens that temptation has thrown in my way. Temptation by none other than my granddaughter!

            The one in the center at the bottom is talking to me, or maybe the big one with the spots who is looking the other way.

            Right now, they are located at Smokey Point, which is too close to me! 

            

🤍🤍🤍🤍

It's Always Bears!

 

Bears come in all kinds, styles, and configurations. But you may be assured,

That it’s always a bear!

 
 
            That was Ranger Rick, of the Mt. B.S.N.F.’s story,, and he was stickin’ to it. This bear, putative or not, was going to solve all of his troubles on this very annoying day.
            After talking the situation over with Ralph, on the sly in his truck, Rick had gone back into his office, and was setting up a new pot of coffee, when Hannah Tucker arrived to discuss the situation with her boss. She had a cute little wrinkle between her eyebrows.
            Rick had been getting ready to write up a requisition for the repair of the restroom doors. A delay was welcome, though iffy.
            “Rick,” she said, “I’m worried. What are we going to do? Something very large was on that roof, heavy enough to break through the stuff up there. I thought this job was supposed to be safe!”
            “I’ll tell you what, Hannah. When the handyman comes to fix the roof, tomorrow, I called him, I’ll have him level out that little berm of earth behind your mobile. I am sure that’s how that bear was able to get up there! It must have been a pretty big bear! I’d like to have seen him!” said Rick. “It won’t happen again.”
            “OK, Rick. If you say so. But if it does happen again, I’m outta here for good,” she said firmly. “Nobody said anything about great fat bears out here!”
            “It’ll be fine, Hannah,” said Rick, as she gathered herself up and went back out of the office door just as Dexter was coming in.
            Dexter held the door for her and watched her go. His cheeks were pink.
            “I told her it was a bear up on her roof. Did you get the tarp up there?” said Rick.
            “Um, yeah. I weighted it down with some rocks. It looks tacky as heck,” said Dexter.
            “You know it wasn’t a bear, right?” said Rick. But he was smiling. “But I had to say that because the truth would clear this place out, even though the problem has been solved.”
            “What are you talking about,” said a confused Dexter.
            “Ralph took care of it. Now all I have to do is smooth the troubled waters and set everyone’s heart at ease,” said Rick.
            “Ralph took care of what, Rick? Something killed a fancy pet dog. Something tore the doors off the restrooms, and something walked on Hannah’s roof. What was it?” said Dexter. “Yeah, and that guy in the tent swears he saw a big thing like a werewolf in the parking lot up there during the night! Are you going to tell me, or not?”
            “Well, truthfully, I didn’t see it. I don’t really know what it was. Ralph said it won’t be coming back, so it was a bear. A really big bear. That’s all anyone, including you, needs to know.”
            “Alright, Rick. You’re the boss. What are you going to do about the people whose dog met this bear? Last time I saw that guy he was talking about getting the Sheriff up here, and suing the National Forest,” said Dexter.
            “He can try to sue the National Forest, but no one is stupid enough to take the case. There is no guarantee that a dog on the loose won’t get into trouble in the forest. I’m pretty sure the Sheriff will tell him the same thing,” said Rick, looking hopeful.
            “I wonder what Ralph did,” said Dexter.
            “He didn’t say,” said Rick. “There’s coffee in there. And some chocolate chip cookies my wife made for us. Help yourself, Trainee.”
            Everything was peaceful in the office for about five minutes.
            There was a very timid knocking on the door, and someone turned the doorknob, but couldn’t seem to push the door open. Both men watched the door.
            Finally, Dexter went to the door and pulled it all the way open.
            “Oh!” said the little old woman standing there. She was about five foot, nothing. She had white hair cut off like a boy’s. She was dressed like a child in jeans, jacket and like size 5 high top tennies. Blue. She went maybe 95 pounds.
            “Hello, Ma’am,” said Dexter. “How can we help you?”
            “Um, hello, Mister. He said to come here,” she said. “He said people were looking for me.”
            “Madam, would you care to come in and take a seat?” said Rick, getting up from his chair and coming around his desk. “Would you care for a cup of coffee, while we talk?” He still had his mug in his hand.
            “Yes, Sir,” she said. “Please, yes, I would like coffee. Plain, please.” She settled down in the chair where Dexter had been seated. He went out to the kitchen to fetch one of the mugs kept for guests for her.
            “What’s your name, first?” said Rick, trying not to loom over her by going back behind his desk.
            “Maggie White,” Maggie said dutifully. She accepted the mug from Dexter, took a little sip and set the mug down on the desk. She sighed and blinked.
            “Ms. White, Maggie, who told you to come here because people were looking for you?” asked Rick, sensing upcoming drama.
            “A big bear found me in the forest. I was lost. Bob and Carla are lost too, I think,” said Maggie.
            “What?” said Rick. Dexter rolled his eyes at no one in particular.
            “He was very kind, and he spoke good English, for a bear. He took my hand in his, which was the biggest hand I ever saw, and he led me to your parking lot and told me to come in here because they were looking for me,” said Maggie, getting a little teary.
            “Oh! I see,” said Rick. But before he could think of what to say next, the office door slammed open and a man and a woman ran into the room. Rick hoped that they were Bob and Carla.
            “Maggie!” said the man. Bob for sure!
            “Mom!” said Carla. “Where were you! You scared us to death!”
            “I took a little walk in the forest and then I couldn’t find you,” said Maggie. “But a nice big bear brought me here and told me that you were looking for me.”
            Carla hugged her mother, saying, “Thank God!”
            Bob walked around the desk to have a word with Rick. “She has a little dementia. Not too badly, but she does tend to wander and takes notions that make no sense sometimes. Thanks for hanging on to her for us!”
            “Um, of course,” said Rick. “I’m glad you all got here about the same time she did. Solves a lot of problems for all of us!”
            So, Carla took her mother by the hand and Bob opened the door and they all left together.
            “Some bear!” said Dexter, giggling like a kid.
            “Yup. He is some kinda bear!” said Rick. “I bet that big raven found her wandering in the woods.”
            “Makes sense,” agreed Dexter.

🐻