Guess what! DH found Shiney's kittens this morning. She had moved them originally from the garage to the side of the house... and now they're over by the fence (in the flowerpots). She is black and all her kittens are black (as far as we can tell... some blacker than others). And I have a friend who has about 30 acres in Anna, Texas. They have horses, burros, dogs, and cats. Her outside (barn) cat had kittens a few weeks before Shiney. She sent me these pics.
These were sent from her iPhone to mine....
This mama had 2 solid orange tabbies, 2 orange and white, 2 calico, and 1 grey tabby...
Both she and Shiney appear to be very good mamas. My friend will keep all her barn kitties, there's no question there. As for us, we usually take the kittens to the Adoption Center here, but we're procrastinating this time. This is Shiney's first litter and she's been such a good mama that we may let her keep this first batch. If we can work with them and get them friendly (which we have done on other occasions... especially since it's summer and we can sit out back with them), then we can take them in for their vacs and neutering. We'll see. May have to play this hand by ear (that sounds kind of weird, but you know what I mean).
By the way, I will tell you a funny story about my 18 month old grand daughter.She and her dad were over here this afternoon. She has now discovered the stairs and it is the greatest source of entertainment for her... climbing up and down them (with either her dad or me holding her hands), and then eventually looking down through the banisters to the entry below. Today we gave her a small ball that she could throw down, it would bounce and one of us would catch it and throw it back to her. It was an amusing game... for the first 15 minutes or so... then it became a quest for a way to get her back downstairs without causing an uproar.
Well, I decided to try something.... I asked her if she would like to go back down and get some ice-cream (she loves ice-cream!!). I didn't know if she would understand or even want to leave her little game, but surprisingly enough, she immediately grabbed my hand and headed down, led me to the kitchen, then to the freezer... and everyone laughed when I handed her the tub of Blue-Bell's Home-Made Vanilla and she sat right down on the floor with the carton on her lap. All she needed was a spoon and she was ready!
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| Her dad snapped this with his iPhone fast before she started taking the top off... |
On another note: Just listened to a program on PBS called "Happy"... It was a study on what made people happy... in different lands as well as in general. However, it really didn't tell us anything that most of us don't already know. If your basic needs are satisfied and you have people around that know and love you, most are generally happy. Those that don't have these things... those who are very poor or alone in the world... as well as those who have too much or want too much... where the drive for money over-rides everything else are not. It does have to do with dopamine... but apparently the conditions we find (or put) ourselves in affect this chemical. Exercise and laughter apparently increase the dopamine whereas stress and not enough sleep diminish it. Now... realize that I'm paraphrasing the whole program... but this is what I took from it.
What was interesting that I didn't know: they showed a circle chart where it showed the amount of... how do I phrase this.... maybe the *tendency to be happy we are born with* (50%) as well as the environment we live in (10%), and the leftover amount that we may have control over (40%). It was this 40% that we could play around with... by doing things we enjoyed, being around people we cared about, sharing... etc. And another interesting fact they mentioned was one's tendency to for want of a better phrase - *to pop back* after adversity. It was not always simple, but it did involve "choice".
I've seen this program, it's available on streaming video from Netflix. I enjoyed it very much. But even more, I love all those cute kitten pictures. They make me happy! :-)
ReplyDeleteI know... kittens do make you happy... actually babies in general make one happy. They are so cute and carefree!
DeleteThe kittens are adorable, we hope you're able to get the black ones for snipping/spaying when the time is right. And if you're not, at least you've given them all shelter and food. Ditto for your friend's barn cats.
ReplyDeleteObviously treats work as a distraction not only with the cats, but with granddaughters too. :-)
And the "Happy" program sounds interesting. Yes, there's a line between lack/need and having too much (thinking money, specifically). I know up to a certain point money *can* buy happiness, as you've mentioned, but past that point, then nope. I would think that line could be a bit different for everyone, though.
I absolutely believe in the tendency toward happiness being intrinsic or genetic or whatever. Exciting changes in our lives (like falling in love, a desired move or new job, house, etc.) can ramp up our "happiness" level, but eventually we all fall back to our norm.
I guess I always think back on that old quote... "appreciation makes what one has, sufficient" (or something like that)
DeleteKittens galore. I do hope it all works out well for you and the kitties. They are safe and fed so all is good. Your grand-daughter is adorable.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Deb. Watching the kittens play (as well as watching my grand daughter play) does make me happy.
DeleteI love the kittens in the flower pots. They are all adorable. The granddaughter with the ice cream tub is precious. She sure does know what she likes!
ReplyDeleteOh, yes. She definitely knows what she likes and what she dislikes also. At 18 months, the word "No!" is already in her vocabulary...
DeleteWe had a Cairn terrier who lived for her ball and games on the steps. Her game was the human threw the ball up, she retrieved, brought it to the head of the stairs and pushed it over with her nose with enough velocity to bounce smartly down the steps. The only end to the game was confiscation of the ball and removal to the mantle. I'm sure Cairns give over barking with displeasure at the end of a game sooner than little girls give over crying. :-)
ReplyDeleteTry ice-cream! It may work on Cairns too...
DeleteI think by your blog and this post...you are HAPPY :)
ReplyDeleteDee, I am... and I think it's easier if you find happiness in small things. You know this. I can tell by your writings.
DeleteWhat little beauties, Rian - your granddaughter AND the kittens. :-) I'm dying to see whether there will be kittens around when we arrive in France soon.
ReplyDeleteWhat you write about happiness is interesting. I find that as I get old contentment is what matters most to me as It seems to last better than happiness which can sometimes be fleeting.
I'm dying for you to get back to France and send us more pics of your place there... (and kittens too if there are some!)
DeleteAnd as for *happiness*, it's a matter of semantics. Contentment can be happiness, yes?
Will do. :-)
DeleteI think you're right about it being a matter of semantics. My dictionary gives one definition of 'content' as being 'quietly happy' which what i treasure most. Exuberant happiness is the fleeting kind.