our backyard...

Our backyard is a a constant source of entertainment... whether it be feral cats and their kittens, wild birds, raccoons, possums, etc.   And I have to say that we are a constant source of entertainment for them also... as the outside critters enjoy looking in through the windows and french doors at us.  Not a day goes by that there isn't a little face staring in through the glass watching what 'life on the inside' is like. And I'll be truthful that I'm not sure who have the better life.  One may offset the other.  Our inside cats are safe from predators, disease, and cars... but they don't have the freedom and the joy of mingling with nature that the outside critters have.  However, they generally live longer lives... but possibly not as full. Which is best? I wouldn't begin to guess.

handsome crow

raccoons coming out of 'magic rabbit hole'

You need to click on this second picture to see what we call *the magic rabbit hole* from which all critters emerge.  My grand daughter once crawled down this herself and said it was pretty neat down there.

This particular mama raccoon has 5 babies and one is a runt.  He was so-oo tiny for a while, but seems to be getting bigger each day now.

the runt

She brings her kits up at least twice a day to eat, play around in the kitty pool or water bucket, and relax.  The youngsters want to play with the black and white kittens, but the mama cat won't allow it.  She hustles her kittens off to the side or steps in between them if the raccoon babies or mama get too close.

Now on to another subject.  When I got up this morning, it is my normal daily routine to say good morning to all the cats that have gathered in the kitchen by the Aga awaiting breakfast.  I sit on the floor with them, pet them, and give them all a little attention. Then I get up, give them each a treat, and make my coffee. DH will feed them in a few minutes. So I then take my coffee and head for one of 3 places; the den to watch the news (weather mostly), the front porch to sit out there and drink my coffee while watching 'the joggers' and 'walkers', or the computer room where I catch up on my blog reading.

This morning I happened to turn on the TV (it being Sunday) in order to "record" the Sunday night BBC Comedies that I enjoy (As Time Goes By and Goodnight Sweetheart). I record them since they come on so late... that on occasion I fall asleep and miss them.  Anyway, this morning when I turned on Public Television, Dr. Wayne Dyers was on giving a talk.  I don't generally listen to talks on TV, but I have read a few of Dr. Dyers books and do like his way of thinking, so I listened.

It was definitely interesting.  He talked about the importance of our *imagination*.  Something I strongly agree with. And he said something that I will remember... even though my subconscious mind is aware of this, my conscious mind tends to forget... "Don't let any one's good intentions or opinions affect your imagination."

He also said (and I'm paraphrasing) to use imagination like 'currency'.... to purchase what you want from life. Assume the feeling of your wish fulfilled. Feel it!

  Feel the *I am's*.

I am WELL!

I am CONTENT!

I am GRATEFUL!

I am LOVED!

So I will leave you with this thought.  Have a wonderful Sunday! And Happy Father's Day to all you fathers out there!

New turtle in town...

We have a new turtle... or at least one we don't recognize.  The one little male that we usually recognize has been marked with a tiny red heart on the far back of his shell.  This one I quickly ran out and marked with 2 tiny red stripes on the right side of his shell (see them?)... and I rewarded him with a strawberry. They like to come up and eat the dry cat food, but they also like figs and strawberries.

The 3 young black feral kittens were fascinated with him and kept surrounding him, but would run away when I got too close.  However, this black female who has been in and out our yard for years, came right up and checked him out.  She didn't seem to mind that I was taking pictures. 

Now I have to send this picture to my grand daughter who has a 'thing' for turtles.  She also has her own turtle website and club. As of this summer, she now owns 3 African dessert tortoises, one Red-foot, one Eastern Box turtle (that is from our yard), and 3 Red Sliders (not to mention 3 horses, 2 dogs, 3 cats, and at one time a squirrel, several toads, and 2 alpaca).  Yes, she has inherited my gene for loving all critters big and small.

I will close this today with one more picture of the raccoons that frequent our yard.  They come every morning and evening (and occasionally in the middle of the day), look in the back door (as you can see) and scratch and knock on it until DH goes out and puts more food in the plates. Last night there were 17 of them (most are mamas and their babies).  We really don't want to encourage them, but we do put catfood out for the ferals and don't discriminate. (It's similar to the squirrels and the bird feeders - all are welcome).

Our backyard is a certified wildlife habitat and even though we live in a suburban neighborhood, it is on a creek with a greenback and floodplain... thus, the abundance of critters. 

Sunday mornings



Jack

Sunday morning here.  I really like Sunday mornings... not sure why. It could be that it's the one morning in the week that I don't have to do anything.  You would think that now that we're retired every morning would be like that, wouldn't you? But even though 'the job' is no longer looming,  there are things that still need doing, errands to run, projects to get done, etc.  And since we're both 'morning people', we tend to try to get it done early... leaving the afternoon for that 'coverted nap' or possibly just sitting with a book and a cup of hot tea. It's taken me 66 years to have the time and freedom to do this and I'll defend my right to do this to the death (physically and literally). Weird, huh? I wonder if others feel this way?  Or is it just me?

Some Sunday mornings we go for breakfast, but since we were out with friends last night, we won't do this today. Meeting old friends that one hasn't seen in a while is always fun.  It's odd, we've all grown older and a little grayer but things fall in place like they always did, and it's like no time has passed at all. Magic.

BTW, I do believe in magic.  It's one of those things that make me me.  And even though I can't explain it,  I know it exists (or maybe I should say that it exists if you choose to believe). People get so caught up with semantics.  For me it's that feeling you get when you were a child on Christmas Eve (you could feel the magic in the air), or when you saw your baby smile for the first time...    it's those moments where the universe shifts... and nothing is ever the same again. 

Well, this can't be long today as I need to do some cooking a little later. We're grilling tonight and I promised to make some bread pudding with whiskey sauce for dessert.




Cats helping me get things together



No spring chicken...

Just came back from the doctor's.  Have been a bit dizzy and light headed the last few days and BP was low (100/50), so hubby (and others) thought I should make our family physician aware.  So I did. They didn't find anything. Took bloodwork (again! that's 3 weeks in a row now... but different doctors) and did an EKG. Actually they took 2 EKG's, one messed up (might show an enlarged atrium?), but the second was normal. So we're going to just wait and see...  (which is what I would have done anyway).

My BP isn't so low today... and I'm no longer feeling dizzy.  So, maybe I'm on the mend.  Or as I actually believe - it's just old age reminding me that I'm no spring chicken.  Whatever....

This site is basically about life after retirement, but I find it necessary to mention our cats to any readers that didn't follow my "Cats, Coffee, and Chocolate" website.  Their stories and pictures can be found there. They too play a big part in our retirement since taking care of 6 inside cats and a host of neighborhood ferals (and their offspring), use up a lot of our time.  I should say here that I was once a part of the Veterinary Medical field and hubby and I consider it our contribution to belong to the "catch and release" program.  Thus any animal that wonders into our yard (which is fenced and runs down to a creek) can find sanctuary, food, and water there. And if we can catch them, we will vaccinate, spay or neuter, and release.  However, some are not going to be caught.  That's OK.  We do what we can.