Something simple as I ease back into posting, hopefully more regularly.
Emeraldas with two of her purrimores*.
* Lexicographic coinage courtesy of Maggie.
My favorite bit is Watanuki’s right front paw there in front of Em. Despite appearances, she did not tear it off him, just casually plunked herself down on his leg. By the time I got the camera, she had started to ooze off. But the bright white paw really sets off her muzzle.
Those of you who are fans of Japanese animation–or have gotten too close to a fan–are, no doubt, familiar with the catbus:
Allow me to introduce you to a somewhat–actually, significantly–more sedate form of transportation: the cattrain.
This is what happens when the lead engine gets hooked up the wrong way around: no one goes anywhere.
I believe I’ve mentioned from time to time that Lefty has come a long way from the original raging, fearful bundle of fangs and claws he presented as when we first abdopted him from the yard. He still has his moments of hoomin-suspicion, but for the most part he’s a cheerful, cuddly creature.
His latest favorite pastime is to wait until I lie down on the bed, and then snuggle into my armpit.
I give him skritches and pettings, he gives me purrs. Works for both of us.
Until my fingers get tired and I stop patting. Then he reminds me that he’s still got those claws.
It’s a slow motion slap, taking a good five seconds or more, so I have plenty of time to resume the active cuddling before he makes contact. And even if he reaches me, he doesn’t dig the claws in, just rests them on my cheek–or tangles them into my beard.
You may have heard that it’s been wet in California lately. I’m here to confirm that the rumors are true.
We’ve had rainfall of biblical proportions*.
* Overstatement. It hasn’t rained continuously for forty days and forty nights (though it does feel like it). But there have been record-setting quantities of precipitation, and I suspect that more than a few residents of the Bay Area wish they had built arks.
Yesterday was the worst so far. Not in the quantity so much as in the special effects department. There was just a tiny bit of thunder and lightning* to go along with the rain and hail.
* Understatement. Multiple thunderstorms with massive, multi-second, literally house-shaking rolls of thunder.
We’ve been fortunate (picture me knocking on wood at this point). No flooding (other than a leak in the garage roof, directly over the spot where our phone line comes in), the foundations are still solid, the storm drains in our area are keeping up with the precipitation, and we haven’t lost power.
But I can say with no fear of contradiction that Bay Area felines aren’t used to thunder and don’t have a clue what to do about it.
Hiding seems to be a popular choice. Sachiko and Lefty disappeared into the master bedroom closet the first time the house shook and didn’t reappear until nearly dinnertime. Emeraldas vanished into an undisclosed location and wasn’t seen until this morning.
G’aw curled up in the Rose Cottage in the back yard, tucked his ears under his stomach and appeared to sleep through the afternoon storm.
‘Nuki, self-proclaimed master of the universe, slunk into my office making pitiful meepling noises and required a good fifteen minutes of snuggles before he calmed down enough to sink a couple of claws into my leg.
Kokoro’s been around long enough to have seen and heard it all; she woke up when the thunder hit, looked around, and went back to napping. Smart lady.
To be fair, Bay Area humans aren’t all that great with thunder either. My reaction has been to hold my breath, waiting for the lights to go out. Hypoxia was a real risk.
Reports say we’ve got at least another week of rain. Here’s hoping it doesn’t include thunder.
My computer is largely reassembled. So I intend to relax and take the rest of Thursday evening off.
Emeraldas and Lefty got to that point long before I did.
For individual and idiosyncratic values of “relax”.
I’m not sure how they wound up like this. Less than half an hour earlier, all four cats were snuggled together–the weather has definitely turned colder, and feline snuggling levels have gone way, way up.
Did Em get stroppy? Maybe, though I didn’t hear any feline politics.
It’s probably not a “she who smelt it, dealt it” situation: none of the cats seems particularly bothered when someone emits an unpleasant odor.
It can’t have been a male bonding ritual, because nobody had a drum.
Just one of those “you’re a hoomin, you wouldn’t understand” things, I suppose.
We all have our little quirks, felines as much as us two-legged sorts.
For example, Kokoro has a habit of complaining loudly before drinking.
Sachiko bunny-hops down stairs.
Watanuki burrows under any blanket handy (all the better to lurk in hiding until a vulnerable set of toes arrives).
Lefty, on the other forepaw, detests being covered. Even the tiniest corner of a thin cloth settling on his haunches will trigger a rapid leap away from the offending article.
None of which, of course, prevents him from creating a warm nest amidst the blankets, especially when it’s been pre-warmed by a biped butt.
It’s been four and a half years since Lefty took up residency–highly involuntary residency–in the catio.
At that time, I said “And if we thought MM was unhappy in the catio, Lefty took matters to previously unconsidered depths. He complained. He prowled around, shoving shelters out of his way, and generally created chaos. Nor, to be blunt, did he get along with MM. She wanted him in the catio even less than he wanted to be there.” And I also said “If he’s still relatively chill, we’ll see if we can persuade him to adopt an indoor lifestyle. It’ll be a long haul, and an awkward one … But it’s worth a try.”
And here we are. Much less awkward and certainly much less quicker than we expected, that scarred and scared bundle of teeth and claws has become an elegant, cultured panther-about-the-house.
Don’t let that solemn look fool you. He’s not pondering the whichness of what, he’s considering the best approach to extorting another chunk of fish from our dinner.
Has, as the saying more-or-less has it, got up and gone.
Even Lefty has more energy than I do right now.
And that ain’t saying much.
Koi Scribblings 