Friday, March 14, 2008

Critter time, once more

Yesterday at the Community Center, I had the best luck I've had in ages, getting a good portrait of a ubiquitous local bird, the house finch. This male fellow was flexing his abs, doing look-out duty while the little woman picked up nesting materials down below. Ultimately, he decided to join her & took off; in my picture of the event, he appears to be in free fall...

Only too often, when I choose to write about a bird adventure, I'm forced to work with subsidiary pix, such as these yummy juniper berries which, together with the pyrocantha berries (long past their prime), have finally enticed a lone robin to take up residence and get fat. I flush him regularly when I head down my stairs; today, he was in a tree next door, singing his little heart out to let a lady know about his bonanza. Thus far, no takers.

Of course, a nest is another bird-object that will sit still for a portrait. Especially easy before the blossoms burst open on this tree.

However, I did say "critters", as in plural. On our recent trip down Wagoner Road south of town, Georgene & I had to wait while a crew of cattle moseyed across the pavement. Neat little guys, aren't they?

More little ones. Javelina, of course. The collared peccary breeds in all seasons, so you're likely to see youngsters at any time of the year. They seem to come in pairs.

Now for a more domestic scene: pick-up truck dogs. Three of them, looking noble as only dogs can do.

And as long as I am picturing other peoples' animals, here's my very own Max cat. As all cat keepers can testify, felines get strange ideas fixed in their heads. Max, for example, is convinced that any water is better than the water in his dish. He insists on drinking from my glass and will, if I'm not careful, knock the glass over to get at the water when it is too low for his tongue. He also favors water direct from the spigot. If he spies me heading in the direction of the bathroom, he comes trotting up to get his fresh drink.

In closing: aren't these the neatest critters you've seen recently? A chess board over at the Community Center. Not sure how I'd recognize the pieces without a program, though.

Still More Critters: SOLB reports on the time her husband made friends with a young javelina ... Sally Anne was visited by a Carolina wren ... over in Frogtown, the school kids did a major dinosaur project ... and I can't talk about my cat without letting Cat-A show off his set of three.

14 comments:

  1. Max is such a handsome chap! I think perhaps cats like water in a glass because somehow it resemble running water.

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  2. Anonymous7:43 AM

    Those dogs have star quality. Sign them up for a commercial or a Disney movie.

    As for the cat...well...

    I'll bet somewhere in your archive, if I knew how to find it, would be a photo of a cat decorating an antique book store, like only a cat can.

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  3. Fun pix! I love the wild pigs. But those cows belong to someone - aren't they (the owners) worried they will get hit by cars? I would be.

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  4. Anonymous9:49 AM

    Great pix, GJ!

    Maybe Max Cat would like one of those kitty "fountain" water bowls? If you have a birthday coming up, or create a special Max Cat Day, perhaps someone will buy one for Max! They are a bit "spendy".

    My sis and b.i.l. took corned beef and cabbage to go last night from Celtic Crossings (Gateway Mall). Yum!

    Will you have a special St. Paddy's Day post on Monday?
    ~Anon in AV (part Irish)

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  5. Anonymous10:49 AM

    Your cat must be a character. Enjoyed the photos.

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  6. lucy -- isn't he, though! As for the water, I'm sure it is merely one more way of asserting membership in the family of man.

    boonie -- never ran a bookstore,but you might checkout Cat-A. BTW, your blog is not accepting my comments this AM.

    juliar -- open range country & the road is used primarily by ranch people. Very little traffic, though killing a bovine critter is a High Crime in these parts.

    anon av -- already did my St. Paddy Day post back a few days. I'm saving pix up for early Easter. The corned beef & cabbage sounds great -- beats green beer.

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  7. Anonymous12:58 PM

    My B.C, Monster, who is part Siameeser, also likes his water anywhere but in his water dish. Like Max, he thinks I go into the bathroom to furnish him with fresh water. He parks himself on the washbasin edge while I brush my teeth, waiting. If I take to long he starts bitching until I run some water for him. He also will help himself from my water glass. And I really hear it from him when it's not what he expected.

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  8. steve -- yes, Max has plenty of character; despite having been decojoned at a very early age, he still considers himself an Alpha Cat & me a subservient female to be ordered about.

    jean -- I've heard that Monster is similar to Max in that way. Welcome, by the way.

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  9. Nice post, GJ. I do love the critters, and Max is definately the head of your household! My Mom has a similar problem with her little dog. The other night we were on the phone when Mom said, "I have to hang up now. Sadie is barking at me telling me it's bedtime."
    Thanks for the link:)

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  10. brain -- I allowed Max to sleep with me for a couple of afternoon naps; lo and behold he began to nag me at about 3:30 in the afternoon, not to go out or for water, but because it was obviously nap time. Oh, how fast a habit gets set!

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  11. Max is a very handsome boy!
    I enjoyed this whole post. Thankyou for the quilts they are fantastic.
    I am fascinated by Javelinas & this pic is a good clear one.

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  12. meggie -- thank you for your frequent visits & comments. I enjoy them all!

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  13. What a wonderful post! It has one of just about everything.

    Those quilts were truly beautiful. Makes me want one. They were always works of art, IMO - although, like any art form, the quality varies with the artist.

    These are quite different from the old ones. They're all beautiful in their own way, though. I love that dark one, too.

    And the critter pix are fabulous. The house finch - wow!

    Max makes me miss my cats. I used to love to go to bed with them. Little April wanted to *nest* in my hair, kneading it and nuzzling like they do. I'd take my hair down from the bun every night just for her.

    And her son Babycat, the one who died in July 2006 at the age of 22, had particular nap requirements of his own. He got quite firm about them after April passed away in 2002. He'd bug me to go take a nap if he felt it had been too long in between them.

    If I said, *Babycat! Let's go take a nice NAP!,* he'd bounce into the bedroom all happy and jump up on the bed. Start hollering for me if I took too long to join him.

    I'd taken to leaving a heating pad on the bed for them years back for their arthritis. Babycat had a little pillow he'd lay his head on, and then stretch out on the heating pad next to me in bed for our nap. Then I'd lay my hand next to him, palm up, and he'd put his paw in it and we'd hold hands until I fell asleep.

    I had the sweetest cats in the world.

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  14. k -- good to have you back! I hope I have Max for as long as you & Baby Cat were friends! But imagine how old I'd be!

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