Happy New Year (and Cats R' Us)

 

Ok, so I am having hard time getting into the "happy" part of "new year", what with having to face the reality of work and business...things that were quite successfully ignored for nearly two weeks over the holiday! In fact, I am currently ignoring work once again, but since it is, actually, a work day, I need to keep this brief.

Our Christmas lacked snow, but involved all the lights and decorations and family time we enjoy. It was a treat having my aunt, uncle, and cousins stay for a couple of nights right after Christmas - it made things feel a bit more like the memorable extended stays with our families at my grandparents' place every year. Nothing ever feels quite as magical and beautiful as the "good old days" at Christmas.
 

 

This year involved cats and kittens again, but this time I was not dealing with dying strays, dead raccoons, and rabies shots (I don't recommend spending a good portion of your Christmas vacation on multiple ER trips for a series of vaccinations).

 

Above is Mac with big sister Trillium. Below is peek at our little Chumley (whose brother and sister, McIntosh/Mac and Cider (now re-named), went to their home with friends of ours the week before Christmas). Chum's older brother and sisters - officially barn cats, but at least for the winter looking a lot like house cats - and his mama, Zinnia, are still around to keep him company. (As much as I love kittens, I do not like contributing to cat over-population, and was thankful that my work on building a relationship with Zinnia paid off in the fall, when I was able to capture her at last to have her spayed).

Miss Flora, our black and white kitty (who along with siblings Bud - who vanished just shy of 10 weeks old, Dandelion, and Trillium, was born in a flower pot in May) was the first to bridge the gap between barn cat and house cat, gazing in windows and wanting to be part of family life. She eats everything in sight, and with a variety of food needs what with underweight kittens and aging, finicky cats around, keeps us on our toes making sure there isn't too much extra food available for her to consume. She is an amusing companion, flopping to the ground for belly rubs, and dashing here and there. Her sister, Trillium, who never seemed to want much affection when living outdoors full time, has turned out to be quite a lap cat. Dan enjoys proximity to humans, but prefers not to be handled much. They are all sweet cats who are affectionate toward each other, and baby Chumley has lots of big siblings to snuggle with.

And in the workshop our mouser, orange tabby Agent 99 (inherited with the house), has extra company since the arrival of "The Smoke Monster", a large, black, fluffy, friendly stray beast with a chronic cold and injured leg.

Agent 99 continues to be quite happy outdoors, and our indoor cats, Motet (18) and Scat (16, brown tabby pictured below) are hanging in there. Scattie has experienced some neurological issues that have left her with a weak back end and apparent blindness, but she actually improved after the initial incident, and finds her way around, enjoying a good meal still. We were glad to have her with us this Christmas. Motet holds her own as well. She is pretty quiet, a bit picky with food, fairly deaf, but otherwise seems content and reasonably well.

We managed to get out for a hike at a nearby provincial park last week, and took a leap of faith by purchasing a winter membership. We went again later in the week, so only have to make it 3 or 4 more times before the end of March in order to make the membership worthwhile compared to the cost of day passes.

Ok, I fear for my work day now, as morning will soon disappear. However, a bit of reflection time feels good. Wishing you well as you, too, settle in to the new year. I trust it brings much peace, beauty, and growth.