He meowed to show me this...

That morning I was indoors and the door was open, the way it usually is.
I heard his repeated meows, gentle but persistent.  I finally decided that the cat was summoning, and so I went out to see Mr Sweet Pants with his lizard.

Wow!  "Good Boy", I said.  This must be his first lizard!

He looked at it,

touched it with gentle paws to make it move,

held it in place gently when it wanted to run away,

watched it with curiosity,

tried to engage it in some game!  This went on for quite some time.

I have to admit that I have yet to see a more relaxed lizard.

He picked it up gently to move to another place for chasing, he sniffed it and kissed it.

Clever boy placed his paw on the tail just to make sure.

A very lazy lizard, thought Augustus to himself.

Finally, he decided that this was not all that interesting, and shared this with me,

“Learning to let go should be learned before learning to get. Life should be touched, not strangled. You’ve got to relax, let it happen at times, and at others move forward with it.” 

― Ray Bradbury

which I found to be too profound for a cat.

Ollie thought that this was all too strange, and did not know what had to be touched and not strangled.

The two wondered "what next?"

I thought it interesting that their genetic information bank did not have much information on lizards but a lot on birds, fish and mice, bugs, butterflies and rabbits.

Cat boys sent you sweet greetings!

Ciao everyone!

PS- the lizard was not harmed and went its merry way later that day

Loving those cat boys with all my might...

It was a rare quiet moment one November morning, and might I add that not many people know the actual value nor the meaning of quiet.  I was invited to go out for a roam, something the neighbors still find odd after all these years.  Some cat things were done, including cat kisses,

cat strolls in seemingly random directions,

expressions of astonishment at a thought that might pop into one's head for no reason,

expressions of curiosity at what the other kitty was thinking about.

I captured a shot of this rose just to pretend that I was admiring roses and not really loving those cat boys will all my might.

So some days in future when I look back on this day, I will know that it was marked not by where I lived and what the skies were like that day but by the quiet love that permeated the surroundings, by the richness of the animal human bond that was gifted to me.

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.” 

― Anatole France

Cat boys send you December greetings!

Ciao everyone!

November strolls

On this particular morning Gussy examined Ollie closely...I think Ollie had tuna on his breath.

The rose in the courtyard looked particularly lovely until I noticed that is was hosting a bunch of bugs under its petals...so sad.

The big Orange was running around hastily, a new strategy he has devised to confuse his brother Augustus, and to disappear for the day.

I have told MrLittleJeans that he should try to hire people like Ollie who are so anxious to go to work each day...he is truly remarkable!

Augustus told me that he knew what Ollie was up to and that he just played along so his younger brother would feel good.  He knows the hiding place quite well.  I laughed at his funny face.

Moments later Augustus was himself distracted by could-it-be possibly mice..., and our neighbor confirmed that she has a lot of mice.  I felt concerned.

Later that same morning Augustus Sweet Pants tried to show me one of his ancestral poses.  He is a rock star!

It is Friday all too soon...
Work is busy all too much...and yet, magically, we love it.  I am pretty sure we do.  Hmmmm??

When we are busy we cannot think of words too much, they become unnecessary, how could that be, but it be...it be!

We wink at each other a lot.  Cat boys send you love and best wishes for a happy weekend...let's see if we can do this again soon.

Ciao everyone!

October 28, 2014

While the evenings might give the impression that life is still in our household, judging by an upside down Mr Puffy Pants (aka Ollie and Gingerella),

and the boys/men in the family room defining a triangular plane,

and Mr Puffy Pants again, now fallen on another corner of the plane,

and Mr Sweet Pants, the precious one,

and the still plants out in the patio,

this impression is certainly not accurate.

Mr Sweet Pants had earlier the same morning brought home a present, which he dropped readily by the front gate of the condo.

Gingerella who was indoors with me heard the plop and ran out.
He did not need to go to any school to instantly recognize the fellow who was staring right back at him.

By then, I too discovered that a mouse was by our door and went out to make sure he would not enter our house.  I heard the big growl of the Orange one, and that made me laugh.

The boys grabbed the mouse and released it out in the greenery outside of our complex, and commenced playing.  They would let loose the mouse and grab him again until he found a way to disappear.

Augustus

and Ollie stayed there, patiently, silently,

behaving much like their ancestors would.

They roamed

and searched

and remained silent.  What a thrill!

It has been such a long time since we last visited, and it might be another long stretch before we visit again.  We frequently wonder how we had time to visit in the past and what happened because we continue to walk, meditate, read and reflect together as a family.  Well, no matter what, why, and how...the cat boys sent their best wishes.

We were reading this by the way.

And indeed there will be time
For the yellow smoke that slides along the street,
Rubbing its back upon the window-panes;
There will be time, there will be time
To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;
There will be time to murder and create,
And time for all the works and days of hands
That lift and drop a question on your plate;
Time for you and time for me,
And time yet for a hundred indecisions,
And for a hundred visions and revisions,
Before the taking of a toast and tea. (Eliot)

Boys love Eliot!  Cat boys send love!

Ciao everyone!

Spring is here all too fast...

even though not fast enough for those who have endured a long and hard winter.

The skies that cover our complex belong to heavenly places, we are so thankful for the blues and greens and the white smeared above us.

Down below a few flowers adorn the beaten land of our back yard only once a year and that seems to be just enough, making us appreciate their beauty even more.

Two cuties pies were exploring.

Cat boys were thinking about this

"For intellect conceives not save limited things. Verily, bound by the realm of limitations, men are unable to gaze upon things simultaneously in their manifold aspects. Thus it is perplexing for them to comprehend that lofty station. No one can recognize the truth of the Middle Way between the two extreme poles except after attaining unto the gate of the heart and beholding the realities of the worlds, visible and unseen."

--The Báb, The Gate, Spiritual Teacher

and when they shared it with me I thought I had no idea what they were saying.  That's what I get for sending the boys to ashrams were they obviously meditate a lot and become acquainted with the abstruse!

Cat boys send you big purrs and little purrs....

Ciao everyone!

...when plans change

When Gussy looked back on our way out yesterday I knew I had to follow his gaze.

Behind, Ollie was rolling on the floor seemingly practicing a good back stroke probably because it had rained some days ago.

Then he pretended to be an opera singer, a worth effort in my opinion because he has the most beautiful vocal cords.

Augustus said that he could not look anymore.

 Then he checked with me to see what to do.

 Ollie showed me a good portion of his beautiful tongue to indicate that he was not delirious.

 Augustus thought he'd better check for himself.

 Then I found the two of them rolling on the ground.

 Augustus tried to peel off the ground

 and escape.  Next we heard the parrots on the tree outside the complex and the cat boys were off to check these birds pronto!

Sometimes we step out with the intention of observing, reading, and reflecting, and we succeed.  Other times, a certain orange cat starts playing and the plans change.

In my feline excursion that day I was thinking about this:

"I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay undiscovered before me."- Isaac Newton.

I am certain we all have experienced the pleasures of discovery and pondered over magical mysteries.  Cat boys said that they had.

The weekend is around the corner.  Enjoy.  Cat boys sent you kitty kisses and purrs!

Ciao everyone!