Category: Animals

A Brief Summer Hiatus

Published on by J. Kelland Perry32 Comments

It’s that time of year again, when hubs and I gear up to leave home for the required and much-anticipated summer getaway. I will be adding on an extra week myself, starting tomorrow, to stay with my grandchildren while their parents fly off on a vacation of their own.

After that, my days will pretty much belong to me, to indulge in the things I like besides writing and blogging. Time to explore, relax, and enjoy the summery season for a spell. Time to do lots of reading, visit friends and family both in and outside the capital city, and find new moments of inspiration through the lens of my camera. You might catch a glimpse of me on other social media, but I’m going to try my best to keep that to a minimum too.

Here are a few of my backyard snaps from past summer posts, as well as a new video from a few days ago.

Vivian the beach bum
A nice kelp-free spot on our beach
The extreme tip of Perry’s Point
Neighbour Ben Perry’s buoys

***

The northern gannet is a seabird, the largest species of the gannet family.  Photo Source: Wikipedia

Northern gannets employ an ingenious way to fish for food. They “corral” the fish by flying around together in a circle over the water where the fish can see them. The fish school tightly together for safety, but that’s when these birds plummet, diving deep into the waves to catch them. Sorry for the blurriness, but it was a quick capture with my iPhone. Short and sweet so don’t blink!

Please turn up your volume to hear the gannets in their glee.

Stay safe and have fun, everyone,
and I’ll catch up with you in August. 🙂

What are you doing this summer for a change of pace?

La Gatta

Published on by J. Kelland Perry19 Comments

Check out pretty little Pippa. She was the resident cat at La Sorgente*, the bed and breakfast we called home during our visit to Baveno and Stresa in northern Italy.

Fun feline fact: the Italian name for “cat” depends on its gender. A female cat is “la gatta” while a male is “il gatto.”

La Gatta in Stresa

“In the little cat’s eye that sees my soul and stares into my heart,
there is nowhere to hide. I see my reflection.” – jenniferkellandperry.com

“Happy is the home with at least one cat.” – Italian proverb

*La Sorgente Bed and Breakfast is near the Alps and on the shore of the beautiful Lake Maggiore. I highly recommend the area as an Italian destination. 

Happy Maisie

Published on by J. Kelland Perry25 Comments
Our Maisie

One of the best things about a vacation?
Coming home to a face like this.

Both kitties were overjoyed at our return,
as if we were gone for a month!

“One small cat changes coming home to an empty house to coming home.”
– Pam Brown, Australian poet

Cee’s Fun Photo Challenge: Happy

It’s Springtime Somewhere!

Published on by J. Kelland Perry1 Comment
Sunday Snap: It’s Springtime Somewhere!

While many of you are appreciating warmer weather now, it’s still pretty chilly in our region and our cats are getting a touch stir crazy. Yes, they’re allowed to go outside year-round, but fur coats or not, they aren’t too enthused about staying out in the cold for very long. 

I promise you, Vivian, although it doesn’t seem so, spring has indeed arrived. Before you know it, the snow will disappear, the grass will turn green, and you and sister Maisie will be back in your favourite place: outdoors on Perry’s Point, prowling around.

This is one of my best-loved photos of her. I like everything about it, but particularly the background and the way her hind feet are still perched on the post.

This and other photos of Viv in the garden originally appeared here: Vivian’s View From Here: On The Prowl

Have a lovely Sunday, everyone!

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Blogger Bouquet #51

Published on by J. Kelland Perry

I’ve been a follower of Hands On Bowie for years, ever since I first laid eyes on its namesake, a beautiful British Shorthair cat who hails from Belgium.

Mr. Bowie the cat is sometimes photographed in colour and at other times in sumptuous black and white. Herman is the blogger and photographer.

From the About page:

“The basics you need to know: HoB is about Bowie, Mr. Bowie, (a British Shorthair, not David Robert Hayward-Jones) & me, the guy behind the guy behind the cat, a comeback electronic musician … I’m not a real photographer. I’ve got a beautiful model.”

I chose the following post to highlight because it shows off Mr. Bowie’s garden too.
Check out this sweet boy!

Is It Safe?

Comments are closed here but you can leave a comment on the blogger’s page.

Have a great weekend, everyone.
❤

Sea Star

Published on by J. Kelland Perry19 Comments

seastar

Sunday Snap: Sea Star

There’s treasure children always seek to find
and just like us
you must have had
a Once-Upon-a-Time.*


Did you know? Marine scientists have replaced the starfish’s common name with sea star because it’s not a fish. It’s an echinoderm, closely related to sea urchins and sand dollars. There are 2,000 species of sea star living in all the world’s oceans. The five-arm varieties are the most common. Sea stars have an eye at the tip of each arm.

Common name: Starfish (Sea Stars)

Scientific name: Asteroidea

Type: Invertebrate Carnivore

Average life span: Up to 35 years

Weight: Up to 11 lbs

– source: National Geographic

 

*from Curtains by Elton John & Bernie Taupin

Sunday Snap: Welcome

Published on by J. Kelland Perry23 Comments

Maisie and Vivian,
our welcoming committee.

“Time spent with cats is never wasted.” ~ Sigmund Freud

I love cats because I enjoy my home;
and little by little, they become its visible soul.
~ Jean Cocteau

“Books. Cats. Life is good.” ~ T.S. Eliot

Do you have any furry friends who greet you at the door?

Flippery Friend

Published on by J. Kelland Perry2 Comments

Turn that frown upside down, little fellow.

Seals have been paying us frequent visits around the Point this winter.

I’ve shared snaps of a recent visitor on Instagram this week, as well as a little whitecoat on an earlier Sunday Snap, but today’s pic is a favourite from the post Calm in 2016.

I’ve lost count of how many times this particular photo has been pinned on Pinterest.

Wishing you all a pleasant week, my friends!

Snow & Ice

Published on by J. Kelland Perry29 Comments

“Our familiar garden by the sea has transformed . . . each bramble and bush laminated in a thick, crystalline coat, every amber blade dressed in its stiff raiment of frost. With a watchful step, I venture out on the crust of snow.” – Jennifer Kelland Perry, Endless Chill

Has winter arrived in your backyard?

The Cutest Ornament?

Published on by J. Kelland Perry27 Comments

Our grandkitten Joey is going to be the cutest ornament on the tree this Christmas – that is if and only if the tree survives his yuletide antics!

My daughter (who snapped this pic) said the little rascal climbed to the top in under half a minute, and in the space of twenty minutes he climbed it eight times.

Readers: Any pet pointers for this pressing pussycat problem ?
Please post below!