“There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky.”
– Percy Bysshe Shelley
Cats, even the cutest of kittens, have a killer instinct. It’s an inherited and hard-wired behavior put into practice by the time a kitten is barely a month old. Mother cats will teach their kittens to hunt by example using trilling and other sounds to indicate the type of prey brought to the den. When kittens are about four weeks old, she brings dead prey to teach identification of prey species and later live prey to teach how to catch and kill. Kittens soon learn to swat, pounce and scoop with their claws extended. They learn to bring the prey home to share as their mother did for them and to play with the prey.
As adults, cats will bring humans (mother substitutes) their bounty as a shared offering. Depending on what’s available, it could be an actual mouse carcass or perhaps a toy mouse in your shoe.*
*Excerpt from Cat Wisdom 101 – Cats: Hardwired to Hunt in 6 Steps
~ Comments are closed ~
To all the cats we’ve loved before
you beautify our wall decor
both with us and long gone
our love goes on and on
to all the cats we’ve loved before.
Our cat wall includes several images of Maisie and Vivian, our grandkitties Moochie, Ginger and Joey, as well as Padmé, Smoki, Sandy, Mitzi, and Timmy.
Missing from collection: Puff, Jinx and Tiger. Sorry, my kitties, I couldn’t find any photos of you!
Happy Sunday, everyone,
and Happy Thanksgiving
to my Canadian friends and followers!
Now that summer is drawing to a close and I’m back to work on my manuscript, coffee has once again become more vital to my daily routine. Yes, writers and their coffee is a cliché but with good reason. Many of us can’t live without it!
Straight up black is the way I drink it, preferably served in my favourite mug. I love the wide lip and pretty colours on this hand-painted beauty.
My writing brain works best in the early morning, so while I wait sleepy-eyed for the coffee to brew, I picture a caffeine-craving miniature version of myself swimming across the surface of a full cuppa java, gulping as I go. Mmmmm…
What goes best with a cup of coffee? Another cup.
– Henry Rollins
Do you love coffee as much as I do?
Black or with sugar and cream?
Or is tea your go-to hot beverage?
Please share with me below!
The old adage “good fences make good neighbours” is a wise one, and it is usually true.
And yet, some neighbours don’t have any.
The fences we had once upon a time are long gone,
with only rolling lawns between us now.
And more pleasant neighbours you would never find. W and M are the coolest folks.
(That’s our house in the background, and W’s new bird-house in the foreground.)
Grandma M’s pot will soon be overflowing!
…and those bloomers will be blooming.
Good one, W and M. Let’s just hope Maisie and Vivian don’t drive away your new feathered tenants – or worse!
All of this neighbourly talk brings this timely quote to mind:
Whether the borders that divide us are picket fences or national boundaries, we are all neighbors in a global community.
– Jimmy Carter
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
A sunset is the sun’s fiery kiss to the night.”
― Crystal Woods
“Sunset is a wonderful opportunity for us
to appreciate all the great things the sun gives us!”
― Mehmet Murat Ildan
***
I’m taking a short blogging break, friends.
Try not to do anything too earth-shattering
while I’m away – I’d hate to miss it!
Take care, and we’ll catch up in a couple of weeks.
Photo: Perry’s Point, March 2015.
First published here: Ephemeral
Comments are closed because my break has already started. 🙂
From our home to yours,
sending wishes for
a sweet and lovely Easter Sunday.
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?
Jennifer's Journal 