Liz Eastwood, the founder and publisher of the Natural Cat Care Blog, featured my consulting practice in this interview. Thanks, Liz!
My Cats and the Maple Tree
There is a maple tree in front of my bedroom window. We planted it when we first moved into this house, almost thirty years ago. I’ve watched it grow into a beautiful, mature tree. This tree has been with me through a lot of life – through both joyful and challenging times. Each fall, it’s one of the last trees to turn, and when it does, it turns the most incredibly bright, vibrant red. When the light is just right, my entire bedroom is infused with a red glow from the tree.
The photo of Amber above was taken six years ago, when the tree was at its peak. This glory only lasts for a few days, then the leaves all fall off almost overnight. I look forward to the tree turning color each year – it’s such a constant in a life that is filled with so much change.Continue Reading
Allegra’s World: Top Ten Things About Allegra
After Ruby shared her top ten list last week, Allegra didn’t want to feel left out, so here is her “Top Ten Things About Allegra” list:
1. I love my Mom!
2. I love my sister Ruby, even though she can be a pain in the you-know-what sometimes.
3. I don’t like rainy days and thunderstorms.Continue Reading
Sunday Purrs: Embrace Change
Let go of fear, embrace change, and move toward joy. – Buckley
How do you feel about change? I have a love/hate relationship with it. I often think that one of the many reasons why I love cats is that they are creatures of habit who don’t like having their routines disrupted. I like my life, and I like my routines. At the same time, most, if not all, change in my life has always been for the better.
The reality is that, as the saying goes, the only constant in life is change. Ironically, most of us don’t spend a whole lot of time thinking about change, but we sure react to it.Continue Reading
Ruby’s Reflections: Top Ten Things About Ruby
No, Ruby did not start watching late night TV, but she insisted it was her turn to blog, and she wanted to share this list of “Top Ten Things About Ruby!”
10. I like sleeping on my back, with all four feet sticking up in the air.
9. I love my Mom!
8. I love my sister Allegra.Continue Reading
Sunday Purrs: Stop Rushing
According to a study by the Pew Research Center, 25% of Americans feel rushed all the time, and 50% do some of the time. What category do you fall in?
The times when we need to rush are actually a lot less frequent than we think. Rushing has simply become a habit for many of us, and many people even derive a (somewhat warped, in my opinion) sense of accomplishment from being able to say “I’m just so busy all the time!” When you are always rushing, your body is in a constant state of panic, which, in turn, has a detrimental effect on your mental, physical and spiritual health.Continue Reading
Allegra’s World: Rainy Days
Hi everyone, it’s Allegra! I’m writing this on a calm, sunny day – finally! After the earthquake and the hurricane last month, I thought we were done with scary weather, but apparently, not quite yet.
I had a bit of a rough week last week. You know by now that I’m not particularly fond of rainy days, especially not when it rains really hard. I don’t like the way the rain sounds against the house, and I’m really not comfortable being upstairs when it rains, because it’s that much closer to that annoying stuff falling from the sky. I prefer to stay downstairs, close to my safe space in the downstairs bathroom. When it gets really bad, I go in the shower stall behind the curtain. It’s my little safety cave.Continue Reading
Ruby’s Reflections: First Birthday
It’s my birthday today! I’m one whole year old – I’m a big girl now!
I can’t wait to see what Mom and Allegra have in store for me today. I know it’s going to be very special, because I’m special!
Graphic design by Robin A. F. Olson, Covered in Cat Hair
A Tribute to Bob Dole
On Saturday night, Bob Dole, my dear friend Robin Olson’s beloved cat, died peacefully after a long battle with cancer. He was surrounded by those he loved.
Bob was Robin’s mother’s cat. When she died unexpectedly five years ago, Robin took Bob in, initially intending to find a good home for him, because she already had multiple cats of her own. Bob had not received regular veterinary care while he lived with her mother (a regular topic of dissension between Robin and her mother). When Robin took Bob to her vet, he was diagnosed as FIV positive and diabetic. Continue Reading
Sunday Purrs: Summer Memories
Then followed that beautiful season – summer. Filled was the air with a dreamy and
magical light; and the landscape lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
How is it possible that it’s Labor Day weekend and summer is officially coming to an end? Even though we have warm and beautiful weather in my part of the world until well into October, there’s just something about Labor Day weekend that marks a passage. Temperatures may still be summery, but the quality of the light, and the feel of the air, are starting to subtly change and take on a hint of fall.Continue Reading
Allegra’s World: Earthquake!
It sure has been an exciting couple of weeks here since I last wrote. Earthquakes, hurricanes, my birthday, a Pettie win – I don’t even know where to start!
Last Tuesday afternoon, we were all just going about our business. For Ruby and me, that meant napping. For Mom, it meant doing some work on the computer. All of a sudden, this weird noise woke me from my nap. It wasn’t like anything I had ever heard before. Being the smart cat that I am, I immediately ran to my safe place behind the shower curtain in the downstairs bathroom. The noise didn’t stop, it only got louder. And then, the walls started shaking, and the ground under me was moving, too. It was really really scary. Mom was upstairs, and I could hear her crying out. I think she was really scared, too. Normally, when I get scared, I don’t come out of my safe place for a while, but I was so worried about Mom, I ran upstairs as soon as the house stopped shaking. I could tell she was pretty upset, she picked me up and hugged me and she was shaking. Ruby, on the other hand, didn’t seem to mind that things got all wobbly. She looked at me and Mom like we had lost our minds. I think she was more curious than anything else.
As if that wasn’t enough change from our usual routine (I like our routine! I don’t like change!), Mom left the house very early one morning, and didn’t come back for a very long time. At first, I thought she’d actually gone away to sleep somewhere else, like she’d done once or twice before. I got really suspicious when Ronnie, our cat sitter, showed up to feed us dinner. We love Ronnie, but seeing her usually means Mom won’t be back for a while, and I don’t like that at all. But thankfully, Mom came home at night, even though it was really late. It was so late that she didn’t even play with us before she went to bed! She said she was going to something called BlogPaws, and that it was important for our blog that she be there. I don’t like it when Mom is not home, but if her being gone is good for our blog, I guess I can live with it.
Then on Saturday, things got really weird. It was my birthday. Mom said she’d be gone all day again, so Ruby and I were going to party while Mom was gone! Unfortunately, the weather turned really bad really fast. Some lady named Irene was responsible for a lot of heavy rain and wind, and I’m really scared of the sound of heavy rain. So instead of celebrating my birthday, I spent most of it in my safe place in the downstairs shower. Mom came home earlier that day than she had been the previous two days, and that made me feel a little better. She came and checked on me throughout the evening and even in the middle of the night to make sure I was okay. I love that she did that. I was trying to be brave, but every time I tried to come out of the bathroom, it was just too scary. It finally stopped raining Sunday morning, and life was back to normal for us. Mom also didn’t go away again that morning, which made me really really happy.
The best thing that happened all week, even better than my birthday, was that our blog won a Pettie for Best Pet Blog! Ruby and I worked really hard to get people to vote for us, and we’re so excited that all that hard work paid off. Thank you to all of you who voted for our blog. We’re so happy and proud!
After all this excitement, I’m ready for a couple of weeks of peace and quiet and nice weather. And lots of naps.