Bloganuary prompt: What is something you wish you knew how to do?
…communicate (better) with other species.
I Wish I Could…
3
Tag Archives: cats
Creature Comforts
I’m awake. The cat has been sitting on my chest for several minutes now, grooming himself. You wouldn’t think of cat’s paws as anything but soft, but something hard is jabbing me in the ribs. Do cats have elbows? Sharp pointy elbows?
I shift pillows and comforter from the edge of the bed and summon my dog with a pat on the mattress. Sometimes he comes, sometimes he sits in the doorway of the bedroom and scratches himself, his back foot thumping a frantic beat on the hardwood floors.
When he deigns to join me, I lift my face so his sloppy greeting licks my chin and not my face. Then -usually – he turns his back on me and plops down, waiting for his back rub, or his “booty scritch” as I call it.
His luxurious coat is so soft, I bury my face in it and work my hand up the length of his spine and back down. He leans into the pressure, and turns his eskie smile on me. A pat on his bum, and a final smooch from him ends the ritual, and he hops to the floor.
Less nimble, I roll to the edge of the bed, sit up, place my feet on the cold floor,
and climb out of my comfort zone.
Bloganuary daily prompt: Write about the last time you left your comfort zone.
Tattle Tail
Last photo of April ’21
April is always my busiest month in posting thanks to the National Poetry Writing Month challenges that I try to participate in. I always think it’s going to energize me to keep up the momentum for the rest of the year, but that never quite pans out.
Last year, after posting daily in April, I averaged one post per month for the subsequent seven months. This year, I hope to perform better than last. I mean the bar isn’t that high, so…
I will be exploring new blog “challenges” this year, beginning with one I discovered on Manja Mexi Mexcessive‘s blog. The rules, as posted by the challenge host Bushboys World:
1. Post the last photo on your SD card or last photo on your phone for the 30th April.
2. No editing – who cares if it is out of focus, not framed as you would like or the subject matter didn’t cooperate.
3. You don’t have to have any explanations, just the photo will do
4. Create a Pingback to this post or link in the comments
5. Tag “The Last Photo”
The last photo I took on my iPhone last month:
WPC – Last Call
The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge will be ending as of this month, so for the final wrap up I am sharing some of my favorite photos that I have taken over the years. Some you may have seen on this blog before, some not. I hope you enjoy them.
The Daily Post weekly photo challenge: All-Time Favorites
To be, or never was…
I don’t get it, I say aloud
though no one’s in the room save the dog.
He tilts his head and gives me
that quizzical look that could mean so many things.
Or nothing at all.
Today I am impatient and so his sweet face doesn’t work its magic.
Go chase the cat, I tell the dog.
His ears perk up. Although he understands but a few commands —
and of those known obeys even fewer —
he jumps to his feet and scampers off, ostensibly in search of the cat.
I feel sorry for the cat and a bit mean for having made the suggestion,
but who really thought the dog would follow through?
I still don’t get it, I say aloud,
and this time there’s no one in the room at all,
unless…
the cat’s tail flicks out from behind the drapes.
Green eyes peer around a fold of cloth and lock me in a stare.
I heard what you just did, the cat seems to say.
I’m sorry, I mouth silently so as not to give his presence away.
I hear the dog sigh as he squeezes beneath my bed in the back room.
His favorite napping place. He has given up the game.
Cat is safe for now, but by his look I can tell I am far from forgiven.
I continue my soliloquy.
You know what I don’t get? This!
I point in the general direction of the glowing laptop screen.
Lines of text — some
short,
some longer — parade down the edge of the screen.
Sometimes a line or two
skips toward the center screen
as though it were the end dancer of a cancan line and missed a turn.
No rhyme nor reason.
Well, sometimes a rhyme. After all, it’s poetry, right?
Or so it self-proclaims. This is what I don’t get.
I don’t understand poetry. What makes something a poem,
and not just some random words stitched together
in seeming sincerity?
I’m too shallow, I tell the cat. He has come out of hiding
and jumps on the couch in hopes of securing a warm spot near the laptop.
Poetry in motion, that’s what they say about cats. Sometimes.
The cat meows in response and I press my finger to his lips to shush him.
Too late. The dog scrambles from beneath the bed and pads out to be with us.
No poetry in this dog’s gangly moves. Maybe he’s just a limerick.
Am I too shallow? I ask the dog and cat. They fail to reach a consensus.
Never mind, I say.
I return my attention to the keyboard.
I’ve gotta hurry up and bang out this poem
before I go to bed.
NaPoWriMo challenge, Day Ten: write a poem of simultaneity – in which multiple things are happening at once.
Weekend Wildcard: Cuteness Break
This past week has been a tempest of chaos on many fronts and in many parts of the world. We are in the midst of very stressful times, and with 24/7 media, it is easy to become overwhelmed by all the crazy stuff going on these days.
While it’s imperative to stay engaged — at whatever level seems right at the moment –, it’s also necessary to step back sometimes, unclench my jaws…
and look at photos of cute pets.
I know, I know… Facebook… Instagram… blogs… they’re glutted with fuzzy/furry/feathered little faces.
But you know what? I’m going to happily and shamelessly add to that glut. I’m going to indulge myself in cuteness overload. My blood pressure will thank me, my jaws might stop aching, and I might even lose that recently acquired eyelid tic.
Here’s hoping.
(BTW: Today is National Dog Day, but we’re going to let a couple of cats slip in here, too.)
Sebastian and Chules are hiding under the bed in response to my rendition of Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline.
Finnigan has a very colorful personality.
My cat Thursday is trying to look adorable so that I will feed her a second breakfast.
Chules is learning to play chess.
Bella in the snow
Sebastian is out from under the bed.
Chules and his buddy Brisco
Ahhh, I feel much better now.
I wish you all restful and pleasant moments this weekend.
Shalom.
What Rhymes with Stanza? 