Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Lord of All He Surveys


Well, who's lording it here? Rocky, our big personality, aggressive Maine Coon cat is below the wall, staking out the field for chipmunks, mice, voles -- anything afoot. On the wall above him -- to the left in the photograph -- is a chipmunk scout sitting on Rocky's wall, watching Rocky stalking his family members. There is an opening in the wall close by to disappear into should the chipmunk need an escape. He lets go with a shrill whistle and is gone in a second.

Rocky, the dear dope, hasn't done the brainwork on this yet. He still thinks if he sits immobile by the the edge of the tall grass, the world of fresh kill will walk into his, well, claws and jaws. He hasn't learned that the whistle means the game is up and he can sit there until next Friday without a nibble.

To the confusion of cats!

Life Returning


Spring in our climate is an explosion. It's hard to remember today how much winter is a shutting down, a freezing up, a putting to sleep of of our six Connecticut acres. The first proof of spring are the sword tips of the iris shoots and the daffodil leaves. I love daffs, or narcissus as my Southern mother-in-law calls them. These in the picture have survived being forgotten, stepped on, or partly throttled by my efforts to plant something else on top of them. There they are daffing away.