Everest

 My grandson Callum has a new friend.... Everest.

So named because he is grey and brown and black and white, just like the mountain.

He's about 1 year old and is super friendly, super fluffy, and loves a cuddle. He came from the local SPCA as a homeless kitty looking for a place to hang his hat, and I think he's found the perfect family to take charge of and train to attend to his every need. He even bosses Badger the giant wolf dog around, so he's definitely moved in with authority. YAY Everest! Welcome to the family.

R.I.P. JoJo

A sad day for the family. Goodbye to fluffy little JoJo. She came to live at OlderSon's house in 2001, a tiny feral kitten found starving in a barn. She never really warmed up to being with people, and spent most of her time happily hiding in the basement. She started venturing upstairs a couple of years ago and eventually seemed to enjoy tolerate being petted, especially if the person doing the petting had some fishy cat treats on hand. JoJo, you will be missed.

Window on the World

As I ambled along the streets of downtown St John's this summer, I noticed that some of the residents are keeping an eye on things from the front window. It's comforting to know that the neighbourhood is under surveillance at all times.

But sometimes keeping your eyes open all day is just too much trouble, and you have to give in to the promise of a comfy couch nap in the sunshine.

Yawn...... purrrrr......

Back to St John's

I was away from home for a couple of weeks in July and then, when I came back, the blogging mojo seemed to get overwhelmed with other stuff. But here goes....
I was in my favourite place... the city of St. John's on the rocky island of Newfoundland on Canada's east coast, house sitting and cat sitting for vacationing relatives.
And here are the cats, Captain Bob Bartlett (the saucy white one with a tiny paper heart stuck to his nose!) and Miss Thing (the serious one). They live together but they don't really like each other.

St John's has become a favourite vacation destination in recent years, probably due to a very active and innovative Tourism Association. The place was bustling with people from "away".  There are very few flat roads in the downtown area. This city was built on steep hills surrounding a deep harbour.  I seemed to be walking uphill all the time!  Good for the legs.  The downtown houses are mostly built of wood, and are painted some wonderful colours.... have a look.

Perhaps some of my photos may persuade you to visit Newfoundland one day.... it's such a beautiful place. More pictures to come, and for previous year's visits to St John's just click on the Newfoundland link below.

Here kitty, kitty.....

I've heard of a junk yard dog, but never a cat. Can you find the black and white kitty on the junk pile?


Photo borrowed from somewhere on the internet.
See the comments for a hint!

Kittysitting Duties

The nice people who live next door have gone to chase the sunshine in Florida for a couple of golf-filled weeks, and have left me in charge of their three furry friends.

Bobby, Beau and Bonnie are two big brothers and a little sister. (Well, she's not so little actually!)

Bobby and Beau are super friendly and greet me at the door like a long lost buddy when I arrive, but Bonnie isn't so sure that she likes me letting myself into her house, and she prefers to scoot under the table or behind the chair.

But I'm gradually winning her trust.

Of course, it helps a lot when she remembers that I'm the only one capable of opening the tins of cat food.

(BTW, it's a special day today, my grandson Callum is TWO! Happy Birthday Callum! Party time and birthday cake tomorrow.... WOOHOO!)

Leon

Leon lives with OlderSon and The Equestrienne.

He's such a schmoozer. Always looking for attention.

...and the Cat came back....

Remember this blogpost back in October? Susan was giving her shed a facelift, but her new artwork left something to be desired. What was it? There's something important missing. Ah yes.... the cat!

Can you spot the addition?

Here he is, a little closer.

He doesn't look very happy to be shut in the shed.

Leon

Some people love to be the centre of attention, we all know one or two, don't we, always telling jokes or slipping on banana peels. Does this apply to cats too?

Leon doesn't know he's a cat. He thinks he's a stand-up comedian. He's convinced himself that his mission in life is to entertain an adoring public.

Leon was a wild cat. He was taken in by an elderly lady, but when she moved to a retirement home a few years ago, she was only allowed to bring two cats, and Leon was number three, so he came to live with OlderSon and The Equestrienne as JoJo's step-brother.

He's expert at falling off the bed, falling off chairs, falling off knees, falling off anything. He can turn somersaults on the carpet, and make funny noises at the same time. And the more you look at him, the more he loves to go though his roly-poly vaudeville routine.

Quite a character. What he really wants is a booking at Yuk-Yuks.

First two phots by OlderSon... see, I give credit where credit is due!

JoJo

On a visit to OlderSon and The Equestrienne's house, I consider myself lucky if I catch a tiny glimpse of JoJo. She's not a lap cat. She stays in the basement, only reluctantly showing her face upstairs if she hears the rattle of the kitty treat bag.

Her mother was a feral cat who gave birth to a litter of kittens in the wild. JoJo was the only kitten to be caught and brought home. Nobody knows what happened to her brothers and sisters. That was almost seven years ago, and she's still very nervous around people.
She'll never change. Her mother taught her well.

Trompe d'Oeil

A couple of blocks away, there is an old wooden shed with double doors that has been painted up with a Trompe d'Oeil design that I had often admired, so we biked over there to take a pic, and this is what we found.....

Susan, the artist, paint scraper in hand, had decided that the five years that her design had graced the doors was long enough, and it was time for a facelift.

I decided to record what was left... the topiary bushes either side of the doors....

... and the black and white guard kitty that kept watch through the seasons.

Why did she choose that particular day to scrape the doors?

Why did I choose that particular day to take the photo?

I think it was serendipity..... after talking to Susan for a while, I discovered that she makes and decorates wedding cakes, and I have been desperately looking for someone to ice the cakes for The Wedding, so a deal was struck, and I'm taking the cakes to her next week!

Perfect timing.

Susan has finished transforming the shed, here it is today with it's new look.

and a detail of the garden planter boxes.

I miss that black and white kitty.

Which design do you like best?