I Try My Hand at Poetry

Ode to a Kitty

I think that I shall never spy

A thing so lovely to my eye

As a striped kitten on the lawn...

But wait, I blinked and she was gone!

Oh lovely kitty, where did you go?

I'm looking for you high and low.

Come out, come out, and play with me.

Together we'll have fun, you'll see.

I know lots of games that we can play,

Like Hide the Kitty in the Hay,

Or Chase My Friend Around the Yard.

It's so much of fun, the rules aren't hard.

If Hide and Seek is your cup of tea,

Go right ahead, don't wait on me.

I'll cover my eyes and count to ten

And we will let the fun begin!

Ah, there you are, tabby dear,

I can see your twitching ear

Behind the bumper of the car.

Don't run away, you won't get far.

Through the bushes, up a tree,

Across the roof? You can't fool me!

Now you're on the front porch rail,

Showing me your bushy tail.

Ah, sweet feline, now it's time

To end this fun-filled game of mine.

Here comes My Boy, he has my leash,

So I will leave you now in peace.

Until next time...

~Tell

Slippin' and Slidin' and Cold Bottoms

Here are some photos of our recent storm. Though it looks like snow, it's made of sleet and frozen solid. Dad's big truck can drive across it and not even leave a track. We're glad he has four-wheel drive, because otherwise we wouldn't get to go for a ride this week at all. Mom doesn't "do" ice.

Here is My Girl's pickup. Yeah, that's not moving until July, is it? That's our house in the background, it's nice and warm.

Our guinea hens are not happy about the ice. They can't find anywhere to...well, do whatever guineas do all day. No place to peck at all. They ran around silly for awhile.

Finally, they flew into the icy trees and started to complain. It sounds like, "BuckWHEAT! BuckWHEAT! BuckWHEAT!" Guineas complain alot.

This sparkly tree was by the big barn. The ice glows in the sun.

More trees. This is a good place to explore. I spend a lot of time sniffing around here, but not today.


Finally, this is Nigel the fat cat. I guess the ice was cold because he seems to be sitting sidesaddle here. hee hee

I hope all your doggies and hammies out there are in a warm place today.

~Tell

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Yep, it's colder than a well-digger's hiney out there today. We had lots of sleet, even some lightening and thunder last night. It looks like snow until you step in it, then it crunches and whoops, there go your feet! We're staying inside and warm today.

Cap and I went in for our dentals last week. I did great and have a nice shiny smile, but Cap lost a couple more of his teeth and had three small tumors taken off his shoulder. The old geezer is slowing down and wasn't as quick to bounce back from the anesthesia this time around. He's been a bit mopey and lost a little weight, so Mom took him to work this morning. Going to work with Mom seems to cheer him up.

Mom's office cat, Bullet, is not so sure about having a D-O-G visit for the day. He's used to having the office to himself and manages it just fine without a dog sniffing around. He's sticking to the high ground until Cap goes home this evening. Can't you just see "Impertinence!" written all over his face? hee hee

~Tell

Pig Watch

College Kid dropped by the house last week for a few minutes. She was on her way to San Antonio, Texas. She is going to work for a very elite veterinary clinic that specializes in cats. Hey, I think that might be something I'd like to see, but she said we couldn't go with her. It was toooooo far for our tiny bladders to manage a car ride like that. Glynn likes College Girl quite a lot, so she was happy to see her even if it was only for a little while. Since this job is temporary and College Kid will be coming back in a few weeks, she asked if we could look after her cats while she was gone. Well sure, we told her. Be glad to keep those cats entertained while College Kid is out of pocket.

Besides the two kitties, we are also watching her Guinea pig, Hagrid. He was named after the giant in the Harry Potter movies, since he is a Guinea pig of "substantial size". Do you think there is a Substantial Guinea Pig Club out there somewhere? Anyway, Glynn is endlessly fascinated with Hagrid and can't seem to keep her eyes off him, so he has now been moved to Mom's office where he can enjoy a bit more privacy. Being a Guinea pig of few words, he's a nice, quiet companion for a working environment. That's fine, as long as he stays out of our basket of squeakies.

~Tell

Rum Tum's Tummy Tuck

It's been a week since Rum Tum's hernia repair, and he's home from the vet hospital now. Mom says the money for this is coming out of my allowance. I did make the suggestion that it would have been cheaper to just buy a mouse trap for the barn, but noooooo, The Family wanted their cat back. And it one piece, too. Go figure. I also said that there are people who pay big bucks for such a tummy tuck and would appreciate it, but my voice seems to fall on a lot of deaf ears at the moment.

While we were at the vet hospital, Mom was admiring some of the antiques things on display in the waiting area when she saw this contraption.

Looked painful to us, so we had to ask the Doctor what it was. Can you give it a guess? I'll let you know what he said in my next post.

~Tell

I Get No Respect

For a few weeks now, The Family has noticed that one of the barn cats has developed a hitch in his get-along. He walks a little funny, kinda like John Wayne, and has a large, hangy-down lump on his side. He's been a little hard to pin down so they haven't been able to investigate this oddity any closer until today. It hasn't seemed to bother him much. He still eats and lounges around in his striped jammies all day with the rest of the rat patrol, but this has been a bother to My Boy and My Girl. The Family wants answers.

This morning, My Girl was able to catch the tabby cat and he was taken to the veterinarian. And what did they find out? Kitty has a hernia. I myself think it happened because he wasn't lifting with his knees, but everyone else thinks something else. Can you see where this is going?

Yes, you're right. The finger is being pointed at me! Hey, just because I played tuggers with a cat one time, does that mean that I did this on one of my romps outside the yard? There is absolutely no shred of evidence to support this accusation. Nothing at all. They can't prove a thing, and the cat's not talking.



Now Mom is miffed because the cat is staying at the hospital, there will be a vet bill, probably a little physical therapy and recoup time at home, etc. Said cat will be waited on hand and foot around here until he's returned to outside duty once again. Much ado about nothing, I say, but nobody is listening to my opinion right now. Like Rodney Dangerfield, I get no respect.



Then again, it might not be so bad having a kitty in the house for a little while. Here, kitty, kitty, kitty...
~Tell

I Was a Bad Dog Today

It seems that I've done it again, and I'm being kept on a pretty short leash these days. Who knew cats didn't like to play tug-of-war? I never got that memo. Can't even blame this one on Cap, he was getting a bath at the time.

Detailing the rooster was one thing, but I got a finger shook at me and I was told, "No de-squeaking!" Sheesh! Can't a terrier have a little fun? Apparently not, if it involves Mom's favorite barn cats, who by the way, does NOT have a squeaker. Trust me.

In the doghouse again,

~Tell

Pansy's New 'Do

Look what happened to our calico cat, Pansy. She got a new new hairdo.

This is before...

And this is after...

I didn't do it. No, siree. Nope, Mom got tired of all that long, matted hair, and Pansy was getting cranky from the matting and itching. She was also hacking hairballs and was terribly uncomfortable. It's a fierce battle to brush her (Pansy spits and claws), so we got out the old clippers and -- Voila! -- Kitty feels much better now. She even felt good enough to pounce and play with the silk flowers afterwards.

Of course, we terriers are snickering behind her back. Pansy doesn't take redicule lightly and would just as soon slap us as ignore us. Best to lay low for the time being. You know, with my talent as an experienced chicken-plucker, you would think Mom would have let me have a go at fur. I could have removed that tangled hair pretty quickly...given the chance, even the poodle pom-pom at the end of her tail. But noooooo, nobody asked for my help.

But maybe next time...as we all know, hair (and feathers) grow back.

~Tell

Walk Around The Farm

Taking a walk around the farm is always fun. Of course, it would be more fun if we were turned off-leash, but Mom got tired of all the bare-bottomed chickens we left behind, so any time we go outside the yard she insists on restraints. Still, sniffing around the homestead is a great way to spend time because there's always something new to discover.

Here is Cap looking over one of the barn cats. All the female cats are named after flowers, and this one is Pansy. Pansy likes to roll over on her back and swat our noses. This is catspeak for "Bite me".After that, we travelled on and ran into another of the barn cats. Her name is Naked Lady. She pretty much told us the same thing Pansy did. Cats appear to have a limited vocabulary.

We met some new friends in the barn. These are My Kids' new show pigs. They are a couple of sweet girls but they don't have names yet. My Kids like to have cute names for the pigs for good luck. We've had a Tammy Swynette, Marilyn Monroe and Norma Jean. We even had one named Honeybuns. The mama of this litter is called Hamlet. Any suggestions?

After exchanging sniffs from the pigs (they sniff surprisingly rough for babies), we headed back to the house for naps. Exploring is hard work and we never quite get it all done. It's best to leave some for tomorrow.

~Tell