MEET HERMAN aka TATTLECAT

Herman is known for intermewing his Anipal friends on his blog, but while we were waiting for a few of the interviews to come together, we decided to intermew each other:

Herman's Intermew

How old were you when you moved in with your family? Were you a rescue?

Not a rescue, I was a runaway. I loves to run, and so at 8 months old, I runned out of my house and kept running through the woods until I was good n lost. A very long time later...years probably!...I stumbled up a steep hill and saw a house that smelled like kittehs. And there was a little food on the front porch. So I ate it. It had spit on it, but at that time I wasn't pawticular cuz I was starvy. 

Anyway! I hung around, and this black and white kitteh tried to run me off cuz that was his job: to run off stray cats, as appointed by his boss, Moose, a tabby wif six toes. It was wintertime and very cold. My fur had gotten sticky and snarled and turned hard like a turtle shell. During a blizzard my future meowmy spotted me, called to me, and when I came, she took me inside the warm house n fed me. She also put me in a big cage in the kitchen cuz she didn't know if I...ya know...had an STD or sumthin. Then my future daddy came inside the house. I recognized him. He was wif that black and white kitteh who tried to run me off, and he threw a snowball at me, unknown to my future meowmy cuz if she had known, there would have been heck ta pay! She said to him, 'Meet James' and future daddy sez, 'He looks like a Herman.' So I became Herman James. I had to go to the vet where I wuz shaved nekked. But my new mom brought me home in a sweater and I've been happy wif her ever since.

Cloud Spectacular

A few days ago, after a hard rain, the sky turned orange at twilight. I went outside to see and was awed by the amazing clouds, picturesque against the blue sky. Over the next hour the clouds shifted, creating amazing shapes with gorgeous color. What amazed me was how my iPhone produced such vivid colors. Click "Read More" to enjoy the show.

Awthentik Anteeks

Last weekend Ray and I veered off the beaten path in Hernando, MS to check out a junk yard masquerading as an "antique store." Unless you are the American Pickers guys--or Ray--I can't see getting all that excited about the contents. However, I did enjoy my search for items marked $65. The good ol' boys who squatted at the back of the store in their worn overalls, chewing tobacco cud, seemed like they may have sat in those chairs since the time when their inventory was brand new. Sixty-Five Dollars seemed like their favorite number, scrawled in pencil on nearly half of the "antiques." Click "Read More" to view Awthentik Anteeks.

Devil's Tower...Ant Style

Another work of art by Mother Nature--you go girl! I found this on the side of my house last week, before Ray mowed the dickens out of the area and a storm blew the rest of the structure away. Sadly, they have not rebuilt.

Insect Spectaculous!

I have no idea what kind of bug this is, but when I saw it I was truly impressed by Mother Nature's artistry.

In Search of Shade

My cats are ... idiots!

Despite the insane heat we've had this summer, they all still insist they go outside. Usually I will release them in the morning while I eat breakfast, then call them in until late afternoon if not early evening. We have two yards, one very small and wood-fenced, and the other is open with no fences with a creek and woods along the back.

Today, I had company so the cats got to enjoy their yard the whole morning, well past noon before I thought to bring them in. I stepped outside to meet 92 degree heat, which frankly is tame compared to the over 100 we've had this summer. I also keep a box fan running for Chauncie, who spends 99% of her time in the small yard.

Anyway, I stepped out, and found an empty yard. Knowing they had to be somewhere, I went in search. This is what I found:

Cookie, sleeping behind the sofa. He's been quite ill and I know he enjoys the heat because it helps clean out his stuffy nose. He was easy to find.

Ray transplanted wild bamboo along the patio several  years ago. Usually it has ants. Opie, however, seems to have made peace with them.

And finally...

Finding Herman took some time. Like I said, not many hiding places, but he managed to find one anyway beneath the hydrangea, scorched from the heat.

If you'd like to share photos of your cats and their unique hiding spots, I'd be happy to post them.

Yum Yum: Not So Terrible After All

One year ago a feral stray Siamese (yes, both feral and purebred Siamese) arrived in my yard, looking for food. I never turn anyone away. Besides, she clearly was friends with Jesse, son of Peaches, born under my neighbor's deck the previous spring.

In fact...their friendship had progressed to the point of Yum Yum, as I called her, having kittens! Oh no!

OH HELL NO!