Tag Archives: cats

My Big Announcement

Posted on by

I told you that I would have an announcement for you before the end of January and today’s the day. I actually had hoped to be ready by January 16 but nothing ever goes as planned.

You know I love to take pictures but in less than 2 years I have thousands! I felt there must be some way I can use these pictures because I certainly can’t put them all in albums and I know I’m not going to stop taking them.

At Christmas I made up a bunch of Christmas cards using my photos instead of buying the mass-produced kind and they were a real hit. That got me thinking. Maybe other people would like cards like that.

So I searched online and looked in stores and got ideas and decided it was worth a shot. So I am announcing my new venture:

dustyroadsphotos.etsy.com

I have a few cards in the shop now and it is open for business. I will be adding more on a regular basis. I even have a Year at a Glance calendar.

A couple of cards round out my beginning inventory. And yes , Rocky and Smokey will be on some upcoming cards too. My furry little models.:)

I hope some of you will stop by the shop especially as it grows. you never know, maybe something will catch your eye!

The Smartest Kitties in the World

Posted on by

Everyone thinks they have the smartest pets  in the world and I will admit that my cats don’t jump though fiery hoops or anything like that. Still my babies are pretty smart.

You’ve all met Rocky, our editor  in chief.

Editor in Chief

 In addition to “editing” he also types and points where the cursor should go on the screen. He opens doors and cupboards and linen closets. He even  figured out how to open the “trifold” doors on the closets. He also likes to watch TV, especially sci-fi and nature programs. He comes when called and will play “fetch” when he feels like it.

He even helps me pack for my trips!

 All in all he’s pretty entertaining.

Smokey is a bit more laid back but I don’t think he should be short-changed in the smarts department. Smokey knows his name and comes when called. He is a natural alarm clock and starts poking me in the face with his paw about 5 minutes before the alarm goes off.

Smokey will play a little but would much rather cuddle up on the couch. He’s not as interested in watching the computer screen or the TV but he’ll sit and try to type all day if I let him. Those little keys really fascinate him.

Now I want to take a trip back in time to when Rocky was a kitten and Smokey was a newcomer to my household. I lived in an apartment in Randolph and the fire alarm was always going off. We even had fires. When that alarm would go off the cats would disappear to parts unknown and my fear was that if we really had to escape, I’d never find them. I did not want Smokey living up to his name or Rocky turning into a “crispy critter”.

So I practiced (with lots of chicken and turkey bits) to get them to run to their carriers when the alarm went off. Rocky, being a kitten, learned the quickest.

 Smokey , in his rebellious teenage cat years, still preferred the far corner under the bed but sometimes he’d cooperate. They got pretty good at it too. Then I moved to Taunton and life went on but I never got back into the “fire drill” mode.

So we’ve been living in Taunton now for around 6 years and I’ve never  once practiced those old skills. In fact, as long as I’ve lived  in this condo the building fire alarm has never gone off …at least not when I’ve been around…until Saturday night!

The alarm went off about 11:30 pm. The cats jumped and I jumped and then both cats just looked at me. I said “Fire” and pointed toward the bedroom where I keep their carriers. They started in that way  with me right on their heels. I put both carriers on the bed and they hopped right in.

I zipped them up, pulled on my shoes and jacket and we were out of the place in less than 5 minutes. When the fire department gave the all clear and we were back inside, I gave them some treats because I was so impressed!

Well it wasn’t over. About 1:30 am the alarm went off again. Once again as soon as I put the carriers down, pointed and said fire they were in them! Once again we bundled up and headed out into the cold. Once again the fire department declared a false alarm and once again we returned to the warmth of our little beds. But I can’t get over how, amid all the noise of the alarm bells and the sirens, my little kitty cats followed my instructions and hopped right into those carriers. They didn’t bolt for a closet  or under the bed even though they looked scared enough.

They say cats have the memory of a 3 year old and sometimes I think it’s even shorter but in this case when the chips were down they not only remembered that long ago training, they responded  right away. I am so proud of them 🙂 ( Can’t you tell?)

Oh the night wasn’t over. About 3-3:30 am the alarm went off one last time. I stuck my nose out the door. No smoke so went back to bed. The cats looked at me as if to say  “What? No carriers?” then they curled up and went back to sleep too. I heard the Firemen come in and give the a”all clear”. So glad we didn’t pack up and go out again.

A cat Named Autumn

Posted on by

As you know from my post yesterday I’m being kept quite busy trying to wrap up the pet calendar. It seems that dog owners are more willing to have their pet photographed than cat owners but I do want to include some cats. To that end I had pictures of my 2 if no one stepped up.

I took  the last dog for the calendar on Halloween. Maddie is a beautiful chocolate color and a sweet, sweet dog.

Maddie

After  Maddie, I headed over to my friend with the cat. This cat is an indoor /outdoor cat and as anyone who is a cat owner can tell you, cats have a mind of their own. Miss Autumn was out “catting around” and wouldn’t come home. Who can blame her? It was beautiful day.

I waited until around 4pm when the light began to fade but still no cat. I agreed to come back the next day and try again. That morning I got a call. The cat was in the house and would not be let out until after the photo shoot. No getting away this time.

I thought my cats were great subjects. When the camera comes out they drop everything and look at it. But Miss Autumn was a real Diva. What a little ham. She even let me use “fill flash” without blinking something I can never get away with when I try taking my cat’s pictures.

Autumn

I’m trilled Autumn is going to be in the calendar. Now comes the really hard part…Picking the pictures to use.

Cat Trees and other headaches

Posted on by

The bank gave me my wake-up call. It seems that someone tried to put through a charge of  $85.00. It was a company that is marked on the bank’s security rolls as a fraudulent company. These people had tried to put through the charge 8 times and so far the bank had blocked it.

The security officer said that sooner or later it would slip through. Since I had never heard of the company and hadn’t ordered anything for $80 anywhere recently, they will have to cancel my card.

Why do things like this aways happen right before vacation?

Well the bank officer had a solution. She said she would Fedex my new card to my local branch and I could pick it up there. She said it should be there Wednesday.

So the bottom line is that it does not appear that I was “targeted” nor is there any relation to my blog. It’s all just a big coincidence.

I expect the bulk of my day will be taken up with more errands and housework although I have one project that I’ve been delaying that I want to to complete. The restoration of the CAT TREE.

Cat trees used to be fairly inexpensive but not anymore. A small one is easily in the $100-$200 range and can go up from there. My cats have a pretty good-sized cat tree that I got a few years ago for $45.00. The problem is that it’s been shredded to pieces. In many places it’s been scratched right down to the frame.

I have spent a couple of months looking for a replacement both in stores and online but anything in the $50.00 range is either way to fragile for my scratching fiend or very small.

 My solution is that I’m going to try to restore the cat tree. In theory it shouldn’t be a big job. In actuality I’ve found excuse after excuse to  avoid tackling the project but I think I  have everything  here just waiting so the time has come.

Well I just spent an hour trying to wrap the scratching post in sisal rope. I managed to get 1 post done..a small post. The staple gun won’t go through to the wood so I ended up strategically placing screws. I don’t want to use too many screws as that might hurt the cat. So I think I’ll wait and see if they use it and if so, will my amateur efforts hold up to kitty abuse.

I really don’t have time to spend another hour right now so that will have to do for starters. I need to run down to a local insurance agent to get an insurance stamp for the DMV so I can renew my auto registration. Of course the agency is charging a $15.00 administrative fee for the 2 minutes it will take to stamp the registration form. No such thing as Professional Courtesy anymore. It doesn’t matter that I am insured with a company they represent. I didn’t buy the policy through them so that gives them the right to charge a fee for doing nothing. Makes me think of that Southwest Airlines commercial where the SW employees are  jurors and another airline is “on trial” for charging administrative fees to change a ticket.  Oh well, I guess that’s the world we live in today. I’m becoming very cynical. It just seems that everything you do today has “hidden fees”. We’re being nickel and  dimed to death.

It probably wouldn’t bother me except that I’m trying to hang onto my funds so I can have a little extra cash for vacation and it feels like everything is conspiring against that goal. It also bothered me because the other agency that I have used in the past wouldn’t take a fee even when I offered. I didn’t go there because this new one was much closer. Next time I may go back to driving to RI for my insurance stamp.

Well that about wraps up the day. Heading off to visit some friends for dinner. Until tomorrow, have a good day!