Day: June 4, 2006

Pets, Photography

The Mighty Huntress

Shelly

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Pandora caught a mouse last night. Pretty amazing for a 17yo cat who has no teeth, I think. I didn’t see the actual kill, so I don’t know how she did it. Judging by the saliva marks, my guess is that she held it in her mouth and squashed it against the floor until it either died of a heart attack or suffocation. In any event, Pandora was well pleased with herself.

Now, what a mouse was doing inside when it’s nice and warm and relatively cat-free outdoors is beyond me. He’s kinda cute, though, even though he’s all disarranged and, well, dead. Those itty bitty toes and ankles, and those fluffy, silky whiskers are precious. And look at those hyooooge bat ears! Poor little guy.

(I put the mouse outside last night, on a piece of cardboard. He was still there this morning, so I thought I’d take his picture. He’s since been relocated to a more appropriate final resting place.)

This is how Pandora usually spends her time:

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Pets, Photography

It Is Done

Shelly

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Only about half the yard is visible in this shot. It’s big. It’s also deceptively hilly and strewn with treacherous mole tunnels. And then there are the holes the dog has dug. And the grass is more like hay. What I mean to say is, it’s a royal pain in the arse to mow, which is why I feel justified in complaining about doing so, as well as doing a happy dance when I’m finished. So, this is me, dancing happily. Ya-bloody-hoo.

Miss Brown, however, is more demonstrative with her exuberance (shameless, too!). Whenever I mow, she likes to enjoy a little roll in the freshly cut grass. Thankfully, that is the only thing she likes to roll in. A dog who smells like grass is one thing. A dog who smells like road kill would be quite another, thankyouverymuch.

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The last photo is of Harriet grazing beneath a black walnut sapling. I love my little trees. There are, I think, twelve of them altogether, including one lone maple and two sassafras, with the rest being black walnut. This one is medium sized. The largest one is about 7-8′ tall and quite sturdy. I can’t believe how quickly they’ve grown! And the smell as I brush against them is heavenly, like fresh lemon zest.

The grown up area in back was Elliott’s raspberry patch. I mowed it down last summer, but have let it grow wild again. I’m amazed at how tall this Johnson grass gets. It’s strong, hardy stuff, too, with thick, fibrous seed stalks. You can’t kill it, and it’s a really difficult to mow. If you look at the center photos, you can see how uneven and coarse it is. I don’t recommend walking on it barefoot!