Category: Animals
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Those life requirements . . .
I’ve been thinking about our cat’s life. She exhibits Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs quite faithfully: food, warmth, hygiene, affection, play. What she doesn’t have in her life, as she’s equilibrating to a restricted bungalow existence, is adventure. But this weekend, this weekend, we open the window and let her out into the greater world.…
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Halfway to happiness
Moves and transitions are rarely easy, and when you don’t understand what’s going on, and why you’ve been displaced, it must be even more disorientating. We’re now about halfway through the adjustment phase, when Kali cat is allowed to ponder the great outdoors, but not to explore beyond what her eyes can see. It’s fair…
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The joys of cat-speak
Our cat is very talkative, as Bengals seem to be. She has a variety of vocalisations, and she’s perfected the art of disdain as well. The body language of a cat with her back turned to you is pretty obvious. But what might a deliberate and prolonged yawn actually mean? It may, of course, be…
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Love and devotion . . .
What else is there, when you’re fed and warm, but to be enjoying the moment? Kali often curls up on our laps in the evening hours, happy with the company of our warm and comfortable bodies, as she snuggles in for a long snooze. In cat years, she’s probably about our age; her hunting exploits…
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A little hopping joy
We used to see so many frogs hopping around the place, when I was growing up. Indeed, drying stream beds and helpless, wriggling tadpoles were a feature of note. How many survived into adulthood and how many dessicated we children never knew, or cared, for that matter. There were always plenty of croakers about. As…
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Good morning, blue sky
It’s no wonder that the seeresses of old used a crystal ball to peer into the future. The reflection of the blue sky beyond the clouds in our glass conservatory table this morning seems to offer a new perspective to the dawn. New perspectives seem to be an incredible stimulus. I know one writer who…
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Oh we do love to be beside the seaside . . .
Early Monday morning, everyone is struggling to wake up and pack up for the off, after a delightful weekend of fish and chips, pizzas, and then a complete Sunday dinner. Food and drinks have been in copious supply, just like the sunshine. It seems the whole country was filled with sunshine, actually, as the reports…
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Cuckoo calling and schadenfreude
We clocked several new plants on our pleasant amble through the marshland yesterday. All identified with the iPlant app, beginning with ‘fox and cubs’ and moving on to the pink flowered ‘Endres cranesbill,’ the ‘bush vetch’ and the ‘blister sedge,’ and finishing off with the ‘long-headed poppy.’ The plants were a delight enough for us,…
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The yellow water lilies are getting ready to bloom
Although there were some stiff breezes when we set out for a late-morning walk, the ambience was tranquil as we moved deeper into the marshland. Our eyes were caught by the plentiful buds of water lillies, which should open soon to provide a splash of vibrant yellow across the murky marsh water. I recall presenting…
Roads to Joy 