Catty 1
Catty 2
Catty 3
Catty 4
Catty 5
Catty 6
Catty 7
Catty 8
Catty 9
Catty 10
Catty 11
Catty 12
Catty 13
Catty 14
Catty 15
Catty 16
Catty 17
Catty 18
Catty 19
Catty 20
Catty 21
Catty 22
Catty 23
Catty 24
Movie 1
Movie 2
Movie 3
Movie IV
Movie 5
Movie 6
Movie VII
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Spring Has Sprung All Sproingingly
Little blue flowers
Little white flowers
Little purple and white flower
Little purple and white flower, again
Forsythia
Lots of white flowers
Another type of little blue flower
Daffodil
Pussywillows
More forsythia
Other little blue flowers
Another daffodil
And another
Down
A herd of blue flowers
A blue flower, for a change
Crocuses
And more crocuses
And yet more crocuses
And. . .blue flowers!!!
A crocus of a different colour
And more crocuseseseses!
More pussywillows
Yet more different coloured crocuses
Another crocus, but not a different colour this time
More pussywillows
And finally, I got to see Woolly after she came out for some fresh air:
Woolly!
Still Woolly!
Little white flowers
Little purple and white flower
Little purple and white flower, again
Forsythia
Lots of white flowers
Another type of little blue flower
Daffodil
Pussywillows
More forsythia
Other little blue flowers
Another daffodil
And another
Down
A herd of blue flowers
A blue flower, for a change
Crocuses
And more crocuses
And yet more crocuses
And. . .blue flowers!!!
A crocus of a different colour
And more crocuseseseses!
More pussywillows
Yet more different coloured crocuses
Another crocus, but not a different colour this time
More pussywillows
And finally, I got to see Woolly after she came out for some fresh air:
Woolly!
Still Woolly!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Monday, December 21, 2009
The Caterpillar Crawl
The nearby towns of Bridgeplace decided that they needed to have An Event to promote literacy in the local children. How or why they arrived at this conclusion, I don't know. But I suspect that they're probably right.
What they decided on was to make An Event based on Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar. They got one of the local artists who does bronze work to create ten statues, each depicting a scene from the book. The ten statues would be put in various locations along the sides of the road between the City of Bridgeplace and the other City of Bridgeplace, five on each side. Then they would hand out to the kids brochures with maps and clues, making it into a sort of scavenger hunt.
I may not be technically a kid anymore, but I decided to go over there myself one day and to see what was to be seen. And now you can see what I saw when I went to see what I could see and saw what I saw!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
1) The Start!
Clue: "Now our hunt has just begun, find caterpillar number 1. At the farmer's market is where you'll look. See him perched upon a book."
"He started to look for some food."
"On Monday he ate through one apple. But he was still hungry."
The first statue was lurking beside the farmer's market.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
2) The Second Statue
Clue: "You'll find him eating an apple this day, near the Carter's Family Way. A big ol' bank's the place to go, in a corner way down low."
I simply couldn't find this one. It was supposed to be near a bank, but I never saw it. And I didn't want to go poking around too much around a bank, in case the police happened to start taking an interest in my activities. I'm afraid that this statue might have been stolen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
3) The Third Statue
Clue: "Walk past 7th if you dare, to find the fella on a pear. Another corner on a brick. . .looking for it is the trick."
This little guy was sitting on a pear, outside of an accountant's office.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
4) The Fourth Statue
Clue: "As you ponder all these clues, stop to ask 'Do I need new shoes?' Kinney's would be the place to buy, on the plum you'll find the guy!"
The clue for the fourth one indicated that he would be outside of a shoe store. Unfortunately, the shoe store has gone out of business since the statue was placed and the brochures given out, so it is now a little statue of a caterpillar perched upon a plum outside of a vacant storefront. But he was pretty obvious to spot, so it probably didn't matter much.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
5) The Fifth Statue
Clue: "To find caterpillar number 5, go where you'd see performances live! On a sweet strawberry near the ground, he's very close. . .just look around!"
The fifth little guy was lurking in the shadows of the recessed front entrance to one of the local theatres. He had a strawberry to munch on.
After the fifth statue, the hunt left the City of Bridgeplace, crossed the street (which is also the state line), and entered a different state and the other City of Bridgeplace.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
6) The Sixth Statue
Clue: "Now cross the road to the next state, but please be safe while on your way. When you get there make a right, at the corner, the caterpillar's in sight!"
This one was perched atop an orange, outside of a coffee shop. Beside him you can see a little caterpillar made out of a sort of paste stuff. When the statues were first put out, people kept stealing them. The towns kept replacing them, but even so there would be times when there was no caterpillar in place. That made it difficult for the kids trying to complete the hunt. And so the towns decided to make some little extra caterpillars and place them beside the regular ones. Unlike the bronze ones, the extras were made to be nearly impossible to remove in one piece and also very ugly. That way, nobody would be likely to want to steal one. Apparently, the idea worked.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
7) The Seventh Statue
Clue: "Back the way you need to go, can you guess what makes him slow? Behind a column on a cupcake, feeling full with a big stomach ache!"
Caterpillar number seven sits atop a cupcake, hiding behind a pillar on the facade of a girly clothing store.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
8) The Eighth Statue
Clue: "Number 8, now we're almost done! Aren't you having so much fun? If you wanted money, where would you go? On a step, you'll find a fat caterpillar moving slow."
Number eight, lounging upon a leaf next to a bank's ATM, is looking a bit rotund.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
9) The Ninth Statue
Clue: "Number 9 you must find soon, for our small friend is now a cocoon! Toward the corner of Piedmont and State, on the guardrail is where he will wait."
It seems that this little fellow has decided to take a nice nap, all wrapped up in silk.
The ninth one was a bit tricky to find. From the clue, I knew it was on a guard rail at a certain corner of an intersection. The problem was that the guard rail was on the edge of a parking lot, up against a building, set up to keep the cars from smashing into the brick wall. So there were a bunch of great big oversized SUVs all lined up against the rail, and I had to work my way around them to find the statue.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
10) The More-Than-Ninth Statue
Clue: "Alas, our time has flown right by and now we have a butterfly! Where's the final spot you need to look? Same place you'd go to read a book!"
The very last statue on the hunt is, appropriately enough, at the local public library. Now it's no longer a caterpillar hunt, though. And this guy was also very tricky to find, because he was lurking up in some shadows on the side of one of the many columns, about twenty feet up.
What they decided on was to make An Event based on Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar. They got one of the local artists who does bronze work to create ten statues, each depicting a scene from the book. The ten statues would be put in various locations along the sides of the road between the City of Bridgeplace and the other City of Bridgeplace, five on each side. Then they would hand out to the kids brochures with maps and clues, making it into a sort of scavenger hunt.
I may not be technically a kid anymore, but I decided to go over there myself one day and to see what was to be seen. And now you can see what I saw when I went to see what I could see and saw what I saw!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
1) The Start!
Clue: "Now our hunt has just begun, find caterpillar number 1. At the farmer's market is where you'll look. See him perched upon a book."
"He started to look for some food."
"On Monday he ate through one apple. But he was still hungry."
The first statue was lurking beside the farmer's market.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
2) The Second Statue
Clue: "You'll find him eating an apple this day, near the Carter's Family Way. A big ol' bank's the place to go, in a corner way down low."
I simply couldn't find this one. It was supposed to be near a bank, but I never saw it. And I didn't want to go poking around too much around a bank, in case the police happened to start taking an interest in my activities. I'm afraid that this statue might have been stolen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
3) The Third Statue
Clue: "Walk past 7th if you dare, to find the fella on a pear. Another corner on a brick. . .looking for it is the trick."
This little guy was sitting on a pear, outside of an accountant's office.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
4) The Fourth Statue
Clue: "As you ponder all these clues, stop to ask 'Do I need new shoes?' Kinney's would be the place to buy, on the plum you'll find the guy!"
The clue for the fourth one indicated that he would be outside of a shoe store. Unfortunately, the shoe store has gone out of business since the statue was placed and the brochures given out, so it is now a little statue of a caterpillar perched upon a plum outside of a vacant storefront. But he was pretty obvious to spot, so it probably didn't matter much.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
5) The Fifth Statue
Clue: "To find caterpillar number 5, go where you'd see performances live! On a sweet strawberry near the ground, he's very close. . .just look around!"
The fifth little guy was lurking in the shadows of the recessed front entrance to one of the local theatres. He had a strawberry to munch on.
After the fifth statue, the hunt left the City of Bridgeplace, crossed the street (which is also the state line), and entered a different state and the other City of Bridgeplace.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
6) The Sixth Statue
Clue: "Now cross the road to the next state, but please be safe while on your way. When you get there make a right, at the corner, the caterpillar's in sight!"
This one was perched atop an orange, outside of a coffee shop. Beside him you can see a little caterpillar made out of a sort of paste stuff. When the statues were first put out, people kept stealing them. The towns kept replacing them, but even so there would be times when there was no caterpillar in place. That made it difficult for the kids trying to complete the hunt. And so the towns decided to make some little extra caterpillars and place them beside the regular ones. Unlike the bronze ones, the extras were made to be nearly impossible to remove in one piece and also very ugly. That way, nobody would be likely to want to steal one. Apparently, the idea worked.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
7) The Seventh Statue
Clue: "Back the way you need to go, can you guess what makes him slow? Behind a column on a cupcake, feeling full with a big stomach ache!"
Caterpillar number seven sits atop a cupcake, hiding behind a pillar on the facade of a girly clothing store.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
8) The Eighth Statue
Clue: "Number 8, now we're almost done! Aren't you having so much fun? If you wanted money, where would you go? On a step, you'll find a fat caterpillar moving slow."
Number eight, lounging upon a leaf next to a bank's ATM, is looking a bit rotund.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
9) The Ninth Statue
Clue: "Number 9 you must find soon, for our small friend is now a cocoon! Toward the corner of Piedmont and State, on the guardrail is where he will wait."
It seems that this little fellow has decided to take a nice nap, all wrapped up in silk.
The ninth one was a bit tricky to find. From the clue, I knew it was on a guard rail at a certain corner of an intersection. The problem was that the guard rail was on the edge of a parking lot, up against a building, set up to keep the cars from smashing into the brick wall. So there were a bunch of great big oversized SUVs all lined up against the rail, and I had to work my way around them to find the statue.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
10) The More-Than-Ninth Statue
Clue: "Alas, our time has flown right by and now we have a butterfly! Where's the final spot you need to look? Same place you'd go to read a book!"
The very last statue on the hunt is, appropriately enough, at the local public library. Now it's no longer a caterpillar hunt, though. And this guy was also very tricky to find, because he was lurking up in some shadows on the side of one of the many columns, about twenty feet up.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Clash of the Fuzzy Titans
A few days ago I was out in the back yard, looking around and seeing how things were. It was a bright sunny warm day, and the kitties were out enjoying it. Marshmallow likes to tag along with me when I'm in the yard, and Abby decided to follow along, too.
The eastern side of the yard borders on a wooded lot, with a little grassy meadow in the middle of it. This is a favourite prowling place for my feline friends, but it's also a good place to see other critters. The skunk lives there, for example, and on occasion everything from squirrels to deer can be spotted lurking.
I was standing near the split-rail fence at the edge of the yard, with Abby near my feet sniffing at some plants and Marshmallow a couple meters away sitting on the ramp leading up to one of the outbuildings. Suddenly, I heard some thrashing and crashing from the far side of the meadow. I looked, and I saw this:
Movie 1
Our resident giant groundhog, Groundhogzilla, was sumo-wrestling with a smaller rival. I'm not sure what the scuffle was all about. Food, perhaps, or territory, or mates, or the television remote control. They didn't say. Instead the smaller one broke away and went dashing madly across the meadow, Groundhogzilla in close pursuit. They zigged back and forth, back and forth. . .and then right under the fence and at me. The smaller one ran right between my feet and hurtled beneath the outbuilding. Groundhogzilla stopped for a moment to perch on my right foot, peering to see where his opponent had fled to. Then he, too, dashed beneath the outbuilding.
Abby and Marshmallow had been right beside me when this all started. I'm not sure what happened to Marshmallow. Apparently the sight of two groundhogs, one an enraged rodent probably weighing more than both cats combined, was too much for her. She totally vanished. Abby ran off a little ways and crouched in the grass, ready to flee or attack or fall over twitching from hysterics.
From beneath the shed came some sounds of scuffling, and then the smaller groundhog came flying out. It charged across a bit of open yard and tried to fling itself beneath a smaller outbuilding. This didn't work out too well, though. Even though it was the smaller of the two groundhogs, it was still a bit larger than the space beneath the building. So it sort of smacked into the side of the building, managed to wedge its head beneath, and spent a moment scrabbling away madly trying to wiggle its way beneath. Hardly graceful, elegant, or dignified. It finally managed to work its way under.
Groundhogzilla had emerged from beneath the first outbuilding, too. For whatever reason, he decided to just watch the other groundhog rather than to keep chasing it. My theory is that he was just enjoying watching the other one trying to squeeze under that building. He sat back on his hind legs watching his opponent for a moment, until the other one managed to disappear beneath the building. Then Groundhogzilla suddenly appeared to realise that he was sitting right beside a human, and turned and dashed beneath the first outbuilding again.
I waited for a few moments to see what else would transpire, while Abby decided that she needed to reassert her authority as Queen of the Yard. So she went stalking in under the building after Groundhogzilla. I don't know what happened under there, but a moment later she came sauntering back out looking pleased with herself.
After another moment, I saw Groundhogzilla peeking around the far corner of the outbuilding at me.
Movie 2
He didn't appear to know quite what to do, and kept hiding back underneath. I crept over to the corner and climbed up onto a fencepost, to be up out of easy sight to him. He stuck his nose out a few more times and looked around, but didn't seem to be in any hurry to go anywhere. Then Marshmallow appeared from whichever alternate universe she had vanished into, and worried him into retiring for a while.
Movie 3
After that, Marshmallow joined me up on the fence, and I spent a moment petting her. Then I left, so as to allow Groundhogzilla to wander off and attend to his groundhogy business.
I saw no further sign of the smaller one.
The eastern side of the yard borders on a wooded lot, with a little grassy meadow in the middle of it. This is a favourite prowling place for my feline friends, but it's also a good place to see other critters. The skunk lives there, for example, and on occasion everything from squirrels to deer can be spotted lurking.
I was standing near the split-rail fence at the edge of the yard, with Abby near my feet sniffing at some plants and Marshmallow a couple meters away sitting on the ramp leading up to one of the outbuildings. Suddenly, I heard some thrashing and crashing from the far side of the meadow. I looked, and I saw this:
Movie 1
Our resident giant groundhog, Groundhogzilla, was sumo-wrestling with a smaller rival. I'm not sure what the scuffle was all about. Food, perhaps, or territory, or mates, or the television remote control. They didn't say. Instead the smaller one broke away and went dashing madly across the meadow, Groundhogzilla in close pursuit. They zigged back and forth, back and forth. . .and then right under the fence and at me. The smaller one ran right between my feet and hurtled beneath the outbuilding. Groundhogzilla stopped for a moment to perch on my right foot, peering to see where his opponent had fled to. Then he, too, dashed beneath the outbuilding.
Abby and Marshmallow had been right beside me when this all started. I'm not sure what happened to Marshmallow. Apparently the sight of two groundhogs, one an enraged rodent probably weighing more than both cats combined, was too much for her. She totally vanished. Abby ran off a little ways and crouched in the grass, ready to flee or attack or fall over twitching from hysterics.
From beneath the shed came some sounds of scuffling, and then the smaller groundhog came flying out. It charged across a bit of open yard and tried to fling itself beneath a smaller outbuilding. This didn't work out too well, though. Even though it was the smaller of the two groundhogs, it was still a bit larger than the space beneath the building. So it sort of smacked into the side of the building, managed to wedge its head beneath, and spent a moment scrabbling away madly trying to wiggle its way beneath. Hardly graceful, elegant, or dignified. It finally managed to work its way under.
Groundhogzilla had emerged from beneath the first outbuilding, too. For whatever reason, he decided to just watch the other groundhog rather than to keep chasing it. My theory is that he was just enjoying watching the other one trying to squeeze under that building. He sat back on his hind legs watching his opponent for a moment, until the other one managed to disappear beneath the building. Then Groundhogzilla suddenly appeared to realise that he was sitting right beside a human, and turned and dashed beneath the first outbuilding again.
I waited for a few moments to see what else would transpire, while Abby decided that she needed to reassert her authority as Queen of the Yard. So she went stalking in under the building after Groundhogzilla. I don't know what happened under there, but a moment later she came sauntering back out looking pleased with herself.
After another moment, I saw Groundhogzilla peeking around the far corner of the outbuilding at me.
Movie 2
He didn't appear to know quite what to do, and kept hiding back underneath. I crept over to the corner and climbed up onto a fencepost, to be up out of easy sight to him. He stuck his nose out a few more times and looked around, but didn't seem to be in any hurry to go anywhere. Then Marshmallow appeared from whichever alternate universe she had vanished into, and worried him into retiring for a while.
Movie 3
After that, Marshmallow joined me up on the fence, and I spent a moment petting her. Then I left, so as to allow Groundhogzilla to wander off and attend to his groundhogy business.
I saw no further sign of the smaller one.
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