The Cat On My Head

WINTER RETURNS: CATS HUDDLE

Wordless Wednesday

 

Three cats (a dilute tortoise shell, a gray tabby Manx and a tortie kitten) huddle together on a cold winter day.

 

Calista Jo, Sawyer and Audrey will be joining the Wordless Wednesday blog hop at Comedy Plus. To do the same, click on the WW badge.

Looking Back

Last week, I totally forgot to share a Looking Back post. My bad! The one I have selected for this week is from November 13, 2012, and is the perfect accompaniment to this post. It’s entitled, “Eight Seven-Cat Nights,” and is about eight days and nights with no heat. Kitties Blue and I hope you’ll check it out and leave us a comment on the post…even if you don’t enjoy it.

Thanks for joining us today!

 

THE ADVENTURES OF PERIWINKLE & STINKY: PART CLXXVIII

Snow or Pie?

Stinky is excited for today’s adventure and hopes Periwinkle will enjoy it. He doesn’t have much time to fret about it, as Periwinkle comes flying out of the teleportation tunnel and into his waiting paws right on time. She’s out of breath but manages to say, “Wow the tunnel was fast today. I’m feeling a bit dizzy. Thanks for catching me.”

The two tabbies share some whisker kisses before Periwinkle runs to the window to look outside. “Where’s the snow? My mom told me you finally got your first snow of winter.”

Stinky replies, “I’m sorry but it has already melted. I don’t think we had even an inch.”

“Darn, I was hoping to see it,” exclaims Periwinkle. She then asks, “What’s the plan today if we aren’t going to play in the snow? Are we going to eat pie?”

Stinky giggles at this, as it is Pi Day*, and lots of people celebrate it by eating pie. Stinky tells Periwinkle that they may have pie later but his plan is for a walk in Vic Thomas Park, which is part of the city’s Roanoke Valley Greenway system. He explains that it’s just two blocks from the house but it’s super windy, so they’ll teleport there as they’ll be doing a lot of walking when they arrive. Not wanting to waste anytime, Stinky grabs their coats and hats and then takes Periwinkle’s paw and leads her back into the tunnel.

∗ Pi Day is an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π. Pi Day is observed on March 14 as 3, 1 and 4 are the first three significant figures of π. It was founded in 1988 by Larry Shaw, an employee of the Science Museum’s Exploratorium in San Francisco, California.

Vic Thomas Park

On arrival at the park, one of three (Vic Thomas Park, Wasena Park and Smith Park), which lie next to each other and the Roanoke River, Stinky asks Periwinkle if she remembers their last adventure at the river?

 

Two cartoon tabby cats wearing winter coats and hats and standing on a bridge.

 

“Oh, Stinky, how could I forget. That’s when it was flooded, and we had fun canoeing with your dad’s help. The water was all the way to this bridge. It was fun but a little scary.”

“As that happened almost three years ago, let’s give our friends the link to that post, ‘A Day on The River,’ so they can check it out.

“Great idea, Stinky! Now that we’re here, what’s on the agenda?” asks Periwinkle.

Ann Davey Master Memorial Sculpture Garden

Stinky tells Periwinkle, “We are going to explore the Ann Davey Master Memorial Sculpture Garden.” He further explains that the goal of the project is to provide public art to blend with the park’s design. The intention is for it to represent Master’s commitment to the arts, as the former director of the Art Museum, as well as her dedication to the environment with the Clean Valley Council.

“Oh, I know what’s happening. You want to climb on the sculptures, don’t you? It will be like our ‘Elmwood Park Art Walk’ adventure when you climbed on those sculptures.”

“Well, maybe,” admits Stinky.

Calling the Flowers

Two cartoon tabby cats wearing winter coats and hats with the sculpture of a girl kneeling with her head back and hands in the air, entitled, Calling the Flowers.

 

“See, I knew it. Don’t you dare actually climb up and get in her hand,” Periwinkle admonishes Stinky.

“Gee, Periwinkle, you’re no fun. I guess I’ll just tell our readers about the sculpture. It’s called Calling the Flowers. It was sculpted by local writer and artist, Lawrence Reid Bechtel. I think our readers might enjoy checking out his website here.”

When Stinky gets down, the two tabbies head back on the path until they arrive at the next sculpture.

In Flux

Two cartoon tabby cats wearing winter coats and hats with a sculpture of made of recycled light poles and entitled, In Flux.

 

Stinky tells Periwinkle that the sculpture is called, In Flux, and was created in 2010 by Bland Hoke and Matt Rink (All Creations) from recycled lamp poles. The tabbies spend some time exploring it, and Periwinkle is delighted when Stinky decides to remain on the ground with her.

When they come to the next sculpture, Stinky hops right up on the rock where it sits. Periwinkle rolls her eyes but jumps up on the other supporting rock. She asks, “Is this supposed to be an animal?”

Rigsby the Raccoon

Two cartoon tabby cats wearing winter coats and hats with the sculpture of Rigsby the Raccoon made from tires pulled from the Roanoke River in Virginia.

 

“Yes, his name is Rigsby the Raccoon. Polly Branch created him in 2020 from tires that were discarded in the river. Rigsby is the mascot of the Clean Valley Council.”

Periwinkle points to another sculpture and asks Stinky about it.

Annie’s Peace

Sculpture of an orb with wings entitled Annie's Dream.

 

“That’s called, Annie’s Peace. It was sculpted by famous, local artist, Betty Branch. It’s in memory of Ann Davey Master.”

“It’s beautiful, Stinky. Thanks for not climbing the pole and getting on top,” Periwinkle says as she squeezes his paw. Stinky continues to hold Periwinkle’s paw and tells her he wants to show her one more thing that isn’t part of the Sculpture garden.

Bridge Mural

After a short walk, the tabbies find themselves under a bridge. “Stinky, this is so colorful and beautiful,”

 

Two cartoon tabby cats wearing winter coats and hats under a bridge with a colorful mural.

Two cartoon tabby cats wearing winter coats and hats under a bridge with a colorful mural.

 

Stinky tells Periwinkle that the bridge is going to be replaced beginning in the spring, and he doesn’t know what will happen to the mural then. “However, there are murals all along the Greenway. Dad says he’ll take us out on his bike when the weather warms up so we can see them,” Stinky explains.

“That will be really cool, Stinky. Speaking of cool, I’m getting sort of cold. Are we ready to go back to your house?”

“Yep, let’s head back to our tunnel. I have a surprise at home,” Stinky replies.

Periwinkle gives Stinky a quizzical look, but he doesn’t say any more.

Pi Day

When they arrive at Stinky’s, he takes Periwinkle’s coat and hat and hands her her apron and chef’s hat. “Does this mean what I think, Stinky?Are we going to make a pie?” asks Periwinkle.

“Yep, let’s go!”

 

Two cartoon tabby cats wearing chef's hats and aprons, sitting at a kitchen counter with baking supplies for Pi Day.

 

Periwinkle and Stinky get busy making a tuna pie. While it’s baking, they clean up the kitchen. And when it comes out of the oven, they share it with all of Stinky’s fursibs. There’s lots of pushing and shoving among all the Kitties Blue to get the biggest piece. Audrey, aka The Hoover, is especially aggressive. But everyone enjoys their fare share.

Finally it’s time for Periwinkle to head home. The tabbies spend about a half hour whisker kissing and paw hugging. Then Periwinkle enters the teleportation tunnel, and with a wave and whoosh she is gone. Stinky heads to the bedroom to nap and dream of Periwinkle.

The End

Periwinkle and Stinky will be joining the Happy Tuesday blog top at Comedy Plus. Click on the badge below to do the same.

 

SPARKS: BE PREPARED FOR SURPRISES

Sparks

 

Two tabby cats, one brown and one grey lying together with the quote: "One must be prepared for some surprises in life - some things will work out your way, some won't. You just have to keep working and do things to the best of your ability." by Fawad Khan.

 

This photo may not be the perfect accompaniment to today’s Spark; though, Sawyer was surprised when Audrey joined him for his nap. And he appears less than happy with the situation. When I selected the Spark I didn’t have a photo in mind, except maybe the following one.

 

Yard, tree, birdbath, umbrella and flag with a light covering of snow.

 

Though a “wintery mix” was the forecast for Saturday night, I was surprised to wake up to this Sunday morning. This was our first snow of winter, and as you can see, it didn’t amount to much. There are blooming daffodils in the photo. Of course, “working to do things to the best of one’s ability” has no relationship to this photo.

The author of today’s Spark, Fawad Khan, is a 41-year-old Pakistani actor, producer, screenwriter, model and singer.

Sparks is the creation of Annie from McGuffy’s Reader. Sparks began as a blog hop, created by our friend. Annie stated when she began Sparks, “I believe we are meant to be lights in this world. If we allow our light to shine, we can see where we are going. It is then that we can begin to truly see each other clearly. Together, we can light up the entire world.”

PetBiz Collaborative

I chose this Spark because it speaks to me, and it has everything to do with “working to do things to the best of one’s ability.” This past week I have been trying to create reels for Instagram. Though I had done a few in the past, this was a project set up by a group, the PetBiz Collaborative, of which I am a member. It has been an incredibly difficult challenge, and one to which I will be putting in some additional effort. If you’d like to see what I have accomplished, click on the Instagram-logo-bearing mouse on the sidebar. And if you are interested in finding out more about the collaborative, click on that link.

Awww Mondays

Audrey and Sawyer will be participating in the Awww Mondays blog hop at Comedy Plus. If you’d like to do the same, click on the Awww badge.

The Adventures of Periwinkle & Stinky

Those two fun-loving tabbies, Periwinkle & Stinky, will be setting off on a new adventure tomorrow. You’ll be able to find them right here, as it is Stinky’s turn to plan their adventure. Adventures are more fun when you join in, so they’ll be waiting for you.

p.s. This is our 3,200th post.

BUSTER THE LONGHORN BULL

Sunday Selfies: Week #447

Today’s selfie is of longhorn, Buster the Bull, from Steele’s Tavern, Virginia. Actually, we don’t know his name but decided he should have one.

 

Selfie of a brown and white longhorn bull in a green field in a rustic, hardwood frame with ribbon and ricrac bows with button.

 

When he asked if he could share a selfie with you, we didn’t think we could refuse. Those horns look very scary.

Did you know that Periwinkle & Stinky visited the longhorns on one of their adventures? It was July 14, 2020, and also Cow Appreciation Day. If you’d like to see lots more longhorns as well as Stinky and Periwinkle in their cow headdresses, click on the link. They look totally adorable.

Whether you have taken a selfie today or you have enlisted a surrogate, we sure hope you’ll join the Sunday Selfies blog hop. Did you notice we are getting close to that 450 hop milestone? Take advantage of these last couple of preceding Sundays to purrfect your selfie skills.

If you haven’t done it yet, also take a little time to spring your clocks forward an hour. Purrsonally, we hate this messing around with the time. We get totally confused about when it is time to eat. Our mom, on the other hand, who always preferred standard time has decided she likes the longer hours of light during daylight saving time.

Thanks for joining us. Have a terrific and easy Sunday.

Purrs & paw-pats, Misty May, Astrid, Lisbeth, Calista Jo, Cooper Murphy, Sawyer, Kizmet, Audrey & Raleigh

 



CAT TREE MISCHIEF

Caturday Art

Art featuring two cats getting into mischief on a cat tree.

 

Today’s art features Cooper Murphy and Kizmet getting up to some mischief on the cat tree. Cooper Murphy had been happily curled up in the top perch when Kizmet decided it was time to pester him.

As always, I used the Painnt app to create my art. This is the Pastel Butter effect. I did slightly tinker with the color and settings. The flower border is from favpng.

Of course, I have included a puzzle.


preview110piece
Pastel Cats

Cooper and Kizmet will be joining Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty’s Caturday Art blog hop. If you’d like to do the same or just check out art created by your fellow bloggers, click on her badge.

Caturday Art badge with face of green-eyed tabby cat.

Sunday Selfies Reminder

It is hard to believe that not only is it time for Sunday Selfies again but also daylight saving time. So don’t forget to set your clocks ahead an hour before you go to bed tonight.

I don’t know about the furries at your house, but Kitties Blue will definitely be looking for breakfast and dinner an hour earlier according to the time on our clocks. Their tummy clocks know exactly what time it is!

Anyhoo…don’t forget to snap your selfie so you can join our hop tomorrow. Kitties Blue and all your other friends will be right here looking for you. We will be having a guest host, and you definitely don’t want to miss seeing him.

Have a terrific Caturday.

 

ANOTHER SUNNY DAY ON THE CATIO

Feline Friday

 

Grey Manx tabby cat sleeping on a perch on a catio.

 

Kitties Blue, including Sawyer, continue to enjoy the catio during our unseasonably warm weather. According to one of our local meteorologists, our current temperatures are about three weeks ahead of where they normally would be this time of year.

Sawyer will be participating in the Feline Friday blog hop at messymimi’s meanderings. To participate click on the Feline Friday badge.

Friendly Fill-Ins

Time again to let you know a bit more about Kitties Blue and myself by completing the weekly fill-ins. Ellen (15 And Meowing) and Lorianne (Four-Legged Furballs) host the Friendly Fill-Ins blog hop. On Thursday they each select two sentences to be filled in by hop participants, and you can find those on both blogs. Enter the hop by clicking on the graphic.

Sawyer assisted with the fill-ins again this week. I can always count on him when I need some help. We both used teal italics for our fill-ins. Any explanatory information is in parentheses.

1. Be sure to always be kind because there are too many people who cannot be bothered.

2. Sawyer: I would never give my treats away to any of my fursibs. (Audrey, aka The Hoover, however, is always trying to steal them.)

3. I got these beautiful chakra stones healing crystals for my birthday from one of my dear friends.

4. Just because I can’t carry a tune doesn’t mean I don’t like to sing.

 

KITTY CLOWN CAR & THANKFULS

Thoroughly Poetic Thursday

Teddy and Angel Sammy (Two Spoiled Cats) provided another absolutely goofy photo as inspiration for this week’s poem. Of course, I added a few of the Kitties Blue (Misty May, Raleigh and Audrey) and then wrote an equally goofy poem.

 

Upside down red and white car with tires on top, man driving, dog in passengers seat and three cats on the hood.

 

Kitty Clown Car

This looks like a clown car or a car for a clown.
We can’t believe this fellow is driving it around town.
Those tires aren’t going to get much wear,
As they sit on top skimming through the air.
We decided to join this woofie to enjoy the ride
But have decided to sit on the hood and not inside.
We know we are going to look silly just like this car,
And we honestly don’t expect this auto will go far.
We have no idea what was on this human’s mind…
Maybe he just wanted to brag his car is one of a kind.
Whatever he was thinking, we don’t really care,
But if he gets on TV we want to join him there!

© Janet Buickerood Blue – 03/08/2023

On closer examination, this appears to be a truck. We’ll just call my interpretation “poetic license.”

If you’d like to try writing some poetry, check out Two Spoiled Cats (by clicking on the poetry badge) for next week’s inspiration photo. And please read Angel Sammy’s poem when you visit. He sends it to Teddy each week from the Rainbow Bridge, and he always knocks it out of the park!

Thankful Thursday

Sharing our thankfuls with you is something we look forward to doing each week.

I am particularly thankful for more nice weather and the opportunity to get to work in the yard and enjoy the blooming trees and bulbs.

Yesterday was my birthday, and I am grateful for all the kind wishes sent to me on Dad Tom’s Facebook page. We also enjoyed a yummy dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. And Dad Tom took this nice photo of me. (Not too bad, I guess, for someone one year short of being 3/4’s of a century old!)

 

Portrait of blog author.

 

Stinky is thankful for his recent adventure with Periwinkle. They went to the The Cat Fanciers’ Association Foundation, Inc. Feline Historical Museum in Alliance, Ohio. If you didn’t join them, check it out at Friends Furever. There are lots of cool photos.

I am so thankful I found a new blog theme that I am relatively happy with and that is compatible with my host’s upgraded servers.

Our final thankful is to let you know how sincerely grateful Kitties Blue and I are for your support, following and friendship.

Thankful Thursday is a blog hop hosted by our friend, Brian, and his fursibs over at Brian’s Home. We hope you have some things this week for which you are thankful and share them with your friends. You can do that by clicking on Brian’s badge.

 

 

 

 

AUDREY THINKS SHE’S CUTE!

Sunday Selfies: Week #446

You know what? Mom says I’m cute, and I have to agree with her. Just look at my sweet face. I’m sorry the photo is a bit out of focus.

 

Brown/black tabby kitten portrait in a green and orange floral, leaf and ribbon frame.

 

I know that every one of you is just as cute as I am. And I sure hope you’ll come by and share your selfie with me and all your friends. If you are busy today, please don’t fret. You can join me anytime through Thursday midnight ET.

Still Tweaking

So, as you may have noticed, Mom is still playing around with our new theme. I’m not certain when she’ll be happy with it. She has promised not to change it significantly again.

We realize Comment Luv is not working. After investigating the plug-in, she has discovered that it has not been updated by the developer in three years nor has it been tested with the current version of WordPress. So for now, she is deactivating it. If you’d like, feel free to add a link to your most recent post in your comment.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, whether or not you’ve joined our hop. Your support and friendship mean the world to us.

Purrs and paw-pats, Audrey

 



TABBY SUNPUDDLE ART

New Theme

Well, here it is…our new theme. If you visited us late in the day yesterday, you’ve already seen it. Do I love it…no! Have I finished tweaking it…probably not! Let Kitties Blue and I know what you think of it.

Caturday Art

Tabbies, Audrey (left) and Sawyer, were enjoying naps in a sunpuddle on the humans’ bed in today’s art creation.

 

Two napping tabby cats in a sunpuddle in an art rendering, entitled Distraction, with colors of lavender and teal and a flower frame with the same colors as well as royal blue.

 

I used this photo previously for a Spark on January 29. If you’d like to see the original, you can see it at, “Friends: Audrey & Sawyer.”

As usual, I used Painnt to make my art. This is the Distraction effect. The frame is from favpng.

I also made a puzzle for those of you who enjoy them.

preview108pieceCats & Flowers 

Audrey and Sawyer will be participating in the Caturday Art blog hop over at Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty’s blog.

Sunday Selfies Reminder

So, another week has slipped by, and it’s time again for you to snap your selfie and join our blog hop. You know how much Kitties Blue and all your friends enjoy seeing you in all your adorableness. Now, if you are too busy entertaining your humans tomorrow, we understand. That’s why our hop remains open through Thursday midnight ET. Please do join us and invite your friends along. Hopping is always more fun with friends.

Have a delightful Caturday. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow.