StrangeRanger

A small post

Well, I am officially back at it.  School, that is.  Last week I started classroom preparations for my 30th year of teaching.  If you take my entire life, from the day of my birth through right now, I've been a teacher longer than I haven't.  

Anyways, we're gonna have shorter posts for a while.  The first month to 6 weeks of school really takes it out of me.  I'm afraid your Daisy fix will have to be of a quicker nature than any of us would prefer.

Daisy looks a bit apprehensive in this photo...

What in this loving house could she possibly feel apprehensive about?

HER FAVORITE TOY!!

Don't worry.  She successfully gave it what-for.

This was shot a couple of weeks ago.  That toy is now bald and the stick is broken.  Daisy loves her toys to death.  Literally.

There's no other way to love a toy, is there?

No dear, there's not.

Have a great week ahead, all!

An Utterly New Experience

Summer means a lot of things here at ChezRanger.  It's always meant I have a time to recharge my batteries, getting ready to teach for another year.  Every once in a while it's meant a small trip.  It has often meant that I've been able to indulge myself in one of life's little pleasures:  a trip to the Zoo!  I've always loved going.  I get to see creatures that I'd never ever see in the wild.  Had a couple of firsts on this trip.  The Red Wolves were out, fairly active and near the front of the enclosure:

Both the Black Bears...

...and the Grizzly Bears were flirting with the camera.

The elk were so close that you could hear them as they ripped the grass from the ground.  

I don't know why, but I was entranced by that sound....

The otter was being playful right up front where folks could see him.

He did this over and over.  In truth, we were a bit worried about him.  Afraid that he's gone all Steve McQueen in the cooler....

We even saw an alligator.

Of course, the main point of any trip to the zoo is to see the cats.  We saw the pumas,

we saw the bobcat having a bath,

What?!

We saw the lions chillin'.  I swear I have never seen that male lion move a damn inch. You can see him in the back of this picture doing his best impersonation of a rug....

I think I figured out why they seemed so listless that morning (and it wasn't the 85 degree heat and 85% humidity, either!)

Apparently, they'd had quite the kegger the night before!  Even the Missus Lion was feeling the wear and tear...

Would you shut up?  I promise, when the savannah stops spinning I am going to eat you....

One of the biggest joys of our annual trip is seeing the Sand Cats!  Our zoo now has two of them.  I beg forgiveness in advance.  My pics are blurry and below even my usual standard.  I trust the grace and beauty and unalloyed cuteness shines through.

This is Cosmos, the zoo's original Sand Cat.

Here's the newest Sand Cat:

Regal, isn't she?

I didn't learn the name of the latest addition, but I believe she is Cosmos's intended mate.  Once they've gotten to know each other, filled out the eHarmony forms and all that.

Now we get to the utterly new experience for which I titled this post.  We happened to be waling by the giraffe enclosure...

hello......

...around lunch time.  It so happens that, for a mere $3 you can get on a deck and feed the giraffes!!!  Best $3 I ever spent!!!!!!!!!

This is Turbo...

...and this is Jack.

You rip romaine leaves into quarters and then let the giraffes stick out the longest tongues in the world, roll 'em around the leaf, and let'em go.  Giraffes really like romaine.  We weren't allowed to pet either of these boys, but there was some incidental contact.  Turbo even drooled on me!

Jack didn't seem to like me, or my camera.  He kept giving me serious side-eye.

I was sure to move slowly and keep quiet.  I think we parted as friends.

pppbbbbbttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Or maybe not...  Anyways, I have been drooled on by a giraffe.  Another experience I never thought to have.  How very cool!

And at the end of this very long post you might be asking me, "And how did your very own wild creature put up with your trip?"  A fair question.  I'll let Daisy answer for herself.

Just pack me up and ship me to the zoo!  Maybe then they'll pay some attention to me!  Giraffe drool, for the love of Mike..... REALLY?!!?

Don't worry, snuggles and treats are on their way!

have a good week ahead!

 

A New Neighbor

Well, I'm back.

It's been a busy, not entirely happy month, but I'm back.

We buried my father in his hometown, laying him to rest next to my mother.  Saw cousins and family friends that I haven't seen in years.  I can't really say it was fun, but it was good.

There have been some actual fun events recently, though.  For starters, LadyRanger and I managed to absolutely rock last night's dinner; homemade chili rellenos!

Yep, that's saffron rice, too.  Really yummy.  A massive project with lots of moving parts and lots of clean-up, but really yummy.  

We have had some other good news this week, though it started with a bit of concern for our neighbor-cat, Puddin'.  Why had she taken refuge under the chaise-lounge?

<sigh>  Is it still there?  <sigh> This is my life now....

What was she  on about??  What could possibly have caused her distress??

Hello....

This is Ed's new kitten!  She's not officially named yet, but Ed often refers to her as Crybaby, since she's very vocal.  

Who's that under the lounge chair??  Will she be friends with me?

Ed is a tree guy.  He was out a couple of weeks ago on one of our recent 90+ degree days.  As he was standing on the right-of-way for a local highway he heard a crying meow and this little boo came walking right up to him demanding attention.  Ed made sure that she came home with him that day.  

I love you.

She was about 4 weeks old when Ed rescued her.  She's grown a bit over the last couple of weeks but is still a wee little thing.  She seems to have two speeds; full ahead and absolute stop.  She will take a while to learn the ropes for a supervised outdoor cat, so Ed has given her a long tail of yellow surveyor's tape that he ties to her collar so he can keep track of her.

Ed was kind enough to let me take a few pics.  I'm happy to share them with you.

Hi!!  Let's be friends!!

Ed may have his hands full with this little bundle of personality.

She does sleep some.  She sleeps where she knows it's safe.  On Ed.

Puddin' seems to be adjusting well enough, though we have witnessed a paw of correction launched, once in a while.

Daisy has watched out the window.  I'm sure she wishes the new arrival all the best.  More pics of Daisy in coming weeks.

Have a good week ahead, all...

Watching a small part of the world go by.

Daisy likes her windows.  She enjoys the bedroom windows, gazing upon the wilderness that is our small back yard.  She likes the side window in the sitting room.  She doesn't spend too log there 'cause we've got the table too junked up with the printer and speakers and stuff for her to really lie down.  She likes the sunpuddle on the couch in the front room, the favored place of cats in the this household for nigh 20 years.  She can lie there and watch the whole world go by on our highway.

But Daisy also really likes the windows in the dining room.  She gets on the small chest sometimes, but she loves to lie on the ironing board and look into the little yard we share with Ed and Puddin'cat.

Yep, gotta keep a watch out.  Make sure that the other cat isn't walking on my grass.  Also keep an eye out for bats, the little flying rodents!!

All clear!  

After a while, she relaxes into a soft cloud of comfortably alert.

I wonder what she thinks about as she maintains her vigil over our yard....

How could they have mangled Season 8 of GoT so badly?  Did they not read their own material from 1-7?  It makes no sense..... If I were the show-runner, there'd have been BATS instead of dragons!

I have no idea what she's talking about.  I'm not out of season 2 yet.  NO SPOILERS!

Have a good week ahead!

A New Toy

And this time it's mine, not Daisy's.

I finally broke down and bought myself a new camera.

There may be new pictures of Daisy coming down the pike.  I've already spent time chasing her around, trying her patience and earning her sharp and pointy wrath.  It's been worth it, though.

Umm...hi?  What is that?

Why are you following me?

He's right behind me, isn't he?

okay, now you're getting creepy.....

I eventually let her have her space.  I'll probably invade it again soon.

One very nice part of this new camera is the telephoto!  We had occasion to try it out last eve.  We were sitting on our couch after dinner (squash enchiladas with salsa verde!  yum!!) and looking out the window.  LadyRanger noticed something in a trees across the street and back about 20 yards.  It was one of our neighborhood strays!

She seemed to having a relax, feeling safe from the hazards of ground life.  I was a good distance away, but I think she noticed me.

Yep.  I'm busted.

We'll keep an eye out and present more pictures if we can get 'em.

Have a good week ahead!

A placeholder post

Well, I'm pretty darn beat.  This has been the last week of school and I'm doggone tired.  As a result, I've taken no new pics of Daisy. You'll have to put up with a vintage picture of our Dear Ivy.

Mmmmmm...strawberries!

Don't ask me why she fell in love with the bag full of strawberries, but she did.  

Have a good week ahead all!  

Just a quick pic

Maybe two very similar pics.

Got a couple of nice pics on my phone last eve, but sadly, this phone has never been very forthcoming when transferring pictures to the PC.  I know the pics are on the phone, but I just can't find 'em to transfer 'em.  You're stuck with those I do find.  Still the same lovely cat-model, though.

Getting ready for a nap.

Aaaannnnd....just about asleep.....

Not really.  I think the camera caught her slow-blinking me.  Makes me happy, being slow-blinked.  slow-blunk?  I'm not a grammar sophisticate.

Have a good week ahead!

Oh, Yeah....

...one thing I forgot to mention in last week's birthday post.  We got Daisy one extra present.  A door.

Oh wow!  a big screen TV!!!  For me?!?  You guys are the best!

Bonus:  in this pic, you get an idea of the long-ness of our little gray kitty.

She is very interested in her new view.

When did you guys get the front porch ceiling beaded?  Was that what all the noise was about last month?

We're actually a bit worried she'll get too interested in it.  She's zipped out the door before and wandered around the back of the house, of course doing the cat-thing of keeping just out of reach of the pursuing humans.  We've nabbed her fairly easily each time, but it's a bit panic-inducing.  Our hope is that her interest will fade as she becomes more familiar with the view.  Until then, we'll just have to be careful about our comings and goings.  It's a small price to pay for a happy cat.

There's so much to see!

We do hope she enjoys it.  We certainly enjoy our new door.  

Hope you have a great week ahead!

Three is a Magic Number

Daisy is three!  She turned three on Saturday.  We celebrated by giving her a wee bit of gruyere and some of her favorite cottage cheese whey.  We've also picked out a cat tree.  Now all we have to do is rearrange the room a bit so the tree can be by a window and I think we're good.

Her she is, contemplating jumping for a toy.

What a fine looking kitty!

She's up to 10 pounds of cat. She's still lean and long.  Proof:

She seems to be healthy.  We'll confirm that in June when I'm off school.  We're planning to take her in for a check-up, shots, tooth cleaning and micro-chipping.  Not much of a present so we haven't mentioned it to her.....

Here she is on one of her first days with us:

She's just gotten prettier with age.  Hasn't lost an ounce of energy, either.  She has gotten more accustomed to snuggles, though.  There are some mornings, after I wake up but before I get up, that she walks up me and lies down on my chest.  It's a marvelous moment.  

We're happy this little gray cat was born.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAISY!!!!!

Thank you.  I was told there'd be cake.

Have a good week!

Oh, and for those of you who remember Schoolhouse Rock, here's the source of today's title:

 

Guardian

Daisy is an excellent watch-cat.

I'm watchin' you!

  She is in tune with the environment around our house.  She knows when there is an interloper and precisely what he or she is doing.  The other night around 11:00, Daisy was tearing about the house leaping into the windows and staring outside.  She made a couple of circuits, crashing into things, knocking stuff around as well as denying us our sleep.  When she came into the bedroom the second time and perched in the window, staring intently, I got up to see what the fuss was about.  Turns out we had a possum wandering around.  Daisy trailed him for a bit and then, satisfied that no harm would befall us, came to sleep on my feet.

Daisy is always aware of our neighbor-cat Puddin'.  

What'choo up to?!?!  Those are MY steps!

I'm never sure how Daisy would respond to being nose-to-nose with Puddin'.  Sometimes I'm glad there's a pane of glass or a screen between them.

The only visitor that Daisy hasn't picked up on recently is this guy.

He's been 'round once or twice before.  Looks healthy enough and well fed.  If I could be sure that we weren't just feeding the possum (or a very football-shaped Puddin') I'd leave some food out for him just to encourage a few more visits.  I am surprised that Daisy's missed him.  She's usually pretty alert.

Wait.  What??

I'll leave you with a pic of Daisy at ease, not worrying about a thing happening outside these walls.

I hope you don't have anything to worry about, either.  Have a good week!