Herons and My Cats

The weather today was still cool for this time of year, in the 50s. We are all anxiously waiting for the warmer weather. We could use some rain but we didn't get any over the weekend. I see that purple and blue flowers are blooming in my gardens. I will post garden pictures later this week.

Tonight I went on my walk around the Tollgate Pond. I saw a cat sneaking around one of the ponds. I do wish that people wouldn't let their pet cats wander around the neighborhood. I knew this one was a pet, it was wearing a collar. While I stopped to get a better look at the cat, I noticed the green heron again. I spent some time watching the heron and made note of its coloring size etc. so that I could verify that it is indeed a green heron. Here are pictures that resemble the green heron I saw.

Green Heron, not a bit of green on it. Go figure..............
Another picture of the Green Heron. The coloring is burgundy throat and blue to blue grey head and body.

While I was observing the Green Heron, I noticed that the Great Blue Heron was stalking its next meal in the same pond very nearby. It quickly snatched a large gold fish from the pond and swallowed it just as quickly. It was amazing, I got to see these two interesting birds on my walk this evening. It was all in the timing I decided.

A picture of a Great Blue Heron

I decided that since I write about my cats in some of my posts, I should introduce you to them. Here they are: This is Seally. She was born in the Spring of 1997 so she is now 11 years old. She likes to sleep but not at night. Her second favorite thing is being petted and laying in my lap. She likes to knead my stomach. I consider it my cat massage. Seally is diabetic but is not insulin dependent at this time. Her diabetes is controlled by her special prescription diet. She is my lover kitty and she likes to be brushed. She is very well trained and responds to my voice commands and my hand claps.

A typical spot where Seally likes to sleep and observe the goings on outdoors. Seally likes to be petted by my nephews and other children. She doesn't seem to be frightened by them at all. She is famous at our Vet Clinic. The staff at the desk always remembers her name.

This is Ebony. She is the sibling to Seally so she is also 11 years old. They were part of a litter of 5 kittens that were found in my backyard. Three of the kittens came to live with me. Their sibling Smokey died in 2005. I miss him everyday. Ebony is my shyest kitty. She rarely lets me touch her but occasionally she changes her mood and wants to be petted or brushed. She is fond of Seally and Muffin and often sleeps with one of them to keep warm. She also likes to sleep in a wicker chair in my quilt room.

This is Eleanor. She is the most feral of my four cats. She was most likely born in the Spring of 1998 so she is 10 years old. She has been living indoors since January 2005. Before that she lived outside and I fed her. She had several litters of kittens before she was caught and spayed. Homes were found for most of her kittens. She has become quite docile since she has been living inside. She likes to watch me cook in the kitchen and likes to be petted especially when it is time to be fed. She even enjoys being brushed and will stand in wait for me to finish with Seally or Muffin. She likes to carry toy mice in her mouth and makes a sound similar to the sound of the creature in "ET" the movie. I am not sure if she thinks the toy mice are her babies or mice. Every night I put the toy mice back in the basement and the next day she brings them back up the stairs one at a time.

This is Muffin. He has the most beautiful green eyes. He is the offspring of Eleanor. He was born in the Spring of 1999 and so he is 9 years old. He is very long and tall. He guards our home and watches for other cats or animals. The right side of his face including his ear is paralyzed but he doesn't seem to be bothered by it at all. The vet thinks he had a neurological problem as a kitten. If I ask him a question, he always responds in a high pitched cry. I just wish I knew what he was saying. He likes to be held and he likes to sit in my lap and cuddle. He will tolerate being brushed but cries like a baby even though it does not hurt him. He is always hungry and thinks my main function is to feed him. He likes to watch the computer screen and seemed to enjoy the pictures of the herons. He even sniffed the screen to see if they were real. He is very smart and has taught me to do many things.

Well, I have just been advised that it is time to be fed and put to bed so I better get going.