Gentle Giants

It all begin with a quick check on Craig's list earlier this week. I'm not really a regular on Craig's list, but once in a while I will check the pet section. So what did I discover? Two gentle giants up for adoption.....no fee, just a good loving home.

When I say gentle giants, I mean purebred maine coon cats. You see ten years ago my favorite cat Patches, a maine coon mix suddenly died due to kidney failure. I was crushed. My big cat with the bunny soft fur had to be put to sleep. I cried, my family cried....even my mom cried, because Patches was her favorite too. I've always talked about getting another maine coon and I've scanned the humane society websites looking for this big cat, but never really found one locally. Well, that changed today.

We decided to meet up with the cat owner, Jeremy, and take a look at the cats. The brown tabby is a male, and the grey cat is a female. It wasn't hard for me (and Bike man) to say yes! After discovering these cats actually came from a cattery in Alabama, with papers, I knew they were well taken care of. Currently, Aiden (boy) is 20 lbs. and Abby (girl) is a little smaller. Aiden is braver and wants to explore the house, while Abby is sheepishly hiding in our spare bedroom. Poor kitty girl.

As for Annabelle, she knows we brought new cats home and is very curious. Of course I had to buy something new for ALL the cats! On the way home this morning, we stopped by the pet store and found this tree house on sale. This will replace the wooden plant stand that served as a resting/play place for Annabelle over the last three years.

So, now the Son is accusing me of being a crazy cat woman, claiming that I will keep adding more cats to the collection. Is that what happens to women as they get older? Or am I just missing my kids??

More photos are coming in the next few days as the cats come out of hiding. If you're wondering, both cats are up to date with vaccinations and have been tested for feline leukemia.

Simple

Beauty is in the clouds. Even on a clear day, I'm always looking up searching for the clouds. There's never one cloud that is the same. Always amazing, always fresh....so simple. I like simple!

Stay Visible

Monkey Lectric.....checkout this website and videoclip.

Bike man and I checked out the Monkey Lectric bicycle lights.....so cool.

Guess who ordered some lights? Can't wait to see them outside....at night and on the road!

Camera Ready

Grabbed my camera as I approached the Red Cedar River from the north end of our county. Traveling back home from a training session today in northern Wisconsin, gave me the opportunity to point and shoot. Camera, that is!

While concentrating up the river, I suddenly realized I had a few friends off to the left along the ice melt. These Whistling swans just happen to be hanging out ever so quietly. Darn, if only I had my Canon Rebel, but the point and shoot did it's job.

The swans obviously saw me and were watching me, but they let me just hang out on the bridge looking down on them. I do admit I did tiptoe around the bridge so I wouldn't make a lot of noise while watching the birds.....certainly didn't want to spook them.

It's such a good feeling to see the rivers opening up and the geese moving. I even smelled a skunk several nights ago on our ride home from the theater. Awwwww, spring is beginning.

How To Make a Cat Happy

How do you make your cat happy? Buy your cat a new toy! The first cat photo was sent to me by my cousin Marijo and she wanted to show me the kitty tent that she bought. One of her cats, Mitzi, really enjoys the cat tent. So there I was today shopping at Wal-Mart for library supplies, but of course I had to walk down the cat aisle. Cool.....look what I found, the exact same kitty tent on clearance. Whoo hoo! I think I made my cat happy tonight. It's all about the cat ya know!

Ride the Divide

It was listed in our local newspaper that a one-time showing of the Ride the Divide documentary would be showing in a nearby city, so Bike man, the Son and I went to the special showing tonight. Wow.....we thoroughly enjoyed this documentary. The Ride the Divide race is an annual mountain bike race that starts in Banff, Alberta and follows the Great Divide trail all the way to the Mexico border.

Bike man rode the Great Divide trail in 2005 and spent 5 weeks riding the trail with his brother. Unfortunately, Bike man had to cycle the last week alone in Wyoming since his brother had to abort the trip due to severe back problems. Bike man is hoping to continue the Great Divide ride.....soon! How soon? Well, whenever I say "lets go"!!!!!

Found Something New

I some how missed these unusual tracks yesterday while out on the lake. Today however, I noticed them. Looks like an animal was dragging something....or dragging itself. These drag marks continue all along the lake shore. I'm totally stumped by these tracks because I don't see many other marking inside these tracks. The lines are fairly even too. I certainly need help in identifying what these marking represent. Any ideas?

Look mom, I'm being extra safe! I decided that since it's March and the temperatures will be warming soon I decided that I will get into the habit of taking the safety picks with me when I'm out snowshoeing on the lake. We still have 2 1/2 feet of ice, but you just never know, especially when I cross the main channel!!!!! Actually, I figure another two weeks of snowshoeing out on the lake and then I will call it quits. Ya know, it's been a good winter season.

Bike man update: he's doing great and is up to working out for one hour when he attends his cardiac therapy, however, the therapists still aren't use to his enthusiasm for workouts. It's almost like they expect him to be all frail and weak. Geez, wait till Bike man arrives by bicycle to his therapy workouts. The therapists will probably shit their pants!!!!!!

It's Still Winter

It's really hard for me to believe that it's 80 some degrees in my sister's home state of Florida, while we, living here on Tainter Lake Wisconsin, still have 2 1/2 feet of lake ice! Looking at the forecast for the upcoming week, snow predicted everyday.

Kim and Neil stopped by this afternoon to snowshoe with me around the lake. We all agreed that the snow can fall another week or too so we can enjoy our snowshoe workouts, but then we agreed that we're ready for spring.....cuz spring means hanging up the snowshoes and bringing out the bikes. Still tons of salt on the roadways, so no road riding for another month or so.

Of course I found fresh animal tracks again today. Neil and I agreed these tracks must be rabbit, but when I looked in my tracks & scats book of the great lakes, the rabbit tracks look totally different in the book. Bike man thinks these are deer tracks that didn't break through the snow and ice! Hummm, not sure what to think. Half the fun of snowshoeing is trying to identify the animal tracks around you.

Like I said yesterday, this was a weekend to be quiet and rejuvenate. I needed this weekend to take my mind off the economy, politics and work-related issues. Next week, I will find out about the fate of my public library and it's funding for 2012. I've been waking up at night, worrying about the county and municipal funding cuts and the possibility of my facility closing. Whatever happens will happen.....it's out of my hands. Politics, it's all about politics!