found the retreat

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

31 Mar 2022 - I must be doing something right when my peeps scratch their heads.  After a long period of showing no interest in this upstairs balcony, now I have found it a most enjoyable place to hang out.  Why now?  Certainly some of it is due to the upturned heat in this space.  And possibly I need an occasional break from interloper clamor... in our domicile one can't get more "tucked away" than here.  It isn't that this area is devoid of the usual suspects, but the sort found on the balcony are quiet little guys that can be largely ignored... until they wander toward the door.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Different scripts keep

the brain flexible.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

phrase of the day - sanctum sancpurrum, a cat's hideaway

a rousing vocation

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

30 Mar 2022 - My jungle roar could benefit from amplification, but it's loud enough for the nearby interlopers to notice and retreat.  Certainly a growl from a known victor carries farther than one without a fearsome personality.  Actually with all the spring headiness, the courtship and setting up house, I am mostly ignored.  With their intentions focused elsewhere, I can largely just watch and wait for the honeymoon to end.  Patrols continue, but I can enjoy the sunny weather with eyes occasionally closed.  Of course any crash in the bushes will bring my senses to full-alert.  However most of the noise arises from territory dispute... little do they acknowledge that I am their landlord.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Hormones disturb harmony.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - inspurrit, to enliven the household (lucky peeps)

individ, you all

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

29 Mar 2022 - Early mornings are a study of the many shades of black.  My white markings are indiscernible in the dim light, and I creep about like a lithe shadow.  Of course what I see contrasted with what my peeps see is difficult to compare, since it would require a discourse... and there exists that pesky language barrier.  I say "pesky", but actually spoken words often get us into trouble.  The blurted opinion that should only have been thought, is suddenly a public statement... perhaps to be followed by clarification and/or apology.  Upon reflection I can see that there are advantages to not being comprehended, by the ear or eye.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Misunderstanding

is unavoidable.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

phrase of the day - poles apurrt, widely different (but then we aren't the same species)

warm-hearted?

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

28 Mar 2022 - I admit to being a sun-worshipper, and I am all the toastier because of that.  Although my screened porch offers numerous amenities, it turns its back to the sun's arc... and sometimes that orientation isn't a liability.  But when there is a chill in the air, perhaps pushed about by wind, I retreat to my original room and its heated pools of sunlight.  It is here that I get my best, and closest, view of that orange cousin who likes to gobble my kibble.  His take has not reduced the quantity in my bowl,  but it is the principle of the thing that irritates.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

It is difficult to be magnanimous

when in a snit.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - meowciful, gracious and lenient (from this cat's purrspective)

in a cut-uproar

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

27 Mar 2022 - Reader, can you spare bail money?  Just kiddin', I'm only entertaining the shorter peep while she gathers our morning meal.  Some part of me enjoys provoking smiles and chuckles and funny comments.  I suspect my two are an easy audience, but it would be a sad statement if at the saucy age of 2+ years I was already staid and humorless.  Don't ask me to crack a joke, but I am adept at physical comedy... perhaps all of my kind are, but being the only feline in our domicile (thank you, Bastet) I don't have to compete for top clown.  I simply channel all that youthful energy, careen around rambunctiously, and hold my tail aloft in a question mark.  Why indeed?

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Don't dither when

you can cut to the chase.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - vipurrant, full of life (with many more rounds to go)

I can vex that

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

26 Mar 2022 - Yesterday I was atop a chair, today I'm under it.  We cats loathe predictability!  Besides, the enemy is always looking for patterns to exploit, so I purposefully mix up my "routine".  The same things get accomplished, but not always in the same order or on the same time schedule.  It is the sort of change that I don't mind, since it has an understood reason behind it.  It also doesn't hurt that I am the instigator of the change, so of course it makes sense.  When my peeps try to influence my behavior, naturally there is reluctance on my part... what's wrong with the way I've chosen to do it?  (and what is the hidden agenda??)

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

It is hard to graciously

take instruction.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purrverse, expressing feline self-will (often described as "being contrary")

reward center

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

25 Mar 2022 - I do like the shorter peep, but that feeling can be held while zooming around our domicile and patrolling its perimeter.  But the highly anticipated receipt of morning treats requires that I hang out near the breakfast area... and so here I am, waiting yet again.  Eventually my patience will be rewarded, and my official day can begin, properly fueled.  Establishing a reliable routine is crucial to good time management:  otherwise I would be dawdling in the vicinity, unsure of when sustenance will appear... instead of watching for interlopers and keeping our home a safe haven.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Ruts happen because they're

a sure way to get from A to B.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purremium, a cat's incentive for his peeps to act as desired

variety

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

24 Mar 2022 - From upstairs balcony to bottom-floor porch, I dutifully make my rounds. If you'd like to know, for a given area, the best viewpoint, the most hidden nook, the comfiest seat, just ask me.  These opinions were formed by extensive research and objective weighing of the data... but I am a cat and you are not, so our heads are literally in different places.  Keep that in mind when you and a friend disagree on color or slant or myriad other points:  each of us comes from a different set of experiences that have shaped who we are.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Yes and no, like black and white,

are reassuring absolutes.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purrlarity, the state of having opposite tendencies (the reason cats traipse in and out and in)

I smell trouble

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

23 Mar 2022 - This inside outdoor space has novelty rather than horizon.  It also is a quiet get-away, when such a thing is needed.  Here there is little interloper activity to patrol, making it an easy part of my route.  But a neglected spot is quickly noticed by ne'er-do-wells and claimed for their purposes, so it is important that I periodically waltz through.  A watchful eye is an effective crime deterrent, and prevention takes far less energy and emotion than evicting well-established squatters.  I must admit, still in the throes of reckless youth, that an occasional tussle is fun.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Bouncing ideas and bouncing rowdies

are very different activities.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purrawler, one of my less-couth kin, often with a limp and mangled ear

upwind must

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

22 Mar 2022 - My sense of smell is good, better than my peeps' I'm guessing.  So I state with assurance that this showy flower just beyond my screened porch is all show and no perfume.  There is a sweet something in the air of late, but from its faintness I would guess that the source is some distance away.  It makes an unusual backdrop for the scents of interlopers.  Now warmed in the sun and more active, the local fauna announce their presence even when sitting still.  Likewise I am sure that they are aware of my bouquet, long before they spot me.  It is a mutual distraction game, but one I intend to win.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Since the beginning

the nose has been a harbinger.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

character of the day - Pepé Le Pew, a tuxedo look-alike (but that is where the resemblance stops)

lazy boy

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

21 Mar 2022 - Lazy Sunday afternoons are highly recommended:  curl up with a friend and wait for the outdoors to warm up.  That was my plan yesterday, and it was most satisfactory.  Eventually Mr. Sol turned the nippy tide, and I rose from my comfortable bed and made my rounds, very happy to spend some part of the day on my screened porch.  I may in fact look slothful in this picture, but the brain is always clicking and my ears are constantly on duty.  As one who enjoys sneaking up on interlopers, it would be very embarrassing (and scary) to have something (like a peep) catch me unaware.  Too close for comfort depends on what it is, with a sliding scale of acceptable distance.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Permission is not needed

for self-care.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - inpurrtia, a feline's tendency to do nothing for long stretches

a parable of talents

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

20 Mar 2022 - You see it, right?  I'm not hiding behind the curtain, I'm in stealth mode.  I've had my claws in it a few times, but it flips and flops and scoots away... only to return.  It is playing a dangerous game, as dispatched interlopers would attest if they could.  It was so cocky that the presence of both peeps didn't stop its tease.  Generally I prefer working without an audience, but at least my two could see first-hand how well I do my job.  The outcome?  After much back-and-forth, I sent it scurrying to wherever it calls home... which had better not be under my roof.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

A task well-done is its

own reward.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purrtuoso, a highly skilled purrson

luck of the I-wish

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

19 Mar 2022 - Anticipation is a higher-order emotion not only felt by peeps.  Every morning, weather permitting, I get to experience the joy of my screened porch.  And before I rush out to spook the interlopers, I pause to reflect on my good fortune and wonder at the surprises that await this sentry.  These early-day excursions are still invigorating (i.e., chilly), but I tolerate them because shortly hotter air will arrive.  I do marvel that my peeps don't spend their waking hours on my porch.  The shorter peep and I often rendezvous out there for midday snacks, but otherwise it is all mine (which isn't a bad thing).

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Sometimes your stars align.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - serendipurrtous, occurring happily by chance (Bastet's first name)