eBotanical Prints – April 2023

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Twenty-one more books were added to the botanical print collection this month, and all are about orchids: the Australian Orchid Review from 2009 - 2012. I picked sample images that demonstrated the publications’ photography – particularly of orchids growing in natural settings. Most times people see orchids are in cultivated settings: conservatories, green houses, flower arrangements. Seeing them in the wild is a challenge. The ones native to North America are often small or rare…or both! The Australian Orchid Review has articles primarily on Australian orchid growing…and native orchids of Australia and its nearest neighbors.  I’ll continue browsing more volumes in May!

The whole list of 2,613 botanical eBooks can be accessed here. The list for the April 2023 books with links to the volumes and sample images is at the bottom of this post.

Click on any sample images in the mosaic below to get an enlarged version. Enjoy the April 2023 eBotanical Prints!

Australian Orchid Review 2012 (October - November) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2012

Australian Orchid Review 2012 - 2013 (December - January) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2013

Australian Orchid Review 2012 (June - July) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2012

Australian Orchid Review 2012 (August - September) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2012

Australian Orchid Review 2011 (February - March) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2011

Australian Orchid Review 2011 (June - July) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2011

Australian Orchid Review 2011 (October - November) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2011

Australian Orchid Review 2011 - 2012 (December - January) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2012

Australian Orchid Review 2011 (April - May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2011

Australian Orchid Review 2011 (August - September) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2011

Australian Orchid Review 2010 (February - March) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2010

Australian Orchid Review 2010 (June - July) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2010

Australian Orchid Review 2010 (August - September) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2010

Australian Orchid Review 2010 (October - November) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2010

Australian Orchid Review 2010 - 2011 (December - January) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2011

Australian Orchid Review 2010 (April - May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2010

Australian Orchid Review 2009 (April - May) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2009

Australian Orchid Review 2009 (June - July) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2009

Australian Orchid Review 2009 (August - September) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2009

Australian Orchid Review 2009 (October - November) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2009

Australian Orchid Review 2009 - 2010 (December - January) * Orchid Society of New South Wales * sample image * 2010

Marcus Bayou and Johnson Beach (Pensacola FL)

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Marcus Bayou is a boardwalk over a water reclamation facility. We were there in the afternoon – enjoyed a forest walk without worrying about mud or tree roots! We heard many forest birds but did not see any long enough to photograph. The height of the boardwalk made for excellent views of shallow water…full of leaves and vegetation…reflections. The water appeared to be the color of weak tea.

The pine needles were long and there were both green and brown ones on the boardwalk – along with other debris. The boardwalk surface was rough….maybe stained pine.

There were quite a few ferns…a few fiddleheads. My camera’s zoom helped me get reasonable images of them from the boardwalk.

The next morning we visited another part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore – Johnson Beach. We waited a little too late for a lot of bird activity…only saw a Great Blue Heron

And some Laughing Gulls at the beach.

It was windy and I opted to photograph the various plants on the dunes that help hold the sand. There are wavey grass-like plants and others that hunker down and must sometimes get partially buried. The round glossy leaves barely above the sand were my favorites.

The roads in the National Seashore have areas of shallow water and accumulating sand – piles to the side where plows have scraped the sand just as they do after snowstorms in the north! We learned that the standing water happens after rainstorms…and dissipates quickly. That was true. There was a lot of rain the first night we were in Pensacola…and water on the road to Fort Pickens the next morning. We could see that there was a lot less water when we went to Fort Pickens the second time.

Fort Pickens

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We visited the Fort Pickens area of Gulf Islands National Seashore twice during our visit to Pensacola. We looked at the fishing pier area first --- searching for birds. Brown pelicans were searching for breakfast…not minding the fishermen on the pier nearby. They are probably in the area year-round.

Some of the structures were derelict. Water and salt are hard on concrete.

Several immature red-breasted mergansers were also finding food in the surf. They might continue north even though they are not breeding this year.

Willets and a great blue heron were wading in the surf.

Immature Bonaparte’s Gulls were on the beach…resting.

Looking toward the mainland from the Fort (on a barrier island), a lighthouse is visible. It is on the Naval Air Station which limits tours to people with military IDs.

We heard and saw small birds in the grass near the historical buildings/discovery center. Looking closer we saw that they were blue grosbeaks! They were probably refueling before they continued their migration northward.

Two osprey were building a nest at the top of a chimney nearby.

On the drive away from Fort Pickens after our first visit, we spotted a mature bald eagle in a tall pine. I’d spotted a large nest as we had driven toward the Fort….so we were looking closely for the bird!

We joined a ranger-led walking tour of the fort to learn a little about its history. Fort Pickens was built after the War of 1812 and before the Civil War….built with slave labor (many were skilled laborers specializing in brick structures).  It was the largest brick structure on the Gulf of Mexico after it was finished and was a deterrent to conflict for a time. Its only active use was during the Civil War; it stayed in Union hands for the duration. Much of the brickwork has survived. The Fort was modified for other purposes over the years…with part of the structure used to store land mines! It served as a prison for Geronimo before he was sent to Fort Sill (in Oklahoma). Today – plants grow on the structure and in areas that were once busy with military preparations. The tour was a bit long (1.5 hours); I enjoyed the first hour but was tired for the last half hour.

Vacation to Pensacola, FL

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Our trip from home (Nixa, MO) to Pensacola, FL in April was our most substantial post-pandemic vacation…three days in a place we had not visited before bracketed by long driving days. We thought we were used to long drives because of all the trips between Maryland and Missouri last spring associated with our move, but the non-Interstate roads and long rural expanses going to Pensacola made it a harder drive. The only rest stops were welcome centers when we crossed state lines; we made stops at fast food places and gas stations but sometimes they were further apart than we prefer.

It was scenic…with roadcuts and forests, rivers and fields. In Arkansas there seemed to be a lot of farmers plowing…kicking up dust; I’d seen so many no-till fields in recent years that the plowing struck me as a retro strategy (and one that obviously depleted topsoil). In Mississippi, we noticed a community with blue roofs; as we got closer, we realized the blue was from tarps and there were big stacks of fallen trees nearby; a police car monitored the comings and goings from the community. By the time we got to Alabama we were tired…glad we were getting close to our destination.

Our previous visits to Florida had been primarily to the Atlantic coast and Orlando. Pensacola had a deep South vibe. The military presence (current and historical) also influenced our perception of the area. We wanted to see the Gulf Islands National Seashore and several other natural areas – for birds and plants. We stayed at a hotel with a small kitchen…took advantage of the breakfast they provided and snacked in our room in the evening after having a substantial lunch while we were out and about during the day. There was a magnolia blooming near our room.

Overall – the trip was OK but not spectacular. We learned about ourselves as much as about the area:

  • A google maps time of 11.5-12 hours is too much for us to do in a day – particularly if the route is not mostly Interstates.

  • Spring is a great time for road trips….fall will be too. Summer is often too hot and winter weather can be problematic.

  • Birding festivals give us the discipline to get up and out early…into places that are harder to find on our own in an unfamiliar area of the country. We’ll register for a festival to structure our next trip.

I’ll be posting about our Pensacola vacation in the upcoming days….stay tuned.

Zentangle® – April 2023

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30 days in April…30 tiles selected for the mosaic below.

Almost half of them started out without a frame…just a simple a spiral string. Sometimes the string is highlighted and sometimes it almost disappears. It was fun fitting patterns into the string.

Creating a Zentangle tile or two (or three) has become part of my daily routine. It’s a good way to focus for a few minutes, be creative, and be pleased (or surprised) with the result. Sometimes I think there should be a big display of tiles where I can see them frequently but then I decide that the process of  creating is the most important aspect…I’ll keep boxes of finished tiles but very few of them will ever get a second look!

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The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. It was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. “Zentangle” is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.

Ten Little Celebrations – April 2023

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Glorious spring…cool mornings and very pleasant afternoons…flowers…travel. So much to celebrate.

Springfield Botanical Garden and Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden. Visiting gardens is one of my favorite spring activities! There is so much to see and celebrate as the gardens come back from winter…blooms abound.

Finding a lost ring in a gardening glove.  I celebrated finding a ring I thought I had lost in the tip of a gardening glove finger. It must have some off with the glove and then pushed to the tip when I put on the glove the next time. It was lost for over a month before I finally realized there was something in the end of glove finger!

Ducklings on the neighborhood pond. Another sign of spring – baby birds. The ducklings were all staying close to their parent…still tiny enough to be vulnerable to turtle predation.

Getting to Pensacola FL. We took our first multi-day vacation since before the pandemic. The drive to Pensacola took us longer than we anticipated but we made it. More posts about our adventures in the week ahead. We both celebrated when we got to the hotel after 13 hours on the road.

Indigo buntings. A small flock of indigo buntings was enjoying the grass/weed area near some buildings in Gulf Islands National Seashore….more than I had ever seen at one time! Celebrated noticing the small birds with vibrant coloring.

Home again. It always feels good to come home again after being away. It happened twice in April: once when I can back from Texas and the again when I returned from Florida. Celebrating being at home.

Mowing the yard. I celebrated that the new yard and new mower are going to be a positive learning experience during the growing season – the yard looks great and the work is helping me build up my stamina, get some ‘intensity minutes’ into my routine.

Forsythia with composting mulch. The idea to pull some none flowering weeds as mulch under the forsythia where there was bare soil has worked beautifully. I celebrated finding a place in the yard to put cut/pulled vegetation rather than taking it to the recycling facility.

Great day to put out mulch around trees in the front yard. After mowing the front yard the first time, I realized the trees needed mulch under them to make mowing eaiser. I celebrated that we had great weather on the day we bought the mulch and were able to complete mulching the trees in the front yard…and celebrated again every subsequent mowing.

Great day to put out mulch around trees in the front yard. After mowing the front yard the first time, I realized the trees needed mulch under them to make mowing eaiser. I celebrated that we had great weather on the day we bought the mulch and were able to complete mulching the trees in the front yard…and celebrated again every subsequent mowing.

Planting bulbs around the red maples. I realized that the mulch around the trees made it easier to plant bulbs too. I planted some summer blooming flowers – lilies and butterfly weed and gladiolas. I celebrated that it was so easy to do…and will be celebrating again when the plants bloom this summer.

Gleanings of the Week Ending April 29, 2023

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Cold is beneficial for healthy aging, at least in animals – Research with nematodes and cultivated human cells. Both carried genes for ALS and Huntington’s disease. Cold actively removed protein clumps…preventing protein aggregation that is pathological for those diseases. The protease activator that caused the change was discovered…and the impact of temperature explored. Interestingly – “human body temperature has steadily declined by 0.03 degrees Celsius per decade since the Industrial Revolution, suggesting a possible link to the progressive increase in human life expectancy over the last 160 years.”

See Colorful Paintings of the Zodiac Signs from an Ancient Egyptian Temple – Ceiling paintings in a Ptolemaic temple…suggesting Greeks brought the zodiac tradition to Egypt.

 Nearly 1,000 Acres Added to New River Gorge National Park and Preserve – The acres are in the Preserve part of the park. I have visited the park only once…passing through on one of my many trips between Maryland and Missouri. There is a lot to explore there!

Vehicle Exhaust Filters Do Not Remove “Ultrafine” Pollution – Aargh! No wonder there are so many yellow and red air quality days in our cities caused by particulates.

What it really takes for Asia to get to net zero – Home to 5 of the 10 largest emitters: China, India, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea. An article posted ahead of the BBC’s Sustainability Summit in Singapore. "The perception of higher cost for sustainability practices remains," says An (chief sustainability officer of City Developments Limited in Singapore). "But companies are starting to wake up to the fact that achieving climate goals is an "investment, not a cost."

Thread-like pumps can be woven into clothes – My first thought was maybe these will be commonplace in clothes – enabling us to work outdoors even on very hot days.

Sabertooth cat skull newly discovered in Iowa reveals details about this Ice Age predator – Almost as iconic as dinosaurs when it comes to childhood curiosity about extinct animals. One piece of trivia about modern cats: 40% of lion skulls in a study had survived head trauma to hunt another day. One of the ‘sabers’ of the Iowa Sabertooth was broken not that long before it died…might have even caused its death. Prey fights back…the predator does not always ‘win.’

Europe's unique trials in food 'social security' – Two projects: Montpellier, France and Brussels, Belgium. Run by collectives. The idea that quality, nutritious and organic food should be accessible to everyone.  Each citizen receives a monthly allowance enabling them to buy food meeting certain environmental and ethical criteria. The trials are running for 12 months. The big challenge is changing the way society thinks about food.

The Beauty of Bugs – The picture at the beginning of the article jogged my memory – of the necklace made from insect exoskeletons I saw at the Edge of Cedars State Park Museum when I visited Utah in 2013! I posted about it and took a picture back then…and am pleased to learn more about it and the possible implication it might have re the Basketmaker II culture.

Scientists discover a way Earth’s atmosphere cleans itself – It’s surprising that we don’t know more about how the Earth’s atmosphere works!

Japanese Pottery

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James Lord Bowes was a wealthy Liverpool (UK) wool broker that became an authority on Japan and its art. He published his 3-volume work about Japanese Pottery in 1890, the year he also opened the first museum in the western world dedicated to Japanese art. The books are available as eBooks from Internet Archive. Their publication in 1890 makes them historical…and they were, from the being, about art. Enjoy them from both perspectives!

Zooming – April 2023

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The zoom capability of my bridge camera (Canon PowerShot SX70 HS) is used in almost every picture I take! I rarely carry binoculars anymore since I’d rather have the option of taking a picture once I find the subject…and I am keen to minimize the weight of gear I carry around.

The locations for the zoomed images selected for this month are Nixa MO, Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (near Sherman TX), Carrollton TX, Coppell TX, and Springfield TX.

My favorite subject this month was ducklings! I was thrilled to find them in my neighborhood pond when they were only a few days old.

Enjoy my views of April 2023!

Our Missouri Neighborhood – April 2023

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Springtime view of our neighborhood from our backyard just after sunrise. The trees are leafing out…filling in more of the eastern horizon. The red bud is a break in the spring greens looking past the tennis courts.

Later in the morning I took some macro shots of fading daffodil blooms

And redbud flowers/leaves.

After spending time photographing the ducklings (see yesterday’s post), I made a project to photograph some of the trees in the morning like against the very clear sky. There was a little breeze but the light was bright enough to freeze the image!

The lawn around the pool was dotted with dandelions. I know that many hate the plants – wage war on them in their lawns – but I have come to appreciate them. I like their cheerful yellow flowers (and so do insects) and the puffs of seeds are always photogenic. I mow them but don’t do anything else to discourage them in my yard.

Ducklings!

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There are mallard ducklings on our neighborhood pond! I photographed them on the 14th – 10 ducklings still sticking very close to their mom.

The pond also hosts some turtles that might be large enough to pull a duckling under. The mother can probably protect them when they are in the nest or in very shallow water. I noticed that when they were moving about in the deeper water that the mother kept up a brisk pace and the ducklings stayed in a group rather than trailing behind (most of the time).

The ducklings must have to move their legs and feet very quickly to keep up with their mother. Their down is so fuzzy that they sometimes look out of focus as they bob along.

Plant of the Month: Hostas

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All the areas the hostas were growing when we moved to our Missouri house last June have hostas emerging – even the ones that were burnt by the very hot dry spell (their leaves shriveled and dried) after the bushes that shaded them were trimmed. It was thrilling to see the new leaves showing among the rocks in our flowerbeds! The greens and whites of their leaves made them my pick for “plant of the month” in our yard.

Enjoy some macro views of the hosta leaves – the curves…the lines…the color transitions. Little works of abstract art from nature!

Composting Mulch

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This is my first spring in my Missouri house, and I am still acquainting myself with the flowerbeds around the house.  A very fast-growing plant came up in the east flowerbed and spilled out in the yard. I pulled a wheelbarrow of the stuff and took it back to put on the bare soil under the forsythia bush. It covered about half the space.

A few days later, the 4-6 inches deep plant material under the forsythia had collapsed to about ½ inch. I decided the weed is perfect for composting mulch! I started pulling the remaining weed in the east flowerbed.

I uncovered hostas, irises, violets, and a maple seedling. I pulled the maple seedling but left the other others.

It wasn’t difficult to pull another full wheelbarrow of weed.

This time it covered remaining the bare soil!

The weed might grow back since I probably did not get all the rootlets…but I have other places in the yard I can use it for mulch. The strategy is to pull it before it creates seeds. My overall goal is to keep what the yard grows cycled into the yard…avoid spraying or fertilizing…plant more pollinator-friendly plants…and (over time) reduce the amount of turf.

Gleanings of the Week Ending April 22, 2023

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Home Electrification Incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act – Now to decide what to do first….

How mobile phones have changed our brains – Some research about the impact phones have on our focus.

Drug overdose fatalities among U.S. older adults has quadrupled over 20 years, research finds – Overdose is a problem across the lifespan. Most deaths are unintentional.

Macro Photography Captures the Delicate Dance of Mantises in Malaysia – Wonders of the insect world. We have mantises in North America…but not as colorful as these Malaysian species.

A Plateau in the Heart of Texas – The Edwards Plateau…one of the geologic features of Texas that makes for scenic drives.

The Shaman’s Secrets – A 9,000-year-old burial of 2 people (one adult, one very young child) with 100s of ritual objects. The grave was first excavated in the 1930s…and assumptions were made…the adult was a man, blond hair, blue eyes. But modern analysis tells a different and more complete story.

Winter Rains Bring Mushroom Boom in California – Extra rain….and there are a lot more mushrooms!

Protecting Nēnē, The Threatened State Bird of Hawai'i – We didn’t see in nēnē when we went to Volcanoes National Park in 2015….it was good to see pictures of them.

Want to Improve Your Outdoor Recreation? Try Birding. – Yes! It has certainly been true for my husband and me. There are so many good resources about birding (festivals, birding trails, apps)!

A must-see sunset spectacle at Monument Valley – Wow! We visited in 2013 at midday. Next time I’ll plan to go in late March or mid-September…and stay until sunset.

Older adults with dementia but without close family: Who are they? And who cares for them? – Thought provoking.

William Burton and Pottery

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William Burton was a chemist that worked at the Wedgewood Company and then Pilkington’s Lancastrian Pottery & Tiles. There are 4 books available on Internet Archive that he authored about pottery featured in this ‘book of the week post.’ It seems he was interested in more than the chemistry of pottery; he was also attuned to all the aspects of creating it…and enjoyed the beauty of the finished product too.

He does not have a Wikipedia entry of his own…but there is a paragraph about him in the Pilkington’s article. He evidentially was manager of the company – employing many artists and commissioning work from other artists of the time.

Porcelain, a sketch of its nature, art, and manufacture (1906)

A history and description of English earthenware and stoneware (to the beginning of the 19th century) (1904)

Josiah Wedgwood and his pottery (1922)

A history and description of the old French faïence, with an account of the revival of faïence painting in France (1903)

National Tiger Sanctuary

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The National Tiger Sanctuary is only about 30 minutes from our Missouri home; a tram tour of the place on a sunny spring day was a great ‘experience’ for a spring birthday in our family. We arrived about twenty minutes before our tour time…plenty of time to photograph the sculpture above the gate

And sculptures around the building.

There was also a pile of damaged big cat ‘toys’ behind the building.

The tram tour passes between rows of large double/triple wire enclosures – sometimes for single big cats and sometimes shared spaces for siblings or cats that appreciate company. The cats looked healthy although some are hampered by their experience prior to being rescued (i.e. declawed, teeth filed, finicky eaters). Even though the name is ‘tiger sanctuary’ we saw more lions! There have been two ‘surprise’ litters born at a sanctuary (a group of rescued adult lions…the male supposedly had a vasectomy…but two lionesses were having litters!). The litters were 4 cubs each and are almost adults now…so the numbers are skewed toward lions.

We heard vocalizations of cats several times while we were there. Our tour guide said that cool days in spring and fall are not as smelly as warm, humid days. Good to know…made us even more glad we went in April.

There were white tigers and ligers – rescued from breeders or entertainment companies. They tend to have genetic-type health problems in addition (sometimes) to problems with ill treatment. Hopefully the breeding of these big cats is slowing down/stopping.

The sanctuary rescues other animals as well. The lemurs seemed to enjoy having people around; some of them had been ‘pets’ that became problematic for their owner.

There are also some wolf dogs and farm type animals. Providing a ‘forever home’ to all the animals rescued is what the sanctuary is about (not just tigers).

Tree Mulching Project

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When we first moved to Missouri last summer, we hired a crew to mow/weed eat/edge our yard. This season I am doing it. The first time I mowed (with our new battery powered mower…a big improvement over the gasoline powered one we had in Maryland), it was obvious that the job would be easier if the trees had mulch around them – an area large enough to avoid any low branches. The front yard has three trees: 2 red maples and an Asian dogwood. The red maples are relatively young trees so the mulched area did not need to be large. The dogwood had a lot of lower branches that I wanted to keep – hence a larger circle of mulch.

The first step was define the circle I would cover with mulch with very short grass; it was a good project for me to learn to use our new weed eater (also batter powered).

My husband helped me pour bags of mulch and I spread it around with a rake. The red maples took 1.5 bags each and the dogwood took 3 bags.

My follow up plan is to plant some daylilies and butterfly weed in the mulch areas around the red maples. The base of the young trees in sunny because are relatively skinny trees; the plants should do well. I enjoyed the ‘ruff’ of daylilies I had around the base of our oak tree in Maryland, and I hope eventually that will happen around these red maples. The plants might make it easier to extend the mulch circles as the trees grow since they reproduce rapidly. There aren’t deer wondering through our Missouri neighborhood eating buds like candy (like happened in Maryland); I’m looking forward to having flowers!

Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden – April 2023

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Earlier this month, we made our first visit to the Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden since the winter holiday lights event in December (Gardens Aglow). I plan to go frequently during its April – October season since I joined Friends of the Garden; one of the membership benefits is free entry to the stroll garden.

We walked around the loop counterclockwise. Near the Meditation Sand Garden there were many cairns…some large and permanent…others built of smaller stones by other visitors. My favorite was a small stack of three stones on top of a post.

There are lanterns throughout the garden, and I always make a little project of photographing the ones that I notice. Next time I will hone my skills getting the horizon straight!

Interesting textures and colors abound: dried hydrangea flowers, new Japanese maple leaves in the sun, a pine tree with a challenge (disease, drought,?), reflections in a tinted pool.

A phoebe was close enough to identify.

A native dogwood was close enough to the path for some macro photography with my phone. I was fascinated about the way the flowers open – stuck at the apex…one petal-like bract opening …then another…the last two finally letting go to open the flower completely.

I suspect that there is a richness in this garden that will make it one of my favorite places in Springfield.

Springfield Botanical Gardens – April 2023

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The uptick in vegetation is in full swing at the Springfield Botanical Gardens this month. We went on a morning cool/breezy enough to require a jacket with a hood and gloves. The early blooming trees and bushes (cherry, magnolia, quince), spring bulbs, and some violets made it worth the walk. The magnolias appeared to have been hard hit by the cold weather of the past weeks – with wads of ruined flowers; but some buds were evidently not impacted, and the few flowers were a taste of how grand the tree would have been without the cold weather.

As usual, I couldn’t resist some macro shots. In years past, I have often contented with very active bees, but the breezy cold must have kept them away. I didn’t see a single insect on the trees. The picture of the ‘open’ redbuds (last picture) was one of my favorites.

But – my favorite of the morning was the tulips. Not all the tulips were blooming quite yet…but these very bright flowers stood out in their brown mulch bed. I liked their color and spikey shape!

I am looking forward to seeing how the gardens change by May!

Kittens! – Month 8

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Our three kittens are growing up! They still sometimes sleep close together on the (sheet covered) futon…but each with their own space rather than in a pile as they did when they were very young (Puma, Pooky, Sooty on the move from top to bottom in this picture).

The male cat, Sooty, is the only one to jump to the top of the kitchen cabinets (where there are indirect lighting fixtures). My husband thought the cat might not get down on his own, but Sooty is quite capable of that (as he demonstrated before my husband could get a step ladder in place to climb up to reach him).

The kitchen is where our biggest remaining challenges are with the kittens. They all like to watch food preparation and they are fascinated by running water in the sink. We had one instance of them chewing through plastic packaging on bread (fortunately that has not been repeated). My husband provides the kittens a snack to draw them away from the kitchen while I prepare a meal …but they are back once they finish eating. I have learned to prep faster!

They have a tent that they’ve all used at various times for some private space although there are occasions that the two females (Puma and Pooky) nap together. Sooty is bigger and demands the whole space.

The 2 hammocks we have are also popular napping spots. The hammocks were handed down from our previous cats. Sooty was the first to claim the leopard one.

The kittens have learned to use scratching posts rather than the furniture (most of the time). They tore one rope wrapped post apart and they like the new one as a pedestal almost better than for scratching (Pooky, Sooty, Puma).

The cat donut is in the background. They all enjoy it – sometimes as part of an obstacle course and sometimes for napping. Occasionally it has two at one time in it – on opposite sides.

We have baby latches on several cabinets now….all of the kittens had become adept at opening lower kitchen and bathroom cabinets…getting inside…not always as adept at getting out. Fortunately – we didn’t have an instance when all three of them were stuck; the kitten(s) on the outside would stay close…our clue that a kitten was trapped.

Overall – we are still having fun keeping up with the kittens. We have left them for one overnight with our daughter checking on them and they were unphased. We’re taking a 5-day vacation this month; even though our daughter will be with them one or two times a day, we are anticipating they will be needy kittens when we return…another milestone for them and for us.

Previous Kittens! Posts: day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, week 1, week 2, month 1, month 2, month 3, month 4