Vampire meows
We went to a popup cat cafe, y’all! It was a trip.
You have to pre-book and pay in one-hour increments. When we turned up, it was full of screaming little girls, which was less than optimum. But the cats were all around five or six months old, so they were just the age to love screaming little girls waving cat toys.
All the cats in this group were from Romania. I guess Romania has an awful track record for animal welfare so they’re working with a charity there. They all come over completely feral, so it was remarkable how socialized they have already become. I didn’t get bitten or growled at once, though Uncle B had his leg climbed like a telegraph pole by a kitten in search of his fruitcake.
We were warned that all the cats are partial to people food. I had to make some quick moves with the milk jug.
The cat in the picture is Ziggy, who was all white with a black spot on his head. His sister is all black with a white tip to her tail.
We didn’t bring anybody home, though.
December 5, 2023 — 7:47 pm
Comments: 7
Whatever it was
Whenever I mention of St Leonard’s (the painting in yesterday’s post was sold out of a charity shop there), I think of this guy: the St Leonard’s Dragon.
Someone published a pamphlet in England in 1614 describing a nine-foot-long four-legged serpent with lumps on its back that left a stinky slime trail and could spit poison in a 64-foot stream. It lived in the forest and killed two people and two dogs.
God knows what it was – no other accounts appear anywhere and it’s never mentioned again – but I love this woodcut from the pamphlet. The mild look on the faces of the two corpses, and did you notice the dog’s shadow is pasted on backwards? The Seventeenth C was a funny time for art.
When I reread the article, though, it said this was near Horsham. St Leonards is nowhere near Horsham.
Sure enough, St Leonard’s Forest is a totally different place. According the article, it always had a reputation as a bad spot for serpents, ending with the 1614 account. The Anglo Saxon Chronicle, 770AD, says “Monstrous serpents were seen in the country of the Southern Angles that is called Sussex” and St Leonard was a dragon slayer.
It’s still a forest. Huh.
November 22, 2023 — 7:06 pm
Comments: 8
Badgers love baked potatoes, apparently
A badger turned up on the CCTV at work last night. I had a hard time making it out. At first I thought, coon? Not possible. Giant rat? Ewwww, no.
It was kind of small, but I finally made it out by the white stripes. It was an overhead shot, so harder to parse. Kind of amazing that far in town.
This isn’t that badger, though. This from a video called Badgers like jacket potatoes from a channel called Mad Badger Lady.
Many such cases. Very sad.
October 24, 2023 — 6:51 pm
Comments: 10
Where would we be without science?
According to New Scientist, they have finally worked out how cats purr.
It makes sense that the larger the animal, the longer the larynx, the deeper the sounds an animal can make. So how does a little teeny dude like a cat make such a low rumble?
They dissected eight cats (which had been put down due to illness, they swiftly explained lest the internet come down on them like a ton of geeks), blew air through their larynxes and it made a farty sound. This they traced to some flappy cartilege in the windpipe. I may have taken liberties with the language.
So there you have it.
Having solved this important scientific problem, they turned their attention to why do cats like to sit in boxes? No, really.
October 3, 2023 — 7:33 pm
Comments: 8
Mid cockadoodledoo
I happen to know this is the doodle portion of a cockadoodledoo. Uncle B got the whole crow in three shots. The third shot, Sam’s neck is outstretched, clearly marking it as the doo portion. The first one is therefore the cocka and this is the doodle.
Though it actually sounds more like rucka-rucka-roo, that’s a little Scooby Doo for me.
August 30, 2023 — 7:14 pm
Comments: 7
I snorted a spider today, so there’s that
It was a very little one.
I was biking across a bridge and felt a strand of web across my face and next thing I know I’ve snorked up something little and insect-y. Worst part, I was at a dangerous section of my ride where the sidewalks are too narrow and I didn’t dare stop. I had to huff until I came to a wider spot.
And that’s the most exciting thing that happened to me today. It’s the Friday before a long weekend. Rejoice!
August 25, 2023 — 7:34 pm
Comments: 17
Let’s end the week on *the cat*
A beast so talented he can roll over and lick his paw at the same time.
This angle doesn’t quite show how fat this boy is. We told the vet it’s not our fault. He doesn’t eat people food. He doesn’t eat treats (can you imagine a cat that spurns Dreamies?). He only gets Iam’s dry kibble and he isn’t hugely fond of that.
It’s bunnies. A pendulous belly composed entirely of adorable baby bunnies he catches himself.
Sometimes we hear the screams. Sometimes we only find disgusting lumps of flesh and fur. And sometimes, surely, they vanish completely without us knowing a thing about it.
The vet didn’t seem worried. I suppose it’s a self-limiting problem. If he gets fat enough, he won’t be able to catch them.
Have a good weekend!
August 18, 2023 — 7:17 pm
Comments: 4
Lookit the purdy weasel
Such poise! Such grace! Such weasel crotch!
I always make a bee-line for the ferret tent. This one had open sides, so the pong wasn’t so cruel.
This girl wasn’t much bigger than a stoat and, in white, looked very erminey. I assumed it was a baby, but he said jills are just that small. I don’t remember them being that teeny compared to the males, but I guess the man should know his stuff.
I still want one, but I always remember the ferret owner I met who also kept chickens, but on opposite sides of the house. One day, a chicken came around the house at the wrong time and the pet ferret bit the man’s thumb to the bone to get at it.
Chickens and mustelids don’t mix.
August 15, 2023 — 6:42 pm
Comments: 3
Google Photos is weird
I have no idea how Google Photos chooses which photo to highlight when you open it, but this one is January 25, 2005 and my sweet old cat Charlotte in snowy Rhode Island.
It’s usually a dead pet. Thanks for the gut punch, Google.
Zo! I’m sitting here with a well-deserved G&T in front of me. With one or two little tweaks, I think I’m ready for printing and proofing tomorrow. Last minute fixes early Friday and done.
This is me, skittering around the corner on two wheels.
August 9, 2023 — 7:41 pm
Comments: 3
Happy Flying Ant Day!
Flying Ant Day is a term used to refer to the short period of time when ants emerge from their nests and search for mates, usually in July or August when the weather is hot and humid.The number of ants flying on certain days can be large enough to be detected by weather service radar systems, resembling rain showers. While there is no precise date for Flying Ant Day 2023, it usually falls in July or August on a hot, humid day, often after heavy rain fall. The number of ants flying on certain days can be large enough to be detected by weather service radar systems, resembling rain showers. Female winged ants can live up to 15 years, but males usually die just days after mating – the sole reason they are bred.
I can’t link a source for that. The Brave browser’s search function has gone AI and that paragraph is frankensteined together from several sources. They do tell you what bits go with what sources, but I’m far too lazy for that.
By common belief, Flying Ant Day varies from year to year but is the same day all over Britain, which would be weirdly cool. Sadly, it ain’t so. There are localized swarms in similar weather.
Still, it’s a giant formicalur Sadie Hawkins Day.
We were sitting in the garden with our next along neighbor, and suddenly the air was full of ants. The low brick wall around the patio was covered in hundreds of them. I ran inside to get my phone and by the time I came out again, there were only a few. It’s that quick.
That’s probably why I’ve only posted about it once before, in 2011.
p.s. one of the bastards flew into my right eye. I still feel like there are bits in there. Sorry to have screwed up your one and only sex, little dude.
August 3, 2023 — 7:52 pm
Comments: 6