Pets At Home

Caspar isn't little anymore, but he still acts like a silly kitten. One of his favorite games is getting under one of the fleecy dog beds and then moving it around like a furry ghost:

And speaking of kitten playfulness, I heard a crash and rushed to the kitchen to find this. None of them even felt guilty:

Bugsy decided that the big green floor pillow wasn't quite soft enough, so he draped himself across Clover's body:

Seamus, Fergus and Jack waited at the gate to get back inside the house. The birds were singing and the perfume of the roses filled the air. It is idyllic here much of the time:

 A similar scene as the above photo, but seen from the opposite side of the fence:


 A kitchen corner collection: Bugsy, Clover, Seamus Fergus and Daphne:

Seamus and Fergus, just back from the groomer:

The two recently coifed boys showed off their new haircuts as Jack and Daphne watched from the ramp:

No, this wasn't a feline confrontation, just Daisy passing peacefully past Sammy:

Friends: Daphne, Clover, Fergus and Bugsy:

Sammy, Daisy and Jack:

Another ramp scene, this one showing one of the reasons they like it there - the shade which the roses provide:

A House Full Of Critters

As always, the most popular gathering spot is the kitchen corner, with its floor pillows and pet beds. This critter collection consisted of Clover, Bugsy and Daphne:

 Bugsy is shy and retiring, but very sweet:

 Sammy loves the soft life he's found here, complete with catnip filled glove-puppets to play with:

 Fergus had a guilty look on his face. Did he know something I didn't know?:

Another kitchen corner collection: Daphne, Fergus, Clover and Jack:

 The weather finally warmed up enough for me to open the front door and let air come in through the screen door. Sammy was fascinated:

 Jack, Clover, Caspar and Daphne:

 I also opened a kitchen window one warm day, drawing Sammy and Caspar to investigate. They are the reason I keep a baby gate in front of the screen. The black and white band hanging on the baby gate is Jack's belly-band, used to contain his pee. This house has concessions to the animals wherever I look:

All five dogs at the back gate, as anxious to come in as they were to go out:

 Ruby the Guinea Pig got her toenails clipped:

 And so did her fat sister, Meghan:

 I still have two Siamese Fighting Fish, and they are doing quite well. They seem to like it here:

Dogs And Cats And Guinea Pigs

All four cats love the big cat tree at the top of the stairs. It is just outside my bedroom door and they usually wait there for me to emerge. I try to always pet them as I go by:

Little Caspar is plenty playful and loves his belly rubbed:

Seamus, Fergus and Bugsy often hang out together on the yoga mat closest to my computer chair:

And sometimes Daphne joins them:

Both Fergus and Seamus had grown so much hair that their faces were barely discernible. After Fergus bumped into my leg a couple times, I gave his face a haircut:

Seamus got one too, exposing his intelligent, loving face:

I was on my way to bed, accompanied by the dogs, when I snapped his photo. Seamus and Bugsy were still on the stairs at the time:

Each morning I have to sweep the floors and tumble the fleecy dog beds in the dryer. Caspar has learned that he can get a heated, vibrating massage by lying on the dryer while it's running:

Eek! There are ghosts in my kitchen! This blue dog bed was moving mysteriously across the floor:

But of course it was only Caspar, acting silly:

Bugsy, Sammy and Caspar at the community cat food dispenser (up where the dogs can't reach it):

Ruby and Meghan, along with the house plants and fish, are the reason the cats can't come into my bedroom. Both guinea pigs are healthy and happy. Meghan has lost weight and her excess thirst, so I think her diabetes was nipped in the bud:

Happy Dogs And Cats

Caspar and Sammy are best friends and one of my favorite things to photograph. Sammy, in his own shy way, has become one of the sweetest cats I've known:

The dogs pile up near my computer chair. The only reason Jack isn't in this photo is because he runs to be at my feet when I stand up:

And the kitchen corner is still a favorite resting place, though Bugsy no longer hangs out there as much as he used to. Caspar, however, now loves to snooze with the dogs:

Jack and Clover make a colorful couple on the big green floor pillow:

And Caspar has grown so much that he will soon be filling up the pet bed on the big green bureau:

Daisy sleeps most of the time and prefers the top shelf of the main cat tree (there are four cats and four cat trees):

In fact, all the cats like this cat tree. Caspar was missing from this picture, but he often sleeps there also:

A canine collection on the yoga mat by my computer chair: Daphne, Seamus, Fergus and Clover:

Daisy looked like she was judging me:

The fleecy dog beds sometimes move across the floor as if they were haunted:

The reason, of course, is that Caspar is burrowed underneath them and trying to get someone to play with him:

Bugsy remains shy and also, because of his color, difficult to photograph. He sure did look cute on the cat tree, though: