Pets At Home

The house pets have been happy at home - and totally relaxed, as Caspar and Bugsy demonstrate here:

 Seamus is aging and his back legs are giving him more trouble. He finds it difficult to stand or maneuver stairs. And of course the reason for the yoga mats is to help him walk without slipping:

 Jack is still not totally housebroken, and I suppose he will always need to wear his belly band when I leave the house. But he is happy and totally sweet:

 Each morning the dogs and cats help themselves to dog food and water. In this case it was Clover, Bugsy, Sammy and Daphne. They never argue:

One morning I scrambled more eggs for them, putting it atop the dry dog food. Most of it was not eaten, but removed from the bowls and left on the floor for me to clean up. Later in the day, Jack got sick. I've learned my lesson now and will no longer feed eggs to the dogs or cats:

 But life is good, as when the dogs sunned themselves on their ramp while the aroma of apple blossoms drifted across the yard from the apple grove:

 And they love to keep me company when I'm at the computer. In this case it was Daphne, Seamus, Fergus and Jack:

 Little Caspar isn't so little anymore but he sure is sweet:

Fergus, Daphne and Clover:

 Sammy:

 Seamus and Bugsy:

 Each night before bed, I let the cats chase the laser pointer, running them in big circles around the stairwell. They get so wild that they're knocking paint off the walls. They sure look forward to it, though:

Cats And Dogs

I am happy to say that all the house pets are healthy and happy, with no crises for me to handle. Bugsy and Daisy sat together on a yoga mat to watch my every move:

Similarly, the dogs use the back yard to watch my every move:

 
And the cats now expect a fun chase with the laser pointer every evening before I go to bed:

   When I work outdoors, the dogs can almost always see me from their back yard. Watching me holds their attention most of the time:

Clover, Fergus and Jack shared the big, green floor pillow:

 

And Bugsy, whose job it is to drape himself over things and look luxurious, enjoyed one of the pet beds:


Clover often curls up in the tall grass by the rocks at the north end of her fenced yard. I think she is sunning herself, as the sun hits her there at almost all times of the day:

A typical kitchen corner collection: Clover, Fergus, Jack and Caspar:


Only Daphne uses the dog house, but Clover at least came close to it on this day:

A typical scene in the farm house - Jack, Daisy and Sammy formed a line from the kitchen to the computer room:

Clover, Bugsy, Caspar and Jack:

Seamus, Bugsy and Daphne on one of the new yoga mats. They had ruined the old ones so I had to replace them. Poor Seamus can't navigate the slippery floors without them:

More Pet Pictures

I snap photos of the pets now and then, whenever I am in the house and have my camera with me. I was running low on photos to use on the blog, but that all changed when I walked into the computer room and saw this mess. I grabbed my camera to record the "joys" of having kittens. They'd knocked the chainsaw bear off of the milk can and then tipped over the waste basket, which was filled with shredded paper and floor sweepings. I figured the only reasonable response was to laugh at the mess and then clean it up:

The dogs are older and less likely to run amok than the two kittens. They prefer the floor pillows in the kitchen corner. In this case it was Fergus, Daphne, Clover and Jack:

On another day, Bugsy joined Clover and Fergus on the big, soft, green floor pillow:

Seamus and Jack stood in the hallway and watched me while I was at the computer:

Then Seamus watched me as I walked into the kitchen. I'm not sure what he wanted, but he watched my every move:

More lounging in the kitchen corner: Fergus, Clover and Caspar:

Daisy likes to sit on the dog food bin so I can pet her whenever I walk by. I try not to disappoint her:

She also follows me into the computer room:

Clover and Caspar:

I caught Sammy Googling something, probably "cat treats:"

Bedtime, with Daphne and Fergus on the bed, and Clover, Jack and Seamus on the floor:

I've been trying hard to get Sammy to trust me. I often give the cats treats when the dogs are outside, and each night before bed, I tire them out chasing the laser pointer. It's a game they love and they clearly expect me to do it again each time I enter the bedroom. All this is working quite well in helping Sammy to trust me: