The Weekend in Black and White.

My granddaughter's cat

with claws! 

Many great black and white photos are shared with this Challenge each week.

The Weekend in Black and White

RIP Rinli.

Back on March 10th 1997, while we were living on our island, our cat went into labour. She was having trouble, and not inclined to accept help, so Youngest Son (less than 12 years old at the time) held the mother down while I pulled the kitten out.
He grew rapidly, and purred as loudly as the large Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboat we'd see fairly frequently.
That was when Husband named him Rinli.
His second name was Rolag, as we were learning to spin at the time and he looked just like a roll of fluffy wool.
He had many adventures in his life, including moving to the mainland and then to yet another house, but recently he began to change. Some days he wouldn't eat, some days he'd just stare into space and not seem to know what was happening. Then he started going to the toilet wherever he was sitting, then running away.
Yesterday we took him to the Vet/Veterinarian, and she found lumps on his liver. It seems liver damage can cause all the symptoms he's been displaying, and we had to make the hard decision.
He was a much loved pet for 14.5 years, and he will be missed.

Rinli perched on the fence in happier times.

Rinli looking sweet in the kitchen when he still wanted food!

For happier black and white photos from all over the world, please visit the links on the Home Page.

Saturday PhotoHunt - Walking.

I'm very late this week, so late that I nearly didn't bother!
But that would have meant missing my first PhotoHunt in 18 months, and I didn't want that.
So here's a photo I took a while back of two lovely people (sadly no longer with us) taking me for a walk one fine December morning.

Badger (the dog) and Tris (the cat) enjoyed walking together and pointing out interesting smells to eachother.
I took this on my camera-phone. And yes, that gatepost really does lean!

For more entries this week, visit our hostess TNChick.

Happy Hunting!

Reflections Seven.

Rinli.

We've had a week of great reflections from JC of Castle Ruins. It's always worth calling in to see his photos!

Saturday PhotoHunt - Road.

This week's PhotoHunt theme is
ROAD

This road runs down to the stables past the house where we lived for a while. The wild patch I showed you last week is just to the right of this photo.
Also in the picture you can see Badger, our old dog who dies last month, and Tris our even older cat. The photo was taken four years ago.

PhotoHunt is hosted by TNChick. Visit her for many more takes on the theme.

Happy Hunting.

Reflect This - Day Four

You lovely people out there have made me feel so much better today. Thank you all from my heart.
A special Thank You to Liz, for her sweet post.

As today is the fourth day of Quilly's one-week Reflect This challenge, I'm posting a photo of Badger taken on a walk not very long ago. This was her favourite puddle whenever we'd had rain, and her face is reflected.

E is for Emptiness

My ABC Wednesday post was meant to be something else, but emptiness got in the way.

Our house is empty and quiet.

Our lovely 14 year old dog left us last night to join her brother, away from stiff joints and other age-related ailments.

Run safe and free darling Badger.


I won't be visiting much today - too many things to do - but I'll try to get to my regular friends as soon as I can.

Saturday PhotoHunt - What IS that?

This week our entries must illustrate the question
"What is that?"

We were watching a film on DVD, and paused it to make a drink

We came back to see one of the cats watching the screen saver as it moved around the screen.
She looks as if that's just what she's thinking.

"What is that?"

For more questions, and maybe some answers, visit our host
tnchick.

Happy Hunting!

Camera Critters

I've mentioned Tris before.
She's our elderly cat who came to us in the autumn of 1993.
She was fully grown then but still young, which makes her over 15 years old now. When she came to us she had a badly injured hind leg and had been living rough for some time.
Eighteen months ago Tris had several small strokes, and we thought it was the beginning of the end.
Tris had other ideas!
She learned to manage with her head twisted to one side.
She even learned to walk in a straight line.
Now, it's hard to believe there's ever been anything wrong with her.
The only real problem is that Tris loves dry biscuity cat nibbles. Rinli, our younger cat (only 10 years old!) also loves them. Rinli eats them when he's hungry, then leaves them. If Tris sees them she races over to eat as many as she can. Trouble is that more than a few will make her throw up, so we keep them from her.
I know, we're cruel!

Anyway, these pictures show the lengths to which Tris will go to capture her favourite treats!

She loves them so much!

For more photos, visit Camera Critters,
hosted by Misty.
You'll be glad you did!

Camera Critters

Sunday again, and I'm making this post serve a dual purpose.

Firstly Misty Dawn's Camera Critters.
(Visit her for more Captivating Critters!)

Secondly an update on my elderly dog.
I posted about our worries here.
All this happened just after my last Camera Critters entry.

At the ripe old age of 14, nothing will make Badger into anything other than a distinctly elderly lady, and all elderly ladies can expect to have one or two problems. (I know this, because I'm getting there myself!)

Happily, Badger's expensive medicine seems to have done the trick.
Here are some photos of her taken just this morning. She's straight out of bed, so please forgive the slightly disheveled look - she hasn't yet been brushed and combed!

Here she's come face to face with our even older cat in the doorway. The slightly shifty expression is one that often appears when the camera comes out and she can't run away.

Outside the door. Oh no, it's the camera again!

And here you can actually see her walking. She's licking her lips after a nice drink from three different sources of water - she tells me they all have different flavours.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and don't forget to visit Misty.

Badger

Poor Badger isn't feeling very well.
On Sunday evening she was walking between rooms and suddenly yelped. I thought she may have twisted her foot somehow, as she was holding it up slightly.
Next morning she could hardly walk. Her whole body seemed weak and painful. She had to be supported out into the garden to relieve herself.
She wouldn't eat.
This has happened before, but she was fine after about two days. This time feels different.

I rang the Vet. As there's only one in the area, dealing with all the farm animals as well as the pets, it's not always easy to get hold of him, but this time I was lucky. We made a rapid lunch-time dash to the surgery, and came back with an anti-inflammatory mixture for her.

Badger slept all the rest of Monday, and most of Tuesday. Yesterday (Wednesday) morning she looked ready to try going for her morning walk - she made it to the front gate then came in again.
I'm glad to say she seems better today. She actually walked across the road and investigated the wheels of a small truck. When we came back in she wanted a snack. She's still not eating properly, but I think there's hope.

She's 14 years old now, though, so we have to face the fact that one day we'll be without her.

Not a happy thought.

Camera Critters

Badger is an old dog, 14 years old now.
Tris (short for Triskel, because she ran on only three legs when she came to us as a stray) is over 15 years old.
Old ladies often have strange ideas (I'm one, so I know!)
Tris decided that Badger's basket was nicer than hers.
Badger tried out Tris's basket, but it didn't really fit.
So she had to squeeze in alongside Tris!

The poor dog has a hard life!

For more Camera Critters visit Misty, who had this lovely idea.

Saturday PhotoHunt - Bad Hair

This week's theme for the Saturday PhotoHunt is

BAD HAIR

I recently saw a young lad with the most incredibly bad haircut, but I didn't have the nerve to ask if I could take his photo.
So that left me with my usual fall-back.

The above photo is Badger, brushed and combed and as tidy as she ever is.
She has a lot of hair, but it can look relatively neat.

This is how she looks walking with the wind behind her.
Neat is not a word you could truthfully use!

Here she is, back from a breezy walk.

Lying down to rest, worn out from her exertions.
This is a close-up of some of the hair on her neck.
Why do I ever bother with the brushing and combing?

For more
BAD HAIR
posts,
pay a visit to
TNChick.

Happy Hunting!

More Plastic Flowers!

The plastic flowers are proliferating.
This is part of the verge on the other side of the road from yesterday's post. This is a much wider strip of grass, which is now decorated with tufts of coloured daisy-like plastic flowers.

Badger can't understand why this bunch of roses smells of plastic rather than flowers and leaves. She has to check it out each time we pass.

I suppose it makes the area look cared-for.

FIND ZOEY - Update - FOUND!!!

Editing this post to say that Zoey is safely back home with tnchick at last. I'm so glad to be able to report this!

WELCOME HOME ZOEY!

This beautiful dog has been missing in
Franklin, Kentucky, USA
since 22nd April 2008.
Her owners are heartbroken.
If you or anyone you know sees her, please contact
her owners.
Lets try to find Zoey and fetch her home.

Café Cat

My poor husband suffers greatly. The cats have decided that he is the provider of food. They decided this, of course, because he's kind enough to notice them whenever they think they may be slightly hungry. I, on the other hand, make them wait until I'm ready. I'm cruel.

This is a picture of him providing breakfast for his owners. Rinli couldn't decide on which particular dish he'd prefer, so he's being offered a choice.

Finally he accepted suitable sustenance, and started to eat. Badger, in her usual tidy manner, hung around to clear up any mess.
Sweet friendly animals.

Slaves

No, this isn't a human-rights post - under these circumstances humans appear to have few rights. I'm talking of humans' existence to care for, and pander to the needs of, various creatures sometimes known as pets.

Last week I posted pictures of my owners trying to take over my blogging. I had several comments from people who suffer in the same way.

Heather, Ter, and Welshcakes Limoncello have been befriended by dogs.
Now dogs like company, and they love it if you come down to their level (lie or sit on the floor, play with them.) They love to join in.
Badger will be 14 in May, and mostly behaves like an elderly dog in need of plenty of rest. I say "mostly" because there are two occasions when she still behaves like a puppy. First, when I brush and comb her in the mornings, because she knows I'll be taking her out for a (whisper this!) walk. The second occasion is if she finds me doing some exercises - on my mat on the floor. Wow! And yippee! Fun on the floor! PLAY! End of exercise session.

Cats are different. Cats like to take over. VP, Barbara, Max-e, Damama-t, and Teena have been taken over by cats (although Damama's are at one remove, and Teena also has a dog) And, of course, Daisy is a cat!
Daisy is very good at all sorts of things.
Cats do not like to be ignored. Cats do like being warm and comfortable. When their slaves sit in front of those computers they ignore cats - so cats sit in front of them to be noticed. Laps are warm and usually soft - and available under the afore-mentioned circumstances. Need I say more?

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of Rinli, playing my game of Sudoku for me. I can't illustrate the time he deleted my e-mails for me - I was too busy to take a photo!

But we love them really, don't we?

Cats!

So there I was this morning, sorting out some comments on my previous post, when this happened!





That's Rinli with the string on my desk, and Tris on my lap. It's so hard to blog under these conditions! Shortly after Aileni took these photos, Rinli decided to play with Tris. Tris objected, and they left. Now I can blog again!

Monday Musings

A bit of fun to start the week. I've shown you Badger trying to fit in Tris' basket on an earlier occasion, here. Now here's poor Badger squashed into a corner of her own bed so that Tris isn't disturbed. Isn't she a considerate dog?

Fortunately they are good friends. Tris likes to come walking with us to keep us company.Tris even likes to sniff the wheels of parked cars when we pass them. I wish I had a photo of them both sniffing - the dog with her head down and the cat stretching up. The neighbours laugh!
Sometimes you find treasures when you're out walking. Like this yummy slice of dry white bread. We had to stop for Badger to eat this. If I offered it to her at home she'd have been disgusted. I suppose things taste different in the open air!


Poor Badger finds all this walking and eating makes her thirsty. Maybe the bread was a leetle bit dry after all. This is actually her favourite puddle. She loves to stop and drink here. Tastes much nicer than the clean water I give her at home!

An Early Anniversary Gift.

Back on November 1st I complained about trouble getting the photos from my mobile/camera. I finally gave in and inquired about the availability of suitable memory cards. On our next visit to "the Big City" (for Stephen to buy his precious scooter!) I bought the card and adapter. Shortly after that Aileni (the nicest husband ever!) handed over the money to pay for the card as an early anniversary present (we'll have been married 35 years next month). You see - men can think of presents without being prompted!

I'm really pleased with the quality of the photos. Some were out of focus, but that's due to me being unable to see the screen clearly in certain lights. Most of them were surprisingly good for such a small camera.

Rinli on an upstairs windowsill

Badger trying out the cat-basket

This last photo was a difficult one, as Badger never keeps still if there's a camera around. So I'm pleased with the camera, and pleased with the gift of the memory card.

Now I have to find a suitable gift for Aileni!