Shrimp and Grits

This is the week before fall semester begins, so I’ve been quite busy getting materials ready for my fall classes. So, the blog’s been … slow. But cats are always on the prowl, looking for things outside the window to chase and bat.

This week, the cats have discovered the king of butterflies …

… the Monarch. But wait!  Look closer. This lovely butterfly may look a lot like a Monarch, but it’s actually a mimic called the Viceroy. How can we tell? By the extra black stripe on the wings!

Want a closer look? Try this high resolution image.

[Viceroy butterfly: 1400×1050 JPG]

Our cats love to stare at things through the window and act tough. But who would be the victor in the battle between a house cat and …

… the SPIDER? I believe this particular specimen is commonly called a “black and yellow garden spider” or a “writing spider”.

Want to see this spider every day?  Put it on your desktop with the link below.  Enjoy!

[Black and yellow garden spider - 1024px]

Since it is Friday the 13^th, be careful! Don’t let Tom cross your path!

Hey! Who says I’m bad luck?

It’s really too bad that the cats couldn’t join us on our Myrtle Beach vacation this year. I’m sure that they would love to get their paws on this lovely pigeon!

Myrtle Beach pigeon

We have three cats: Rusty, Ash, and Tom. All of them are related. Our cat family tree looks something like this:

Rusty was fully grown when we got Ash and Tom. So, for a while Rusty was the big mama cat:

Big Rusty, little Ash!

But now, things are a “little” different.

Little Rusty, big Ash!

In spite of the fact that she’s now the smallest cat in the house, Rusty still behaves like the big mama cat.

Rusty keeps a watchful eye on Tom

No cat will step out of line on Rusty’s watch!

(For more furry friends, check out the Friday Ark!)

Our cats are indoor cats. They don’t seem to actually want to go outside, but they do love to watch things through the window. They’re particularly fond of birds and insects.

Recently, the cats got a nice look at a common whitetail dragonfly, who had stopped by the front porch to sit in the sun for a bit.

According to Wikipedia, our dragonfly is a male and also quite territorial.

I’m not sure whether our front porch is in his territory, or if he was just stopping by on the way to the lake!

The neighbors have gotten a new puppy. As a result, their cat Patches has been spending a lot more time in our yard. To protect against this threat, our cats have created the Department of Home Security. Its members are on tireless watch to prevent foreign felines from entering the territory of the United Cats of Shrimp and Grits:

DHS Agent Tom and DHS Agent Ash protect the homeland!

Since the Department of Home Security was founded, not a single foreign cat has wreaked havoc inside the house. Now if only something could be done about the havoc that the Department wreaks on its own…

Be sure to visit this week’s Friday Ark for more animal guardians!

We seem to have gotten through our last cold snap down here in South Carolina, and the sun is just getting warmer and warmer. While we humans are pulling out fans and turning on air conditioners to cool off, our cats have an entirely different idea:

Ash: illustrating the feline way of dealing with the heat!

These gulls are a rowdy lot. They need a head bird to whip them into shape!

That gull in the middle is keeping the rest in line: Now flock and give me twenty!

[Click this link for a larger version - 1024px]

Find more animal friends on the Friday Ark!

There won’t be very many posts this week, since I currently have very limited internet access. But here’s something I thought I would share with y’all.

Cate has noticed the cats. She has seen the cats for a while now. Up until recently, though, she’s seen the cats as similar to things you’d see on a television screen. The cats were things to watch, but not things to touch and interact with.

Not any more!

Cate and Tom

Cate now reaches for and touches the cats. They are lucky that she hasn’t yet discovered that cats have tails!