Tag Archives: pets

Royal feline or arctic fox? You be the judge…

November 5, 2023 Rivergirl 17 Comments

Since the renovation project is at a standstill, walkies have resumed at Casa River.

And with cooler weather coming on that means mouse hunting.

Lord Dudley Mountcatten can hear them scurrying under the foliage and through the rock wall and after long patient observation…

He’s airborne.

Straight up in the blink of an eye.

Just like an arctic fox.

He chases birds in the burning bush as well but that’s not nearly as entertaining, though it is more colorful this time of year.

No worries, he never catches any.

Catching His Lordship in full arctic fox mode is difficult but I managed one good shot.

Unfortunately for him none of these flying leaps resulted in a captured mouse.

Maybe next time…

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He’s very helpful.

October 29, 2023 Rivergirl 18 Comments

Husband is back to work, and back to work these days means teleworking from home. While I’m not exactly thrilled with this situation, Lord Dudley Mountcatten is ecstatic.

He’s been a daddy’s boy from day one and simply tolerates me because I am the opener of the can.

Having a home office with a cat in residence can be challenging.

Reports and correspondence take a back seat when the royal feline says attention must be paid.

❤️

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They’re so innocent. Until they’re not…

October 24, 2023 Rivergirl 11 Comments

Lord Dudley Mountcatten likes to nap in the sun.

He’ll happily follow the beams of light around the house and looks oh so cute doing it.

As I was reading in the living room the other day, he snoozed in front of the television cabinet.

So quiet. So innocent.

Until I heard a scraping sound…

Cats.

They’re always up to something.

😉

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Miscellaneous pumpkin and pickle missives.

October 14, 2023 Rivergirl 14 Comments

It’s fall… and in New England that means cooler temperatures, turning leaves and pumpkins.

And no town takes pumpkins more seriously than Damariscotta, a coastal village that devotes an entire week of events to the glorious orange gourd. There are parades, size contests, art contests, races, recipe challenges and even a regatta of giant floaters.

They like their pumpkins.

Every year we say we’re going to visit, and every year we don’t for some reason or another.

Which is a shame because this year my favorite bar in town has the best decorated pumpkin I’ve seen in a long time.

Imagine having a few too many and stumbling outside to come face to face with this guy.

😊

And speaking of bars…

A seasonal margarita that sounds damn near perfect for this time of year.

Moving on, I have a bone to pick with a few of my readers. You were joking about emotional support pickles for cats on my post the other day and while I tried to discourage the topic in fear of pickle retribution from my squirrelly algorithms… the concept has become reality.

Damn you.

Lord Dudley Mountcatten has his mice.

No kitty support pickles will ever be entering this house.

🥴

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A mantis mystery.

October 6, 2023 Rivergirl 18 Comments

On a walk with Lord Dudley Mountcatten the other day I noticed he found something in front of the garage.

Batting it this way and that, I stepped in to rescue the poor praying mantis he was harassing and carried it to my flower garden.

Our yard used to be full of these delightful insects (Females bite the males heads off after mating. What’s not to love?) but in the past few years we’ve seen their number drastically decline.

And while I’m used to the green version, this mantis was completely brown.

So I’m not sure if it was a different species…

Or just going through some sort of molt.

Either way, I was pleased with the rescue.

His Lordship on the other hand, was not.

P.S…. did a little research on the mating ritual of the mantis and have to share.

Males of some mantid species mate more effectively when decapitated. Why? A nerve center in the male’s head inhibits mating until a female is clasped. If this nerve is removed, such as when the female bites off the male’s head, all control is lost and the result is repeated copulation.

So there is a reason….

🤣

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I know I’m going to pay for this…

October 5, 2023 Rivergirl 26 Comments

Our farming neighbors went away for a few nights recently and asked us to watch their wonderful dog Peaches.

She’s the quintessential lovable mixed breed and we’ve loved her since she was a hurricane rescue 13 years ago.

Unfortunately, Lord Dudley Mountcatten did not share our enthusiasm for a house guest.

Peaches is extremely mellow and very used to cats. She doesn’t chase or pay the least bit of attention to them.. but His Lordship still couldn’t figure out why this creature was in his house.

Bad timing there. Lord Dudley was so close… and then someone knocked on the door.

It’s a credit to Peaches temperament that our cat would even be in the same room.

Of course the fact that she spent a good deal of her time with us sleeping might have had something to do with that.

But I still think I’m going to pay a price for disturbing His Royal Highness’s routine.

😉

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How odd.

September 30, 2023 Rivergirl 13 Comments

I’m constantly getting suggestions on my FB feed to buy things from Etsy. And while I’ve purchased a few odds and ends there in the past… these new items didn’t make me want to break out my credit card anytime soon.

Unless it’s Halloween and I’m dressing to attract a male polar bear? I see absolutely no need for these boots.

Good grief. I don’t want fully operational and functioning gnomes, why would I ever want defective ones?

Along with Etsy, Amazon is flooding my feed with crazy cat items it thinks I need to purchase for His Lordship.

Yeah. That’s not happening.

And look at the face on that cat. I don’t think fur is the only thing that’s going to be terminated.

Okay, they’ve got me here. Lord Dudley Mountcatten might actually like a pool table of his very own.

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When you really love your mouse.

September 26, 2023 Rivergirl 26 Comments

Lord Dudley Mountcatten has been spending a lot of time in our bedroom since our contractor has been working in the living room. And if he’s in there?

So is his favorite mouse.

How much does he love this particular rodent?

Enough to pick it up and carry it to bed with him.

And don’t even think about removing said mouse.

Unless you want to lose a finger.

😉

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At least someone is enjoying the nightmare.

September 23, 2023 Rivergirl 18 Comments

This beam and ceiling repair project has been disruptive to say the least. We’ve lost our living room, our dining room, egress to the back deck and most importantly… the large television my husband is utterly devoted to watching. Sawdust, wood chips and dry wall fragments have been flying and I can’t even imagine the mess I’ll have to clean up when it’s finished.

I hate to say it…. but moving probably would have been easier.

Though while the husband and I have been inconvenienced, there’s one member of our family who seems to be having fun.

You can see his ghostly reflection on the floor in the middle of that photo.

Lord Dudley Mountcatten, who is not supposed to be walking around in the plastic room… is constantly found doing just that.

And even when I don’t physically catch him in there?

I find evidence of his presence.

Unless our contractor has a thing for catnip mice, which is another blog topic entirely.

His Lordship seems to think the plastic walls have been erected exclusively for his playing pleasure and has a habit of pulling the sheets from their corners and making entrance holes.