It Sounds Like Christmas

It Sounds Like Christmas, a photo by DeForestRanger on Flickr.

The gifts have all been wrapped and the cards mailed, the baking is done, so what's left to do before Christmas? Well, d'uh! It's time to rattle packages, of course! Who can resist those mysterious and beautiful presents beneath the tree? Some are wrapped in paper, others are hidden within exquisite fabrics, a tradition of exchange between three friends who call themselves sisters of the heart. The brocade and print bags circulate among us on Christmas and on birthdays, sometimes returning to the creator with a gift inside or even being taken out of the round-robin for another friend to enjoy. It is a custom which lends a wonderful Dickensian ambience to the season, an old-fashioned warmth which hearks back to candles on the tree and a fire laid on the hearth.

T. P. Hunter's Conquest

T. P. Hunter's Conquest, a photo by DeForestRanger on Flickr.

His real name is Tip, nicknamed for Tipperary, but it could well have been T. P. Hunter and still have been Tip for short. He has a memory like an elephant, and he is a ferocious predator.

First evidence of his hunting skills surfaced while he was still quite young. I came home one day to find the toilet paper unrolled from its spindle and strewn all over the hallway. No stranger to foiling cats who pursue this sport, I simply turned the roll around and let the tag end hang down the back. It took him only a few days to learn to grab it with his teeth instead of spinning it with a paw, and I lost another roll in tatters.

Phase Two involved putting the roll in a coffee can on the counter. It baffled him briefly until he learned to put his chin in the center hole so his fangs would sink into the soft tissue. Clearly, I had to figure out a way to out-think T. P. Hunter, and fast! I put a lid on the coffee can, but that proved to be a terrible nuisance for the human user.

Then I struck on a brainstorm. I set a cookie sheet full of marbles on the counter, placed the coffee can in the middle of it. The next time T. P. Hunter went hunting, the rolling marbles foiled him neatly. I knew, of course, that one encounter wouldn't be adequate training, so for a year or so, that's where the roll remained: in a coffee can on a cookie sheet filled with marbles on my bathroom counter. Guests were often baffled by the arrangement.

There came a point when I felt the training period was over. I removed the tray of marbles and left the t.p. in the coffee can. I assumed that T. P. Hunter had learned his lesson well. I was wrong.

Today, the upturned page of a catalog piqued his interest, and lo and behold, what else did he find? An unattended and partially used roll, easy prey for an expert! The remains were discovered somewhat later, spread from bathroom to bedroom and T. P. Hunter sitting in the bedroom doorway looking extremely pleased with himself.

Lighting The Tree

Lighting The Tree, a photo by DeForestRanger on Flickr.

The cookies are baked, and now the decorating begins. The tree is up, but the ornaments won't be hung until tomorrow. Why? Ah, I can tell you don't have any cats at your house by that query! The tree is a terrible temptation even though it's artificial, and a few admonitions must be issued this first evening to remind the curious that this is neither chewable nor climbable. The ornaments will be another story. Weren't those left dangling specifically to be batted? No, Tip, they were not, and you know better. It only takes a single clap of my hands or a cautioning word to make the Boy desist, but Skunk is deaf and needs to see me make a motion toward her to break her concentration. We'll have it all sorted out by tomorrow night! They're really good kitties, both of them, at least where the tree is concerned. Bows...now that's another matter entirely!

Museum Of Flight

Museum Of Flight, a photo by DeForestRanger on Flickr.

Since I was in Seattle and knew where the Museum of Flight was located, I swung by on my way home and did a reprise of an earlier shoot from a year and a half ago. One of these days, I'll actually go IN the Museum when I'm there. I'm sure the stuff inside is as fascinating as the stuff outside. :LOL: And I apologize to everyone in advance. I thought I'd be able to get all the information about this plane on line from the Museum's web page. Unfortunately, it seems to be the only one of the South Lawn exhibits missing from the gallery!