The end of last week I could have sworn that Spring was well on it's way.





I spent some time in the front flowers beds and even saw some green sprouting.

Goldie was out rolling in the brown grass and trying to bake on the walkway.





The PM was excited that she could go out in just a sweater and sneakers.

That all changed yesterday. We had a storm all day and are looking at about a foot of snow this morning. How depressing. The PM didn't even want to take a photo.

The only good thing about it was that the storm brought a bunch of new birds to our feeders, looking for a bit of respite.

I like birds and not the same way Goldie and Banshee like them. I envy their capacity of flight and their ability to make music.

Yesterday we hosted Fox Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Tree Sparrows, Chickadees, Dark-Eyed Juncos, Grackles and a flock of Red-Winged Blackbirds. The PM had the wee ones on the look out for new birds. The wee lad has his own birdbook and it got lots of use.

We are hoping this mess melts very, very soon.

It was a very long weekend out here in the woods. The folks were real busy and then the PM got a migraine so no visiting our friends.

Then something happened that made me question my mancathood.

This fine fellow is Beary and The Grampie gave it to the PM on the day she was born. He used to be all covered in fur but is now practically bald along with being blind and clawless due to lovin' over the years. He's 38 years old and is treated with respect.

Usually.



The PM noticed that he had been attacked.



Yep, holes chewed in his ear. Suspiciously looking like mouse doings. A mouse could not have been running through the house while I was on duty. As I tried to come up with a more plausible answer, this occurred.

The wee ones were in bed so the PM decided to try some new chips she had bought a few days ago. She opened them up, had one and thought they seemed a tad stale. She turned the bag over looking for the best before date and that is when she saw this.



A hole chewed right through the bag. The hole that seemed to be the right size for a rodent to squeeze it's way into. As this realization dawned on the PM, her gag reflex kicked in as the taste of the stale chip lingered in her mouth.

My little cat brain was spinning. This can't be happening. It must be a tear in the bag, that's all. We haven't had mice in the house all winter.

"You shouldn't be eating chips anyway", I blurted out. "What's wrong with a little mouse pee?" "Everyone eats their pound of dirt, right?"

The PM, looking a tad green, took the bag and poured the chips out into the compost pail. These were resting on the top.



Holy Crap is right!!!!!! My supper even came up a little bit.

How could a mouse sneak in and cause such damage under my nose? I am a hunter for Bast's sake! Was it too many hours spent bird watching and squirrel drooling. Lazily sleeping by the fire every afternoon for months? I must be losing my touch.

I have to make it up to the PM. I am going to hunt down that vermin and make a little rug out of him for her toe.

I hope....

First off we want to say goodbye to our friend Cal who went to the Bridge yesterday. He's running free and full of all the energy of a kitten now.

I'm in trouble today. Well not really me as I was just doing what came natural but the Music Man's in trouble.

Yesterday the whole crew came home from town where they had spent the night working, swimming and going to the Library. It was suppertime and the PM went out to take some measurements around the yard. She is trying to decide what shrubs to order so she was out trudging through the snow mapping out some new beds. It was actually nice out and the wee ones and MM all went outside too. Then Shade and Goldie went out to lay in the front flower beds in the setting sun.

I was left inside. Staring at the fun outside.

The PM knows I will be going out sometime but she wants to try it when it is much nicer, there are no fear of foxes around and she and the wee ones are out doing yard work for hours so she can keep an eye on me. She tried to put the harness on me earlier and I practically strangled myself getting out of it so she knew that wasn't going to be of much help.

Well, the PM was by the pergola and the MM went to go get some gloves inside and he was holding the door open. She yelled, "Watch out, you are going to let Banshee out". He said that was the plan and that I needed to go out at some point. Then as I put a paw on the cool earth he let it slip that he had done this before this winter and that I always just ran back inside.

Well, my little MM, that was then and this is now! I sniffed at the doorway for two seconds then bolted off. The PM was livid and started running after me. I was too excited and ran over snow heading for the open field. The PM got a hold of me while I was smelling a pine cone and tried to take me in. She kept falling through the crust in the snow and twisted her knee, which was already sore from twisting it earlier in the week. I started doing my "hind-legs-pinwheel-move" and caught her twice on the wrist. She dropped me and I took off again. She finally wrangled me under one of the cars and got me when I came out to smell some ice. She yelled "Open the flippin' door!!!!" which the MM did and I was dumped back inside.

I have to say I loved it!!!! I ran around the house playing THoE for the next hour.

The PM's knee hurts quite a bit. She had wanted to get up early and help us blog but she tossed and turned all night and only really got to sleep early this morning. She only woke up at 7. She said we'll have to visit our friends through the weekend. They are going to the wee cousin's bowling birthday party today and the PM doubts she'll be able to bowl as her knee is so wretched.

The MM better be on his best behaviour this weekend.

I am making up for it by being cute and charming.

Goldie said I should do the Honesty meme since I am the newest Sumac Feline. So here we go, my list of things about me, no fibbing allowed.

• I enjoy the broom and the mop.  I followed them around where ever they go.
  
• I am a stinky goodness hog and will overtake Goldie and eat his if he is not quick enough and the PM is looking the other way.
• I like to burrow under blankets.
• Shade and I are still not friends.
• I actually try to be friends with her, walking by with my tail up and giving her a little greeting but she just swears at me.
• I then get annoyed and give her a back-off lunge.
• I will catch that red squirrel this summer as he taunts me relentlessly. I will make a nice hat out of his fur for next winter.
• I tried to eat some of the Tiramisu cheesecake that the PM make for her friends on Friday.  It was cooling on the counter and the PM walked in as I jumped up to snoop. If she had of been 30 seconds later,  a nice chunk would have been in my chompers.
• I used my claws of doom on the PM. On purpose.  I was trying to sleep, she was patting me too much, face to close to mine and it happened. I just wanted to give her a tap but my claws were out and I got her right on the side of the nose. Blood was dripping.  It was a mistake. She tells the wee ones, "Pat Banshee only twice per time and don't have your face too close to hers, she doesn't like that." If she had followed her own rules, it wouldn't have happened. 
• I made up for it by crawling under the blankets with the PM, cat curl in the small of her back. 

We had a very quiet weekend. The family went in town for the weekend and we were left to entertain ourselves.

I tried playing with cars as the wee lad can do this for hours!



Not really a cat activity I guess. I then spent some time cleaning my pantaloons.



Banshee was not impressed with the show.



The family, on the other hand, went down to the cottage and the wee lad actually fed a chickadee from his hand. She landed on his hand and took a peanut. Now that's an activity I can get involved in!!!!!!!!

We also received some awards the last little while which we would like to acknowledge.

Thanks so much Orion and Junior.



It comes with these rules: “When accepting this auspicious award, you must write a post bragging about it, including the name of the misguided soul who thinks you deserve such acclaim, and link back to said person so everyone knows who he or she is. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design. Or improvise by including ones who have no idea who you are because you don’t have 7 friends. Show the 7 random victims’ names and links and leave a harassing comment informing them that they were prized with “Honest Weblog.” Well, there’s no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon. List at least ten honest things about yourself. Then, pass it on! “

I am asking Banshee to do this meme tomorrow and she will try to be honest!

Thank you Grrreta,



Elin,



and Lily.

Today is Shade's Gotcha Day!! Yippee!!! Yahoo!!!!! She has been with the PM and Music Man for nine years now which means she is now 10 years old.

Whoa Shade! Into the double digits!

Oops. I shouldn't have said that out loud as Shade gets to choose today's flashback and she picked the one I still have nightmares about. I should have know. Maybe somecat out there will learn from this. Consider it a PSA.

Shade~Goldie is sleeping, resting from his day so I am going to tell the story.

We had another long chat about the winter and how the snow has a thick crust on it due to all the freezing rain. Nothing scary. He was unsure until he saw the MusicMan and the wee ones out there walking on top of the snow too. He got his energy back and he went out with them. I said he should stay in and rest one more day but you know those young Mancats, they don't listen.

As the door was being shut I heard the MusicMan ask, "Hey Goldie, want to go on a crazy carpet ride?" My calls of "No, Goldie!" echoed in the house, unheard and I saw him run over to them.

Our yard has a slight incline and with all of the ice, it was the perfect sliding hill.

I watched in horror mixed in with a touch of anticipation as the MusicMan picked Goldie up and sat with him...on the crazy carpet...with the wee ones...on the top of the slope. The apricot fool had such a serene look on his face it was almost too much to bear, but I kept watching. They started moving, faster and faster, the crazy carpet making a loud, scraping sound in the quiet woods. Goldie's furr face contorted into something unrecognizable, then the flailing started. A blurr of paws, furr and limbs. Then as if plucked off the carpet by the unseen hand of Mother Nature herself, Goldie leaped and made a bee-line for the door, paws slipping out from under him all the way.



I know you shouldn't laugh in those types of situations but I couldn't help it. It was a spectacle to behold. Goldie looking like he had been through the war. I think it aged him a bit.



Goldie, ranting in the background~ Crazy carpet! Yeah, I was the crazy one! They should call it "a death ride"," a ticket to hell", "full speed to broken legs"...

Shade~ I better go, he needs me.