LIFE IMITATING ART

MY LAZY BUDDY

   Exploits of Hemingway our polydactyl have been documented here in previous posts. But here is something you may not know. He is a rescue cat from HART our local shelter-The Homeless Animal Rescue Team. He was an abandoned "freak," an off spring of feral cats in Paso Robles.
   The woman who brought him to HART had been watching a feral cat as it prepared to birth kittens. After they arrived the mother carefully moved the litter over a fence, except for Hemingway. Instead she dropped him elsewhere and left. Rescuers reason she wanted nothing to with a kitten who had six fingers on each paw. Being dumped by your mom could give you an attitude, right?
     When he arrived in Cambria he was put into a separate holding cage because he was wildly rambunctious and a "biter." They warned us he might be a handful but everyone loved the little scamp. They gave him an apt name.

   Hemingway was even a "poser boy" for a benefit.

  He is the first of his "line" to be domesticated. Nothing in his genes prepared him to be a "pet." Perpetually curious and affectionate he's been a delightful pal. A little slow, I call him a Palooka, he is playful. The trash trucks and mail unit scare him. He shows evidence of hypersensitive hearing. But he is playful, easy going and loves attention. He knows he's family. Good, for a "left for dead" creature.

  Well, as he has grown he's perfected the Garfield Syndrome. When not eating he loves to nap, often in the Jade planter on the front deck. Here he expresses his pique at being disturbed during a nap.

   But it's not about nothing. Of recent he's learned to resemble a corpulent old man dozing in an easy chair. That jade makes a perfect back support.  The good life!

   Life confronts us with complexity and the news suffers no shortage of inhumanity, but pets, from rescue shelters especially, are memes of caring. In return, we have fascinating entertainment while we abet a job description to pine for.

WE WERE BORN THAT WAY

    Bob Christy, a former colleague and longtime friend, who's blog can be found in the Rich Blogs Column to your right on LightBreezes, posted recently on the difficulties vexing transgender people. 

    We are in a learning curve. Societal understandings are morphing. Prejudice, ignorance-often because of limited or narrow life experience and exposure and a moralistic judgementalism will be overcome. Demographic cohorts of 12-40 year olds get it. You see the fault line? Life is more intricate than old black and white television. 

     The CBS 60 Minutes piece on a swimmer on the Harvard mens team is a case in point. He was born a girl, but didn't fit the gender. She had been a champion in girl's competitions and was offered a scholarship. But a gender change changed more. He now competes on the men's team. He is taking hormone treatments, had a breast removal and is a man with a vagina. 
     Generational perceptions influence how we think and react and that is especially so in this area. But more new challenges are due. Pharmacological advances, regenerative medicine, medical technology and artificial intelligence in particular will have humankind scratching our heads trying to determine what makes a human, human? That is an easier question today.

PINERIDGE ONIONS

   More evidence of why I appreciate that Lana likes to play in the dirt.

    One of our favorite Italian chefs is receiving a gift. 

    See you down the trail.

OUTRAGE & IS THERE A CAT SHRINK IN THE HOUSE?

"OUTRAGEOUS?"
YES!

     I add to the chorus who say a decision by an Israeli judge is outrageous.  
     Judge Oded Gershon cleared the Israeli Military in an incident where an IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) bulldozer  drove over an unarmed 23 year old American woman.  
     The family of Rachel Corrie filed civil action in Haifa to overturn an IDF investigation that found the bulldozer operator, an army member, did nothing wrong when he crushed the American non-violent activist who was a pro Palesntian demonstrator in 2003.  The IDF said the driver didn't see the woman.  She was wearing an orange vest and speaking into a bullhorn.
     Corrie's parents, from Olympia Washington, say they are 
"deeply saddened" by the decision and will appeal.

DAY FILE

For Cat Lovers

Just Add Joy

      This goofy little gal, Joy, is a new arrival here on the ridge.

      She is adopted from HART (Homeless Animal Rescue Team) in Cambria and comes with a great verbosity and
curiosity.

      Joy also seems tireless.

    There are some "howevers."  As she begins to integrate with Luke and Hemingway, we see the emergence of social and/or personality issues in the pack.

     Hemingway, lovable goofball that he is, was the first to adapt. He is such an affectionate cat that we expected a good bonding.

    But whether it is fatigue from playing, or something else, he has become a little more inclined to withdraw, something he rarely did.  He was always underfoot, trying for a lap or asking for attention.  Now, and I am projecting here, clearly, he seems to have a bit of a "aren't I good enough?" attitude.

   Our ocelot/cheetah/leopard-like Luke has been very cool.
When in the garage at night, he retreats to a cave like spot in a corner, under a table.

     He does not seem pleased by a little sister at all.  She has some "tiger" in her as well and that could be part of it.  Luke is a runner, climber, solitary hunter cat anyway, but never so stand offish.

    He is still affectionate and loves his back rubbed, but less so when Joy is around.  He also has taken to "resting" away from our decks.  Usually he is ready for dinner and entry into the garage cat condo at early evening.  The second night Joy was here, he stayed away, running thru fields and didn't come in until after 11PM-dangerous here with so many coyotes, bob cats and cougars.  

   If any of you feel inclined to practice Cat Psychology, please do so.  Our assumption is that with a little time Luke will realize he is the Alpha and has nothing to fear from little sis and will get used to sharing the facilities with one more.  

   Hemingway seems to be adapting to having a new playmate.  We adopted Joy, in large part because he seemed so lonely.  Luke is off hunting and stalking most of the day and our dear old Nesta is gone. Like us, Hemingway really seems to miss Nesta.  They were napping companions and slept near each other.

   Nesta was failing for the last several months.  At almost 18, we knew it was only a matter of time.  One morning she left the garage when they were let out.  She never returned.  We assume she simply went off to die.

    Nesta was a unique old gal-a Pantera as a Uzbekistan friend called her.  She and her sister, who was killed by a raccoon in Indiana, were beautiful cats from the Russian blue grey line.  She made the continent crossing with us and adapted well to retired life in California.  When her daughter Ziggy died, Nesta went into a real funk.  We adopted Luke and then Hemingway and their companionship brought life and zest back to her.  For a year they were mates.

NESTA

1995-2012

See you down the trail.

THE NEW KID & THE NEW RAIN SEASON

HELLO HEMINGWAY

 The family has grown by one.  Our new rescue adoptee

has joined us.  Hemingway is a polydactyly-a six toed cat.

When you visit the Ernest Hemingway home in Key West

you'll likely see several six toed cats. I'd never seen

a polydactyly until we were there.  Cindy at the HART rescue center named this little cutie after his "cousins" in Key West.

 So now we have a socialization process to observe

as this rambunctious and high energy little guy

gets to know his older brother Luke and Nesta the 

old gal and reigning fussy Queen.
Here he makes his first journey outside. 
Look at those paws.

"Big" brother Luke naps as he watches over the little guy.

Dinner hour has gotten more complicated.

 Luke still maintains proprietary rights to making sure

the food tin is clean to his inspection standards.

THIS WILL LEAD TO GREENING

Almost a half an inch of rain over night, accompanied by  thunder which most people noticed, though some of us
snored through it.  We had a splash in October, but 
now we may get a couple of rains in the next week and
ranchers, farmers and gardeners are ready.

It cleared as the Friday Lunch Flash Mob assembled
below the castle, joined today by nearby steers.
The post rain views were pristine.

The old William Randolph Hearst storage buildings
played in the sun as well.

See you down the trail.