Outside of a dog . . .

 

Outside of a dog . . .

                              . . . a book is man’s best friend.

Our eldest grandson and his little family visited us on Sunday, unexpectedly. It was delightful to see them all. 

Callum's elder daughter, Melia, is almost two and a half years old, and a very competent little girl. In the morning before they set off from home, she announced that she wasn’t going to wear nappies any longer. Obviously, she judged that the time was right, though it wasn’t the most opportune time to relinquish them, but she didn’t go to the loo very many times while she was with us.

Her baby sister, Hailey, is four months old and she was happy to gaze around at her surroundings, and coo.

Melia is very used to dogs and our dogs were happy to have visitors, particularly those at nose level with sticky fingers. They had to be segregated periodically when food was being consumed.

Books and toys, drawing pads and colouring pencils were brought out to entertain. 

Gilbert, being a Literary Labrador showed an interest, using the books as a pillow after our visitors departed.

                             Our cats, too, have shown Literary Leanings.

      

                                                  The late Winston Ocicat enjoyed blogging.

                                                 He also enjoyed reading his Kindle in bed.

                                           Pats the Abyssinian enjoyed books from kittenhood.

                                                 Herschel Ocicat guards the bookshelves.

          Jellicoe Ocicat is studying ornithology amongst other subjects.

Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.

Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.

Groucho Marx

 

Ocicats

 

Ocicats

Winston, our first Ocicat, was chocolate in colour. His breeder named him 'Ginger'!

Winston

 Just in case anyone is interested and because our cats have featured in blog posts recently, I thought I’d tell you a little more about our Ocicats. Yes, they’re ‘posh’ cats, that is, purebred. The reason for having purebreds as opposed to moggies is that we thought it would be easier for them to be house cats, that is, cats that don’t have unlimited freedom. There are nasty people around who do unpleasant things to cats. A few years ago we enclosed (cat-proofed) the garden so that they could explore the great outdoors in safety. There is plenty of interest in the garden and they can and do exercise their hunting skills.

 Monty, cinnamon silver, with Jenna

We fell upon Ocicats quite by accident, their spotted, striped coats unusual in our experience. People often mistake them for Bengal cats but they have no wild cat blood in them. The Ocicat is a 'man-made' breed, the result of an American breeder, Virginia Daly from Michigan, trying to create an Abyssinian-pointed Siamese by mating an Abyssinian with a Siamese. The first litter looked entirely Abyssinian but the second cross produced Abyssinian-pointed kittens and one spotted kitten. The breeder’s daughter remarked that the spotted kitten looked like an Ocelot and called him an Ocicat. He was neutered but subsequent litters, breeding Siamese to Abyssinian and then mating their offspring back to Siamese, produced more spotted kittens. 

More breeders followed the same breeding regime and soon it was possible to have a recognised Ocicat breeding programme.  At some point, possibly due to an error, the American Shorthair was introduced to the breeding, giving the Ocicat heavier bone and greater bulk. It also introduced the silver gene, so the original six colours expanded to become twelve. In addition, the gene pool was enlarged, making the cats less susceptible to inherited weaknesses and disorders.

                            Monty with Frodo. Frodo loved the cats.

A litter of Ocicat kittens can contain kittens that look like Abyssinian cats, which are referred to as 'mountain lions', the expected spotted striped kittens and those with a classic tabby marking, which used to be called Ocicat Classics. The classic Ocicats have been carefully bred to form a sister breed, now known as Aztecs, which strikes me as a really odd name.

Ocicats are strong athletic cats and are heavier than they look. Our Ocicats have greenish-yellow eyes but I have seen cats with striking orange eyes. They are very dog-like in their interaction with humans and are extremely affectionate.

We have had five Ocicats. Our first, Winston, was chocolate and as soft as butter. We were so delighted with Winston that we got our second Ocicat a week later. Monty was chocolate silver in colour but his heart was weak. Medication to help his heart damaged his kidneys and vice versa so we had to let him go when he was three years old. There was nothing more to be done for him.

Three years later, Winston died very suddenly and unexpectedly in the animal hospital from a respiratory illness.

After that we decided we couldn’t ever have another cat until the day, about two years later, when a mouse ran over my foot upstairs. Thus we acquired three litter brothers, Herschel, who is cinnamon silver, Isambard, a tawny Ocicat, and Jellicoe, a black silver Classic (tabby) cat.

 Clockwise from top, Herschel, Isambard and Jellicoe

Isambard was such a sweet, gentle boy but he died when he was almost seven from a respiratory illness he may well have caught from my husband. Barry was quite ill with something very similar to Covid a couple of months before Covid had officially appeared on these shores. Isambard spent much time snuggled up with Barry and became very ill. He died in the animal hospital, unexpectedly, shocking our vets who had expected him to recover. Cats are so delicate. 

Jellicoe was also ill, but recovered. 

                                Isambard checks the unlit stove.

People often ask why we don’t have rescue cats. Simply, rescue organisations don’t like cats being confined to home and not allowed to wander freely leading a normal feline life. The trouble is that free-ranging cats often fall prey to wicked people who find it amusing to paint them with house paint, crop their ears and tails, use them as target practice or as bait for dogs. Even without such people, cars and motor-bikes are a hazard. Some cats seem to be more street wise than others but, from personal experience, it is heart-breaking to lose a cat to a car or simply for it to disappear, its fate forever unknown.

                        Hallowe'en Jellicoe (cobwebs from the garage!)

I think attitudes are slowly changing and I see and hear of more non-purebreds being raised and loved as house cats. Indeed, one of my grandsons has two moggy house cats. There will always be those who do not agree, my son and one daughter included. but we respect their views and know they understand ours.

                                     Herschel contemplates

As you might imagine, there are a number of blog posts featuring our cats. Searching their names will bring up more than you probably would ever want to read.

Snow!

Snow

We have had snow! Not a lot by some standards, just about 2” (5 cms), but enough to make the garden look pretty – or, at least, different. The local schools, along with many across the country, had a Snow Day.

I took photographs with my little Sony just before 8:30 a.m.

 The dogs ruined the pristine layer. They charged out and round the garden then galloped back in again. 

Barry took some photographs later with his superior Canon.

Zula, Susannah’s little Abyssinian, 2 years old today, dashed out and returned immediately. Herschel decided to investigate. He stepped delicately in the snow, flicking it off his paws and sniffing at the funny white stuff.  

Jellicoe went out later and stayed outside for some time, inspecting the scene, but Isambard viewed it all with suspicion from the safety and warmth of the sitting room.

The anemometer and wind vane had more than a dusting of snow but managed to spin in the wind that sprang up. 

The bird feeder (h’mm, should clean and replenish it!) has not had any avian visitors today but there were numbers of gulls wheeling round the tree-tops this morning.

The best barometers in the house are the cats, guaranteed to discover the hot spots. Two of them, the Somalis Solomon and Lenny, spent considerable time in the conservatory (I’m sure they enjoyed watching Le Mans with Frankie). 

Herschel cuddled up with Bertie while Isambard appropriated my chair and didn’t object when I almost sat on him, happy to share and at the same time help me compose my  blog post. 

Jellicoe, however, found the prime spot, on the bookshelf above the radiator. From the photographs you can see that he has a bent for Natural History, particularly Ornithology.

.  

It is snowing again and is forecast to continue for several hours. We are unreliably informed, by someone who knows much better than the Met Office, the AA, the RAC, and all the weather forecasters in the media, that the amber warnings of bad weather are ‘scaremongering’ and the snow is ‘localised’, with none in Wokingham, 4 miles away. This is not true but we shrug and smile – there’s no point in arguing with someone who is always so right, though usually so wrong!

What's been happening?

What’s been happening?

(Clicking on the photos enlarges them - usually . . . )

The days and weeks and months pass so quickly and when I look back I can’t see that anything much has happened. So, what has been happening?

In February and August of 2016, after years of increasing immobility and pain, Barry had two knee replacements. The result is that he is taller and can do so much more now. He was a very good patient and did all his exercises assiduously. His physiotherapist was extremely good and got the measure of him very quickly, recognising his very competitive spirit, and warning advising him not to overdo things.

 In February last year, 2017, Susannah treated us to a trip to Tromsø in Norway to see the Northern Lights. If proof were needed of the success of Barry’s knee operations, it was provided by that holiday. We went out at night into the fjords to see the Lights and Barry stood for several hours, filming them. The next day we went out again, in the hope of seeing orcas and humpback whales, though the majority had left the area, and again Barry stood for several hours taking photographs. We saw a couple of orcas and one humpback.

Aurora Borealis, Tromso

In the summer, Susannah and I went to Lucca in Tuscany. She was going to a friend’s wedding and I was going to look after Frankie. However, Frankie didn’t come with us in the end. It was very hot!

Villa Cheli, Lucca, Tuscany

Italian wall lizard

In August, our eldest grandson, Callum, came to live with us. He is on a year’s work placement from university. It’s lovely to have a young man in the house and beneficial for Frankie to have another good male role model. We see a lot of his girl-friend, Kat, too.

Callum and Kat at the helm of Appaloosa. 

In September Frankie started full-time school. As he had been attending pre-school in the same school since he was three, the staff and facilities were familiar to him. However, quite naturally, he was a little anxious and wanted to know if there would be toilets there! The uniform was a challenge for him. No longer was it a case of pulling on a tee-shirt and trousers. Now he had to manage shirt buttons. I have watched my husband countless times as he strains and contorts to fasten the wretched top button. Although Frankie had practised fastening buttons before term started, he could not manage the top button and found it frustrating. In fact, the thought of undressing and dressing affected his enjoyment of school and there were several occasions when he said, ‘I don’t like swimming/PE/school.’ It passed, of course, and now he is proud that he can get undressed/dressed quicker than his peers. Like his grandfather, Frankie is very competitive.

First day of school - so many clothes!

 The watchword in our house is, ‘Practice makes perfect’ and so it proves with many things. Frankie asked me the other day why I could write so quickly and I told him it was because I’d had lots of practice.

We hosted Christmas 2017, the first time we’ve done that for several years. Bethan and Robert and Charlie came, with Lolly, of course. It was fun and we were so well-organised, unusually for us, that we could have eaten lunch at 11.30. Susannah, a dedicated vegetarian, was in charge of vegetables and I was responsible for cooking the meat. The thing that delayed us and made us laugh was part of the vegetarian element. The Brussels sprouts were not ready! Even so, we ate at 1.00 which was just as well as small children cannot wait long for food without becoming fretful.

Charlie and Frankie

On the animal front the Labradors keep us busy and make us go out. We may sometimes be reluctant but the rewards are many, not least seeing the joy of our dogs playing. We both use walking poles as the ground we cover is rough and full of ruts and roots and often extremely muddy.

Retrieving sticks

The cats are six in number. We have our three Ocicat brothers, who will be six this year. Susannah’s much loved and characterful Abyssinian, Cleopatra, known as Pats or Patricia, died in 2017. Susannah already had two Somali brothers (Somalis are long-haired Abyssinians) and now has a tiny, exquisite Abyssinian female, Zula, who was one year old on 1^st February. The cats adore the dogs, Bertie in particular, and you may be sure that if you are making a fuss of a dog you will soon be joined by one or more cats.

Zula

All the animals love Callum and pile onto and around him and also Kat. I think they respond positively to youth!

Callum with four dogs and two cats

So there you have it. We have done very little other than look after our family. We are older but not much wiser and still look to the future though with less optimism about our lovely country. Politicians of both main parties, at least those in the headlines, the ‘leaders’, prove their incompetence almost daily. MPs of all persuasions demand that more money should be thrown at whichever problem is causing the most unease at any time. That is not the answer but it impresses the voters . . . maybe. Plus ça change!

The Entropy Gang's November 2014 blog

The Entropy Gang’s November 2014 blog (formerly Conservatory Cats’ Chats)

Now we are two

(top to bottom) Isambard, Jellicoe, Herschel

Herschel: A great deal has happened in the past year, not all of it to our immediate liking. We were perfectly content with our accommodation and our companions, until . . .

Isambard:  . . . one day, Susannah, a servant from one of The MAID’s and The THINKER’s litters, moved in with a very small Servant. Did you know that most Servants only have litters of one? So wasteful – much easier to have five or six or seven at a time though I rather think Servants would not be able to cope. Anyway, Susannah and the small Servant, Frankie, moved in and they brought with them another CAT! We were affronted at first but soon became interested.

Jellicoe: We were irritated that part of the house had now been shut off to us but understood that the Incomers needed room for themselves. We have not been formally introduced to the CAT but understand her name is Cleopatra, though she is usually called Pats or Patricia.

Herschel: We are quite sure we would all be friends. After all, she is an Abyssinian, but the Servants are playing very safe. They say she will be allowed into the rest of the house when the FENCE is erected and we can play in the GARDEN. We are looking forward to that - and have been for some time.

Isambard: We thought we would be able to go and introduce ourselves to Pats. We can all open doors now but the Servants have done something to the door handle into Susannah’s domain, something about UPSIDE DOWN. We shall persevere and discover the secret to opening it.

Jellicoe: We like Susannah and we even like Frankie now that he’s learnt to be gentle with us. Two more even smaller Servants, part of our Servants’ FAMILY, came to visit yesterday so we went upstairs and stayed there until they had gone.

Frankie and Isambard

Herschel: We always make ourselves scarce if things get too noisy or busy but Isambard doesn’t hide under the STAIRS like he used to.

Isambard: I think the thing that has disturbed us most has been the introduction of another DOG, called Lolly. She is a baby dog – I believe the Servants call her a PUPPY. She doesn’t live here all the time.

Jellicoe: No, she belongs to another of The MAID’s and The THINKER’s litters, Bethan. She brings her to visit so that the Servants’ DOGS can get to know her.

Herschel: When she first came into the house she was very small, smaller even than Jellicoe, who is the smallest of us three brothers. I started stalking her. The Servants didn’t seem to like that but I was only doing what comes naturally.

Isambard: The next time she came she was bigger and each time after that she had grown some more.

Jellicoe: Now she’s taller than Jenna but she still hasn’t learnt the correct etiquette for dealing with her superiors. We have been very patient and have not even hissed at her – well, only once or twice.

Herschel: I’m sure eventually she will learn the error of her ways and then we shall be able to snuggle up with her like we do with the Servants’ DOGS.

Isambard: Until then we shall retain the high ground and gaze down on her.

Jellicoe: Christmas will be here soon – we enjoyed it last year and we think this year will be even better. Happy Christmas everyone!

Herschel and Jellicoe leap for the feathers