Heidi Chronicles: Where Are Those Silly Raccoons Anyhow?

OMG! It's SNOWING in Charleston! YAY!!! I think. If we get snowed in and the power goes out I may change my view of this, but right now - Yippeee!

Enjoy the snow, Cheryl. We're getting it here, too, several inches so far; but we've had so much in the last month that it's lost its novelty. Anxiously awaiting further news of Kitty's life of crime....

LOL! Kitty's life of crime...
I wonder if Tom/Tomasina is Kitty's brother or sister and not an unrelated tom

I have seen cats grab dead animals by the head/throat and squeeze hard for a minute and then shake hard enough to kill it again as if it isn't all of the way dead. I've seen them do this right after killing and several minutes later. It may be that Tom was just making sure that it was completely dead before s/he "gave" it to you.

Makes sense, June; I've seen that also, now that you mention it.

There is an ancient proverb which warns us to "be careful what you wish for, as your wish may come true" You may have heard a similar but slightly different version. There appear to be a million of them but all with the same basic advice.

Last night it was snowing heavily as I was driving home, and I was as giddy as a child on Christmas Eve. It had been 13yrs since the last snow flake fell here, so, as with almost anything so rare and beautiful, I was excited to see it finally happen again.

Snow, as I've mentioned in prior posts and threads, is an extreme rarity here such that when it does happen it's an event. We all rush outside or to the windows just to get a peak as though aliens were landing on the front lawn. Not only is the siting of snow in our world as rare as that of space ships from distant planets, well almost, but it is also quite fleeting, almost ethereal in its brevity. Snow here falls like that light dusting of powdered sugar on a chocolate cake layer and then quickly disappears usually within the same day.

Snow here is never a serious problem. It is rare and beautiful and doesn't stick around long enough to cause great hardship. Thus it was that as I drove home with snow already beginning to pile up on the perimeter of my wind shield, I was heady with excitement for this rare and beautiful spectacle.

As soon as I got home and parked the car, I ran out to walk Widget and to enjoy the snow which, by this time, was falling so hard that I had difficulty seeing much of anything except for the almost impenetrable wall of snowflakes falling in front of me. It was really coming down hard. I had never before in my life seen snow come down this way. Snow, for me, had always been light and airy flakes dancing gently on the air as they floated softly to earth - not this, this thing that was more like tons of confetti dropped all at once from the heavens and then forced downward under pressure. This snow was hard to enjoy because I could not see much of anything. In truth, I could not even hold my head up for more than a fraction of a second to look at it as my face and eyes were pelted sharply by torrents of snow even as I did so. Hmm, I was happy to see so much snow, but something was wrong here as this was not the fun snow of my memories.

After that I rushed to the computer to jot off a few words to let you know that it was snowing here. By now I figured you would all realize the rarity of such a thing, the likelihood of snow falling here on any particular day being up there in odds with one winning the lottery. So I hastily penned a quick note to you before lying down for my nap. I looked forward to sharing the story of Kitty's latest endeavors with you upon waking again an hour hence...but that was not to be, for I was awakened suddenly a mere 30min later by the simultaneous dying moans of myriad electrical devices all around me as each began to loose its hold on life, flickered, and with one last great heave gave up the ghost, my world plunged into silent darkness, the only sound that of giant, angry snow flakes still pelting the roof above me.

There would be no 2nd post this evening, no tales of Kitty's life of crime, nor would there be any TV, or internet, or heat for that matter. There wouldn't even be a spark of light. There would only be a cold and silent darkness and lots of time spent waiting for the light of morning.

When the lights 1st flickered and died, I looked around at a blackness the likes of which rarely seen in the city and I embarrassingly ill-prepared, my flashlight at the back door somewhere, the emergency lights all unplugged and thus uncharged, the small emergency [battery] 'generator', that might at least have offered light and powered a radio, also uncharged, and even the matches with which to light the candles on the nightstand now missing. I lay there in the darkness considering my options now. The 1st order should be to light the large pillar candles, but I could not find matches in my general vicinity - where they should have been waiting for just such a moment. The only matches I knew of were those in the kitchen cupboard, but now with the house cloaked in total darkness and me lacking good balance after my knee injuries, the kitchen seemed miles away.

Then, a flicker of hope, I remembered the laptop I had used to post to you earlier and now standing on end beside the bed. The laptop! Yes! Even w/o power the laptop would still be 'alive', powered now by its internal battery, and although it was useless for its original purpose it now offered the possibility of light. So with the laptop screen acting as a workable but somewhat unwieldy flashlight, I made my way to the kitchen for matches and returned to light the candles beside my bed. After a moment spent looking longingly at the DG screen still frozen on the laptop monitor and wanting so to be able to talk to you, I closed the laptop to preserve its battery and placed it back beside the bed where it would remain as a kind of last hope, backup lighting system if I should need it again.

The rest of the night I would use pillar candles as my room light and my flashlight. I lay bored in the darkness for what seemed a million eternities, thankful at the very least that the house was retaining its heat and I was still quite warm with only a thin coverlet over me. Throughout the night I slept fitfully, sleeping an hour or so, waking, lying in the darkness, repeat.

I made numerous trips to the front door and porch to look out. Watching the snow fall was my only remaining amusement now. It was beautiful outside, the whole world blanketed in white, a truly rare vision this far south and here on the coast. Fearing the snow might melt before I awoke in the morning, I even tried to take pictures, but all my camera could see in the darkness was the snowflakes dancing in front of the lens, still falling in an endless trail toward earth.

Around 11PM when Widget announced his need to 'pee', I so wished I could post to ask you how your dogs deal with this situation. At 4yrs old, Widget had never seen a snow flake before much less a world now lost under a dense blanket of the stuff. I let him go out on the front lawn alone. Knowing him as I do, I was fairly sure he wouldn't go far, not on ice - and, lets face it, snow is essentially ice, pretty ice, but ice just the same. Widget doesn't like to go out on water when the grass is wet from a shower, so I knew he wouldn't be the type of dog to go running around playing in snow.

What I hadn't figured though was his reaction to seeing his 'potty' covered this way. After a very short foray out onto the snow shrouded lawn, Widget came running back to the house insisting he no longer cared to pee. I tried in vain to tell him that it wouldn't be any better out there later. It was, after all, still snowing, but he insisted rushing back inside as though he had seen a ghost. He would rather hold it, wait, and take his chances than risk having it frozen off in that crazy white world out there.

On one of my trips to the door, candle in hand, I managed to fall and injure my leg. I didn't fall outside on snow or ice. I knew to be careful of that. I fell inside on the papers Widget had spread around the foyer, making a bed, I guess. He is bad about grabbing my stuff, anything cloth or paper, and carrying it to the foyer for bedding. He sleeps there near the front door while I'm away. Anyhow, somehow in the darkness, the world lit only by flickering candlelight, a source which I quickly learned will actually cast the floor in total darkness if held at the wrong level in front of the eyes, I managed to do a rather pathetic skating act on the papers and hardwood floor. I managed to catch the stair post and right myself but only after executing a 1/2 splits that pulled muscles or ligaments around my already damaged knee causing me to let out a sharp cry of pain. Time will tell how serious it is - or hopefully not. I can still walk but only painfully. It is difficult and painful to bend the knee at all, and I walk in a stilted manner, dragging the leg along.

It was somewhere about this time that I, carrying a flickering and dangerous candle around for the murky, yellow glow it provided, and dragging my now injured and painful leg along beside me, worried as I was about what I would do for heat if the electricity wasn't restored soon, bored with the darkness and lack of modern comforts and toys, and eager to get back online, decided that you folks up North can have your snow back. I don't like it anymore!

Kitty and the kittens showed up when I went to the door for my midnight-ish look outside. I tried to call Kitty inside, but she refused to come in, and I didn't push the matter any farther as by that time my leg hurt terribly making me eager to get back to bed and I didn't want to hold the door open too long letting precious heat escape as I had no form of backup heat - except candles. I put a large quantity of food out for them, more than I knew they and Tom could possibly eat, left it in the most sheltered corner of the tiny porch and came back inside.

Around 2:30AM the lights and heater made one valiant attempt at life, but died again in under a second - even before I could move to grab the computer and reach out to you. As an electrical engineer, even these small things provided information. Between the initial off-on-off again behavior of the lights when they 1st died and this singular attempt to come on again hours later, I knew that something, and it now appeared to be multiple things, was on the line(s) grounding them and causing safety breakers to cut the power. It was probably large limbs from the many old oaks lining the access road or perhaps even the trees themselves, frequently felled by storms and a popular source of power outages in my area. Or perhaps a nasty accident had occurred on that same road, cars on the narrow, snow covered road, driven into trees or light poles. From the evidence, I knew that they had fixed the one problem and had tried to reset the breaker only to have it trip immediately indicating other problems in the line, perhaps more limbs, or trees, or cars, or...
I also knew from experience that this 2nd 'outage' was a bad sign and that I would not likely see lights again that night.

It was around this time, too, that Widget's need to go finally overcame his distaste for snow. He ran out onto the edge of the lawn, snow still coming down, and hurriedly created the ever 'popular' yellow snow before rushing back inside once more.

By this time you might be wondering how, in the darkness and w/o electricity, I kept up with the time - esp since the batteries on all of my watches are long dead. The laptop. Turns out, in a power outage, the MacBook Pro is a rather cumbersome, $3000.00 flashlight/clock combo.

I took my last walk around 6:30. The sun had not yet risen, but the darkness had begun to lift ever so slightly. The snow was already showing signs of melting. I took a few pictures, and then went back to bed, my leg aching considerably by that time.

I awoke around 9:30 to the sounds of appliances whirring back to life once more and of clumps of snow falling from the house as the lovely but ominous white blanket dissolved in the light of day. We had received in excess of 7in by that time, more snow than I have seen in ages and 2nd only to the blizzard of ...well, maybe I will leave that year out. It dates me, after all. Best to leave something to the imagination.

And this, my friends, shall be forever known as the Great Charleston Snow of 2010, the one we will talk about for a decade or more to come, the one that will replace the '97 snow now to live on in lines like "it hasn't snowed here since 2010" and the reason why you didn't hear back from me last night after my initial post to let you know that it was snowing - and that I was wishing for lots of snow...

Edited to fix some typos.

This message was edited Feb 13, 2010 12:54 PM

Ok, (sniffle, sniffle) guess this means no one cares about the perils of my snow experience.

Ok, then here is the LATEST KITTY STORY. You people sure drive a hard bargain:

Haven't you known a few of those people in your life, the ones with the incredible skill and ability to stir things up, wreak havoc, and cause mayhem all the while managing to appear blameless, sweet even?

A few times early on when I would take Widget out front for his nightly walks there would be incidents that hinted of what was to come, but they were always so cleverly disguised as to appear like pure coincidence into which I read something more. I would take Widget out and on our return, I would get to the door only to find myself tugging on an immovable object at the end of the leash. I would then look back to find Widget somewhere over on or near the front lawn, the leash stretched taunt between him and me, and Kitty standing harmlessly on the walkway between us. Kitty wasn't doing anything but standing there, and there was plenty of room on either side of her for Widget to pass by, yet he wouldn't think of it. Kitty looked so sweet and innocent at such times, just standing there, no hissing or spitting or growling or any of that stuff. I couldn't imagine what Widget's problem was that at such moments he refused to walk past her.

Still, I have to admit that somewhere in the back of my mind the picture before me looked like that of a very shrewd cat totally in control of the situation, shooting the dog looks with clearly delineated threats to his life and all the while managing to look sweet and innocent to the human; telling the dog "step one foot over this line and you die" while saying to the human "I'm just standing here totally innocent. You know me. I wouldn't hurt the dog. He's the one who starts all of the trouble. Not me. I don't know why he won't come to you."

But, of course, I knew it was just my imagination, because Kitty is always so sweet.

So, fast forward to yesterday morning. I put Widget in the backyard as I do every morning and went about getting ready for work. I was detained a bit and late getting back to let him in. Usually, this is no problem. When he's ready to come in, Widget just sits against the door until I get there.

Oddly though, as I approached the door, I didn't see any sign of Widget - anywhere. I opened the door and called. No Widget. No response. I called a few more times getting louder each time. I was sure I heard the jingle of his harness yet no sign of Widget. Odd. Widget always comes when I call him. He's an inside dog. After a quick look around the yard to check whose been there, he's more than eager to get back inside. When called, Widget could always be seen running across the yard on his way to the door, but not this morning. This morning I could hear the sound of this harness nearby but could see no sign of Widget. Where the heck was that dog?

I was in my jammies and was trying to avoid stepping out onto the patio, but finally I was forced to do so. I needed to see what the heck was going on out there, why I could hear Widget's harness nearby but he didn't come to the door. I stepped out onto the patio in my sleepwear only to see the most incredible scene ever. It was like something out of a kid's movie, not something that really happens.

I sure wish I'd had a camera. When I stepped out I saw Widget's head pop up on the other side of a storage bench. That corner of the patio is congested with things I pushed over there and now need to sort out, a huge patio planter (4x4), the matching storage bench, and several patio trees and such in huge pots. Widget was cornered in the midst of all these things, but I really didn't understand why he didn't just come out the same way he went in. I called to him and called and called, but he stayed in that one spot, standing up and looking over the bench at me with a "Help me!" look in his eyes.

About that time as I was trying to make sense of Widget's strange behavior and his unwillingness to come to me, another head popped up. It was Kitty. She had been so quiet I hadn't even realized she was out there, but she was - and she was standing right smack in the way of the narrow path Widget needed to traverse to get 'out'. She had him backed into a corner amidst the patio junk and she wasn't letting him out. She still had that sweet and innocent, I wouldn't hurt a fly look, sure, but now it was very clear that she had him corner and was refusing to let him come back inside.

I had to go over there and get him! In my jammies! Naturally, when I got over there, Kitty was looking at me like, "I don't know what his problem is. I was just standing here keeping him company. I don't know why he wouldn't come to you..."

I think there is more to Ms Kitty than meets the eye, Folks. Ms Kitty is one sharp critter. She may look all small and sweet and innocent, but I'm not so sure I believe that anymore.

Edited to fix a typo or 3

This message was edited Feb 13, 2010 9:18 PM

Oooooh! She is a con! Unless you deal with her very soon, she will be the ruler over Widget and maybe over you too. A sharp NO! directed towards her and a soft "come here" directed towards Widget may show her that she isn't the boss of the "house critters". Good luck, I lived with a con mini dachshund and it took years to cure what the first 2 owners had allowed.
It is just before 8am here so I didn't see your posts until now. What an interesting turn of events. We had been forecast for 9" of snow and only got 2 or 3, it staggers my mind to think that ALL 50 states have seen snow this winter and that it got so deep even in the sub-tropics.

>>Ok, (sniffle, sniffle) guess this means no one cares about the perils of my snow experience.

I bet the snow was fantastic... until the power outage.

Jim was saying... "Glad we could send you some."

That's something about Miss Kitty.

Ok, June,

You're off the hook, but those other people...

I hope you know I was just kidding in the above post about no one caring. ;-D
I knew it was Saturday and everyone was out having fun and, after all, it is the Heidi Chronicles, not the 'How I Spent My Snow Day' Chronicles. It's just that I had spent the entire night, roughly 12hrs total from 9:30PM to 9:30AM in a yucky, dark, boring house, unable to sleep and cut off from civilization and waiting impatiently to talk to all of you. I just knew all of you were also waiting to hear from me. (huge smile)

Hmm, all 50 states? Did they have snow in Hawaii? I had heard on the news that 49 states, all but Hawaii had snow on the ground today. Later they rephrased from today to this week. Does it snow in Hawaii?

We not only got snow. We got a lot - for us that is. 7in. The last time we saw enough snow to actually scoop any up for snow ice, I was in my early teens. We won't say just what year that was, but I think you can see that it has been a while. I didn't get the snow ice, BTW. I started to because I LOVE the stuff - and now won't get another chance until 2020 or after - but even though that 7in blanket of snow on the front lawn looked completely untouched, the sight of Widget creating yellow snow earlier had ruined my appetite for the stuff.

I don't think that Kitty is actually causing all of the problems although my post probably sounded that way. She is probably reacting to Widget's bluffs and fake attacks and his efforts to drive her away. I just find it interesting, and rather endearing really, how sly she seems to be and how she is handling things with him. I find it esp amusing how she is able to threaten him without showing any signs of violence and while looking so innocent to the human. Right now I figure she is probably just putting him in his place, and he probably deserves it. I didn't see how the episode yesterday started, but there's a good chance that Widget went over there in that maze of stuff on the side of the patio to chase the cat - and then the cat somehow managed to back him into a corner to have a 'talk' with him. Widget doesn't have good social skills for dealing with other animals. He tries to jump every dog who comes by on the sidewalk, so I don't doubt he starts things and I figure he probably needs someone like Kitty to teach him some social skills or at least to 'knock it off'.

Hi Terese!

LOL, Tell Jim I said, "Thanks a bunch, but you can have it back now." Last night I had enough snow to get me through the next decade. It would have been nice to enjoy it in daylight though. The power went out to my area around 9:30PM, roughly 2.5hrs after I got home and posted that it was snowing. The snow had just started around 6:45PM or so. At that time it wasn't even sticking yet. I took a nap and woke up at 9:30PM to find the lights out and the world already covered with maybe 3-4in of snow, so, basically, I didn't get to enjoy it before the lights went out. I spent that time sleeping, not knowing that I was wasting the only precious hours of electricity available to me.

After that, I had to enjoy the snow in the dark, but although it was quite dark in the house, it was amazingly bright outside. I gather all that endless expanse of 'white' was amplifying the little bit of moonlight. That plus the fact that having no electricity my eyes were well adjusted to darkness meant that I could see quite well outside.

It was a pity though to wake up at 9:30AM and see the snow already rapidly melting. Still, despite the fact that I could hear it melting, falling, and gushing from the roof all day long, there was still snow outside when darkness fell tonight, not a blanket of the stuff by any means, just sheltered pockets of it here and there. 2 or 3 roofs would be devoid of snow and the next one would still be covered in the stuff. Odd how the stuff melts in such a spotty fashion.

Yeah, that Ms Kitty is something else.

Here is one of the few pics I got in the overnight. I had to wait for the snow to stop falling so that I could get the camera to auto focus on the yard (instead of the flakes in front of the lens). I remembered a time when Terese posted a pic of flakes falling followed by one of what she was trying to get in the yard (at night), but I couldn't recall the settings she used to do that, and I didn't feel like fooling with the camera settings in the dark while trying to hold my candle. Argh!

So here is Charleston in the snow.

I grabbed the few night pics because I feared the snow would begin to melt quickly by morning. Sadly, I'm not a morning person. By the time I awoke around 9:30 and got outside to take more pics much of the snow was already gone.

Here is a very special view down the street from me. On the very far left you can see a bit of my small magnolia with some remaining snow on it. Next to that and somewhat farther back (in the next yard over so actually behind the magnolia) is something you probably won't see often, snow on a palm tree.

Here is a close up of some shrubs across the street.

Gladys' back porch. Hmm, had no idea I could get that close w my camera alone, no special lens.

wax myrtle tree at corner of my house

one more taken at night. not a good pic but shows snow on shrubs and car and in flower bed. The shrub far left w/o snow is under the eave and gutters of the house.

Our low last night was only 30F, so barely cold enough for the snow to stick. Even in the overnight hours I was surprised to see that once it stopped snowing the snow quickly melted off the street, sidewalks, driveway, and front walk. On the other hand, after spending the night wondering how I would shovel snow off the walk w/o a shovel, I was happy to see that we seem to have the auto-shoveling variety.

Edited to add that the walkway appears to be covered in this pic.

This message was edited Feb 13, 2010 10:37 PM

Hi, Susan,

Sorry, I didn't get to respond last night - snow day.

It might have been Tom. I doubt he has eaten this well in a while if ever. Most folks don't feed the old guy.

That's hilarious about your cat bringing you all those critter gifts and then the plush one. The plush gift reminds me of the that red santa looking thing the raccoons 'hung' in the tree behind my house one year at Christmas. Although I'm sure it (mine) was just a fluke, the timing made it too adorable and a memorable 'gift'.

Do you even OWN a snow shovel?? and isn't it nice when the unfrozen pavement ever so kindly melts the snow for you?

I have to admit... i'm done with snow for this year!!

LOL, Ruth,

"Kitty's life of crime". LOL. I was referring more to her manner of handling problems. I haven't learned about any past criminal ventures yet. ;-)

How is it going there with your snow? Mine is now just a bad memory bolstered by isolated pockets of remaining snow. Sounds like the power where you live is considerably more 'snow-proof' than ours. This was my 1st snow fall since I moved to this house. I don't think the rest of Charleston lost power. My area looses power in a bad thunderstorm. We are just so vulnerable to limbs falling from those old oaks lining the access road, and owing to their historic value nothing will ever be done to trim them.

I'm guess when you read this you will be chuckling about Kitty's manner of dealing with Widget. I'm just hoping he doesn't get any of those cement galoshes or spend any time swimming with the fishes.

Terese,

Yes, it is very thoughtful when the pavement takes care of us that way.

No, I don't have a snow shovel. Don't know what I would do with one. But that's why last night I found myself lying in bed trying to figure out how I would clear the walkway and drive and whether, for safety and legal purposes, I am obligated to clear the sidewalk. Don't laugh at my ineptitude, people from the north, but I in my mind I test-drove the following for 'shoveling' snow: regular shovel, leaf blower, yard rake, and garden rake. None worked that well in my mental exercise though.

Did anyone notice that I managed - in just one night - to injure myself AGAIN! I'm so mad! And embarrassed! I'm like a bull in a china shop, except that I get hurt instead of the china. Actually, I never got full balance and stability back after my knee surgeries, so that makes me prone to spills. Dag Nab It (and that's not how I normally spell it)!!!

The Haleakala Summit on Maui has a ski area. It stays pretty cold up there and the winters always have snow. here are some pics: http://images.google.com/images?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1TSHBCENUS345&q=snow%20in%20hawaii&oq=da&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

Wow, June,

Thanks! Shortly after I posted that comment about Hawaii, I heard them say something on the news. I didn't catch enough to even know what they were talking about. I just heard the word Hawaii along with one other place associated with snow. I thought about it for a minute or so and then actually concluded that I had heard them wrong. I just couldn't fathom snow in Hawaii. Thanks for clearing that up for me. Now I know!

Yep, the mountains on the big island of Hawaii get snow, too, and people go skiing.
You were wondering where everyone was--well, I forgot to watch the new thread again!! I just spent the last 30 min. or so reading all the posts after the pic of the 'albino raccoon', lol.
Wow, alot has happened! Sorry about you hurting your leg, and I hope it's not too bad.

Hi KyWoods

I was just wondering about you a little while ago, thinking perhaps we might have misplaced you when we changed threads. Of course, I also realize there isn't much going on here right now with the raccoons on 'vacation'. Good to see you back!

Those albino raccoons are rare and hard to find, but I hear they are most popular in the UK.

Yeah, we got our snow. Now we're good for another decade or so. I sure hope the leg thing is temporary. I was really getting so accustomed to being able to walk with little or no discomfort. I'm just so annoyed with myself for getting hurt again. I even avoided stepping out onto the porch when I noticed that it was covered in snow. I know my balance and stability aren't what they used to be, and I didn't want to risk getting injured - and then, after avoiding stepping out onto snow or ice, I managed to fall on papers in the house. I'm so mad. I did step outside later to feed the cats and to take pics but only after the snow on the pavement and cement had melted. Anyhow, I'm determined to think positive and try to be well again although I rested my leg a lot today.

Just came from walking Widget and feeding Kitty.

Susan, you might be right about this. Kitty was sitting against the front door when I opened it. She wouldn't let Widget out. (LOL, I'm sorry. It's probably not supposed to be funny, but it does crack me up to see the cat bossing the dog around this way.) I had to push her back gently and insist that Widget come out with me - and that they both leave each other alone.

Earlier when we were talking about concerns over leaving the 2 of them inside together while I'm at work, I thought we were worried about the cat. Now, I'm starting to think we should worry about the dog. Even after I insisted that she let Widget pass, Kitty followed him when he went out onto the lawn. She followed him even though I stayed behind on the porch at 1st. I ended up following the both of them to make sure everybody behaved. Kitty went right out there on the lawn with him. I swear it looked as though she were still trying to intimidate him. I went out there and picked her up to pet her. She didn't even seem all that happy to be picked up. When I put her back down a few minutes later she went the other way and left Widget alone.

Of course, Widget isn't blameless either. On the way back inside he went after the tabby kitten who was semi-trapped in a corner near the door. I had to fuss at him and insist he go back inside. It's like dealing with small children. It's the pet version of "stop touching me. he's touching me. Mom, make him stop touching me. She touched me 1st", etc, etc, etc.

The good news for the day is that the kittens are getting ever more comfortable with me. When I came out tonight, the little tabby was sitting on the bench by the door. She didn't move at all at 1st and when she did she just hopped down and sat on the ground behind the bench, something she never did before. Last night to keep the snow out of the food, I had put the bowl back in the far corner of the porch (where the UPS guy leaves packages and where the squirrel was found). That is the last place I would expect the kittens to go with me around because in that area they are trapped by walls on 3 sides and the area is only a maybe 2.5ft x 2.5ft. When I sit on the bench by the door, I'm only the width of the door away from that area and am blocking the only entrance/exit into the area. Nonetheless, when I put the food in the bowl in that corner and sat down on the bench, the kittens watched their mom eating the food for a minute or two and then went over there with her.

This was big. Only last week they were cautious about coming within a few feet of the porch as long as I was sitting there. Now they were willing to walk past me to go into a corner where they would be at serious risk of being trapped. Later when I got up to go inside, the tabby ran but the black kitten stayed to eat just a foot or so from me as I opened the door to go inside.

With time, I bet they'll come around quite well.
I've caught my kitties twice with chipmunks, no squirrels yet...

KyWoods,

How do chipmunks compare with squirrels in terms of size? Do you think they are similar in terms of ability to run and fight to defend themselves? We don't have chipmunks, so I have no idea what they are like. I'm trying to make a comparison between a cat catching one or the other.

Chipmunks are a whole lot smaller and less formidable than squirrels. For example, chips will typically run when they see humans; squirrels will often hold their ground and curse at you for disturbing them. I guess I'd say chips are larger than the average field mouse or vole, significantly smaller than even a small rat. They appear a bit larger than they are because of their lovely coat. And chips are very frequent prey for cats; not just because of their smaller size, but also because they burrow rather than climb, which gives the cats more time to catch them.

Sorry to hear about your power outage and new knee injury; that sure took the joy out of fresh snow quickly. Have to say that you sound almost as klutzy as I am, lol. I have an ankle I've sprained countless times, and an arthritic knee I can't seem to resist falling on; makes me crazy.

We probably got 8-9" of snow this time, and most of it is still here tonight. Heck, there's one large section of the driveway slopes/garden beds that has had snow cover since before Christmas; and that's really unusual for this area. Now they're calling for another 1-3" Sunday night into Monday. This stopped being fun a while back.

Can't say I'm too surprised at Kitty's escapades. I'm sure she figured out a while back that Widget is a paper tiger; and since he persists in starting things, I'm sure she's absolutely delighted to finish them...

Ruth,

I am so sorry to hear how the snow is piling up there. I guess in retrospect my snow story may have been insensitive. I had come to believe that your area received frequent snowfall throughout winter, and I just thought those in areas with regular snowfall were so accustomed to it now that it was no big deal. I guess this was short sighted of me in so many ways. After all, I've certainly not gotten immune to our stifling summer heat. Far from it, I spend late winter dreading it. Anyhow, I'm very sorry you are getting all that snow. I hope it will let up for you soon.

Before my knee injury and resultant surgeries, I never realized the very important part the knees play in balance for standing upright, and I doubt it is possible to fully comprehend this w/o experiencing damaged knees (like ours). Once the knee is damaged, the pain we experience every time the ligaments around the knee engage makes their purpose much easier to see, er, I mean feel.

Anyhow, from your description, I'm thinking you are experiencing the same thing I am. Since the knee surgeries, I no longer have the full ability to use my knees for balance and stability, not with the efficacy of undamaged knees. This makes me very susceptible to falls that would never have been an issue for me before - and it is all so very frustrating. There is also great irony involved for as you point out, a knee injury makes one considerably more likely to fall on the damaged knee and possibly further the damage, but again, it's due to the fact that the knee, particularly the movement of the ligaments around the knee, plays an important part in constantly shifting to maintain balance, a function of which we are blissfully unaware until something goes wrong.

Thankfully, the knee has been better each day and seems almost back to 'normal' today. I think - whew! sigh of relief - that this was just a temporary thing. I'm just so wary these days of sustaining additional damage and ending up off my feet again due to pain. It has been SO wonderful lately to be able to get around w/o pain. I've been getting so many things done around the house and look forward to doing a lot in the yard soon. I just don't have the time to waste being injured again.

I just find Kitty's cool manner and her ability to look so innocent while threatening Widget with bodily harm so amusing.

"I just find Kitty's cool manner and her ability to look so innocent while threatening Widget with bodily harm so amusing"
Me too. Maybe her name should be Mac or Li, short for Machiavelli.

Glad to hear that your knee is healing. There is a class give by Physical & Occupational Therapists on how to fall without damage. It would be a good class to take if your insurance will pay for it. The older we get, the harder the falls are.

I'm so glad your knee is better!! Wow, you got 7"?? When we get "snow", we're lucky if we get an inch, and then it's all gone in a couple of hours. My girls would be sooo jealous! LOL We have another cold front coming through tonight, but it's a dry front, so we won't get any snow with it.

Li sounds like a great name for Ms. Kitty! ^_^

It's freaky how much snow the south is getting this winter! I feel sorry for people who go down south to escape such weather. I saw a license plate today from New Jersey. I wonder what their weather is like right now.
Our forecast is now 5 to 9 inches, starting after midnight. I just looked outside and nothing is happening yet.

Cheryl, no apologies necessary, for heaven's sake; I have no right to complain about the snowfalls here when other areas are so much worse. My mother no longer drives, which is a plus since Philly has been buried for weeks. My friends in the DC area are simply in shock. That area panics when flurries start; and they have been hit with one major snowstorm after another. One friend was without power for three days, the government was closed down for almost a week, and even the P.O. skipped deliveries for several days. They just don't know what hit them up there, and our snows are laughable by comparison.

You're so right, having a damaged knee makes one much more vulnerable to falls and further injuries; it's a vicious circle that just seems wrong somehow. Glad to hear yours is doing much better, and hope it continues to improve. June, that class you mentioned sounds intriguing; I'll have to remember to look into that a couple years down the road. At the moment, I'm at that awkward age: no longer getting benefits from work and a bit too young for Medicare. Have a very basic policy to cover me for that interim period, but it doesn't provide anything sensible and proactive, unfortunately.

Cats really excel at the "who, me?" innocence routine; it never fails to crack me up, especially when their guilt is so patently obvious. I'll never forget the day I came home and was greeted by my adolescent cat, whose fur was coated with little white paper shreds stuck to his fur by static. He followed me as I walked to the bathroom, where I found he'd been very busy; someone had left the door open, and there was T.P. confetti everwhere. Looked like a snowstorm in there, and there sat Kitty at the bathroom door, looking around wide-eyed, with a "Wow, what happened here?" expression of complete innocence. You couldn't be angry; it was just too funny and cute.

Come to think of it, I have never seen a cat look guilty. They always look so innocent and unperturbed no matter what you have found them doing.

So true, June, so true. Might be one of the reasons I enjoy them so much. They truly embrace the code widely preached when I came of age back in the 60's: if it feels good, do it. This can be insufferable if its proponents then complain when the results don't please them; but cats don't complain if things backfire, they just go for it and enjoy the heck out of the results if it goes well.

I've had kitties that were very good at trying to keep me from walking away. Absolute geniuses at that, in fact.
I also have kittens nearby of similar ages as those two and somewhat feral. Only their mother isn't as tame as your Kitty, she won't let anyone touch her. I fear the kittens cannot be tamed very much and would not be able to be adopted by just anyone. I've gotten 2 or the 4 kittens neutered and released them eventually. I haven't found any organization to take them around here (bad situation locally) and I can't take them into my house. It's a shame, really, someone abandons a female cat and after it has kittens, then the kittens learn that fear. If someone can take them in and tame them early on, they might overcome it. Otherwise, can they really learn to trust people enough later on? We once adopted two wild kittens many years ago. They hid under the furniture a while, too scared to come out if anyone was around. We gradually tamed them and for the most part they were fine after a while. But they were a lot younger kittens.

You're so right, Linda; the age at which feral kittens are captured makes all the difference in how tame they can become. If captured by two months, they are little different if at all from kittens born inside; at three months, they can still become almost like tame-born, though sometimes a bit more skittish with strangers. From four months on, the ability to tame drops exponentially with each passing month. As you said, with time and great patience they can eventually become fairly calm indoor companions; but fear of strangers and real terror at restraint are common and often lifelong issues. It really is tragic. In turning the cat and dog into domestic animals, we changed the species in very basic and important ways. This makes us responsible for them and their welfare, and it just makes me furious when people betray the animals and their responsibility to them by abandoning them to a fate that's often quite cruel.

This is our Wilma, who is now indoor only. She only trusts us...nobody else. Doesn't like other cats, although on occasion she likes to play with one. But she has us wound around her little claw....spoiled cat! For a formerly wild cat...she's pretty vocal!

It took me forever to catch up here. I have been crazy busy.
But I'm so glad to hear about Kitty, and am learning a lot by reading what all of you post.
Stay warm!!