Hi. I’m Mateo the CoalBear.
I’ve been really busy helping the Mother of Cats as she works on her little projects. She quilts sometimes (and I have discovered that if I am in the trash under the sewing machine she will spend lots and lots of time talking to me!!), she sews bags for donation, she knits, and she spends time out on the catio reading her books while I hunt for grasshoppers and stuff to chase. I just love it out on the catio! The Mother of Cats took an old cat tree out there for me to hang out on, and that is even more special. Look at how cool I look!!
The last two weeks the Mother of Cats has been making lots of trips out of the house, and when she stays home with us, she works on her octopus. Hannah loves the octopus!!! She always visits while the Mother of Cats is knitting to try to get a little taste test of the yarns. Hannah is really tenacious (Hello! She’s a cat!!!), but so far, she hasn’t actually been able to actually chomp any yarn and the octopus is safe. Do you want to see how he is looking these days? The Mother of Cats took him out for a little trip to the rock stream in the front yard.
The Mother of Cats has been taking lots of pictures lately of fun things, so I thought that I would spend the rest of the post today showing off the pictures. Are you ready? Here we go!
Well, that is all for the day. The Mother of Cats just took the octopus out again EVEN THROUGH IT IS TIME TO GO OUT ON THE CATIO and I’m going to go have a few words with her about her priorities. Maybe there are some grasshoppers out there, and if we wait until it gets dark my raccoon buddy might stop by.
This is Mateo, signing off.
Notes from the Mother of Cats:
The octopus is Opus the Octopus.
The bunny has a beard growing on his face that is a viral infection that is benign and not contagious to cats and humans. I call him BlackBunny.
I’ve stopped putting out seed for the birds because… raccoons!!! There were five of them in the yard the night I took that photo.
Wow, Marilyn, this is the first time I’ve seen a photo of a neighborhood bunny in the wild with SPV, although I’ve read about it and seen photos of extreme examples.
I just read that about 75% of domestic rabbits with SPV will develop squamous cell cancer if the tentacle-like growths don’t regress. At least those figures aren’t for wild rabbits.
I have to ask: if Mateo or Hannah get cute and chew off one of Opus’s arms, will it regenerate like its living version? JK! If only.
Have you put your loom away for the summer? What about your knitting machine? Is the lovely tapestry or quilt – can’t remember which it is – finished? If you’ve already posted photos of any of these projects, please forgive me – I was down with a rotten virus for about six weeks and didn’t get out of bed much to go onto the computer, so I’m still playing catch-up.
May your blue striped zebra remain behind bars, sleeping quietly in the background. Thanks for posting the cute photos of Hannah and Mateo.
That bunny has been looking like that for over a year, and he acts healthy, so I think the growths aren’t really bothering him. He does look kind of crazy, doesn’t he, and he has concerned several of the neighbors who thought someone had hurt him somehow.
I think I can reknit a chewed off tentacle, but I also think that it would better to not go down that tentacle chomping route!
I did put the loom away for the summer, but I have started making plans for bringing the large one out in the fall, and the rigid heddle loom is warped up and nagging at me to get going with the scarf that it already started. As soon as the octopus is done, I tell it!! I finished the 4th tentacle this evening, so I am hoping another week will see the end of the knitting. Of course, then I have to finish stuffing and stitching everything together.
I had a terrible virus in March and by June it was clear that I wasn’t recovering the way I should. Now, at the start of September I am finally feeling that I have returned to functional status. I am sorry that you have been laid low, and I completely understand!!
I saw my primary doctor this week, and she has a wonderful way of looking at the big picture and plugging all of the gaps. There are several procedures and tests down the road, but I feel pretty sure that the zebra is safely under control at the moment.
Lots of fine photos. I particularly like Opus’s eye
Those eyes have purple sparkle!!!
You have me curious about the rock stream in the yard. Is it what I think it is? Do you have a post with a photo? I’m loving the octopus, btw!
I think you might get a chuckle. My son has an old deer stand in our woods which truthfully is just a ladder with a seat on top. He doesn’t use it but boy do we have a raccoon that loves it. My son does have a field camera on the ladder so we can see the raccoon climb up the ladder and back down. He’s gotten very good at quickly going up or down. The things we do to help nature. 🙂 That’s sad that the bunny’s infection isn’t going away on it’s own.
Your octopus looks fantastic.
Those raccoons are out of control! I had one climb up the rainspout to the roof where it ran around for a few minutes scaring the cats who then woke me up. I have seen a whole pack of them boil out of the opening of a storm drain in town. Urban wildlife!
Poor bunny!
Mateo, if you had real fish in your rock stream, the raccoons would have eaten them all by now. We used to have raccoons in our back yard, but I think the coyotes have eaten them all! I haven’t seen one in a few years. But we do have bunnies. I hope they’re quick enough to evade the urban coyotes.
Marilyn, glad you’re feeling more like yourself!
Our bunny population seems to be shrinking, thanks to great horned owls and some intrepid hawks. Poor things, but the neighborhood has been awash with bunnies, and they are causing a lot of damage. I have one cute little one that continues to sleep under a pine in my front yard.
The octopus is looking great! I have a few plans for woven scarves or shawls I want to make, but I have some knitting projects with deadlines that I really should get finish before I warp the loom. Maybe I’ll have my knitting deadlines under control in the next couple of months.
Raccoons are cute, but so potentially disruptive. I hope yours decide to move on.
I have stopped putting out bird food and the number of raccoon visits seem to be dropping off. Someone knocked stuff around in the back yard last night, however.
Raccoons are cute, but can be a menace. I hope they leave your bunnies alone!
I’m more concerned about them leaving my cats alone!!! I now never leave the cats outside on the catio after dark unless I’m with them, and I’m considering replacing the netting with more substantial wire.
True, the catio might be sufficient to keep the cats in (most of the time) but you’re right that given enough temptation the raccoons would find a way to get in.
That is what I’m thinking. There isn’t any food on the catio, but I am kind of feeling the need for wire now.
I don’t blame you. I hope it’s an easy swap (or addition) if you do it!