Time for another Resolution!

Since the inception of this Blog I've made a yearly resolution to do more blog posting!  Though I love to write I guess I'm just not a natural Blogger....or maybe it's just connecting with other aspects of life too much to find time to connect via this medium!  2014 has been a rough year...starting when I unexpectedly lost my poor cat Smeagle in January and continuing with sad news & loss from every direction.  Sorrow often slows down my creative process....and when you're writing about that creative process....well, you get the picture.  

One very bright spot that entered my life at the end of 2014 was Burdy (aka Burdock) a feral kitten I rescued in September!  Burdy's mom, Wampus (who was actually featured in a previous post) has been wintering in my garage for four years, and this year she came back early, with kittens!  After hearing of a kitten siting, I was taking apart the garage, when I spotted Wampus under my car!  I spoke to her and she ran for the field, with me behind her.  Rather than speeding away, she kept pausing and looking over her shoulder; she could have easily lost me.    She came to a stop behind a fallen tree and turned to look at me with a put upon air about her.  Prancing across that tree, without a care in the world, was Burdy. (At that moment called Pygmy Puff)   I was able to scoop her right up, and she responded with a nip and a quick escape.  It was growing dark, and I returned to the house with thoughts of the little gray puff.  It rained all night, and I couldn't stop thinking about her, so the morning found me back at the dead tree.  Wampus was nowhere to be seen and I caught a quick glimpse of a dark kitten who quickly scooted deeper in the bracken.  Burdy was hiding under a hummock of grass with her light blue grey hair squirting out in every direction!  This time I had gardening gloves, so I scooped her up again & popped her in a crate..  Unfortunately Squatch (long known as kitten #2) was much more evasive than Burdy and I could never get close to her, though I continued to try for several weeks...and still do if I see her.

I created a safe den for Burdy in a large dog crate, with litter, hiding spaces,food, water etc.  She didn't like me at first, but we began a daily interaction with toys. (Thanks #JacksonGalaxy!) After the first couple days, her world was in the center of the action....loud music, noisy tools, people coming & going.   In just over a week she was sleeping in my lap and purring!  Burdy was around 4 weeks old when she left the wild to live inside, which I read was the perfect age for a feral cat to acclimate and she's done great!  Her mom and sis still appear in the garage, where they have cat houses and food and water to get them through.  Sometimes I wonder if Wampus knew Burdy was a handful and so led me to her....I just know I spend a lot of time typing one fingered now, paint with a furry little helper and am leapt on with greeting every time I walk through the door!  

So now I have two resolutions, Though Wampus is very "street smart" around the foolishness of humans and has avoided the trap in the past; my first resolution is to spay "my" feral cat population through Trap, Neuter and Return.., AND my second is to make more posts to this blog!

Check out some of my work from 2014 on my pets page,  And even though it's February....a Happy Healthy Art filled, Pet filled New Year to all!