Some people say the fishing season is over for the year. They don’t know about this future Olympic event. There are several ingredients. First you need a little pole with some brightly colored stretchy material attached securely to it, and a cat.
Mishkin LOVES this toy, and he will chase as long as we can stand to drag it around for him.
He jumps entirely off the floor and his reflexes are becoming finely tuned.
He squeaks at the toy and tries to grab it with claws and fangs.
After trapping his prey he stands on it, or sits on it, or wraps it around himself pretending it’s got him in a death grip, and then he flails around, with his toes and claws spread wide, upside down, and having a wonderful time.
Here he has it trapped under his front paws and considering how best to wrap it around his neck.
He also jumps and bats mice out of the air, attaining amazing heights for such a small creature. No pro tennis player has anything on this puddy-tat. This is a pairs event.
His supporting cast. Cast... get it? Fishing....
I suppose if you have to explain a pun, you shouldn’t have made it in the first place.
Snow at the lower elevations has all melted.
It will be an amazing day weather-wise up here on the mountain, with temperatures above freezing, no wind to speak of, and completely clear skies.
Our bird feeders are up and active now. We are getting our normal variety of winter birds showing up, first being the Chickadees who found the feeders within 24 hours, and they spread the word to all and sundry.
A Flicker in a small Ponderosa Pine, near one of the feeders. They spend a lot of time yelling and thwacking into the sides of trees. A very exhuberant species, indeed.
We still have hopes that someday the Pileated Woodpeckers will discover our suet feeder. So far, they haven’t managed it.
Right before I snapped this picture of a Stellar's Jay, he was pretending to be a Red-tailed Hawk. I don't think anybody was fooled, but the call was an excellent imitation.
Last night we had a Ruffed Grouse strolling across the front lawn. And the Snowshoe Hares are about half white now. One was streaking around the yard at full speed, practicing avoidance maneuvers from Goshawks which will be actively hunting soon on the mountain. We also had a Sharp-shinned Hawk making strafing runs through the yard. Opal wasn’t in the least bit happy about that bird, and neither were the Chickadees or Juncos. Terry didn’t seem to care, one way or the other, and Mish just yawned.
Ahhhhh, the things we do for cats! But, it’s worth it!!