Friends of ours who live about a mile away in another neighborhood related that they came out to a bloody yard the other morning. They speculated that a bear got a deer. Seems both animals enjoy the apple tree in their yard. No carcass there; I suggested it may have been a cougar but it was related to me, no, they found a huge bear dump in their yard, so they thought it was a bear.
Then they remembered, hey, they have security cameras! Let’s see what they show. Well, they showed a deer bounding up to the apple tree and a cougar pouncing on it immediately. The camera recorded the scene as the cougar carried the carcass down the street, across into a neighbor’s yard, and into a wooded ravine.
That’s life, some days. Made me want to order my cats, you are never going outside again. But the young ‘un makes life miserable for us when we keep him in. Poor excuse, but that, too, is life.
The Floofy Hop (floofinition) A dance done by animals and humans where the animals try to intercept the humans, get their attention, or herd them one way, while humans attempt to continue on the path of what they were trying to do.
In use: “Whenever Bob went to feed Lucifer, they had to do the floofy hop as Lucifer cried for his attention, entwined herself through his legs and around his ankles, and threw herself on her back on front of him, forcing Bob to turn and turn again to avoid stepping on the floof.”
Maybe it’s just me, but whenever I see a cuddle puddle of sleepy kittens in a photo or video on the net, there’s usually one staring suspiciously at the camera.
It’s cool and blue in Ashlandia, where the nights are getting longer, and the people are looking inward. 60 F now on this Thursday, the seventh day of September, 2023 in the common era, but we will experience 81 F today. I’ll take that. No wildfire smoke. The fires are slowly being contained. Last week’s rain helped. That pressure — worrying about fires encroaching on your town, your home, and eating it until only blackened messes remained — has eased.
The cats approve of the weather change. Papi remains on his out-at-night schedule, but he’s now more likely to be visible in a resting space just outside one of the doors during the day. Tucker has decided he’s an elder statesfloof, who are beings who don’t worry about details about weather and seasons.
Watching Hurricane Lee’s progress today. Another destructive storm, it is missing Puerto Rico at this point, and looks like it might lick the Bahamas. Early days, yet, but it could avoid the US eastern coast except for some tide and surf impacts. Meanwhile, some of the US in the realms of the east and south continue to endure a record-setting heatwave as they cruise toward autumn. San Antonio has had 70 days over 100 F degrees. I remember when I lived there back in 1980, we were impressed that we had eleven straight days over 100. That’s nothing these days.
Also paying attention to conversations and lawsuits addressing whether Donald Trump can or should be on ballots, discussions about the potential government shutdown, and the continuing war in Ukraine. Also interesting news and data about abortion rates was found in the NYTimes. There was too much other matters — uplifting and depressing — to go on about without caffeine.
From out of the blue — or out of the gray, I guess — The Neurons are treating me to the 1970 song, “Ride Captain Ride” by the Blues Image in my morning mental music stream (Trademark revocable). I can speculate about this song’s place in my day’s thinking. Maybe it’s because I’m thinking of my youth and this 1970 song was part of the scene in my fourteenth year, when many things are happening to a boy’s mind, body, and soul. Or, it could be the sense of focus and promise the song offers to me. Who knows what The Neurons latched onto? I certainly don’t.
Stay pos, be strong, and eat well. Here’s the music — which, um, is an interesting video, a product of the times back then. Hope you enjoy it. Coffee time, one more time. Cheers
Floofvoid(floofinition) –1. The empty space left when an animal isn’t there.
In use: “Many people suffer from floofvoid when a loved fur friend is lost.”
2. Action or behavior to prevent an accident or limit interaction with an animal.
In use: “Floofvoiding mechanisms were frequently employed by Nancy as she walked around the house, because her pets would just throw themselves in her way for attention.”
Man, was I comfortable in bed. Night air slipped in over me through a cracked window. I’d shifted positions and blankets until my sleeping g spot was nailed, and I didn’t want to go. Pleasant dreams had entertained me, and Tucker’s deep-throated purr was putting out white noise. So I just stayed in bed a while, drifting through various stages of sleep until my bladder spoiled it all.
It’s Sunday, September 3, 2023, in Ashlandia, where the politicians are average and the people are good-looking. Gray clouds block the sky. Weather folks say it’s partly sunny. I wouldn’t call this party sunny, but mostly cloudy. Could be different in another part of town. Probably is. 62 F out now, 72 F is thought to be the high. Yesterday’s high was supposed to reach the 70s but the weather was an overachiever around our place, ending up at 82 F.
After learning of Jimmy Buffett’s passing, one of his songs has full command of The Neurons. “Come Monday” is echoing through the hallowed halls of the morning mental music stream (Trademark forecasted). It’s not like his bouncier songs, but it does feature his hallmark mellow-dy. A worthy song for Sunday when you’re looking forward to going on. It could also have been Der Neurons’ choice because the first line mentions, “Headed out to San Francisco for the Labor Day weekend show,” This is the Labor Day weekend in the US.
As I got up late, I started on coffee early in my routine. Have already had a cup, thanks; The Neurons are happy campers. Stay pos, be strong, and keep going. It’s darkest before the dawn, right? Here’s the music. Cheers
Multiflooferal(floofinition) – Having or involving many animals.
In use: “In an era when homes had two or three pets, the Simon’s multiflooferal home featured a rescue duck, raccoon, seven cats, four dogs, aquariums full of fish, several pet birds, an iguana, hamster, pet rabbit, and turtle.
Floofvinist(floofinition) – Showing or having excessive favoritism to a particular animal or group of animals.
In use: “A staunch floofvinist, Belle defended her trio of felines against any suggestions that they were anything but the best cats in the world, especially when some neighbor stormed over with tales about Belle’s kitties violating the neighbor’s flower beds to do their business.”
Michael Seidel, writer 