Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Tuesday’s Tumbles.
Hello everyone on this the last day of the month of April! I hope all of you are having a wonderful day. Enjoying all the nice weather that I know some of you are enjoying since you told me in the comments about these unbelievable temperatures. And we’re still on the same continent. I can understand it being hot in other places around the world. But really. On the same continent yet. Actually I think this part of Canada is a world of it’s own. It’s cold again. Snowed yesterday. Cloudy and cold today. This feels like the end of March. Not the end of April. To be honest, most years the end of March is warmer than this. But it has been getting colder the last few years. Not good.
Why tumbles? Well, because the temp tumbled for one thing. It was beautiful spring weather for a while. And as I was watching out the window, 2 squirrels got into a bit of an argument on the feeder. They rolled around and…tumbled right over the edge. Down to the ground, ten feet below. 😹 Didn’t bother them at all. They just kept on with their ‘discussion’. Quite loudly. They finally ran. Both were females. The 2 males around have learned, finally, to keep their distance when a female is present. Even the terrible LB!😂 He chased them all away last year. The females around this year don’t put up with him at all. Good. He needed to be put in his place.
Then there is Muffin. We were playing skiffleball this morning and she was running and diving after that ball that she tumbled more than once. But she certainly enjoyed herself. I hope I don’t offend my dog loving readers here. But I do enjoy my cat. I love cats period. Always have. Have always had a cat. I love dogs too by the way. Especially big dogs.
At one place I lived there was a nice walking trail nearby. So I tried it out. First day as I was getting close to the trail, this beautiful Irish Setter was sitting on the sidewalk. So I stopped to say hi. She then followed me for my walk. I wasn’t too sure about that. Her owners might think I’m stealing their dog. But she wouldn’t leave. Until we got to the spot we met, then she sat down and I kept going. Good. Next day, same thing. The whole time I lived there that dog would be waiting for me. And go walking with me. She was a great companion on my walks. Her owners were an older couple that couldn’t take her walking anymore and were overjoyed that I would take their dog with me.
But, hey, I live in a small apartment. Just not the right place for a big dog. Perfect for a cat though. Like Muffin. Many people like cats for pets. Cats are actually the most popular pet, with more than 500 million worldwide. Here in N. America, cats outnumber dogs as pets by a wide margin. Cats played important roles in WWI and WWII. They kept the mouse and rat populations under control on ships and in trenches, protecting valuable food supplies. Many cats received medals and ribbons for their service in war time. They were even used as messenger cats, just like pigeons. But as pets, that’s where they really purr!
You won’t find a better stress reliever than a purring cat curled up on your lap. Just petting a cat will see stress go way down, immediately. Many animals can do this for people, but cats are at the top. Just something about them that says, ‘calm’. Now, there is a bit of a training period. But cats are very patient. Once they have you trained it’s easy from then on. Muffin says I’m still in the training process. Hmm. Might be right. Oh well.
A very big thank you to my good friend Ilona for letting me use a couple pictures of her cat, Leya, today. Well, it has been nice visiting with you again today, I hope you all have a wonderful day/night and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
© 2019 Steve McLeod.
It Can’t Be! It is.
Hello dear readers from the land of cold and snow. This is a good time to pull up a chair, grab yourself a cup of coffee, or hot chocolate, and see what’s happening here today. Do you really want to know? Today is April 29. It should be nice and warm outside. It isn’t. This is what it looks like outside, and getting worse since I took this picture a bit earlier.
It’s snowing! It shouldn’t be snowing. Raining perhaps. Not snowing. Did I ever mention that I like warm places? I do. Honest. So why do I live in such a cold place? Don’t ask. I have no idea. I should have moved someplace warm years ago. But years ago our winters were not so bad as they are now. Winter is getting longer and colder every year now. Why am I even talking about winter?? It is a good day to stay inside and drink coffee. Which is what I’m doing. And probably will continue to do today.
It’s been one of those days. And it’s only 7 am. Aside from being cold and getting that white lumpy rain, I also broke the arm on my desk chair. It can be fixed easily enough. But still. There’s another problem too. Hopefully that will be taken care of today. If not, oh well, there’s always tomorrow. Ever notice how we always seem to like worrying about tomorrow? Why? It usually makes us feel terrible. So why do it? Personally I don’t enjoy feeling bad. So best to take it one day at a time. We will feel better and be much happier.
Although yesterday today was tomorrow, and tomorrow today will be yesterday, nevertheless yesterday tomorrow will be the day after tomorrow because today it would be tomorrow yesterday and tomorrow will be today tomorrow, or would have been the day after tomorrow yesterday. I think.
Now after that, how can you possible worry about tomorrow. You see it’s quite simple. Tomorrow never arrives. Because once tomorrow is here it’s actually today and today can’t be tomorrow. Simple, right?
Poor birds on a day like this. It’s snowing quite heavily now. The ground is covered with snow so they can’t get at their natural food. And there is just not enough room at my feeders for all those hungry critters. Right now there is probably 200 of them out there, all trying to get something. Then there is the squirrels. They keep chasing the birds away. Sigh. And when you get a lot of birds around like this, something else happens. Predators arrive. I was standing on the deck for a bit watching all the action and suddenly this hawk flies past, just missing my head, I could feel the breeze from it’s wings. He was moving fast. But this time it missed. A broad winged hawk. They are about crow sized, so one of our smaller hawks. And they like birds for lunch. Or breakfast. So at the moment it’s a bit quiet out there. But the hawk left temporarily. It will be back however.
Even though not one of our bigger hawks, they do fly fast, especially in a dive after prey. It can actually break a person’s neck at that speed. So I’m glad it missed me. At the very least it would have ripped my head wide open. Bird watching can be a dangerous hobby at times. I have been attacked more than once over the years. Never hurt though. I have always been able to keep out of the way.
Odd things happen sometimes. Remember the guy I met on the street? That’s the odd I’m talking about. I am very careful about locking my door now. I went out yesterday and when I left I made sure the door was locked. Fine. When I came home the door was not locked and Muffin was kind of nervous/scared. I have noticed nothing missing. Still, it gives a person that uneasy feeling. The place we live should make us feel safe. Not uneasy. I’m not scared. It just feels odd. It’s been interesting lately. Did I ever mention that I like warm places? Well, I DO! Really. I have to admit, I’m tired of this white lumpy rain. I would like to go someplace warm. I can’t right now. But I would like to.
Well, I hope you enjoyed your visit here today and you are welcome to join me again tomorrow. Muffin and I hope to see you again and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
© 2019 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 