Celeste

My cat, Celeste, all comfy in her favorite sunny spot on the couch, caught in mid-yawn.

Wildfire Update, Plus Cat vs Deer

After over a week of anxiety over whether we were going to have to evacuate our house, it seems the fire danger is over, for us. The blaze closest to us is now pretty much under control, and after attending a community meeting last Sunday evening, where many of the fire coordinators were present, along with local law enforcement and health care monitors, we feel safe enough to bring our furniture and belongings back home. However, fires still burn out of control all around our valley, and we were told at the meeting that we would be dealing with smoke for the rest of the summer. And the smoke is pretty bad, both for us and our horses. We can stay inside, but obviously they can't, so we ride either early in the morning, when the air is cooler and the smoke not quite so bad, or late in the afternoon or early evening, as sometimes a breeze will come up and blow most of the smoke to the west of us.

Here are a few more photos. This level of smoke, more or less, is pretty much it until the first rains in October. The level of nastiness greatly depends on the inversion layer. If we get one, it holds the smoke low and at ground level. If there is no inversion layer, then the smoke stays a little higher. These photos were taken in the afternoon, around 3:00, during a bad inversion layer episode.

 So, in the words of Monty Python, "Now for something completely different."

For years, we have been feeding a little feral cat we named Harp. We originally thought she was a boy, and because of the markings on her face, we called her Harpo. After we discovered she was female, we had to adjust the name. At one time she was tame enough for me to catch, take to the vet and have spayed, and then release. Now, once and a while she will let me pet her, but just, and not always.

She shows up at different times of the day, but usually either early in the morning, or in the evening just before dark. So we always keep an eye out for her, and when we see her, we put her bowl of crunchies out. At night, when she is done, we pick the bowl up and put it in the house so the racoons can't have it. Nasty little things, racoons. Lately we had noticed that Harp was really chowing down a lot of food, more than what her size would warrant. I was a bit suspicious, so this morning, when I saw the doe coming down the hill behind our house, a very intent look on her face, I had a hint of what was coming, so grabbed my camera.

Mom came down the hill and intimidated Harp into leaving the bowl, then proceeded to snarf down the food. I could hear her crunching away with gusto. I guess I will have to put out more "cat" food, so both Harp and Mom can have enough crunchies to share. (It was a low-smoke morning, so the photos came out nice and clear. By the time I was done writing this, the smoke had moved in again)

Harp enjoying her breakfast.

Momma deer approaches.

Momma deer pushes Harp away from bowl and digs in.

Lots of crunching noises ensue.

 

And this is why mom needed the extra protein.

 

Baby gets a snack. Snacking can be rough on mom.

 

Mom and baby stroll off.

 

After they had gone, I put more food out for Harp, and she came back and finished her breakfast.  

BTW, not sure why Mr. Blogger decided all of a sudden that the text should be centered, and no matter what I do, Mr. Blogger won't change back to left-side orientation. Ah well. 

So, that was my little wildlife encounter of the day. Made me smile. Smiles are always a good thing.

Celeste

Here is one of my cats, Celeste, stalking birds through the dinning room's sliding screen door. They are just on the other side, and she is sure she can pounce on them...if she could just get a bit closer. Actually, she is so "round" that she'd be too slow to catch anything, but it's the thought that counts.