Cleo

This is the view I was greeted with when I opened the front door this morning to let Katy out and to begin my yoga practice. Isn't she beautiful? She's an Egyptian Mau/Tabby mix. My Cleopatra.

Animals~All Our Relations

We love our animals. We have three cats and one dog and a rat! David has had Goober since before I met him, in fact when we were only friends, I came to his house and fed Goober while David was on a trip.

Sabrina was a shelter rescue. She was barely six weeks old when we got her, just a month after moving in together.

Cleopatra (Cleo) was another rescue who had bee abandoned at the vet that I worked at because her owner's didn't want to deal with a continuing eye infection. (It was all cleared up by the time we got her at 12 weeks.)

And of course, you all know Katy's story.

We have also fostered a couple of dogs temporarily and raised a raccoon kit until he was old enough to be rehabilitated into the wild. One of the things that we have always enjoyed together was helping animals.

Karni was a pet store purchase when my son wanted a rat.

April is National Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month. In light of that, I want to share some tips.

What You Can Do to Help Animals in your community

*Be their voice! Speak for the animals who can't speak for themselves.

*Know who to call to report animal cruelty. Call the humane society to find out in your area.

*Provide as much information as possible when reporting animal cruelty (the type of cruelty you witnessed, who was involved, the date & place of the incident)

*Set a good example for others. If you have pets, be sure to always show them the love and good care that they deserve.

*Talk to your kids about how to treat animals with kindness and respect.

Signs Of Animal Cruelty or Neglect

-Wounds on the body

-Large patches of missing hair

-Extremely thin, starving animals

-Limping

-Someone striking or physically abusing an animal

-Animals repeatedly left alone without food and water

Crazy Quilt Cloak ~ finally!

I finally got started putting the patch pieces on my crazy quilt cloak!!! I am so excited about starting it. I was hoping to have it done by next month, my 10 year pagan-versary. However, I don't think it will happen, starting so late, the embroidery alone will take many hours. The piecing does go a lot faster than I expected though. Watch for more updates as this project progresses. Yeah!

Below is my adorable Egyptian Mau, Cleopatra snoozing on the porch swing. Such a darling.

(This is the middle of the back)

Catnip Harvest

Believe it or not, my catnip over wintered in the garden. In East Tennessee! We had such a mild winter that it really never died back all the way, and it is over a foot tall, or at least it was. Though it is a bit too strong for tea, the cats love it and I cut the tops to dry for them. I gave them the leaves that were loose after hanging them up and as you can see they were in heaven. Cleo had hers on top of the van, Sabrina loves to roll in it, and Goober, well he was wondering what he had done to deserve such a treat.

A Beautiful Spring Day

We had an absolutely gorgeous spring day! It was so lovely, there was a breeze, fledgling birds to watch and Mother Earth just sang.....here are some shots from our day.

The unknown shrub in our yard.

A May Day basket .

Bumble bee enjoying the nectar.
Sophie loves her swing.

trying out her new watercolors on the porch. Painting May Poles.

Oh, to be a cat.......

Of cats and birds

Witness here, the cat Cleopatra. Climbing up four feet or more, through the inside of the Euonymus shrub beside our front porch.

And here is what she was trying to get at....four little Sparrow eggs in a darling little nest, right in the middle of said shrub. I have been witnessing the aforementioned sparrow sitting on the railing and porch over the last few weeks. Unfortunately, said sparrow did rise up out of the shrub this afternoon just as the 'perp', Cleo was dozing in the afternoon sun. Now if anyone knows of a way, short of total in house lock down, to keep a determined cat away from a newly discovered bird nest, please advise. Thanks.

Full Moon

Tonight is January's Full Moon, the Cold Moon. How appropriate for our recent weather shift. I am looking forward to our Circle full moon gathering tonight. I need to be together with my friends/sisters right about now.

Have you ever taken a three year old to the local home center? What a hoot! (We had to go and get plumbing stuff today, David has just about gotten our downstairs bath finished. Woo hoo!) Sophie and I wandered the store while he made the selections. She had to see all the potties, open every refrigerator door and try every display faucet. It was an adventure for her to be sure. Kept her busy during a bit of a wait and she learned some things and had fun too.

Yoga this morning was very nice and peaceful, compared to yesterday, when I had first Sophie trying to use the same yoga mat. Then the cat, Sabrina, decided that she wanted lovin while I was in Downward Dog, I'm afraid she may have gotten conked on the head a couple of times. :)My hamstrings are still sore, but the stretch is getting longer and not so difficult. I am thinking of adding to my routine next week. Tonight I am going to do extra Moon Salutations in honor of Her fullness.