Monthly Archives: December 2007

Good Homes

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Thanks to the good work of the folks at the Oregon Humane Society, such as Scott who helped us, Sam and Emma weren’t the only pets to find good homes over the Christmas holidays.

The night before we went to the Humane Society, I browsed the online list of available cats and wrote out a list of the many names, crossing out the ones that weren’t recommended for a multiple cat household. I highlighted in yellow those I thought sounded interesting, one of which was Sam (then named Candy Cane) and one of which was Emma (then named Purrana).

I’ve been browsing the recently adopted pet list at the Humane Society’s web site to see what other animals got adopted, after watching them all it was hard not to want to back up the ark to the front door and bring them all home. I’ve been happy to see so many of the cats find homes, particularly those we came close to bringing home ourselves.

There was the little black kitten, Mad Max, a playful little thing who we requested first and actually got his paperwork before we changed our mind and requested Sam, and Sam was so adorable we didn’t look for any other kittens so young. I was happy to see that Mad Max got adopted later, as did his cage mate Will Smith. So did Snowflake, a lovely creature who was next on our list if we didn’t go with Emma.

Isis also found a home, an energetic black kitten who we feared might be a little too aggressive. Jack Frost, a very timid all white cat that lived in the same room, also got adopted. So did Lily, another all white cat who seemed very sweet but was not recommended for multi-cat homes.

Thankfully nine year old Sidney also found a home, she didn’t care for shelter life and was ill while we were there. Also adopted were Pudge and Truman Capote, who looked too much like Templeton for us to really consider.

To my great surprise, Crumpet also got adopted, an occasionally irritable black cat who had been there half a year. If we didn’t already have Scout, I would have wanted to adopt Crumpet, after Templeton I have a real soft spot for cats who seem irritable in such public situations but who might be a real lovable lap cat at home. But I didn’t want to risk it with Scout, getting used to new cats in the house is going to be hard enough for her, and we think Sam and Emma will be good companions for her for years to come.

So my thanks to all those who helped these animals find homes, and my best wishes that the remaining pets will soon find homes of their own.

Sam’s tags have water on them in this picture, he sometimes accidentally dunks them as he goes to get a drink.

The Gold Medal For Cutest Kitten of 2007 Goes To … Samwise!

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Sam was posing on top of the scratching post, just staring at the wall, and his tags and pose reminded me of an athlete accepting a gold medal at the Olympics.

Note: In the interest of family fairness, I should point out that, at over a year old, Emma would have been in the running for cutest kitten of 2006, thus I’m not showing any bias for Sam. She may have been the cutest kitten of 2006, but we didn’t know her then, so I can’t say.

I’m not slighting her because she chewed on my laptop’s power cord, just so you know.

You Go Your Whole Life Without Ripping a Hole in the Fabric of Space & Time and Then …

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I don’t even know how it happened.

I was happily photographing ducks back in the fall when I pointed my camera at the confluence of yellow and green reflections and suddenly a white spot appeared in the water and I felt the universe start to come apart at the seams.

This wood duck drake swam by and its wake seemed to close the disruption and life as we know it was spared. All hail the mighty wood duck, silent guardian of all that we hold dear.

Today’s temporal disruption courtesy of an out-of-focus white duck feather that is quite distracting in the foreground, perhaps I’ll remove it in Photoshop one of these days.

Wet Christmas

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On this rainy Christmas day here in Portland (it did snow earlier so we had a shot at a white Christmas, but alas our more typical wet Christmas won out), here’s one of my favorite wildlife shots of the year, a mallard drake resting amidst the reflected colors of the fall leaves.

The picture was taken in late October at Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden here in Portland.

Mixed Feelings

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We’re having a nice quiet Christmas this year. I’ve been alternating between spending time with our new cats Sam and Emma (Sam is currently curled up and sleeping on my legs and Emma is sleeping beside me) and Scout, who is feeling a bit unsure of the situation but played quite a bit with me and a ribbon from one of the Christmas presents.

This picture was taken in Charleston, South Carolina last December. It’s not composed all that well, but I wasn’t composed all that well when I took it — I had just flown in from Portland the previous evening and earlier that day the doctors had told us that my stepfather Dan was not responding to the treatments like they hoped, that they would wait a few more days but then we’d have to make the decision on whether or not to remove him from the ventilator.

Visiting hours had ended so we walked around the old neighborhoods of Charleston for a while. My mom called our relatives and friends with the sad news while we walked. It was a surreal experience, one of those times where you don’t know if going into the city was the right thing to do but I felt that a little beauty at that time would be welcome.

The old houses were painted in a variety of colors and festively decorated for the holidays. Even a house being restored, completely covered in black cloth, had a holiday wreath above a doorway. There we walked along these streets, the beauty of the nicely maintained and restored old houses, the decay of old structures, the celebration of this joyous holiday, and our own personal sorrow.

My stepfather passed away two days later when his weakened lungs just couldn’t breathe anymore.

December will always be a time of mixed emotions, when we mourn his loss, but also celebrate the good times — how the family rallied together in such difficult hours, the many good memories of his life, the lessons that he taught us.

The family reunited this December for my grandmother’s funeral and were able to honor her 97 years of life. For my wife and I, December also brought the loss of our cat Templeton. While we miss our little one and how much he loved to play in the wrapping paper after the presents were opened, we’re thankful for the two new little ones who’ve come to join our lives, and for Scout who makes the transition with us.

Christmas is a celebration of the ultimate gift of hope, of joy and love found in unexpected places. And even if a far less momentous gift than that of the Christ child, these two kittens curled up with me are a reminder that Templeton’s passing at the end of his long and wonderful life provides us with the opportunity to give a second chance at life to these little purr machines and look forward to the days ahead.