No blood was shed at the Crazy Cat Lady's home.

“So you’re a little weird?  WORK it!!  

A little different? OWN it!!” 

~ Mandy Hale

Fun.  Food.  Friends.  Fruit of the vine.

What more can a weekend possibly offer?

From 50th birthday celebrations on Saturday to long meandering rambles on Sunday to lingering afternoons spent emptying our minds and filling our tummies,  my weekend’s had it all.

The hound is exhausted.

Not only has she rambled far and wide on unfamiliar beaches but she’s had to contend with unfamiliar hounds putting her in her place.

Let’s not even mention the KITTY.

The hound’s  used to being BOSS of the beach in our bay and isn’t afraid to intimidate any unsuspecting hound venturing onto what she considers to be HER turf.  It’s a very different kettle of fish when you’re the one in unfamiliar territory and the BOSS of the beach intimidates YOU.

A few barks and snarls from Tina girl, and whimpers from the hound, and order was restored.  Our ramble continued with no further conflict.

The same couldn’t be said at the home of the Crazy Cat lady 

(aka Ems)

Ems has fur-balls, the feline kind ... several of them .... and baa-lambs and chooks.

Fur-balls DEFINTELY have dominion in Em’s household  and Billy the Ginger Tom was making sure the hound knew this.

Without a sound being uttered or a drop of blood being shed, Billy let her know WHO was in charge.  She knew better than to answer back.

Even going to the garden was fraught with danger. 

Billy sat at the top of the steps KNOWING the hound WOULDN’T  attempt to navigate the steps whilst he was sitting there.  Pretty much like the situation at home when Tiger sits at the top of the driveway.   Tiger does it for fun.  You can see the smirk on his face when the hound won’t go past him.

I had to coax her down to the garden after moving Billy from the steps.

In the world of cats and dogs, cats DEFINITELY rule. 

This is completely off topic but we arrived home to find a lemming with a lop-sided face.

He’s been diagnosed wIth Bells Palsy - an inflammation of the nerve controlling the muscles of the face. He can’t smile properly and can’t close his right eye.  Chewing and drinking is a tad difficult too.  As the nerve regains function the partial paralysis of the facial muscles will lessen but full recovery will take several weeks.

He’s NOT impressed. 

Imbibing copious amounts of alcoholic beverages is not advised whilst on the medication.

“You are someone’s reason to smile.”

~ unknown

Did you know that your furry feline was a sadistic killer?

Full Moon once again this evening

Between Grumpy Old Men and Gareth Morgan we sure AREN’T being deprived of mirthful moments.  For those who DON’T live in NZ, Gareth Morgan is an NZ philanthropist with some rather radical ideas about a variety of things, cats being one of them. He believes cats are responsible for the dramatic decline in the native bird population here in NZ. He has suggested, amongst other things, that anyone with a cat as a pet, should NOT replace it when it dies.

He calls cats sadistic killers.

All the Hibiscus are in bloom at the moment ... gorgeous colours!

It’s not the first time he’s courted controversy.

Last year he told the Greens they don't understand economics, urged farmers to abandon "environmental retards”, and suggested that the tax and welfare systems needed an overhaul. He's co-authored several books setting out his opinion on climate change, public health, the world's fisheries - because he believes they’re running out, and the finance industry.

Tower Bakery .... he makes the MOST delicious almond croissants!

He’s an entertaining, albeit arrogant, individual and, where the cat issue is concerned, has opened up a hornet’s nest!

Whilst I understand and can see logic in some of the suggestions he’s made to curtail the “murder rate” of native birds here in NZ, I think he’s missing the bigger picture. Endemic birds here in NZ aren’t only being killed by cats ... we have stoats, rats and possums too ... and man! The native birds natural habitat is being over-run by introduced birds who were bought into the country as game birds or as a biological control, amongst other things. 

Bear in mind, stoats and possums are introduced mammals in this country too. Possums have become a serious menace because of the effect their eating habits have on native bush. Possums were originally introduced for hunting and possum skins have now become an export commodity, generating huge income. No chance of eradicating them now.

There are so many other “pests” which are contributing to the decline in the native bird numbers too ... man being one of them. It seems grossly unfair to only target the domestic cat. In my humble opinion, Mr. Morgan needs to do a bit more homework on the subject.

Phew .... I feel better already for having aired my view. 

This sea-gull didn't like us being at the view-site. He was trying to chase us away.

There are so many things we, as responsible pet-owners, can do to help curtail the problem. Keeping our fur-balls in at night is one of them, ensuring they always wear a collar and a bell when they go out is another. Our fur-balls are cunning though .... they find ways and means to overcome the disadvantages that wearing a collar and bell cause.

Shimmer, the “cat-who-lived” has the unenviable reputation of having managed to disown more than a dozen collars and bells! Somewhere on Waimarie Street, near where we used to live, she’s created a stash of gorgeous kitty collars and bells. How she manages to get them off is anyone’s guess. Someone, somewhere is making money out of this!

Now that my rant’s over I’ll end with a quotation which is so true of my life this last year.

“As I look back on my life I realise that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being redirected to something better.”

 ~ Steve Maraboli - motivational speaker and author

She comes with CATTITUDE ...

One of the cygnets spent ages at the bank right next to me this morning
 ... I think he likes having his photo taken.

Aim for the heart! It’s one of the most vital organs in the body and the easiest to hurt!

I’m sure that’s what this little ragamuffin of a kitty planned when it looked up at me with it’s big blue eyes.  One look was all it took.  I felt the tug at my heartstrings ... felt the pain of knowing how big a hole it would  fill.

I was smitten. The Co part of Chocolat and Co has entered my life.

Early morning fishermen .... they were feeling the chill.

I’d always thought the Co part would consist of all the other furry friends we’d meet on our rambles, all the other members of the Labrador Gang. I’d never considered that there’d ever be an actual ‘Co’. But there is .... and she’s black .... and she’s tiny ..... with the biggest of eyes ..... and the hugest of hearts. 

She comes with CATTITUDE .... and the hound’s already had a taste of that. 

This is the taste that she likes .... my early morning coffee dregs!

As if life wasn’t busy enough.

My plans this week were to get a little more organised for the up-coming markets and fairs I’m participating in. I have emails to answer, a range of Christmas Cards to finish designing, canvas prints to order and a myriad of other “necessary” things to do. I didn’t quite factor in the distraction of a new furry baby in the house.

For one so tiny, she sure creates a lot of work. What goes in one end comes out the other end .... she’s like a factory, relentlessly churning out poop!

Fortunately I have a multitude of unemployed lemmings as kitty-sitters, a role they’ve all accepted with glee. What is it about a kitten that makes even the biggest of grown-ups go mushy?

The hound’s nose, understandably, is a tad out-of-joint. She didn’t EVER envisage having to share my affection ... and certainly NOT with one so tiny! It’s Tuesday though ... and Tuesday’s are our beach AND reserve ramble days ... so she’s had me to herself for several hours this morning and is feeling on top of the world. She’s had fun on the beach with Indy and then antics aplenty with Sam and Ebony at Waiatarua.

I'm reflected in the cygnet's eye .... close up below ....

Anthony ... Ebony’s human (we FINALLY asked him his name!) hasn’t been around for a week or two so it was great to see Ebony steaming towards us this morning, Anthony in tow. She’d bought her OWN rugby ball too!

Look at that reflection!

Now we not only have a Chocolate Labrador and a “wanabee” Chocolate Labrador carrying their rugby balls around the park, but we also have a Black Labrador carrying her rugby ball around the park! A trio of rugby-playing chocolate mousse hounds!

They all love to swim as much as they love carrying their rugby balls. The Labrador Launch-pad at the river ended up getting rather slippery and muddy as Labrador after Labrador after Labrador lept in the water after whichever ball was available. Even Tully, the water-treading Retriever gave rugby-ball-retrieving a go!

It has been the busiest of days, albeit with some UNPLANNED activities.  Farewelling a friend who’s off on a 30 day cruise was planned, but lunch with the lemmings wasn’t.  Little Co has been fed and watered and cuddled endlessly by all the lemmings and more .... she must be feeling the love.  It brings to mind a quotation by Charles Schultz, unashamedly amended ever so SLIGHTLY by me .... apologies to Mr. Schultz.

“All you need is love ... but a little Chocolat now and then doesn’t hurt.”

The TRIO of Chocolate Mousse!