On the Prowl

Azalea and I have been busy cleaning up our winter mess and getting ready for our annual springtime prowl. We now get to spend a lot of time on the screened-in porch, where we keep an eye on the new tomato and basil plants on the patio, make sure our human Mom and Dad keep the bird feeder filled so we can be entertained by Carolina chickadees, and generally keep order in our little corner of the world. When the neighbor's big red dog (Irish setter) comes out barking, I push Azalea out ahead of me to defend our territory. Then, when the coast is clear, I follow behind and together we chase wasps and geckos that land on the screens. After a few hours of prowling around, we are tired out and retreat to our cat tree for a long, well-deserved cat nap! Ah, springtime!

In Like a Lion.....

Hi, Lilia here. Azalea and I are still waiting for spring. We've been sleeping a lot and hoping for warm weather. Our bluebirds are back at their nest and the robins are flitting around in a flock. Other than that and the Spanish moss swinging from the branches of our live oak trees in the cold northwesterly wind, nothing much is going on around here. Our human girls will be home for spring break off and on beginning next week. So more photos will be forthcoming!

Anticipating Spring

Faint glimmer of hope
Winter turning into spring
Camellias bloom

Another Winter Haiku from Lilia

Luminous white orb
Icy cold reflected light
January moon

Sisters

Winter Haiku

Record cold weather
Squirrels and geckos hibernate,
Waiting for springtime

Azalea

Hey! This is Azalea, Lilia's sister. To look at the two of us, you would never suspect that we came from the same litter. I have my Grandmother's round, blue eyes, unlike Lilia's almond-shaped ones. From my Dad I inherited long hair and dark markings, especially on my face and tail. From my Mom I inherited my pretty white paws and calm, cool disposition.

This winter has been unusually cold. Our little citrus trees are not looking too well, and the roses faded last week. We almost had snow one day, but oddly enough it passed both to the north of us and way to the south in Florida. We've never seen snow, but we're always on the lookout for any kind of weather passing by the living room window. We are waiting for spring, some of us more patiently than others. Lilia has been acting a bit crazy lately; I think she has cabin fever. She begs to be let out on the screen porch, but our human Mom thinks it is too cold out there yet. I can't wait until the bluebirds return to our nesting box!

Packing Day: Back to College

I haven't added a new post in a few days -- still recovering from packing day with two family members going back to college. Winter vacation went by fast, and I knew it was over when the empty boxes and sets of luggage appeared in the hallway and on the kitchen table. Azalea and I like to contribute a little "added value" to each package, so we immediately jumped into the empty boxes, then later rounded up all of our gently used toy mice and deposited them in the luggage among the clothes. We were so exhausted by this commotion that after the family left in the big van, we slept for a whole day! Happy spring semester!

Haiku

HOO, hoo hoo, HOO HOO
Cat hears nesting winter bird --
Great horned owl, deep woods.

A Day in the Life of Lilia and Azalea Part 2: Soccer Mouse

Playtime at our house includes a fast round of soccer mouse. Our most active time is in the middle of the human's sleeptime (we are nocturnal, after all). The day before, our human Dad fishes out a dozen or so multicolored, fuzzy toy mice from under the kitchen stove, behind the refrigerator, and out from any of several of our favorite hall closets. He lines them up in a row in our cat tree, or sometimes places them around the living room like so many miniature Easter eggs. After midnight is when the game begins in earnest. Azalea bats the mice down from the tree, one by one, landing them with a satisfying smack on the hardwood floor. Then we chase them around, batting them left, then right, then left, until.....score!! The mouse slides into, under, or behind the door or appliance of choice and hits the wall with a thud. By breakfast time, all the mice are safely tucked away out of sight, ready for tomorrow's game.

New Year's Haiku

Awaken, stretch, mew,

the new year is upon us.

Snowy cat readies.

A Day in the Life of Lilia and Azalea Part 1: Breakfast

Our day starts at 5:30 a.m. with our wakeup call -- we are hungry for our canned cat food. Grilled tuna and grilled salmon are our favorites. After all, we were born under the sign of Cancer the Crab, so any food that comes from the sea is delectable to our taste buds. Because we depend on our humans to open the cans for us (they have opposible thumbs), we sometimes have to get their attention to make us our breakfast. First we meow at the door to our humans' room. If that doesn't get a response, I coach Azalea to whine louder while I scratch at the door frame. This usually results in comical voices emanating from the other side of the door. Sometimes I stare at the doorknob, but so far that has failed to make it turn and open. After a few minutes, I start to become desperate as the hunger pangs increase. That is when I begin to body slam the door, alternating loud crashing sounds with more screeching noises made by claws scratching on the proverbial blackboard. That usually gets the desired results. Yum!

Lilia Begins to Write The Birman Chronicles

Hi! My name is Lilia. I'm a Birman cat. I live with my sister, Azalea, and my human family on a barrier island where it is warm and I can go fishing in my backyard fountain most of the year. My eyes are blue, if you haven't noticed. And my paws are white. My coloring is called "lilac-lynx" because my points (ears etc.) are very light and I have striped markings on my face. Not at all like my sister's coloring, but I'll let her speak for herself later.

It's almost 2010 so I thought it would be a great time to get with the program and begin a blog. This is my first blog posting and I didn't know just where to begin. After giving it much thought, I decided the natural and most appropriate thing was to begin with talking about myself. I've heard it said that Birmans make the purrfect pets. It's true. Very definitely true. Not just neat and tidy, but quiet and well-behaved. That's me. Generally fun to be around. And did I say energetic? You should see me jump from the top of my cat tree and bound to the porch with scarcely touching down in the living room on the way. I'll get my human Mom to take a picture of that to post sometime. For now, just imagine a plump white furball literally catapulting through the air past all the humans watching TV on the sofa.

Well, that's all the good stuff. Next time I'll reveal my one or two minor character flaws, or, as I prefer to think of them, personality quirks. And maybe I'll add a Haiku or two.

Bye.