Cats and trees

Posted on December 16, 2020December 16, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Baubles, Cat, Christmas, Christmas tree, Climbing, Fun, Humour, Idea, Jumping, Life, Watching funny videos, YouTube4 Comments

When you have cats sometimes you can’t have Christmas trees. Baubles and tinsel are just too tempting. Cats who climb will be up to the top of the tree in seconds. There is also the danger of them chewing on the tree lights wire. Also you don’t know if they are going to chomp on some of the traditional toys, like tiny Teddy bears, that might have been handed down from generation to generation. Granny’s baby jesus or the angel with real feathers can be casualties! I’ve seen a few videos of anti cat tactics, and the one of hanging the tree from the ceiling looks pretty good. One solution I once did was to cut out the shape of a Christmas tree and container and stick it to a wall, then sticking real baubles and ones you have drawn onto it. Make sure any baubles are stuck on well and are anti shatter. Other ideas include a bauble free tree… But it might still get climbed!

Are gulls magnetic?

Posted on December 14, 2020December 15, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Birds, Canal, Funny, Gulls, Humour, Life, Magnetic, Nature, Photo, Picture2 Comments

A line of gulls on posts, all pointing south. They say birds have a way of using the Earth’s magnetism as a way to navigate. But these were acting like a compass needle! Next time I’m trying to find my way I might watch which way the gulls are facing!

Cygnets

Posted on December 14, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Cygnets, Environment, Life, Nature, Photo, Swans, Weather, Wet, White, Wikdlife, Wildfowl, Wind2 Comments

When do Cygnets become Swans? When their feathers turn white. We saw this one swimming up the canal yesterday. It had its wings slightly up and the wind was pushing it along like a small sailing boat. Every couple of seconds it’s legs sculled the water, giving it a little buoyant push along. When it saw me trying to get my camera out of my pocket it headed towards me. But sadly I had no food for it. If we walk that way again I will take some food along with me. As we walked along we saw two more and two adults. I don’t see too much wildlife in the city so this was a pleasure.

Splat!

Posted on December 14, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Cream, Crowd, Custard, Digital art, Digital drawing, Fun, Life, Panto, Pantomime, Pies, TheatreLeave a comment

This time of year is custard pie or cream pie time….. Oh yes it is? Oh no it isn’t!

What I mean is that usually it would be time for Pantomimes (pantos) in theatres across the land. Last year we were rehearsing Aladdin in our local village hall. We went on to perform it in February of this year. 180 people in a small room for for performances! Impossible now.

Sadly so many theatres are closed and shuttered. There is great concern that they will never open again. Instead of fun there is tragedy.

I hope custard pies are back soon! SPLAT!

Turning a blurry photo into an abstract.

Posted on December 14, 2020 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Art, Black and white cat, Cat, Design, Life, Oily, Photo, Photodirector, Picture, SmearedLeave a comment

With oone filter. I used this to show how you can change a photo using just one filter. In this case the cat was transformed into an apparent oil painting abstract by using the second style filter in the Photodirector app. This smears out the details into swirls and patterns. It also makes the edges of the areas of colour more obvious.

Geminid Meteor Shower

Posted on December 13, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Astronomy, Geminids, Life, Meteor shower, Night, Sky, Tonight, Too cloudy, Wikipedia, Winter skyLeave a comment

I tried to view the shower a few years ago. We drove miles, but we’re stuck under a cloud base that was miles across. I gave up after forty miles. Tonight it’s the same, cloud everywhere. But if you get the chance try and see it for yourself!

The Geminid meteor shower is tonight. (morning of 14th December 2020). I looked up the information on Wikipedia I’m afraid as I don’t know enough about them:

The Geminids are a prolific meteor shower caused by the object 3200 Phaethon,^[4] which is thought to be a Palladian asteroid^[5] with a “rock comet” orbit.^[6] This would make the Geminids, together with the Quadrantids, the only major meteor showers not originating from a comet. The meteors from this shower are slow moving, can be seen in December and usually peak around December 6–14, with the date of highest intensity being the morning of December 14. The shower is thought to be intensifying every year and recent showers have seen 120–160 meteors per hour under optimal conditions, generally around 02:00 to 03:00 local time. Geminids were first observed in 1862,^[1] much more recently than other showers such as the Perseids (36 AD) and Leonids (902 AD).

My indoor boy cat

Posted on December 12, 2020 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Brother and sister, Cat, Don't forget the other two, Friendly, Indoor, Integrating, Life, Outdoor, Pets, PlayingLeave a comment

While I’m caring for an abandoned cat I must also continue to care for my other two. They have both been patient with me but I do feel guilty especially for my boy cat who loves to be loved. I think he’s a little jealous of our interloper and because he’s smaller than outdoor boy he sometimes takes it out on his sister. There’s been a lot more chasing and play fighting than before. That they have been so calm about the new cat comes, I think, from living with eighteen other cats (I took them in as rescue cats). I think they will all integrate, just wondering what we will do if we go away on holiday.

Cat toys story

Posted on December 12, 2020 Posted in Cat, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Fun, Humour, Joy, Life, Play, Poem, Poetry, Sketch, Story, ToysLeave a comment

Run from the cat

Bounce away

Scuttle mouse

Flap your ears

Fly through the air

Roll under the sofa

Scatter and sway

Never get caught

By the cat!

Watching ‘It’s a wonderful life’

Posted on December 12, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Black and white film, Christmas story, Classic film, Family, James Stewart, Life, WonderfulLeave a comment

A sstrange and eventually wonderful story of a man who loses everything including his family and identity. He is transported to a world where he no longer exists. Everything he ever influenced has been changed.

Like a Christmas Carol it tugs at the heart strings. If you have never seen it, find it. X

Stars James Stewart as George Bailey, black and white film.

At the waiting room gallery

Posted on December 12, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Before virus, BV, Domestic view, Life, Longport, Photo, Picture, Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Waiting room gallery4 Comments

Photo taken by a friend at the waiting room gallery a few months ago BV, (before virus). He’s reading, I’m tapping away on my phone. The surroundings makes it look like an old painting. Although it’s in a gallery I think it looks like a domestic scene. I love the atmospheric look of it.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Life