John Bell and his dog Darcy search for survivors in Chautara, which is northeast of Kathmandu, Nepal, following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck on April 25, 2015. The UK Department for International Development uploaded the […]
Tag: animals
Big Cat in a Small Tree
Neko is primarily an indoor cat, but we do take him out for brief jaunts in the apartment complex courtyard. While he’s not trim, our bulky boy can still climb when motivated. Here he finds […]
Flickr a Day 68: ‘Elliott Erwitt Revisité’
Yesterday’s featured photographer, Stefano Corso, cites Elliot Erwitt as one of his influences. So I searched Flickr for the street shooter, expecting not to find him—and I didn’t. But self-titled “Elliott Erwitt Revisité”, by Jean François, caught my attention. […]
The Bear Cub
On an autumn evening in November 2005, I recalled true story “Somewhere Between Dickey and Rivière-Bleue“, which gives glimpse of Aroostook County hunting lifestyle. In August 2013, I greatly expanded the tale into the “The Bear Cub”, which I submitted to Amazon as consideration for a Kindle Single. Unlike my previous, and only other submission, the retailer didn’t dignify the nearly 5,000-word story with a rejection email.
Last year, I had planned to expand the vignette into a short book with other stories, and some family recipes. that reveal something about Aroostook culture then and now. That project sidelined, like several others, because of blurred vision problems that are in 2015 remedied enough to return to serious writing. I hope to finish the book, tentatively titled Growing Up Aroostook, sometime this year.
For today, I share the text as submitted to Amazon—for your reading education and entertainment. Please note: Because of its length, the Henry David Thoreau book excerpt is italicized rather than put into block quote. Enjoy!
Flickr a Day 51: ‘Happy Fence Friday’
If you like cat photos—really like them—spend some quality meow time with Kerri Lee Smith. She will satisfy your Internet hunger for fearless felines. Somewhere here there is the makings of a movie script, with […]
Flickr a Day 48: ‘In for the Kill’
I picked today’s pic for three reasons: Photographer Andrew Stawarz uses the Fujifilm X-T1, and I want to draw attention to this fabulous, mirrorless camera; his photostream demands your investigation; and my wife loves red […]
Flickr a Day 40: ‘Eye Contact’
Nearly three fortnights into this series, time is come for a reminder: I am posting one Creative Commons-licensed Flickr photo a day for all 2014. Forty days in, the process proves to be more challenging […]
Flickr a Day 38: ‘Master of Venice’
Cat photos on the Internet are just so cliché. Your, eh, Caturday selection is not, which is why I chose it. The composition is lovely, and photographer Alexis Bross wisely chose to make the feline […]
Remembering Kuma
This date, three years ago, was a Sunday. Kuma loudly meowed, demanding to go outdoors, earlier than usual. He was untypically agitated, pacing around the front door and sliding glass that opened onto a small balcony. I usually let him out after first light—sometimes as early as 6:30 but usually not before 7, and I started the trek with him into the back alley.
But this day, I broke routine, letting him out at six, into darkness. He went alone. I vividly recall the majestic Maine Coon looking up at me, making eye contact—as if to say “You’re not coming with me today?”—before slipping out our apartment complex’s back gate. I never saw him again.
Our Cat Cali gets Fixed
This morning, my wife and I took our daughter’s Tortoiseshell kitty Cali to San Diego Humane Society, where she will have her operation today. I don’t feel good about taking away the cat’s motherhood, or changing her personality in the process. But I feel obliged by circumstance.
Cali came to live with us in October 2014, after one of my daughter’s four housemates insist the cat go. She and we endured two heat cycles in the last month, while we waited for our appointment date. This morning in Cali’s absence, Neko is unsettled. As am I. She comes home late-day.
Yesterday I posted a poll asking: “Is your cat fixed?” The results and comments are worth calling out.
Nothing But Trouble
Cali nestles into the kitchen IKEA rack. Happy Caturday!
Neko and Cali Perch
Peace is possible in our time.