Crazy cat lady, at home and on the road

Having noticed a certain obsessional taking and posting of cat pics and videos, many of them repetitive in type, over the past weeks, I’ve decided to see if I can get it out of my system by posting a glut of them all at once.  Perhaps then I’ll be able to turn my mind to something other than cats.  We’ll see.  I’ll warn you–it’s long, lots of pics and several video clips, so if you skim through–or skip it altogether–I’ll understand.  Well, I’ll never know, but I would understand if I did know.

First, pictures of cats lolling around.  (No videos in this part.  Go figure.  I’m not quite crazy enough to do video of sleeping cats.) This one shows Shadow in a growing trend–stealing one of CJ’s beds.

Phantom patiently waiting to be let out; Shadow pretending he doesn’t care.

 

Lolling together on my bed.

Lolling together on the couch.

Ditto.

Lolling together in CJ’s bed (see what I mean about the bed-stealing trend?)

Grooming each other.

 

 

Next, cats walking off-leash.  I’m not entirely sure why this gives me such a kick, but in spite of the fact that I now have plenty of both pics and video of off-leash walks, I can’t seem to resist taking more.  To wit, the next three videos (and a pic) are from a walk I took on my way up to Eugene last week.  Found a pull-out up a logging road for lunch, and walked the critters on up the road a ways after lunch.  Here they are on our way up.

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/111451176″>Heading out</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user33545867″>Jean Mitchell</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

I realized a couple hundred yards up the road that there was an eagle circling overhead with every appearance of interest in us.  (Its scream was a dead giveaway.)  It had not occurred to me before then to be concerned about eagles, but both the cats and I decided it behooved them to stay close to me.  I picked one up (Phantom) and Shadow stuck close, and after awhile the eagle flew off.

We got quite a ways up the road, and I was starting to get “just around the next corner” syndrome, but finally decided to turn around in the interest of getting back on the road.  This pic was taken on the way back, from maybe one-fourth of the way up, so you can see they came pretty far with me.

 

 

Here’s a video from the way back.  You can see Shadow panting at one point, if I remember correctly.  They’ll both do that occasionally.  I figure the exercise is good for them, though, especially Shadow, who is beginning to get a bit of a paunch on him.

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/111451174″>heading home</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user33545867″>Jean Mitchell</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

I’ve noticed that they definitely see the van as a safe haven.  You can see them take off on a run for it here.  Notice how cleverly I’ve titled the video 🙂

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/111451175″>home run</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user33545867″>Jean Mitchell</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

Went on up to Portland from there; here are a few pics from a city park in Sherwood?  Tualitin?  One of those.  Very nice little park, in any case.  I complied with the park requirement to keep dogs on leash (you can’t tell CJ is on leash, but she is.  I had her tied up while I persuaded cats to follow me–Shadow in particular was really sure he wanted to go up a different path–and the leash is behind her body), but there were no signs about cats. . .

Here’s Shadow, being stubborn and picturesque

I’m not sure who’s hiding in the bushes.  I’m guessing Phantom, but I wouldn’t bet more than a nickel on it.

The park has a nice boardwalk built over a wetland area, and we walked to the other side of that.  On the way back Phantom decided he didn’t like the boardwalk, and pretty much waded back, protesting all the way.  At one point I coaxed him up on the walkway, but he hopped back down again, so I just let him figure it out.  Which he did.

 

Since I had time, we went over to Champoeg State Park, which I had vague memories of from my HS days.  It’s much bigger than I remember, and it was GORGEOUS.  Here are a few no-cat pics to illustrate.

 

Couldn’t decide which of those two to use, so put ’em both in.  Here’s a close-up.

The “crazy cat lady” tie-in is that part of the reason I drove out there is to find a good off-leash cat-walking spot.  At this season, Champoeg turned out to be perfect–in the summer, I suspect it’s very heavily used, being between Salem and Portland, but there were few people there when we got there, and we got in a nice walk before people did start showing up.  Here’s a snippet.

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/111451177″>Champoeg walk</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user33545867″>Jean Mitchell</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

The park runs along the river (I assume the Willamette), which was glassy-still and reflecting the trees.  Even though it was cloudy, still gorgeous.

 

 

Here’s one with CJ (who does get to come on all off-leash cat walks.)  I’m not JUST a crazy cat lady–I’ve also been a crazy dog lady for years now 🙂

But back to cats.  The first is better of the river; the second is the money-shot for that walk, in my mind, maybe even for the whole post.

 

That one could be used to illustrate a children’s story.  Now I just need the story 🙂

Can’t resist including the next one, even though it’s catless.  I’m a sucker for path-tunnels.  This was on a later, dog-only walk, which tend to be faster-paced and can be longer, and I don’t have to worry so much about meeting other dogs.

 

Champoeg has history I may have known in my youth, but sure didn’t remember.  Turns out it was where the few hundred white men in the Northwest got together and took a vote on forming a government, and whether or not to join up with the US.  Apparently it was hotly debated, and a near thing, but they were worried about all the others who were headed out from the east taking away the land they wanted for themselves, so decided a government was the best way to secure their first-come-first-served rights.  Too bad the Native Americans had no such recourse . . .

I also thought this was interesting, and worth including.

I was around, up in Washington state, for the 1996 flood, and it was a pretty good one, washing out a bunch of roads and cutting off parts of the Northwest for several days.  It hit California pretty hard too–they’d sure like to see some of that water now.  The 1861 flood must have been a doozy.  I suspect a lot of snow that winter and a warm spring, but I don’t know.

Phantom and CJ.  Another thing I never seem to get tired of is trying to get video or pics of CJ and Phantom, snuggling, or playing or whatever.  If you turn up the sound and listen carefully, you can hear Phantom purring in this one.

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/111451912″>Phantom & CJ</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user33545867″>Jean Mitchell</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

And pics of snuggles, or at least nice warm mammal to mammal contact.

 

The cats seem to have divvied us up for morning snuggles, me for Shadow, CJ for Phantom.

One more video of CJ and Phantom playing.  Note the eyes–I think they give it a certain something, don’t you?   They’ve started playing more vigorously–sometimes one gives it up first, sometimes the other.  CJ has weight going for her, but Phantom has claws.  And less bite inhibition.

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/111484588″>Phantom & CJ 2</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user33545867″>Jean Mitchell</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

 

Cats in van.

On my way back from Portland, I drove through Salem in order to go past my old HS there.  51 years since I attended there–which amazes me if it doesn’t you.  It was an old building even then.  It was shortly after school let out for the day, so I went inside for just a minute, and it looks pretty good.  They’ve replaced the floor tiles at least once since my time–probably several times.  The halls are nice and wide, and I remember we filled them thoroughly–there were a lot of us (baby boom generation and all.)  One of my memories from the day Kennedy was shot is all of us returning to our classes after they made the announcement that he’d been shot.  No one was talking–all you could hear was the hundreds of shoes shuffling along the floor.

Anyway, I took this to commemorate my visit–the cat connection is that the cats (and CJ) were in the van 🙂

The next is a good one to end with.  I love it–Phantom is looking ju-u-u-st a tiny bit spooky, don’t you think?

The presence of the hotpot tells me it was morning, but I don’t remember anything else about taking it.

So–that’s a bunch.  Let’s see how long it holds me.