My new toy

I am now the proud (?) possessor of a new etrike–an adult tricycle that I can pedal as usual, but is also powered by an electric motor and battery.  I’ve owned it (in all its component parts) for a few weeks, but I finally got up to Portland to the Ebike Store, who put it all together for me, to pick it up.

It’s been a process.  First, choosing all the component parts, which had to be bought via the internet, which means no see-touch-feel, which I hate–you don’t really know what you’re getting or if you’ll like it.  The battery is a whole thing unto itself–I went for more power and longevity, which means it’s big, which means finding a container for it and deciding where to mount it on the trike were both issues (and I may change it around yet).  And how to transport it with the van?

Anyway, here it is, just after unloading it at home.

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The Pineapple Express comes to southwest Oregon

You all heard all about the Pineapple Express in California last week–if you have TV or radio, anyway.  But it made it up into the Northwest too, so I headed over to the coast to experience it up close and personal.  I’ve been wanting to be at the beach in a good storm, and figured this was my opportunity.

It was pretty cool, too, though I suspect other storms in the past few years have been better.  

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December hike

I will be telling you, down a ways, about something you will never do.  Not necessarily because you will never travel to this neck of the woods, but because you are smarter than me.

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Cath-nip

Back when the cats were kittens, shortly after I got them, my friend Cathy dropped by and Phantom (Attilla the Cute at the time) was enthralled with her.  Shadow, not so much.  Since Phantom is into catnip, and Shadow isn’t, and Cathy had been weeding her basil (I think it was), we thought maybe that explained the phenomenon.

But a few weeks later, she dropped in again, also having been messing with herbs, and –nothing.  
No special interest from either cat, so we figured that whatever it had been, Phantom had grown out of it.

And then last night, she came by for the first time in a month or so, and this time both cats were seriously into her.  Phantom was more enthralled than ever, especially with her pants, and even Shadow got into the act.  (These aren’t the best shots–the phone was not focussing well).

 

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/111933077″>Cath-nip</a&gt; from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user33545867″>Jean Mitchell</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

No explanation for this.  She hadn’t been into the herbs, not cooking, doesn’t use fabric softener that might smell good to cats–we could come up with nothing.

Me, I think it must be Cathy herself.  I offer you– Cath-nip.

 

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Toy

Just look at this!

You buy something for cats to scratch on, and SOMEONE decides to chew it up.

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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.) 

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Camping with cats: cat walks

We’re almost there!  In fact, I think we are there.  I think I’ve succeeded in raising a couple of travel cats, and pretty much have things figured out for how to travel with them, including long trips–they/we did fine on a 10 day jaunt around the Northwest back in September.

But off leash cat walks–that’s the icing on the cake.  Went camping last week for a couple of nights, with the goal of taking a walk in the woods with all three critters.  Headed for Foster Bar, because it’s relatively remote, and mostly used by day-trippers as a place to unload from the river, so I figured we’d have the campground to ourselves, and we did.  Et voilá!

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/109598420″>catwalk 2a</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user33545867″>Jean Mitchell</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

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