Month: March 2009

GUARD-er SNAKES

We met these \”cutie petuties\” at the entrance to Aunt Jan\’s house.
They were soaking up the sun from atop the bushes at the front door.
What a greeting!
Officially, garter snakes.
There were two on each side as we approached,
but one scurried down into the safety of the bush,
while the others remained perched
perfectly still.
When we left,
there were three in one bush and two in the other!
Of course, the shy guy slid away once again.
I bet they are all siblings!
How wonderful!

Molly Bing Goes Green.

This cat has been DYING to pay tribute
to daddio\’s St. Patrick\’s Day of birth.
And with a \”Kool\” aid, her dreams have become reality!
(FYI: Kool-aid does not come in green. This is a very special brew.)

Not only is green appropriate, given the holiday celebrations,
but this color also shows how Molly B. is hip to the times:
She is earth friendly,
biodegradable, and a herbivore.
And you may not know this, but she has garlic breath
(like her mommy).
So here\’s – CHEERS! – to you!
Happy Birthday Daddy!
From the green footed puss.

KING COBRA

I almost died multiple times by cobra attack. Julie plays an integral part of this story because it is her image that flashed before my eyes as I foresaw my death. Her mother and I had thrown ourselves into the snake pit to protect sister\’s Darcie and Julie from possible exposure to these deadly venomous vipers. In the image it may seem like we are smiling. DON\’T BE FOOLED! That is just our front: a stratagem to fracture the slippery snake\’s intensity.


Okay, so I met a hungry King Cobra. He was extremely agitated, compared to all the other extremely poisonous snakes gathered round. You will notice that I used the word \”extreme\” twice in the last sentence. That is because this was an extreme kind of experience; in other words, there were a lot of extremes to extreme about. Like him:


King C had FIVE (the most) Death Stars*****, as measured by Cape Fear Serpentarium\’s scale of Poison-osity represented by skull and crossbones (this was a summit on super venom and the largest collection of poisonous snakes in the world). This upped the Intensi-tron Rating to twenty five (that\’s a lot; it only goes to ten). King Cobra tensely eyed us up as soon as we approached. He was quite attentive.


When I sat down before him, he STRUCK me! Well, actually, his strike was abridged by the glass between us. But if it weren\’t for that, he\’d have kissed me right on the face – two times! What a rush, like WHOA! On our way out, I notified the owner that she had a hungry King Cobra on her hands and she quite agreed. Since he had shed only yesterday, King C had worked hard to cast off his dead skin for a fresh coat and now he wanted a warm meal. Apparently, I was looking good! Thanks bud!

MB Ninja Cat II

I think I have said this before. MB is a no nonsense kind of cat. She does not play games. And just when I thought that things were calming down around here, she pulls out ninja moves that are straight out of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It’s insane!


So I get home from a gig late at night. Mike is not home and Mom and dad are sleeping, so I have my hands full with a gregarious poochie and two felines all attempting to roost with me. The pup follows closely, so cats scatter into a more distant orbit in the hall. Pooch is soon bored of my preparations for bed, so she sits in the doorway, spying the kits. Taylor, at the end of the hall – I’m sure he turned to dash when the dog comes into view (that is how he deals: avoidance). But to the pooch, this is an invitation to chase.


She starts down the hall. I turn to follow, but before I can take a step, a white orb of POOF flies past the doorway! I turn the corner to find MB landing in front of the dog with claws flying and hisses frothing from her mouth! WHOA! The pup bows down, submitting, snapped from her infatuation and frozen in dangerous distraction. I am in awe! Molly cat has just sacrificed herself for Old Man T. Bear’s safety! This is true love. The old man is hunkered behind the rails at the bottom of the stairs. In hasty retreat, I’m sure his paws did not touch a single stair on the way down. I carefully separate the “oil and water” (cat from dog) to make peace. It seems we have not quite settled; everyone’s personality is amped over this pups antics.