Today's Action

The garbage man did come today. But, that wasn't the most attention drawing activity. Today, it was the cat. Or, rather, the cat and her catch.

Looks pretty gruesome, huh? Don't let that chipmunk fool you. In the time that we watched Twiggy beg to come inside the house, the chipmunk escaped THREE times. This chipmunk was a PRO at faking death. It looks really dead here:

Don't worry, on the third time, it was a permanent escape. The chipmunk escaped the "jaws of death by kitty" only to go chasing cars.

RIP, Little Birdy

Many of our avid readers are familiar with our cat, Twiggy. As previously discussed here, she is an avid birder . . . catcher of birds.

Today, just as Evy and I were about to leave the house to check out a new grocery store . . . ever looking for a cheaper gallon of milk, I heard LOUD, frantic chirping. I wanted to make sure there wasn't a bird trapped in our porch or that Twiggy was waiting with a gift. I looked through the window and saw nothing. I opened the door slightly, and that was all Tricky Twiggy needed to zoom passed me, bringing a DYING bird in her mouth into my home.

Twiggy and I have a mutual understanding: She knows she annoys me. But, Erik and Everett really like her. No one wanted to adopt her. So, at this point, she is still our cat. The trade-off is that she is great with Everett and allows him to chase her everywhere.

But, bringing a dying birdy into the home crosses a line.

I shooed Twiggy away, tried to place Everett as far away as possible (Everett's faves BIRDS and CATS), and gently gathered the feathered friend into a bag so that it could pass in peace.

Then I had to place the birdy on the porch so that Twiggy couldn't get to her. I don't trust her at all and know that Erik can find a way to place this poor bird to rest appropriately when he gets home.

Frantic that some weird bird disease or germ had entered our home, I used Clorox wipes to clean the carpet and floor--shhhh, don't tell Erik, I think he'll have a heart attack--without caring if it bleached the carpet. It didn't. I have a toddler, people, he EATS off the floor.

BTW, anyone need a cat? She is good at catching, well, anything.

The Count

This is about our cat, Twiggy. Does the family pet really warrant a posting? In this case, yes. Twiggy is loved by all in the neighborhood. She is known to be the friendliest around and several neighbors have thought about adopting her, but she would just end back at our house, ya' know?

Ever since we arrived back from vacation, Twiggy, the-cat-the-neighborhood-adores, has been leaving us lots of gifts. The dead kind.

Yup, coming home from a walk, errand, or work will usually include tripping over an offering, whether of the feathered, rodent, or insect species.

Her favorite type of offering is the bird, like she's left this kind of gift well into the double digit numbers. Now, I don't flaunt her prowess with this animal group because, well, people in Reston are kind of sensitive about birds.

• There is a Reston bird watch list. Sort of like the endangered species list.
• There is a dedicated community group that goes out and counts the birds (different group than the one with the watch list).
• There is even another one that meets more than twice a month (they must have a full agenda).

Nonetheless, my kitty loves to catch them (and she is good at it). Those of you crying out about the injustice to the bird population . . . yeah. She is able to wiggle out of every belled collar we put on her. I feel sorry for your pain. And, well, she is just as great at killing the mice and rats around here.

That being said, we are trying to find a good home for her. If you know of someone who would like a charming, good-looking, great catcher cat, please let me know. I just bought a 20 pound bag of catfood that I'll send along with her. (BTW, she answers when you whistle.)

Any takers?

Wee, Wee, Wee, All the Way Home

Twiggy often, whenever she catches us, comes with us on our walks whether we are skipping along the golf course or just roaming the trails in Reston. She runs to catch up with us, saunters along slowing, and then meows for us to wait for her to catch up. Then she runs to catch up, and, well, you get the pattern. Other joggers, walkers, and golfers are sure to comment on her.

"Is that your cat following you?"

"Did you know you have a cat behind you?"

"Is that a *dog*? . . . NO, wow!"

"That's the coolest cat I've ever seen."

She is very sensitive to the "animal kingdom territory" and isn't shy to tell us, "This is as far as I'm going to go." She meows plaintively each time at the same points on the walk as if to tell us she'll wait right there until we circle back. And, sure enough, she is waiting right there when we head home.

Today's walk started no differently than any other and almost ended no differently than any other . . . until the black Labrador was walking in "her" territory. Towards the end of the walk, as I was strolling with Everett on a path that led home, I passed a blonde lady working out along side her dog as they briskly walked the path. We nodded to each other like all friendly path passergoers do, without pause.

Well, I paused a bit down the path remembering that Twiggy was behind us and wondering what she would do when she saw the dog. I expected her to either run scared into the bushes or walk nonchalantly, past not even giving notice to the dog's existence.

To my amazement, what I saw was this: Twiggy stood in the middle of the path, puffing up and throwing her side to the trespassers making herself 4 times as large as she really is. I could hear her hissing, adding a slight growl to the intimidation.

The walker and her black Labrador stopped in their tracks. Then, the now indignant walker stomped her foot a couple of times on the ground (I guess in an effort to make Twiggy scram). However, Twiggy stood her ground.

I expected them to quickly run past Twiggy with disdain having given her a chance to escape the fury of a very large dog. Instead, the lady and her dog TURNED AROUND and RAN the other way!!! (I am laughing to myself at the memory of it all.)

I couldn't believe it. Twiggy had stood her ground and won. She didn't leave from that spot for several minutes. Maybe she was expecting them to try to sneak through later.

This little cat went on a walk,

This little cat ran home,

This little cat meowed for me to wait up,

This little cat had fun.

AND this little cat made a BIG Labrador and her owner cry wee-wee-wee-wee-wee,

All the way home.

Wait for me. I'm coming!

Barefoot in the Clover

We Three Sjolseths spent some time on a picnic this past Sunday. Across from our townhome is a field that posed just the right spot to sit and soak in the beautiful weather. Twiggy, our cat, decided to join us (she often joins us on our walks).

After a few moments snoozing in the sun alongside us, she discovered that the "dogs" were returning and sprinted to hide behind a tree.

Do you see her?

She sure hopes not.




She stayed there until she could see the dogs walking on that side of the tree and beelined it to the other side of the field. What a strategist.

Old and young enjoyed the food.

Yup, Everett is talking in this one.

And in These:




Besides enjoying the weather, we are also working on our minuscule yard that takes us hours to replant and trim (we replanted 150 daffodil bulbs, my gluts are aching today). After several spring seasons in our home we know what the squirrels will eat and what they won't. Though, they still dig everything up looking for the peanuts they buried. (our neighbor, kind soul, gives them the peanuts, sigh . . .)


And, we'll probably take some pictures of it all soon . . . you think?