The "It's A Beautiful Day In The Garden" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Rain early morning and then sun the rest of the day.  When you have quite a few days such as that, it means the spring and summer flowers will be open for all to view.  And, it has been just that way around our home in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  My wife, Carol, has filled the flower beds and large flower pots with flowers that make the days come alive with color and happiness.  I have used my iPhone to document the flowers that have come open so far around the house.  Hope you enjoy them today just as I have enjoyed then on a daily basis.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - Check out our two furry friends who happened upon our rear deck about 2 years ago and have been with us ever since.  

Leaf from one of the Banana Plants

Coleus plant leaves

Impatiens

Our backyard pond we built about 15 years ago.

Carnations 

Hibiscus

Cactus

Coleus

Marigolds

Caladium

Nasterium

Caladium

Hosta

Lantana

Petunias

Hens & Chickens

Coladium

Daisies

Snickerdoodle

The Gray Lady

The Gray Lady

Our Sweethearts curled up together.

Watching their Mom working in the garden. 

The Gray Lady showing off her belly.

Snickerdoodle showing off one of his favorite boxes.

The "Friends For Life" Story

The Gray Lady and Snickerdoodle relaxing in their box lids.

It was an ordinary day.  Watching our cats, The Gray Lady and Snicker- doodle, racing around the house, chasing each other.  It was after Christmas of 2018 that we brought these two little strays into our house one freezing week.  One was a male and the other a female.  

The Gray Lady rests along Carol's legs.

Not sure if they were from the same litter, but that didn't matter. They have become best friends and give Carol and me hours of entertain- ment and companion- ship.  The female we had spayed and during the procedure the vet found she had a few kittens in her which were lost since they were too young to survive.  Due to that, she hasn't grown to be the same size as her companion, Snickerdoodle.  He too was neutered with no problems.  

Snickerdoodle enjoying his monkey.

Animals such as cats and dogs were domesti- cated somewhere between 13,000 and 30,000 years ago.  Humans became accustomed and attached to dogs first, but it didn't take long before the cat was also accepted.  This past year scientists discovered an ancient cemetery near Siberia's Lake Baikal where thousands of dogs had been buried right alongside their human companions.  

Watching a video of birds and mice.

Valuable items were found in the graves leading to the thought that they were meant to be used in the afterlife.  It is also known that in ancient Egyptian times, household pets were laid to rest in elaborate tombs decorated with inscriptions, furnished with treasure and scented by incense.  Cats were first domesticated by the Natufians who lived in the Levant about 10,000 years ago.

The Gray Lady taking a "selfie".

 As cats began to congregate around settle- ments, they became more social, developing communi- cation skills needed to deal with humans.  Eventually someone did studies and found that pet ownership was good for human's physical and mental health.  When Carol heard about that, we were never without a pet.  For the two of us, the warm feeling we get when we look into the eyes of our cats is real.  Today about 68% of U.S. households, or about 85 million families, own a pet or two.  That's up 56% from the same study done in 1988.  Hey, we're holding up our part of the study.  Do you have a pet...and if not, why not.  There are many strays in most neighborhoods who would love to be your friend and companion.  They will teach you forgiveness, love and companionship as good as any human could do.  Trust me...I know!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The handsome Snickerdoodle!

The sweet and devilish Gray Lady.

The "Finding A New Home For A Good Backyard Friend" Story

Kitten Sammy.  Click on images to enlarge them.

It was an ordinary day.  Sitting on the back porch trying to catch Sammy.  Sammy is the cutest little guy who adopted Carol and I sometime this past spring.  We believe he is an offspring of Big Bob who has frequented our rear deck for a few years now, searching for handouts to eat.  

Sammy with his assumed dad, Big Bob.

We have never been successful in catching him...yet!  We also believe that Big Bob is the father of the two strays, The Gray Lady and Snickerdoodle, that we adopted a few years ago and who are now indoor residents of our home.  Sammy has the exact same marking as Snickerdoodle who in turn has the exact same tail that Big Bob has.  Yesterday Carol enticed Sammy into the cat carrier with a bowl of food, but when she went to close the door, he saw the motion and out he came.  Today I tried to entice him with cat treats and had just about given up when he saw one I had thrown into the carrier.  I was quiet and still as he, with one eye on me and the other on the treat, went into the carrier.  

Big Bob didn't care to share his food with his son!

As I saw him lower his head to grab the treat I reacted and closed the door.  He was both scared and afraid, but I tried to calm him by putting a cover over the carrier.  Did the trick!  Called to my wife who couldn't believe I had caught him.  We placed a call to Carol's friend Debbie who has found homes for a few other strays we have caught in the past 20 some years.  

How Sammy got on top of our canvas shade is a mystery to us.

She told us she was home so 30 minutes later Sammy was on her rear porch in an extremely neat cage that had a few levels.  Debbie's two house cats had to have a look and before long Sammy showed more interest in them then in us.  She will keep him in the cage until he gets needed medicine before allowing him to wander with her cats.  

The elusive Big Bob. We will have him neutered
if and when we can catch him.  

She told us she may have a home for him already.  We hated to lose our friend of a few months since he was constantly at our back door and allowed Carol to hold him, but winter will be here before you know it and we didn't want him to have to survive outside all winter and thought our two stray cats we now have is enough to feed.  We will be anxious to hear how he does with his new neighbors and perhaps his "forever" new home.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "We Call Him Big Bob!" Story

Big Bob

It was an ordinary day.  Carol opened the back door and called out, "Big Bob, time for breakfast!!"  After a few minutes she does it again.  And, again!  "No Big Bob today," she says to me.  "Someone else has a better breakfast than we do I guess."   Big Bob is a big tabby who looks to be ancient.  He has survived winter after winter and although he really shows his age, still seems to show up when he is hungry.  We guess that he has quite a few offspring in the surrounding area with our most recent addition, "Snickerdoodle" being one of them.  And, when we also claimed "The Gray Lady" from our back porch last January, she was found to have six kittens in her when we had her spayed.  Our guess was that Big Bob was the culprit who impregnated her.  But, Big Bob looks helpless as well as hopeless.  

Breakfast on the rear step.  He very seldom takes his eye from us.

The poor guy wanders from home to home looking for a handout.  We think he makes use of the small shelter we have at the top of our rear steps or maybe the insulated shelter I built years ago in the rear of out outdoor Tiki Hut.  One day, recently, Big Boy walked down our rear steps to eat the food we had put out for him and rather than sit next to the dish, stretched from the step above to reach the dish.  

Eating on two steps.  He makes everything hard.

For those of you who do not like cats, you just wouldn't understand why we continue to feed this old guy, but we hate to see him die of starvation.  There are others on our street who feel the same, but also those who hate that we feed him.  I can see both sides of the equation, but just can't bring myself to leave a starving cat without something to eat.  When he needs a meal, he will sit on the steps and stare at the back door.  Upon seeing us opening the door, he scurries to cover under the trees above him, only returning to the food dish when he hears the door close and the lock click.  He hasn't lived this long without being careful.  

He does groom himself at times.

Some day the weather will get him or someone will trap him, but until that time we will call out for him.  He is one of God's creatures just as the two indoor cats that we have claimed from out back porch.  He could possibly be the father of one or both of them!  So, when he sits starring at the back door, we will open the door and yell, "Time to eat, Big Bob!"  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "My Wife: The Savior Of The Unwanted" Story

The little gray kitten making another visit.

It was an ordinary day.  Carol is standing by the rear door of our Beach House in Lancaster County, PA looking at the little ball of gray fur that is looking in the door at her.  She opened the door, but the furry creature, one of God's own creations, was frightened off.  Day after day the little kitten arrived, ate the dish of food she would put out for it, and went back into hiding.  The fall air began to get a chill to it and then the cold days arrived.  The kitten began to grow as Carol watched on a daily basis.  And then one day another kitten arrived to eat with the gray one.  This beautiful kitten looked like royalty with it's beautiful stripes, head held high and sleek posture.  Then one day as Carol was baking Christmas cookies she looked at the bowl of food on the rear stoop.

The handsome one, Mr. Snickerdoodle!

There stood royalty by the dish.  She opened the door and picked up the new breakfast attendee before it knew what had happened and brought it into the house as the little gray ball of fur stood by and watched.  The squirmy kitten escaped from her grasp and ran for the nearest door.  Shortly we had a new addition to our home who we kept in our office a few weeks until it became accustomed to us and its new surroundings.  All the while the little ball of gray fur made visits to the rear door.  And then one day it stepped into the house when she opened the door with the morning breakfast, curious as to what had happened to her royal friend.  The gray kitten rubbed against Carol and curled into her lap when she sat on the floor by the rear door.  Wasn't long before we took her to have her spayed.  

The Gray Lady napping in Carol's lap.  What a trusting little soul!

Then we took the sleek one, now named Snicker- doodle after the batch of cookies Carol had been baking when he arrived, to have him neutered.  Before long we had two new additions scurrying about the house to replace our recently departed friend, Creamsicle, who was an orange and white stray who happened to jump a snowdrift after a winter storm a few years ago and land in our hearts.  Many do not believe in feeding the feral or stray cats that wander the neighborhoods of every community in the world, but we cannot bear to see them die for reasons they cannot help.  

The sign says it all!

Both Snickerdoodle as well as now named "The Gray Lady" are growing and thriving in their new environ- ment.  They are a treat to watch them interact with each other.  The Gray Lady still sits on Carol's lap as she did that one day in January when the temperature hovered near zero.  Even finds her way to my lap from time to time.  Snickerdoodle is getting more handsome everyday as he grows.  A truly gentle giant!  But, the hero of the house is my wife who has been the savior of those that have come across her path while searching for a free meal when no one else will serve them.  It's just as the sign says that stands by our rear door: "Strays Gather Here!"  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.