One week from today I’ll be in Halifax for a book talk that takes place on Feb. 23, and then for a similar talk in Ottawa on the 26th; you can see the announcements here. On this day in history, Fidel Castro became premier of Cuba in 1959 after the Revolution, Francis Galton was born in 1822, as was science journalist Natalie Angier in 1958. Leslie Gore died on February 16 a year ago at the age of 68. Nobody ever owned her. Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili is marooned atop the shed that covers the well. She’s perfectly capable of getting down, but of course wants somebody to come outside, pick her up, and put Her Highness on the ground. Her hackles appear to be up.
Hili: I’m in two minds…A: What about?Hili: Whether I should jump, at the risk of getting hurt, or order you to lift me down.
In Polish:
Hili: Trochę się zastanawiam…
Ja: Nad czym?
Hili: Czy zeskoczyć, a wtedy mogę sobie zrobić krzywdę, czy kazać ci, żebyś mnie zdjął?
Reader Taskin sent a Facebook video of a Nowegian cat, Jesper, who likes to tow his staff when they’re on skis! As Taskin asked rhetorically, “You gotta wonder how stuff like this gets started!” Click on the screenshot to see this video. Jesper beats Leon for sheer persistence in the snow.
Finally, Marie Cournoyer, who clearly has a serious squirrel fetish, sends another “petit ami”, encounterd in the Parc du Mont-St-Bruno. The squirrel ran up to her and her husband Claude, did some investigation and body-climbing, and ran off. Canadian squirrels are quite brave (and polite):
Man, someone remembered to recharge that cat.
The skier is on a “made” cross-country ski trail. Which considerably reduces the amount of work the cat has to do. But it’s still a lot of work for four little paws.
I wonder if there used to be a dog and a cat that went for a walk in the snow, then the dog got put into harness and the cat wanted to join in?
My (cynical) guess is that it’s slightly downhill, and the kitteh is just running (quite happily) to keep ahead of the skier.
cr
That was my thought too.
“I better move it or this clumsy human will run me over.”
Though I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cat run steadily for a distance like that.
Oh, I think the kitteh was enjoying it alright.
Just, I don’t think he’d have enough traction to tow a skier.
cr
You’ve never had a cat use you for uphill skiing practice? No shortage of traction. [G}
Galton was really an amazing science man.
In 1872 “he…conducted research on the power of prayer, concluding it had none by its null effects on the longevity of those prayed for.”
In re Leslie Gore–IMHO, the little jazzy melismatic flourish on the line ‘Judy’s wearin’ his ring…’–followed by a ‘heh!’ because she knew she nailed it–is a high point of 60s pop music. As always, YMMV.
I know grey squirrels are no problem in their proper range, but here in the UK the introduced ones are a complete disaster. They’ve nearly made our native red squirrels extinct and have spread like a plague into gardens and parks. Object lesson in messing with evolution?
Norwegian cat is gorgeous, and large.
I’ve run into a few brave squirrels myself. Some would make any TSA “frisker” green with envy.
I also once was mugged by a skunk. I stayed very still as it waddled up to me, began sniffing me all over from feet to as high as it could reach standing on its hind legs and bracing against me with its forepaws. It then climbed up on to me and started pawing through my pockets.
Someone’s pet?!
May have been. That was my first thought. There was nothing besides its behavior to indicate it was a pet, but . . .
I spent some time trying to find someone who had lost a pet skunk, but no dice.
A neighbor saw the incident and being the type of person who feels that small animals are icky, or something like that, called animal control. The skunk wandered off into the woods bordering our community. The next day Animal Control live-trapped a skunk, but I have no idea if it was the skunk I met. Those woods contain many skunks, possums, raccoons, coyotes, foxes and at least one bobcat.
Quite the experience, anyway!
Our rural neighborhood has all you mention but a bobcat…I’m jealous. 😉
One year we had trouble with skunks eating the food we put out for the barn cat. In a month or so, we saw a skunk down there with 6 kits. My husband remarked, “Must be the Science Diet.”
(We no longer have outside cats.)