CATS AND DOGS

Ah, you Gentle Readers keep supplying me with blog topics.

Yesterday it was William's comment of a day before that gave me one more reason to show off my beautiful Blackwell.

Today it's Cross-Town Lori who commented on that post:  "What is it with cats and boxes?  A dog would never climb in a box."

Ho-ho-ho, Lori.  Observe.

And just when you're about to say "Those are all stupid dogs.  My Australian Blue Heeler [The Legendary Reggie] is too smart to ever crawl in a box,"  there's this:

I rest my case.

p.s.  That last picture is not of my old friend The Legendary Reggie but I think it's one of his breed.  

It, like all the photos, was just chosen at random from The Great Google.

ALL BOXED IN

One of my commenters on yesterday's post, William Kendall, who blogs from Ottawa, Canada, is a fan of cats and of my beloved big black cat, Blackwell.

He asked a question for which I had no answer.

". . . how do the cats like the new box?"

At the time, SWMBO told me that Blackwell had noticed it but after a cursory examination, was ignoring it.

Unusual but we figured maybe the hot weather was the cause.

Until I was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner and glanced down.

Aha, (thought I), apparently it's "just right".

TAKING NO CHANCES

SWMBO uses some prescription eye drops for glaucoma and ordered a refill yesterday from an on-line pharmacy.

We thought you might like to see the precautions the business takes when shipping to a customer in a part of the country where the temperature is hovering around 100 degrees.

The doorbell rang today and when I opened the door I found this on our doorstep as a Fedex truck was pulling away.

Upon opening the box SWMBO was first confronted with some plastic-wrapped padding.

In the center of which were several packets of well-frozen ice.

In the center of those were Judy's eye-drops, in their three little boxes which were in a sealed plastic bag.

They arrived very promptly and very cold and very safe.

But if you ever wondered about those stories of too much plastic discarded in Mother Earth's environment . . .

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

It's Friiiiiiiiiii-day!!!!!!!!

"Are you talkin' to me?  Huh?  Well, are ya?"

I'm talking to you and to all my other Gentle Readers out there in Cyberland.

The heat is on here in Arizona.

My thermometer (which exaggerates a teensy bit in the morning) says it's 98 outside now at a little past 11 in the morning.

I was just out there watering a plant and the bird bath and it feels plenty warm.

But, like the Sunny Guy in my header, you just have to keep a happy face front and foremost.

After all, it's time for the Friday Funnies!

Oho!  Does that really surprise you?

All right you good friends, now this weekend don't be xenophobic,  and don't dwell on your ex or ex's, whether they live in Texas or not.

Instead excogitate some extra-fine fun and frolic and have yourself an exhilirating weekend!

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(Whoa!)

SING IT, SISTER!

In case by some weird occurrence you haven't heard this yet, give it a listen.

The woman is 57 year old (!!!) Regina Ballard, a front desk receptionist at a North Carolina high school.

She announced the beginning of summer break this way.

What pipes!

As SWMBO said, she may not be a receptionist for long.

ONCE AGAIN . . . SUMMERTIME!

In case you didn't believe those high temperatures recently, or those tornadoes, or those flood-causing downpours . . . here's the news.

Summer is here.

As the sun rose over Stonehenge and the crowds of tourists, Wiccans and Druids the Summer Solstice began.

I don't have any stone monoliths like those to worship but we will share in the longest day of the year.

What that means is 14 hours and 29 minutes of sunlight today.

Sunrise was at 5:16 this morning and the glowing orb won't sink until 7:45 this evening.

The weather gods tell us the mercury will rise to 91 degrees Fahrenheit (about 33 Celsius) at the official weather station at the Prescott Airport.

That's around 6 miles from where I live and a bit higher in elevation which means it will be warmer here.

SWMBO would say "hotter" but I prefer "warmer" as a less perjorative term.

When we repair to the patio to sit and gawk at study the muralized fence I also prefer to describe the still 80+ degree evenings as "balmy".

She would more likely describe ME as "balmy", in a different definition of the word.

Whatever.

Happy Summer to you all.

Don't forget your sun screen!

PROGRESS REPORT ON THE MURAL

It's been awhile since I've updated SWMBO's progress on the mural she's painting on our junky old backyard fence.

She said it was so ugly she hated sitting out there staring at it.

So she began to transform it, this way.

I was doing frequent updates as the painting went along but she asked me to stop for awhile.

She said she was feeling too much pressure.

And then her shoulder flared up and after several shots of cortisone (or something like it) her doctor told her to lay off the painting for 48 hours or more.

But now it's (the muralized fence) well along and she agreed to allow me to give you all a progress report.

The photos were taken last night.

As you can see, she's added a mountain lake, a road coming down from the peaks, some trees here and there, and the first two of a group of hot air balloons.

And then there's this.

Those brownish-blackish shapes in front of the tall trees on the right edge of the panorama.

She said she intended them to be bushes.

I said it looks more like a pack of grizzly bears.

We then agreed that since this was originally intended to be a work of impressionism, you Gentle Readers and Art Critics can take them for whatever you like.

(Catalyst slinks away, growling!)

Stay tuned.