When Chemists Attack

Every once in a while, we will hear a cat downstairs scratching madly away at the kitchen window glass. Sometimes, it’s not always obvious what they’re scratching about.

See that? Let’s look closer.

It’s a green tree frog. During the warmer, humid months down here in South Carolina, the windows get covered with these little frogs during the night. During the day, they stay rather well-hidden! At a distance, they’re practically invisible near green stems and leaves.

Want a closer look? Try this 1024×768 image: [Green Tree Frog, 1024×768 JPG]

For more animal friends, visit The Friday Ark!

We’ve been remodeling the den, which makes for some rather strange things popping up in other parts of the house. This fish, for example, normally hangs in the den – but had to find a new home for a while.

Tom recently took advantage of this poor, deceased fish. It seems that Tom (our Black Cat of Destruction) wanted someone else to take blame for him messing up a nice, antique chair:

Look! That fish! She did it!

For more animal friends, please visit this week’s Friday Ark!

(Apparently, I need more sleep. I somehow clicked the wring trackback link over at Modulator’s site … oops!)

We’ve sometimes compared our cat Rusty to a rabbit. She’s light, she’s fast, and she hops around quite a bit. But there’s another reason.

Here’s Rusty

Rusty’s ears are a bit too short, and her tail is a bit too long. But …

Here’s an actual rabbit from our backyard. The lighting’s not ideal, but Rusty and the rabbit have very similar coloration and even similar patterns in their fur.

Neat, eh?

Rusty’s been featured on this site many times before, but if you’d like a better view of the rabbit, try this high resolution image: [Backyard Rabbit – 1400px]

As always, visit The Friday Ark for more animal friends!

Been beat up and battered round
Been sent up, and Ive been shot down
You’re the best thing that Ive ever found
Handle me with care

— Traveling Wilburys, Handle With Care

(Black?) Swallowtail Butterfly

I think everyone feels like this battered butterfly, sometimes.

Click the link for a high resolution version of this picture: [Swallowtail butterfly – 1400px]

To see more animals, visit The Friday Ark!

This is the week before fall semester begins, so I’ve been quite busy getting materials ready for my fall classes. So, the blog’s been … slow. But cats are always on the prowl, looking for things outside the window to chase and bat.

This week, the cats have discovered the king of butterflies …

… the Monarch. But wait!  Look closer. This lovely butterfly may look a lot like a Monarch, but it’s actually a mimic called the Viceroy. How can we tell? By the extra black stripe on the wings!

Want a closer look? Try this high resolution image.

[Viceroy butterfly: 1400×1050 JPG]

As always, if you’d like to find more animal friends, head on over to The Friday Ark!

Our cats love to stare at things through the window and act tough. But who would be the victor in the battle between a house cat and …

… the SPIDER? I believe this particular specimen is commonly called a “black and yellow garden spider” or a “writing spider”.

Want to see this spider every day?  Put it on your desktop with the link below.  Enjoy!

[Black and yellow garden spider – 1024px]

Want to find more non-human friends? Visit The Friday Ark!

Since it is Friday the 13^th, be careful! Don’t let Tom cross your path!

Hey! Who says I’m bad luck?

It’s really too bad that the cats couldn’t join us on our Myrtle Beach vacation this year. I’m sure that they would love to get their paws on this lovely pigeon!

Myrtle Beach pigeon

We have three cats: Rusty, Ash, and Tom. All of them are related. Our cat family tree looks something like this:

Rusty was fully grown when we got Ash and Tom. So, for a while Rusty was the big mama cat:

Big Rusty, little Ash!

But now, things are a “little” different.

Little Rusty, big Ash!

In spite of the fact that she’s now the smallest cat in the house, Rusty still behaves like the big mama cat.

Rusty keeps a watchful eye on Tom

No cat will step out of line on Rusty’s watch!

(For more furry friends, check out the Friday Ark!)