The kittens actually came up onto the back porch today. We had new toys for them, and maybe that's why they ventured up. They still won't let me too close..the gray one is very brave though and seems more comfortable in my close presence (which is why there are more pictures of him). Since we still are not sure if they are boys or girls, we gave them unisex names: the gray kitten is Gray and the orange is Dorian.
While they played, Farrah keep an eye out from under the house, right below the porch.
Growing up my favorite piece of furniture in our house was a Thonet style rocking chair, but instead of the bentwood, the frame was a chrome plated tubular steel. The oval back and seat frame was a lacquered black and the caning on the back and seat was a light blonde color. It was my favorite, not because it was a neat design, but because as children we would flip it over and jump and stand and climb all over the steel frame and for some reason this was endlessly entertaining.
I can not find a picture of one online anywhere and I have been searching for months... It was very similar to the top right hand corner, except the frame was the chrome steel, as shown on the chair in the top left hand corner: .
I have a vague memory of it sitting out on the side of the road, with all the other "trash", when we moved into our new house in the early 1990s..and according to my parents it is in fact very much gone. I have been on the lookout for something similar for awhile now. A few months ago I came across a not so great quality knock off of one of these bentwood rockers for $10, and even though the back and seat were upholstered in something faux-furry like a teddy bear, and not caned..and even though the wood was covered in an awful overly glossy purpley finish, I picked it up anyway determined to do something right to it: .
I am stumped a bit with the furry stuff...not sure how to get it out of the frame (wish me luck).
When and if I do, I hope I can cane the the back and seat with something from Constantine's like these:
....and then there is the refinishing of the bentwood. Still not sure how tough that finish will be to remove (wish me luck). ..
Yesterday at an antique shop I found a rocking chair for under $50, and I have been looking for one more (about to start refinishing another one). It reminded me of the Danish cord weave chairs of Hans Wegner that I have always admired.
So, not able to pass it up at that price, I went ahead and bought it. I just picked it up today..
It's so comfortable and for now it is going in my bedroom. .
It's been raining off and on all day.
Not sure if it's allergies/sinuses, but I have been feeling a bit under the weather today and had to take it easy from this afternoon on...
Trying to recharge while looking through some old magazine for some inspiration (read: motivation) for the living room, which I think I am going to repaint, rearrange, do over (since I am close to actually having a finished couch and chairs here very soon).
Old magazines are great for under the weather days I should add. Not just for the good articles and pictures you find, but they have a lot of entertaining ads as well...
1.) To solve a book storage issue in my bedroom (I only have wall space under one window available), I am going to attempt to add some casters with locks to this old wall cabinet that I found last year for $5.00: .
2.) And...I still don't have a dining/kitchen table set. All free tables are being used as desks currently. This week I was lucky enough to have the 1930s art deco table (that is the counterpart to these 4 chairs below) find its way back to me after after 10+ years:
This is the only chair of the four that I have completely refurbished thus far:
And the table today, which I did refurbish about 10 or so year ago:
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This totally motivates me now to finish the other three chairs. ..
Last furniture update I was in search for the couch fabric. I was (am) having a hard time finding the 5 yards of just a simple gray canvas/heavy tweed or a black/gray/white nubby weave. When browsing online I had saved several pictures of couches/chairs with fabrics I liked, but still couldn't find much outside of the Knoll Textiles (which are absolutely wonderful, but out of my price range for the most part).
I am trying to base all decisions for fabric from the two refinished 1970s chairs (which feature the black/white Marimekko fabric), in hopes that all the pieces will mesh well if need be: .
A couple of the bookmarked fabric pictures I found and saved, hoping to come across something similar:
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Well today I happened to find some old discontinued clearance upholstery fabric not only in solid gray (both light and dark gray), but also the exact black/gray/white nubby weave. These were only $4.00 a yard, and I bought all of the 5 yards of the dark gray that was left and all of the 2.6 yards of the nubby weave that was left:
There unfortunately isn't enough of the nubby weave for the couch so it's between the darker and lighter gray for that, but I do still have a lot of chairs that need reupholstering. .
There is the lounge chair with its original brown nubby cushions, that I would like to replace: .
There are these two chairs from a garage sale last year: a nice captain's chair, and a Eero Saarinen executive chair: .
I am leaning towards the Eero Saarinen for this nubby weave fabric: ..
Within 2 days of time the kittens have gone crazy. I know it's just their age and they are curious and want to play 24 hours a day, but it makes me nervous for their safety. They still stay under the house for the majority of the day but twice today (it's not even noon) I caught them traipsing through the flowers in the backyard. Also, they have been enjoying climbing and hanging all over the pipes under the house, which I can definitely hear from inside. And they won't leave poor Farrah alone, even while she sleeps.
I think they may both be boys. The gray one is much more wild and funny and rambunctious, while the buff one is tiny and cautious and reserved, a bit more of an observer too.
After feeding them this morning, Farrah went back under the house to nap and I decided to babysit the little ones and give her a break, if they would allow me to. They were cautious at first and it took them a little while b/f they started to feel comfortable, but once they started playing, they didn't want to stop...and I think they had fun.
If I have time this weekend, I want to build them a mini tether ball set up (they would be so good at it).
So, I found and contacted a Feral Colony Trap-Neuter-Return program in Baton Rouge today (Thank you, CLAUDIA, for pointing me in the right direction). Elaine, my contact with the program, has been so so helpful. My vet charged a small fortune for Pearl's spaying/overnight stay and I have been thinking all week what if I have to come up with four small fortunes to have these cats fixed?. So, a sigh of relief.
I can rent a trap through the program for Farrah. Since she is still nursing Elaine thought it would be best to wait a few weeks. I would be able to sign them up for the July 13th LSU Spay Day (the local university vet school). They spay/neuter 100 stray/feral cats on one day of each month through Cat Haven. It is $25 per cat, and that includes shots (at least the rabies shot) too.
I asked her about trapping. I am very concerned about this. I am scared of trapping raccoons and not Farrah on that day. I am scared Farrah will have a nervous breakdown and when we release her she will be scarred for life and runaway, more scared of people than before.
Elaine said, "As to trapping coons, etc., it is highly possibly and probable that you will. I trapped a location across the river in West Baton Rouge Parish recently; and, yes, we did get coons. You just have to "be brave and release them"!!! When trapping, never leave traps unattended for any period of time because once you trap a cat, you should cover the trap immediately to help calm the cat. Also, it is dangerous to leave them in a trap out in the open because of other wild animals and dogs."
Which made me nervous, but I have to try. I wish there was some other way. I am hoping the kittens will start becoming comfortable with me, and if they let me I will place them into a crate instead of trapping. This is a goal with them now. .
Also, she mentioned the notching, which I think Farrah and Sufi will both need (Sufjan isn't feral but probably an abandoned stray, and I am waiting to hear back from her about including him on the last for the July 13th Spay Day). She said, "Also, it is a good idea to "notch" the ear of all ferals that are sterilized. This is strictly your decision but it does help others to know that the cat is part of a colony and has already been sterilized. Also, if a notched cat is picked up by Animal Control, they will call Cat Haven to see if we have a record of the cat and which colony it belongs to.
I am particularly comforted by the Animal Control calling Cat Haven part. I feel so hopeful about all this now and will be so happy to have it all done and behind us. .
I don't have a feral colony yet. And the talk of this could-be-one-day-colony (but probably-won't-be-colony-since I am sterilizing them early on) conjures up visions of me (in the future) with long gray frizzy hair sitting in my "overgrown" cottage garden full of native plants for the insects and hummingbirds surrounded by 20+ spayed/neutered hobo cats as my neighbors rally together to have me kicked out of the neighborhood because the lack of curb appeal, the presence of feral cats and nectar seeking bees is bringing down their property value. ha.
I really am becoming more and more disgruntled with living in a neighborhood anyway (and for more reasons than things like this). Dreams of the country, with the closest neighbor being half a mile or more, are becoming more and more frequent these days.... ..
I still haven't been able to get a good view of Farrah's kittens. Today, however, there was a storm so I knew they would be under the house. After the rain stopped I brought some watered down cat food to the opening by the AC unit that I often see Farrah come and go from, and took a seat. Within a minute the little ones pounced out, totally surprised to see me, a stranger, and pounced right back under the house. After they watched me for a couple of minutes they slowly came back out to get some dinner with their mom.
They all look a little rough b/c of the rain and mud from the storm, and I do hope that is what is on the little buff kitten's head. This one has me concerned. He looks so fragile and has such a hard time trying to get to the food (and his ear looks possibly infected). The gray kitten looks healthy and like a tough pint sized version of Farrah and in noticing her marbled coat, I am convinced the father is the long haired marbled cat who was with Farrah often when she first starting coming around:
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The light was too low and they moved too fast for any good still pictures. But here is a short clip after the storm:
A new (and much needed by both of us) nightly ritual with Sufjan Bobcat is waiting for the raccoons. Since he is outside during the day, and I only briefly get to see him in the mornings (and he seems to thrive on attention, unlike all the other cats) I have been trying to spend some time with him in the evenings.
Around 6:30 or 7 I meet him outside and he seems to be in the night-crazy mode. He bats at the golden rod and runs and hides behind blades of iris and meows till I find him...and when I do he bolts across the yard just to start the whole game over again.
At around 7:30 when he sees me putting the food and water bowls out for the raccoon pack he runs to the porch and into my lap, quickly dozing off as he patiently waits for the sun to set, at which point he situates himself on the bottom step of the porch. He stays there watching, on guard, as the raccoon pack appears one by one until I decide to go inside.
Some clips from this evening. (And yes, those are my polar bear pajamas pants..) MUSIC: Sufjan Stevens
All of the sudden, there are new visitors and little ones everywhere in the back yard.
From this past week:
Tiny baby lizard from the colony of lizards that occupies the garage: .
New adult and young adult raccoons (I think the one in the foreground is one of the babies from last year): .
Sufjan Bob is the sweetest cat in the world. He sleeps on top of the garage and keeps a lookout. He sits in my lap while I have my coffee outside in the morning. He always greets me with chirping and head-butts, follows me everywhere and appears out of nowhere when I call him: .
And yesterday...Farrah let me pet the tip of her ear, which was completely unreal, and then soon after she led me to a surprise in a wooded area on the side of the house. She has two babies. I had thought she was pregnant, and I was sure she had given birth, but I had unsuccessfully tried to follow her to locate them.
They are in a lot of brush and very shy, so I wasn't able to get a good look or good pictures, but I do know one is a long haired gray and one is a short haired buff/orange tabby:
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Also this week, an encounter with a baby raccoon, who was the tiniest thing ever:
So, I knew there were more and I have been waiting patiently for the mom to bring them over for dinner. And last night, she did. I took a few clips of them eating and trying unsuccessfully to climb the old Magnolia. They are so entertaining to watch. There are five total and they are mischievous and rambunctious.
Next on the agenda is to find a Trap-Neuter-Return program for Farrah and her babies and get Sufjan Bob fixed as well.
I also wish I could relocate myself, my daughter, the cats and the rest of the backyard clan to a nice house in the country with lots of safe acres for them to roam.. ..
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