Farewell, Charlie
The cats have been going through their own grieving. They know what happened. Buddy, who walks everywhere outside with me, will never go with me to where Charlie died. Buddy was mute and nearly motionless for at least two days and had no interest in hunting, let alone going out._/\_/\_
It's so difficult when a cat dies. He leaves a hole in your heart and home and in the pride of cats left behind. The others expect Charlie to return, with his swagger and bullying, and knock them off their sleeping perches or chase them a bit (just to let them know he's top cat, you know). Last night the others tentatively and tensely slept with us and awaited Charlie's blows as he settled on his bed. But it is quiet and peaceful. There are no mice left around the cars, no growls or scuttling about. They will all adjust and I will learn not to listen for him and not to look for him.
It is raining now. Thunder rumbles over our heads. The rain is comforting. We hope that your rainbow, Charlie, will appear in the sky later. We know you died so quickly that you probably never felt a thing except a brief flash of fear. We miss you, Charlie. We will never forget.
For Charlie, his new New Hampshire home feels just right. He has adjusted so well that he is now trying to dominate the other cats. Again. Like in Vermont. John has new, unique ways to put an end to this — loud noises and squirt bottles. It may be helping a bit because Charlie no longer sleeps with us at night. The other less dominant males (and Possum, too) are.
For the first time in her life, Possum (above) asked to go outside. And I let her go. She is in heaven here in New Hampshire in the gardens. She has taken to John quickly and had an easy transition. I think it is mostly because there are no dogs here to worry her. And the Bad Boys (Buddy and Charlie) are not worrying her because they are busy exploring their new world.
Charlie is in love with John. He sleeps with him, listens to him and chews on his fingers (it took Charlie two years to have a relationship like that with me). He has no problems living here. Charlie is killing. John said there have been a few headless mice around his truck. That is Charlie's signature kill — if he doesn't eat the entire mouse, he eats the head. Or simply chews the heads off. He also leaves the bodies about the car of the person he loves.
Zorro — a skittish cat in Vermont because of those dogs. He is relaxing daily now, conversing and interacting well with John and me. He comes and goes as he pleases. In the photo above he was chatting away with John in the garden. While there were, of course, chipmunks in Vermont, they were not on my land. We never saw them. But they are plentiful here. I see them standing on their haunches in the gardens when I let the cats out in the morning, or scurrying under rocks around the house. The cats are fascinated by them and I expect to see a couple of dead ones soon. The chipmunks set up a loud alarm whenever the cats are let out.
Turnip and Pansy are having a difficult time. Turnip came down with an eye infection the week before we moved. It has gotten worse here because of the stress. I debated bringing him until he recovered, but I realized that the stress of being left behind without his brother, Zorro, would be as bad as moving him. He has explored the house once but is mostly sleeping and is gradually getting better.
Charlie still doesn't like George. George was walking outside with me when Charlie ran up to me from the barn. Seeing George, Charlie got pretty upset and ended up following us through the brush and trees instead of beside me — muttering the entire time.
Amelia chased Matt and me out onto the porch with this grisly chewed up shrew corpse.
And it wasn't Bad Boy Charlie.
Miss Sophie! She is the quickest and best mouser around.
I finally have taken some photos. Still no Internet connection, so I am using the school, library and pharmacy wireless networks. Charlie here is upset because Buddy was sitting with me across the table.
We saw last week how Charlie has claimed the barn as his and Buddy owns the house. This is the small field behind the house. The two bad boys are now disputing who will claim the field and the woods. This will probably take most of the summer since their territory markings from last summer are now gone.
Buddy finally heard me and followed me into the house.
Thank you for visiting.
Cats on Tuesday
Towards the end of winter, I captured Buddy as he intimidated Charlie who was hiding under the bookcase off camera. The fights are fewer now that they are getting outside.
Here they go again. The fights are fewer now because Buddy's territory is the house and Charlie's territory is the barn. Buddy can't enter the barn and Charlie carefully avoids Buddy in the house at night. Don't feel too bad for Charlie. He gives it as good as he gets!Thank you for visiting.Cats on Tuesday
I went out to the barn Saturday morning to see if any damage had occurred over the winte when I heard a tiny tiny meow. I recognized Charlie's voice in the rafters of the barn. He had been sleeping and I had awoken him. 
He was so happy sleeping in the spring sun and warmth under the sky lights in the rafters of the barn. In fact, I have seldom seen Charlie with such a relaxed and gentle expression on his face. 
Then I remembered: he had been born and spent his kittenhood in a barn in central Vermont. Barns feel like home. Warm barns and sunshine must be heaven for him.
Cats on Tuesday
Cats on Tuesday
I couldn't get a good photo of black Zorro this morning. So I took a bad photo, played with Elements, found "posterize" and this is what I got. I then added color to each image and stitched them together in ImageWell. My last portrait is here. It is also of Zorro. I have the required five subjects. Below are the portraits of Charlie that I will submit. I got lousy photos of Turnip and Pansy but will not submit them.
I have been so busy with the photos, reading assignments, two jobs, a hair appointment and the weather that I have not had time to visit your blogs or respond to your wonderful comments. Please forgive me and be patient. I still have to write a paper for tomorrow night's class. The topic: the Vermont photos of Lewis Hine. Hine began photographing child labor in 1908. The photos were influential in changing child labor laws in this country. His work is featured in the book Counting on Grace by Elizabeth Winthrop.February 1910. Addie Card, 12 years old, anemic little spinner in North Pownal Cotton Mill, Vermont. Girls in mill say she is ten years. She admitted to me she was twelve; that she started during school vacation and would "stay." Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine.Commenter Joe Manning adds: "this was the first Hine photo I researched for my Lewis Hine Project. Addie lived to be 94 years old. See the whole story of my research at www.morningsonmaplestreet.com/addiesearch1.html." I recommend that you visit the site.
Buddy wakes up for about an hour or so a day to play with his scrunchy ball.
Scout does not like to sleep with any cat.
Charlie sleeps more than Buddy does.
Sophie (dog) and Mouse (cat) are still in love.Cats on Tuesday
We had our first snow last week.
The wind scoured the snow here to a cat-manageable depth.
But to get to the barn, the drifts were over a foot (30.5 cm) deep.
The cats make a trail through the deep snow and then carefully step in old tracks from then on.
