Well, after the minor chaos of Christmas, followed by our dog Freyjya's 'mystery affliction' (see health forum, if inclined) AND losing power for almost 2 days after the recent ice storm...here's hoping for a few crisis' that don't make a beeline for Chez Tiny Farm
! After spending a short time NOT preening in the spotlight, les Kittens are threatening to sue for neglect and alienation of affections; they've always been a bit self-centred, and a LOT litiginous.
Since my most recent?? post back in early January, Sparky and Sisters have really settled in. Although the 2 pics attached to that post portrayed the Two Peppers looking quite comfortable in their nouveau habitat, we were still somewhat under frisky kitty siege
at the time. Offsetting those rare moments of calm were long periods of Kamikaze Kitten Kapers; I was frequently under the impression that we were home to at least a dozen supercharged teen felines!!
Even my previous busybusy incarnations as playground leader/daycare worker/ski instructor/museum guide/horse stable operator/professional puppeteer ETC. barely prepared me for KittyRide Inc.-"hold on,
you're just along for the ride!!" Accustomed to socializing/intergrating one animal at a time, I found myself bitterly envying the multiple arms of an octopus, as I attempted to keep up with the Tempestuous Trio.
Fortunately, Sparky was well past his initial assimilation days of rushing up to each 'resident mature cat' in turn, standing on his hind legs, and flailing his front paws in the manner of an aggressive bear. And, the girls were of course not
testosterone-fuelled; thus, they were less aggressive...towards the other cats, at least! Their youthful spirit of adventure and discovery manifested itself more in attacks on inanimate objects.
Electrical (and other cords) were energetically chewed, the kitchen counters doubled as a racetrack, blinds were rattled and bent, knickknacks were assualted and broken, charming carpet patterns were created by yanked- out strands of yarn...and that was just the daily warmup!! I grew to loooong for the mercilessly brief moments of CAT-atonia, when I could stop lovingly murmuring "NO, kitties!"
, and not be sideswiped by galloping furballs while I rather hopelessly attempted to restore some order?? to the house.
Just when you thought your place was pretty much critter-proofed... I had a deja vu re: when after years of boarding horses, I bought a pony-and stood in mesmerized shock as said equine-on-amphetamines proceeded to limbo under fence rails, and squeeze beteen 2" gaps in trees
!? I'm constantly caught flat-footed
, and humbled in my relationships with quadrupeds-all that in spite of being UNsmugly prepared.
Thank goodness, the eye of the most recent critterstorm seems to have passed; we've all settled into a much less tumultuous-for the most part!-existence....just in time for me to gather my shattered little nerves and escape categorization as a 'chandelier UTTERLY devoid of bulbs'!!!! Yay!!
The next challenge on the near horizon is Big Pepper's move to my sister-in-law's luxurious catabode (I think she's already got a college fund set up for BP). But that will be another story for another day...
Below, 2 pics of 'Trio Busykitty' (one, lounging/debriefing in the living room after a wild romp, and the other, exploring the potential for havoc-wreaking in the bathroom)...rare to catch all three close enough for me to get them all in the frame!