WHAT I'VE BEEN DOING ~ WHILE MINE MOMMY HAS BEEN DOING NOTHING

Back on January 5, mine Mommy said we would have a little bit of a break.  So, OK, I can meow with that, a little.  I'll do my thing.  She can do hers.  But from what I've observed (and I am very observant) she's mostly been doing nothing.  A whole lot of nothing.  Which caused her to tell me this morning that we still need more time to be on break so she can get her stuff done!  Oh my cat, what stuff, blah, blah, blah. Cat talk came next, compromise, meowing and finally she agreed that at least for today, today ~ I could tell you what "I've been doing!" cause unlike her I don't waste my days doing nothing!

Well, it really wasn't a waste of time, but earlier this week I did
spend a lot of time watching the sky fall down.  I'm wondering now
who and when it will be put back up there where it belongs.

It's all over the streets below right now ...
Just yesterday a little more of it fell past my window, very strange!

One afternoon, I got a lot of my mousies out of my toy box.

After I got tired of playing with them, I just sat in the chair and

spied on mine Mommy.  She was, of course, doing nothing, so

I was, of course, rather bored.

I did have a lot of fun this week with a "new challenge", you know how much I love those.

Mine Mommy had gotten a Sugarwish gift for the holidays

 and this was inside the box to hold her choices in place.  

We both like to "make challenges" from stuff around the house

 and this was purrfect.  She put some of my toys inside 

and I had to get them all out!  

We did this several times and guess what friends ... just

look below, I won every challenge!  Yes, I did!

So when all is said and done, and she'd go back to "doing nothing"

and I'd get a little bored again,

I'd just curl up on the day bed, watch and wonder about hu-moms and

when her doing-nothing would become doing-something.  Meow!

And that's that for now.

CATURDAY ART: June the Cat with Cats

 CATURDAY ART

with Athena and Marie

HAPPY "SNOW DAY" TUESDAY with the GIANT PANDAS

Even though many throughout the Baltimore and DC Metro area 

may not be going to work or school due to snow, ice and cold ~

our new friends over at the Smithsonian National Zoo ~ 

Qing Bao and Bao Li are totally enjoying this snowfall.  

You can watch them on the Zoo's own "panda cam" or on YouTube.  

Hoping the LINKS below work, as if you want a Happy Tuesday, 

this short video will surely make you happy!

NATIONAL ZOO PANDA CAM

WATCH ON YOUTUBE

COLD, CURLING UP and QUIET

 Oh dear, even though there's a hint of sun, it's getting very very cold out there ...

Mommy, I know you like the windows open, but I can't sit here.

It's too cold and too windy.  Please come close my window ...

Meow.  Mebbe it's best if I just curl up in my blankie basket under my

polka dot Ellen blankie.  I'll be really warm and cozy there.

Yes June, you'll be warm there.  And I'm curling up under a blankie, too.

And we're both taking a day or two of quiet rest, away from Zoolatry. 

Kinda think we both need it, don't you?

Meow.  Mebbe.

IN MEMORY OF MARG ELMENDORF ~ "THE HAPPY MIDDLE"

There are no happy endings.  Endings are the saddest part.  
So just give me a happy middle and a very happy start.  

So wrote the poet Shel Silverstein.

     If we wanted to name a friend who gave the pet world a "happy middle" for more years than one could count, her name would be Marg.

     Let us begin with the happy start, in upstate New York, where she grew up, the love of animals embedded in her spirit and leading her to earn a degree in animal husbandry.  Then, as a young woman, she worked her way down the East Coast ~ largely on farms, and in stables ~ training and working with horses.  Teaching riding to the young and ultimately settling in Charleston, SC.  Some years later, Marg reached the dream of purchasing her own small farm to the west, in rural Anderson, SC.

     And now comes the "happy middle" when we in the pet community began to get to know and love our Marg through her blog, MARG'S ANIMALS.  For it was on this farm, in this life, that she shared with us those animals she so loved.  Two mini-donkeys, Smoke and Joe.  Her beloved Ande, always running at her side, the dog who got on so well with every critter on the farm!  And the kitties!  Her inside kitties, outside kitties, porch kitties, barn kitties.

     She wrote of each with love in every word, with humor, with whimsy, she never forgot a name. Any who fell ill made the long trip to town for vet care no matter the cost.  She photographed each with an artist's eye.  She cried at each loss, we cried with her.  We shared her joy at each new arrival ~ for no stray, no feral, no litter of newborns brought by a neighbor ~ was ever turned away from her door.  There was always room for more.  All lived in harmony.

    Time passes for all, and the time came when Smoke and Joe moved to the farm next door, but Marg could walk to the fence line to rub their noses and bid a 'hee-haw morning' to each.  Sweet Ande crossed her bridge.  As did many beloved kitties and neighbors knew not to bring new kitties now.  The long drive to town was getting more difficult.  Older hands found feeding so many harder, old bones ached walking out to the barn kitties ~ yes, much was changing now.

We believe that as her "happy middle" was coming to a close, 

and Marg moved on from her earthly life,

 she simply began another "happy start".

For on that day, there just had to be hundreds and hundreds of her animals, 

who probably brought a lot of their friends, waiting to welcome her.

To hee-haw.  To bark.  To meow.

In one voice, together ... all were saying, welcome home, Marg.

Marg Elmendorf, April 9, 1939 to December 22, 2024

~ ~ ~

Scroll down for a collection of photos of Marg.

If you would like to make a contribution in her memory,

information is at the close of this post for donations to the

PAWS Shelter of Anderson County, SC 

Above, Marg and kitties.

Below, Marg's own photographs of a few of her sweet kitties, and the donks.

Above, a montage of her kitties, a caricature by Barb Kowalik, with Smoke and Joe.

Below, a few of Marg's Animals blog headers.

Below, with long time and dear friend Dee.

With Ann and Terry.

Both photos, 2018, Anderson, SC

PAWS Shelter of Anderson County, SC

1320 Highway 29 South

Anderson, SC 29626

You may donate by PayPal, or by mailing a check to the address above.

Please note that your donation is in memory of Marg

and be sure to provide your own information so the shelter may

acknowledge and thank you for your gift.

For additional information, visit the link below, thank you.

PAWS Shelter