Outside

This is my backyard. I have never had a backyard before. In New York, when we lived in Queens, we had one tree in an alley. That's where the squirrel lived. He would come visit me and Archy on our fire escape stoop. When we first met him, we went up to the window (glass down) and said, "Hello!" He got so scared that he started shaking and he peed.

Backyards are great. They have all kinds of critters! We have birds, bats, turkeys, and squirrels. Rumor has it that we also have snakes (none have been sited by Moms or Dads yet) and a coyote who eats cats. That is why Archy and I stay inside. While we are brave and fierce, we have no interest in fighting a cat-eating coyote.

Since we don't really go "outside," except for on the screened-in porch, Moms and Dads bring nature to us. Uncle Daniel (Holla!) gave us a corn cob kibbler for squirrels and Dads screwed it into our deck. We have two squirrels - Corny (named by that tot, Arden, because he eats corn) and Corny, Too. Corny, Too is much skinnier than Corny and also has emotional issues. He flips out when we notice him and I think he cried once.

This is Corny. You know it's Corny because he's plumper.
As you can see, Corny enjoys eating corn in a linear fashion. He always eats either in a straight line or in a Mondrian square fashion. We think he's a little bit OCD, like Jeff Lewis.

The backyard is also home to baby critters. When Bampy and Mam left our house last week Monday, Bamps found a Moms Turkey and five tots wandering around our yard. The babies were smaller than my Moms' hand. That was a week ago. Now they are bigger. They're about the size of her hand now.

While Moms and Dads call them, "Oh, come here cute Turkey babies!," I prefer to refer to them as "Mouthfuls." Here's a picture of the tot turkeys. I had Moms enhance the photo so could see all of my meals. I don't want you to think that all I do is gaze out the window, though. I contribute to this family. Sometimes Moms does work at home. She writes grants and stuff. She says she needs quiet and focus. I help provide that "quiet and focus" by a) trying to sit on her lap, b) wheezing loudly, c) pawing her elbow asking for a drink of water, more kibbles, or wet food when it's not time for it yet, and d) being cute. When I've exhausted all of my tricks to help provide "quiet and focus," I ususally fall asleep. This is me when I'm pooped out. Note how I'm still helping Moms. In this picture, I think I'm helping to steady the table she's trying to work on. How nice of me!

Furry kisses from your favorite cat correspondent, JD!