A Haven for Vee

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Another Day; Another Weather Report


The plow rumbling by on all the neighborhood streets woke me this morning and I had just enough time to catch this before he came right through the house. It always sounds that way and looks a little that way, too.



The neighborhood looks more like Christmas now in February than it did 
in December.


This time it was a pretty snow that leaves tracings on the trees and the old roofs covered.

The next photos were taken yesterday in my nieces's neighborhood. She has some lovely views.

This view always looks like Narnia and the lamp post to me.


An 1800s farmhouse with attached shed and barn. This would be my favorite view if I lived at my niece's house.


I was visiting in my niece's neighborhood to feed her cat Topie who was all over me like white on snow until I fed her. Then she lost all interest in me.

Topie's story is an interesting family one. She started out as a kitten belonging to a friend of my son's. Then my son took her and gave her to my daughter. Topie had a litter of kittens while with my daughter. (Cute story: My daughter took Topie to the Vet to be spayed and was told that Topie was expecting, but that it would be no problem. My daughter promptly packed Topie back up explaining that she didn't believe in abortion.) When the kittens were born, my daughter kept one and gave Topie to my niece. Convoluted or what?! I do love all the kitties in the family. Family cats number seven in all. My son and his family have Max and Phyllis; my daughter has Samantha, daughter of my niece's cat Topie; my sister has Talitha and Lily; and I have Fioré (who oddly enough started off with my son...obviously, he has a soft spot for cats).

Have any pet stories you wish to share? 

44 comments:

  1. It is so beautiful Vee, but I know you are probably growing tired of it all. We love kitties as well, but none here .... just a renegade beagle who thinks he is another one of my children. What a mess he is!

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  2. Love the snow photos. So pretty. We have had a very unusual cold snowy January and February. I usually never have to turn the heat on except for a little while in the mornings but it's been darn cold. North Scottsdale got snow for a little while and deep hills of it all around us. I like it though because I have visions still of the hot oppressive very tiresome 120 degree summers for 6 months. I don't mind this at all.

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  3. Your snow photos are beautiful, snow is a bit of a novelty here, we have only hd a little bit this winter. No cats here but I have a dog who thinks he is a cat...does that count?

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  4. Sweet kitty! Sarah's cat Watson looks like that!

    We loved our cat Maxx and still mourn his disappearance from home. So sad.

    We also have Sadie who is the daughter of Lindsay's dog Samantha. She is a dog of little brain but sweet as can be and a good and loyal dog. What more could we ask for?

    Your snow will make my children jealous! What fun they would have!

    Enjoy your day!

    Deanna

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  5. I'm loving your Winter Photos! You really did get SNOW, up there, my Dear.

    And it makes for beautiful, lovely, peaceful, calm Photos!

    Glad these pets of those on vacation, have someone to come in and take care of them, and check on the house. Very glad.

    Pet stories? Nahhh... Other than the same-old-same-old, of my LOVING cats when little. And adopting so many. And they all died or disappeared, on me. -sigh- It's a wonder I ever tried to have a cat, when grown.

    Back to the lovely Narnia-like Beauty of Winter!!!!!!! Much happier ending. :-)))))))))))))))))))))))

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  6. Hi Vee,

    I love your photos, it looks similar here, except the rain washing some away. I love pet stories. We have two dogs now, but we had our cat Mittens for nine years. She was a world traveler and we adopted her in Princeton, New Jersey, took her with us to two different homes in Hong Kong, a home in Oakville, Ontario and then in Toronto, Canada and back to Princeton, New Jersey and finally Massachusetts.

    Karen

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  7. What a beautiful winter wonderland Vee. No pet stories here...except that I have been longing for a dog for quite a while now.

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  8. The photos are Christmas card beautiful!

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  9. Your photos are so beautiful!
    There was a stray expectant mother cat in our neighborhood several years ago. Someone had dropped her off. We fed her and watched out for her. Then one day she was gone. My neighbor across the street called me and said that she was in her window well with her new kittens. She said that a some old roots were over the top of them. I went over with my garden clippers and cleared away the tangled mess to give them more room. I then went back and sat on my front porch to rest. I looked over at the house and here came the momma cat with a baby in her mouth. She jumped the chain link fence and brought the baby to me. She went back and got each one jumping the fence each time and I found a box to put them all in. When Rick came home I had them in our garage snug and warm. We already had two cats and I was a little concerned that they might not accept them. We did find homes for all of them and my daughter took one too. It made my heart melt to see this sweet momma decide that I was the one to take them in.

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    1. Omigosh! You must love James Herriot's Christmas story "The Christmas Day Kitten." Your story is just the sweetest and sounds like that one. Herriot's story makes me cry, but I love it so.

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  10. I have to agree Vee, snow like we've had of late would have been perfect for Christmas and I enjoyed seeing your shared photos.
    My pet story: a lover of cats, I always had 2 males growing up which were passed on by the time I got married. As soon as we took possession of our apartment, I brought in the sweetest little black and white. (the name escapes me) Soon after hubby started getting sick and actually collapsed in the parking lot one day, having trouble breathing. The verdict - he was allergic to cats and I was told either the cat or the husband had to go. Suppose I chose wisely...... :-)
    Judith

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  11. Once again I am in awe of your beautiful snow photos! Rain here today with a few snowflakes. The western part of the state will receive snow. I'm pouting, but I'll get over the disappointment.

    Cat story. When my son was in 5th grade he wanted a white cat, he already had chosen a name before we found a cat. One of my husband's coworkers said he had a litter of cats & one of them was a white female. That's how we got our cat, Chip. It was always a joke that our female cat had a name for a boy.

    Smiles,
    Carol

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    1. Max is a girl, too. Another son with a love of cats!

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  12. That snow looks so beautiful - all white and fluffy! I do wish that we got more - although just on the grassy surfaces:)

    We've had our Alley for almost 14years (I think). We also had her brother Dexter from the same litter, but had to put him to sleep 7years ago.

    Stay warm!
    Leann

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  13. The e-mails between my daughter and I are all about weather, something she usually ignores but when one lives in New England lately it is important!

    Victoria had been offered to us for weeks and I kept turning down the offer. It had only been recently that Sasha (the second of our elderly kitties) passed away and I was still grieving the loss of Storm, too.

    Well, the family from church who had offered her to us were leaving on a trip to Israel and asked if we would watch her while they were gone. They were afraid their other cats would hurt her... big brutes who my husband says LOOK evil, hehehe. They had not accepted her at all since the family adopted her.

    Sooo... Hubby took the kitty carrier and went over to temporarily bring her to our house. It just took that face peaking out of the carrier to know she was our kitty forever and ever.

    Although now she thinks this is her house and we are her loyal subjects. Cats are like that.

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  14. No pets here. Hubby and son have allergies. And secretly, I'm glad! Your cookies look great! You received a lot of snow!

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  15. Your snow is lovely! We had rain yesterday which melted alot of ours. Now we have icy snow and slippery roads! No real pet stories here, except our daughter seems to collect them and drop them off for us to care for. Stay warm!

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  16. Never had a kitty, I did have a dog as a very young girl and, of course, my feathered babies, total of 4 over the years but just have two now. Snow looks pretty but it is a pretty pain in the butt JMHO. xo

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  17. The photos are just beautiful! Such a novelty for me. Over the years we had cats galore. At one point, years ago, we had 5 at one time living with us. Now we don't have any. Can't say that I miss them much, haha. It was really more my kids and hubby with the soft spot! Enjoy your day!

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  18. I changed the background of my blog to be white like the beautiful snow that surrounds your home:-D I had a gorgeous ragdoll cat for almost 17 years--he passed away last summer. I didn't think I'd ever go through the pain of loss again, but one day while searching the web for ragdoll breeders, I came across one in Missouri. I wasn't sure about another kitten, so I just bookmarked the site and forgot about it. In November, feeling really low after a note from one of Kelly's friends, I looked back at the site and the breeder had one of her "mama" cats she was retiring for sale. We flew to Missouri in December to bring Rosie home and it's been like she was my cat forever. It's instances like this that make me believe there really is an "Adjustment Bureau" and our lives are mapped out for us. Have a wonderful day, XOXO

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  19. Oh my goodness, those are the most beautiful pics I have ever seen of snow! You know as a Florida girl born, raised. stll here,I love snow but this is the best ever,love, love love it!

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  20. Nice story about Topie and her kittens. I have a black cat as well. I love your snow pictures. So many gradations of grey,and black and white.

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  21. Did the cat ever get spayed?

    Your snow is beautiful. Like you, that's the kind of snow that I wish for at Christmas.

    My favorite pet story is about our farm dog, Lady. She was half pit bull and half...well, the other half was a fence jumper. Anyway, Lady was left behind when we bought a home in the country. It was her home so we kept her. We had about every form of livestock imaginable on that hobby farm and Lady loved them all. Our Jersey cow would put her head down so that Lady would clean her ears. When the vet came to neuter the little pigs, we had to confine Lady because she thought (knew) the vet was hurting them. When a tame rabbit got loose, she would find it and bring it back. She was only 10 years old when she went to the Rainbow Bridge. It's been more than a decade that she's been gone and I still miss her. We moved away from the hobby farm, though, and I know that city life wouldn't have kept her happy.

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  22. Beautiful snow pictures! We have had nothing but a dusting here so far this winter!

    Blessings!
    ~Nadine

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  23. One evening as the five of us were eating dinner in the jungle, there was a knock on our door. Our neighbour looked uneasy and asked to speak to Tim. They went outside. When Tim returned, he told the children that Uncle Lance had found their cat lying beside the road, dead. The children wanted to verify that it was indeed their cat, Satin. Cristal, the eldest, didn't think she could handle it, so she stayed back with me while the Travis and Ashley went out with their father. They were quite matter-of-fact about the inspection, but decided they really needed Cristal's opinion. So she hoisted up her courage and went out with them.

    After a look, she said that yes, it was indeed Satin.

    Up until this point everyone was most dispassionate. Now the wailing and crying ensued. As I hugged Travis close, he looked over my shoulder and said, "There's Satin."
    "Oh honey," said I, "it can't be - you must be seeing things."
    "No," he insisted.
    So we all turned to look, and sure enough, there was Satin, prowling about. Great happiness ensued.
    "It's just like Jesus rising from the dead," said Travis.

    And I thought, 'yes, such sorrow turned to immense joy." I think we all glimpsed that night, in a minute way, the power of the Resurrection.

    As a disclaimer - most of the cats in town were from the same mother so it was very hard to tell them apart.

    And that's my pet story.

    And I do love the snow - you have piles and piles of it! Very Narnia-ish.

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    1. I am reading this all these years later and just loving the story.

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  24. I am enjoying your winter wonderland from a distance. It is so beautiful to look at, but I honestly don't miss the shoveling.

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  25. Your snow pictures are all so pretty.

    My dog Sam was a lab and very gentle. One day I was mowing the lawn and saw Sam standing in the middle of the yard and it looked like she had something in her mouth. I went over to her and told her to 'drop it' and she dropped a baby bird on the ground. I believe she picked it up because she didn't want me to run it over with the mower.

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  26. Very pretty, it does look more like Christmas :) Our snow is slowly melting, it rained the other day that helped some of it go and now the sun has been shining and it's melting it, but the between the rain and the sun it's making the roads pretty slick especially when the temp drops back down.

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  27. Look at all that snow!! Love the photos. It took me a while to spot the lamp post. We do not have pets. We were tricked into owning a couple rats in the past...long story.

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  28. Wow. you have a lot of snow there. It looks very pretty and fresh and I love the photos with the snow falling softly. My kind of storm. You do have a lot of cats in your family! I'm not a cat person but my sister has always has a cat. Me. I prefer dogs although we are currently dog less. I enjoy visiting our son's dogs. It's sunny and +5 C. here today again. Great weather for this area after all the snow they've had this year.

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  29. Love the snow pictures. Ours looked a bit like that for a day. Then it melted away.
    My little Abby is a sweet as sweet can be and the whole family loves her. She does not like my favorite sister and growls at her. Go figure??

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  30. You have a pretty neighborhood, Vee, and the snow makes it prettier. We have just had rain. I have puddles on my lawn.

    I really enjoyed reading the cat stories your readers wrote. I could never have cats as hubby and I are both allergic to them, but we've had plenty of dogs. We did have a stray cat that kept appearing on my bay window ledge one winter. I would let it in, give it a bowl of milk, it would curl up and sleep a bit and then scratch the door to leave. This would happen several nights a week. About a week before Christmas my son who was 16 at the time, was walking home from work and found a puppy, about 3 months old. We had just put our dog of 14 years down and were still recovering. Long story short, hubby said we could keep it until after the holidays and then he would take it to an animal shelter. Every night I would worry that the kitty would come to the window. I always thought that cats and dogs didn't get along. How would I turn the cat away? Well, she never showed up during the time we had the puppy. The day my husband took it to the shelter, all of my kids were crying. And then that evening, who should appear on the window sill? It's as if she knew we wanted time with the little pup!

    Thanks for prompting us to share our stories, Vee!

    XO,
    Jane

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  31. Love the snow scene shots. No one in our family has a cat. There are several grand doggies but no cats. Don't know why. I do love the grand Westies and Black lab. I am hoping no snow for us. Was able to get outside today and do a little clean up on the deck and patio.
    QMM

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  32. Well you are certainly surrounded by a winter wonderland. Despite the noise I'm sure you were glad to see the bare pavement. We just have one cat now and she has been very bored during this long winter so she's been perfecting her Soccer skills. When she decides it's time for a game she will crouch between the hearth and our green chair. we roll a ping pong ball so it bounces off the base of the hearth and along in front of her and she bats it back about 10 times in a row. She hardly ever misses. She longs for the snow to melt just like we do...it's been a long winter..in a few days it will be four full months.

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  33. Love the Narnia photo as well as your other pictures. Thanks for sharing. ~ Abby

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  34. The snow is so beautiful, but the 10 inch snow we had on Christmas was enough for me! We are just not equipped for it down South and we were without power for days! Even with a generator, it was miserable!
    I love dogs, but I must say that I am partial to cats always! My sweet Goldie and my old Chester (my mom's cat) sleep next to me at night. They are such a comfort. Daughter's little papillon, Desi, dislikes my high strung bob tailed cat, Lucy, so he banishes her from the bedroom! Lucy deserves better--she was here first!
    V

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  35. All that snow - what a mess that is going to be when it starts to melt. Great cat story. It is great that the kittens were kept. We're down to 5 dogs and 5 cats, now. One would think that with this many animals, I wouldn't miss the cat and dog that we recently lost, but they were the sweetest two of the bunch. On a lighter note, if one animal does something "wrong" another will come and "tell" me about it. It's pretty funny.

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  36. The snow photos are beautiful. We haven't had much snow here, not that I'm complaining. We've had a little bit of rain here and there and the pond is now full...that is good.
    I won't share a pet story. I'm sure you've seen enough of my pets, past and present, at my blog! And more pics and stories are to come, if I can get a video to work.

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  37. Your photos are beautiful...so pristine and postcard-ish. I agree that the lamppost one speaks of Narnia! I also agree that the view of the farmhouse and attached shed and barn is wonderful...sigh...I am imagining the lovely inside of that house...

    All three of our cats are strays who have adopted us, and we love them all dearly. The most recent, Moses, has been here since July. When he came, he was almost bare. Truly...he had hardly any fur, and was emaciated. We began feeding him, and now, 8 months later, he is a butterball with a full, thick, black coat of fur. He still limps (a broken leg in his past) and has a crooked tail, but that just endears him to us.

    I loved hearing about your cat family! Such tender hearts...

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  38. LOVELY, magical snow photos! Thanks for sharing them. I've never actually seen a snow plow in person. Born and raised in SO California! Everything looks so scenic and wintery. If I took photos around our neighborhood it would look like green lawns and palm trees- not much to see. Happy Valentine's Day~
    SHawn

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  39. It's a winter wonderland at your house. When we met, my hubby had 13 cats. hahaha! (he had 4 adults but one had just had a litter of kittens) I am more of a dog person so that was kind of funny! Stay warm today!

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  40. My goodness Vee...I just can't EVEN imagine having that much snow!!!! Your John works so hard too ~ but I have to say, it is absolutely beautiful to me! I guess it's not too beautiful when you run out of butter or eggs! I love that your son has a soft spot for cats, folks that love animals are always good souls ~ sending you hugs and love, Dawn

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