As a follow-up to the frightening and yet adorable photo of my second-cousin twice-removed (click here for a refresher), I decided to share a photo of 7-month-old Ayla with her "dentures" removed. I think you'll see why I'm in love even though we haven't yet met in person. I wish her parents would bring her to Spain for a visit. Ayla agrees. (She texts me all the time.)Little Stinkers
San Geraldo and I have been marveling at how well-behaved Dudo and Moose have been when out on the terrace. When I call them, they respond immediately and come right back inside. Miraculous. And no more wandering next door. Unlike other more common cats, ours are brilliant, cooperative, and easily trained. Or so we thought.
Our neighbor María Carmen, (the building manager's wife) stopped by yesterday. She is a sweetheart and adores the cats. She took care of Dudo and Moose when we were in New York in April. The apartment next door to us is not owner-occupied. It rents out (very successfully) to vacationers. A very pleasant couple is here for a few days. The woman told María Carmen that she saw a cat on their terrace. Or at least she thought she saw a cat on their terrace. By the time she told her husband about it, the cat was gone. She, in a panic, looked over the railing, thinking the cat had fallen. Her husband told her she must have been drinking.
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| I GUESS IT'S TIME TO CONSTRUCT SOMETHING MORE FORMIDABLE... AND PERMANENT. |
María Carmen hadn't at first registered that this couple was on our floor. And, since we had been monitoring Dudo and Moose so closely and we successfully planted and have been training a bougainvillea barrier to keep the boys away from that corner of the terrace, María Carmen knew it couldn't possibly be Dudo or Moose. Then, the woman told her the cat was black and white.
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| DO YOU SEE A GAP? |
Next door to us. A black and white cat. No other cats on this floor. What are the odds? All Maria Carmen (and the vacationer) were worried about was that the cat would fall. I apologized, thanked her, and immediately went in search of the boys. They were both sleeping (like angels) on San Geraldo's bed. I'm pretty certain Moose (Musy) is the culprit. He regularly loiters in that general area. But when I asked, he denied it.
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| MUSY, YOU GOT SOME 'SPLAININ' TO DO. |
Ahhh... the sweet innocence of a cat.
ReplyDeleteSharon:
DeleteWho me?
"Ahhh" indeed for the pussy.
ReplyDelete"Aaaaaaargh!" for the 'other one'.
Raybeard Daycare Centre? It'll have to be for me to lock myself away inside so I can escape those nasty little creatures - the fur-less ones I mean. We're being overrun! Help!!!
Raybeard:
DeleteBut, unlike Dudo and Moose, Ayla will NEVER sneak and do things she's not supposed to. (Or at least that's what we'll believe.)
Man, cats really know how to work that Innocent Look, don't they?
ReplyDeleteBob:
DeleteDudo has a very expressive face. When he does the innocent look, you know he's just "doing" the look. Moose on the other hand always has that serious and sincere look.
The very picture of innocence. Surely you all must be mistaken!
ReplyDeleteKristi:
DeleteHe sure has me doubting. I keep thinking I'm going to spot another black & white cat.
Adorable child.
ReplyDeleteAre those bouganvilleas?
saludos,
raulito
Raulito:
DeleteYep, those are two of the bougainvilleas we brought with us from Sevilla. We had cut them down to stems for the move. They're now planted all around the terrace.
As I was reading 'Maria Carmen', I saw it as 'Carmen Miranda'....that started me laughing of course.
ReplyDeleteYour cats are adorable, has anyone told you that yet? snicker
Your barricade should be working, but you know cats they are agile, limber and love to play with fate at that height.
I think they need more attention.
Ron:
DeleteFunny you should think of Carmen Miranda. I had thought of using a video of her for one of my "fruity' posts.
It's off to the hardware store tomorrow to buy some mesh and who-knows-what-else!
Ayla is adorable! Thanks for posting the non-pacifier photo of her!
ReplyDeleteCarole:
DeleteI wish Ayla (and parents and grandmother) lived closer. They're all pretty adorable.
Heh heh :)
ReplyDeleteHey, I saw the movie That Darn Cat on Christmas day in 1965 at Radio City Music Hall, with the Rockettes performing and everything! We schlepped all the way in from New Jersey, and waited online in cold,rainy, slushy weather, but it was fun! No Moose or Dudo antics, unfortunately, but Haley Mills was pretty cute :)
Judeet:
DeleteHoly "camoley"! Maybe we sat next to each other at Radio City!
It's the way of cats. They make their little plans while lulling you into a false sense of confidence and then give you that "How could you even think such a thing?" look when they are busted.
ReplyDeleteHarper's...
DeleteExactly. I'm getting used to the look.
the explanation is simple: the cats are plotting something.
ReplyDeleteSpo:
DeleteNo doubt about it. Early on, when we were attempting to teach them to not go over the wall (which we thought we had successfully done), Dudo distracted in one direction while Moose ran behind me and hopped over. They're sneaky little buggers.
and they stop at nothing !
DeleteNow I'll be worried about Musy falling. I know it's unlikely but how many floors high are you? The way cats can totally disappear and suddenly reappear, it would make me nervous.
ReplyDeleteMs. Sparrow:
DeleteWhere they make their escape to next door has a very large semi-circle outcropping. Even I could sit up there. Maybe I should fill it with water?
LOL! Look at those eyes! Guilty as charged your honour!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I am certain Moose will deny it till the cows come home!
Oh yes, Ayla looks much better this way!!
Jim:
DeleteAyla is adorable without the pacifier, which is what made the pacifier even funnier.
As for Moose, he keeps telling me it was some strange cat he had never seen before. A likely story.
One of the reasons that I don't particularly like cats is because I am well aware that they are smarter than all of us.
ReplyDeleteMaria:
DeleteWell, they sure trained me very quickly. And I thought I was the clever one.
Naughty boy!!!!
ReplyDelete"Who me???" I found out they went went over the wall TOGETHER later that same day (before I had even heard about the first time). You should see what I've constructed now!
DeleteMusy is some beautiful cat,
ReplyDeleteHope all is great with you. Hope you had a wonderful trip to NY..Was it HOT?
yvonne
Yvonne:
DeleteWe were in NY way back in April. Not hot. Musy knows he's good looking!
It is a classic expression on Moose's little face.
ReplyDeleteGiven how agile cats are, isn't going to be impossible to create a barrier capable of stopping such exploring?
I love your bougainvillea. I miss growing it so I now have two small ones in my greenhouse and they're flowering amazingly!
The new official flower of Scotland?
Craig:
DeleteIt might be impossible, but somehow San Geraldo and continue to believe. You should see what I've done to that corner now (I'll share a picture soon). Just about everything we grew in Southern California grows here. Bougainvillea ... like weeds!
And you know, whenever I see bougainvillea I think of Scotland.
I have learned this: "barrier" is Cat for "challenge - level 1."
ReplyDeleteWalt the Fourth:
DeleteI've built it stronger. They're in the other room laughing.