Ivy’s Funny Ways
Ivy has been at the French doors, still as a statue, watching a leaf blow in the wind.
Occasionally it will be in one spot for a time, but still she keeps her eye on it to be ready when it blows again.
She’s so funny.
I was eating my oatmeal at the table when she ran to the French doors. Then she quickly backed herself into her tower as if a bit frightened.
A leaf, folks. Ivy is obsessed with the movements of a leaf. Maybe this is because she’s an indoor cat.
A month or so ago I ordered Ivy one of those flopping fish toys for cats.
She’s afraid of it. Instead of jumping on it, which is what you see the cat in the video do when they advertised it, she backs up and just stares at it.
So it just sits in her toy box.
Charlie never played with toys. But Ivy does enjoy certain ones. She has never tired of those little swirly toys. From day one she preferred those cheap little plastic toys, and she still does.
Now she wants me to throw it so she can fetch it and bring it back for me to throw again.
I’m a captive audience in the bathroom, which is where she typically brings it to me to throw.
I’ve never seen a cat curl upon herself like Ivy does when sleeping. She continues to turn inward until she is a ball of fur.
I suppose she feels safe that way.
Charlie will be going to acupuncture tomorrow morning. We were snowed in for two weeks. But we’ll get back on schedule.
Finally it looks like all the snow around me has melted. But it took two days of 60-70 degree weather to finally melt all those piles of snow.
I truly don’t know how you people in really cold regions handle piles of snow for weeks on end.
First there is the worry of slipping on the ice. Then whether the power will go out.
I take my hat off to all you folks living up north. You’re made of tougher stuff than I am.
I live in Wisconsin and I love winter. It gives me an excuse to stay home by myself which is what I like. And no one spontaneously visits you when it’s 20 below zero.
Brenda,
you are funny…” Miz Ivy Lou” and being a captive audience!!! Chuckling and smiling, thanks for that!
You would be amazed how well you can adapt to anything weather included. I’ll bet next year you will have something like a snow shovel and salt/cat sand at the ready! You are smart and thoughtful that way.
I know you are itching for spring as we all are. Have a wonderful warm day and glad you and “Charlie” can get back to normal routines.
Oops meant to say I ‘couldn’t’ live in colder temps now.
I’ve lived in colder temps but I think I could do it now. LOL Definitely a wuss.
I love that you’re Ivy’s captive audience when you’re in the bathroom. I laughed, snickered and giggled when I read that, Brenda!
The weather where I live sounds much like what Paulette wrote about. Big piles of snow this year, we got about 10 inches more than our “usual” this year. But the 2 weeks of far below normal Polar Vortex temperatures gave way this week to temperatures well above freezing, I believe it hit 40 yesterday and above freezing (even at night) temperatures will remain for the rest of the week, gradually going back down to the high 20s/low 30s, which is about normal for this time of year. In my neighborhood people are very diligent about getting the snow off the sidewalks and out of their driveways and approaches. The worst to deal with is after the plows come through and you have to shovel out your approach all over again. Most people here have snow blowers. The thought of operating such a machine scares me, so I still shovel the old-fashioned way, but when the snow is really heavy and wet or deep one or more neighbors will come over and snowblow my sidewalk. I don’t mind shoveling, during the winter it’s the only exercise I get, and with the pandemic still going I cut way back on my 2 or 3 walks a week to the supermarket. The thought of falling on an icy walk and breaking a hip is a fear I live with during the winter. Sometimes I just end up walking in the road, because there are always some folks who don’t shovel out their walks, or water accumulates and freezes. It can be challenging when on foot, for sure, but so far, so good. If it’s really bad out, like we’ve had an ice storm (fortunately, rare here), I will order in online – such a luxury and glad to have it available! Power has gone out on occasion, but very rarely and generally only for short periods of time where I live. There was only one sustained period of no power when severe hot weather overloaded parts of the local power grid (since upgraded) back in the 1970s and my parents’ home was without power for about 3 days, we were scrambling around to find dry ice for their freezer, to keep the food from spoiling. Fortunately, we found dry ice without too much trouble as enterprising gas stations imported truckloads of it from Chicago. On the rare occasions when the power has otherwise gone out, it’s usually for not more than a few hours at most.
I’ve seen the floppy fish video, and thought it looked like so much fun for a cat. I wonder if Ivy will get curious about it yet? I know if I still had a cat (I’ve been looking for another) I’d buy that fish too. Maybe if you sprinkle catnip on it, Ivy would sniff it out. Hugs from WI, it’s 36 degrees here today. A regular heat wave…love it.
we had a cat many years ago that would chase and fetch little balls made from aluminum foil. She loved that game and we played it every day.
As others have said, we adapt here in the north. We have the infrastructure in place so we know if it snows or we have ice, the plows and salters will be out clearing the roads. Rarely does the power go out in winter here. People have to shovel their walks and driveways and generally do a good job of keeping things clear enough. That said, the older I get, the less I walk when it could be slippery. Yesterday we had highs near 40, after a couple weeks of subzero temps, and I ventured out for a walk. Though the snow was piled high to the sides of the sidewalks, the pavement itself was clear and dry. The sun felt so good. More of the same is on tap for today. Feels like spring is around the corner!
Bring a leaf in for her to examine and play with. I do this every so often for my cats. It’s fun to watch.
We just finished with several weeks of sub zero temps here in central MN. At the end of the cold snap I was walking to my mailbox without a jacket, and into stores I had to visit with the zipper on my jacket down. Last week Friday I had a good chuckle. I was at our local clinic for a shingles vaccination and I heard at least 6 people comment on what a nice day it was. Everyone was so cheery and upbeat. It was 12° outside. Long story short, we acclimate while we long for spring.
Like Maria said, we adapt up north! I grew up in RI so it was just a part of life when the snow started to fly . Out came the winter gear and snow shovels. If a large storm was predicted we went to the grocery store for milk and bread! When I moved to the mountains of WV it got much more intense, you had to have a generator and a snow plow and you went to the grocery store to buy weeks worth of food because you never now how long you will be snowed in!
I bought a floppy fish for my cat too and she doesn’t care for it. She isn’t afraid of it, she just isn’t interested.
We adapt up north. Salt on the sidewalks, shovels, snowblowers, snow plows, walking winter trails, snowmobiling, sledding and skiing. Good boots and mitts. Starting kids skating at the age of 4, skiing for everyone and loving the crisp cold air. We embrace winter. There is fun in snowball fights and making snowmen. Then again, we embrace spring.
I read a comment made from Denmark. It
was there’s no such thing as bad weather, there are only bad clothes.
Made me chuckle because its true. I moved from the south to MI when my kids were little, and I soon learned!😊