Fods, I just had a scare, speaking of scary. I nipped home for a bit to check on the Little Ghost and bring him more steak and he was Not There!!!!

There are a limited amount of hiding places in his room, and the grate was still on the duct work (Still NAILED in place, something we did after a Jungle Love pried it off, clawless, and went down into it) and the door was shut and locked from the outside. I checked all of the possible hiding places. And checked again.

No Leopard. No Ghost.

Only my reasoning that he HAD to be there kept me sane. I even picked up the red ottoman and looked under it, still draped in it’s blanket for added security for anyone hiding under it (Dan or the Little Ghost)

No Ghost.

Windows, shut and locked. Check.

Just as I was about to declare myself crazy or him an Ghost for real that had turned into mist and gone thru the wall. I noticed the odd bump UNDER the blanket on the ottoman. No way.

Yup. There he was, I peeked at him and told him he had scared me and he growled at me.

Left a bit of steak for him, for some under the blanket dinning pleasure, and backed away slowly, thinking about what might have happened when I picked up the ottoman with a scared Leopard on it…..

I went back to take a picture, thinking the flash would not bother him, him being under the blanket, but he had already decided that it maybee wasn’t the best possible place and retreated back UNDER the thing.

Adventures in Leopard Land. There you have it.

Love and Life with a Leopard,
Lorraine

I was up way too early this morning and am getting pretty tired here on this Saturday night, so here is a song for you to wake up to Sunday morning, or enjoy late tonight…It’s almost completely the White Stripes, with only a few words changed, but it seemed to me today to perfectly describe my Leopard, as yet un-named…..If you haven’t heard the original, go you and find it, for it is a mighty fine tune. The chorus is un-changed and only a few words of the verses.

Love and Music,
Lorraine

“Little Ghost”

Little ghost, little ghost
One I’m scared of the most
Can you scare me up a little bit of love?
I’m the only one that sees you,
And I can’t do much to please you
And it’s not yet time to meet the lord above

The first moment that I met him
I did not expect a specter
My hands were shaking tho I surely did wear gloves
He looked into me not sweetly
And I left the room discreetly
No one else could know the secret of our love

Little ghost, little ghost
One I’m scared of the most
Can you scare me up a little bit of love?
I’m the only one that sees you,
And I can’t do much to please you
And it’s not yet time to meet the lord above

Every morning I when I wake
And I see my little ghost
Wond’rin’ if it’s really him that’s hiding there
I don’t touch him and I whisper
But not brave enough to kiss him
I don’t hold him, I would rather hold the air

Little ghost, little ghost
One I’m scared of the most
Can you scare me up a little bit of love?
I’m the only one that sees you,
And I can’t do much to please you
And it’s not yet time to meet the lord above

Though I try my best to keep it
There really was no secret
Must have looked like I was talking to the wall
No one else could see this apparition
But because of my condition
I fell in love with a little ghost and that was all

Little ghost, little ghost
One I’m scared of the most
Can you scare me up a little bit of love?
I’m the only one that sees you,
And I can’t do much to please you
And it’s not yet time to meet the lord above
No, it’s not yet time to meet the lord above

Here’s our Guy in his hiding place of the moment. Obviously, it’s not a close up, took it across the room, and thought I had the flash off, but didn’t and couldn’t figure out how to turn it off, so I only took the one, didn’t want to scare him.

Great news tho, he came out today and changed hiding places and on the way, ate some dry food. I put the steak in his room, and put one piece near him and when I went back it was gone! AND he blinked at me! Just the once, but he did. A very good sign.

I am going to read to him later (Jungle Book, of course) but no more photos for a while. Unless I figure out how to turn off the flash. Hmmph. Venus and Mim and Kali think they need some screen time too and WHAT is all the fuss about the new smell in the foster room (Now the Cuddly Mr Bagheera’s)

I love this one of Venus, looks like it ought to have a caption….Like “I did HOW much catnip???Whoa! It’s all good, Mon”

And Kali says she is not as fierce as a Bengal but WAY cuter…..

Mim is just being lovely. All her action shots didn’t work, mostly they were Butt shots, so there you have it.

And finally for Nathilie, who demanded another shot of Cabal Smiling now that he is well, eating and has the Boss around, here you go…(For my new Bengal Friends reading this, Dog does not come to my house, he lives at work)

And there you have it. Quite a Blog when all I really had to say was “HEY! My new Leopard-cat changed hiding places and ate on the way!”

Baby steps, very small baby steps…

Love and Hiding,
Lorraine

I am home again from the second day of long drives. The Kitties who left on the first drive are, by all accounts settleing in nicely, and the Kitty (I use that word loosely) who came home on the second drive is, well, very scared.

Bageerah, (I have been advised against called him something ending with ssss or zzzz sound, sounds like a hiss. Bageerah had a gentler sound, and means , “Leopard”) IS most definately an F1. You learn that in .5 seconds after you reach into his cage, something the temp foster was very nervous to do, so I offered.

I told her, I get it now. He didn’t atack, just let me KNOW how unhappy he was. I told him what I was doing, and got his towel, and put it in the carrier with the door nearby, and open, and he looked at me and went in. This Kitty has a MIND.

My girl Foster cried half the way to their new home yesterday. They cried because they trusted me, and cried because they wanted someone, knew someone would come and fix it for them.

Bageerah was silent. Deadly silent. Like a wild creature whose life depends on it, because he knows he can trust noone and any sound is either prey or an enemy.

He is in his room now, in the dark. I left his carrier in a safe place with the door open, and he has lots of places to hide, three large litter boxes, including his old one with used litter, and a bit of that litter in the new boxes.

And some dry food and water. He had been eating, a bit, some chicken at his temp home, raw, but when we went in, he hadn’t eaten the food left that morning, or the piece from the night before. So I am boiling a little chicken and will take him a bit when it is cooled.

It seemed wrong to bother him more taking pictures. I sat away from the carrier and talked to him for a bit, and when I went to go, he turned and looked at me.

He is amazingly beautiful. And as unlike a cat, or even a Bengal as anything could be. This is no Foster. If I can bond with him, I will never be able to send him away, it would be too cruel, and if I can’t, he certainly can’t go anywhere else. I’m his chance.

Bageerah may or may not be his name, but it has a nice sound, and we have been going on so about Kipling these days I thought it worked for the moment.

The Cat Who Walks Alone fits, but is hard to say gently….

Wish me luck, I’ll keep you posted.

Love and Wild,

Lorraine

Oddly enough, this is the ONLY picture of Miss Kitty that I can find on my computer here. Actually, that isn’t true, there were two others, but I believe they were from her Birthday LAST year, and not at the start of the party, if you get my drift, so we will not be posting them.

But yes, Today, or Tomorrow, depending on when you read this, is her Birthday, and so, Miss Kitty, Many Happy Returns of the Day! I got you something, uh, really cool, and you can have it, uh, soon. Or later. Hope Tina Turner rocks and you and the Drew-man get done early enough to have some fun!

I am back from dropping off my first two Foster Bengals, Jungle Loves 1&2 aka Ginger and Sabrina. I was a little melancholy driving up, and kind of missing them already. Bengals STEAL your heart, they work their way in, and snuggle down deep, their love, when they love you, is no light thing.

But when I met new Mom Kathy, I got so happy! She gave me the biggest hug and kept saying THANK YOU, over and over. She is so very excited about having them and told me in great detail everything she had done, and promises to keep us updated on them.

I think they are ok with it too, and know they have found their person. I like that. These kitties were on their way out, and no one wanted them, until the Bengal Rescue found them, and they came to me. It feels really good to have saved them. They are going to be really happy now, which wouldn’t have happened unless Someone had done Something, just because Someone needed to do Something.

I know most of you, heck, all of you, have done the same thing, whenever possible, and I think the world of you for it. Every cat taken in, from a shelter, rescue group, the back yard, every dog, every animal , every foster that finds a home counts. If it makes a difference to ONE, it counts.

And that is Something.

Soon I am getting my new Foster. (and yes, I know the betting is high this is not going to be a Foster) Hopefully in the next few days, he is pretty stressed right now, and not at all happy. Poor guy. I am learning SO much about F1 Bengals. (and I suspect even with all I have learned, I am up to Page One, Index) Thanks for the intros last night, Adri, to your friends with F1’s, very helpful they were.

One of Adri’s friends told me “be PREPARED to fall in LOVE. When these Cats BOND, they BOND”

I don’t know much about it yet. I know I am going to learn a lot from him. I know I won’t be the same. I know if it is possible to get him to the point where he has a good life, with love, that I will do it.

And that is Something, too.

For tomorrow, I am promising myself, I am going to learn some FRENCH, my poor neglected language! If Martha and Nathilie were not saints….

Love and Chats,
Lorraine

We can keep talking about whatever it is we are currently talking about, but I got some pics of the Cuddly Tas and thought I would share them. I’ll have to meet him to know his name, but Tas seems good. As in Tasmanian Devil (Love those guys, no idea why) or Cuddles, which I also like.

His current name is, sadly, Leo. And he is currently hiding somewhere is his temporary foster home, having escaped, somehow, from his cage. Poor scared Kitty….

I saw the release forms on him. His first owner was apparently, abusive, and not at all a good home. His second (or third, it’s not clear) is convinced he is an ALC, not an F1. I don’t think he is, you need serious permits and such to own one of those, including two years of zoo experience. They aren’t running around, and he is definitely Bengal. And definitely early generation.

And definately not happy. Poor guy.

I am waiting to hear from the women who is adopting my Girls. Now her girls, she loved the post, by the way, made her SO happy! I am hoping we can move the pickup date ahead so I can get this guy.

Early generation Male Bengals are sterile. So they need homes, and they are lovely, but having experienced F4 Bengals, I can say the general cat lover is not up to handling an F1. You must adapt your home and life to them, they aren’t going to change for you. You can’t change them and have to be so in tune with them and what they are feeling, and needing.

Venus is still freaky, Hans was over today and Doing Things in the Romance Room and Foster Room. She hid while he was here, but is now prowling and pacing all aroud the Romance Room, as there are a couple new things in it, and sounds of the fosters walking on the plastic. She Does Not Like It. And the fosters are leaping from throw rug to throw rug in an attempt to avoid the plastic and are hanging on the top of the cat tree. These cats like things as they are, and do not like change.

This will be an adventure, like no other. I am certain of it.

Love and Wildcats,
Lorraine

Well, this has certainly been a day of surprises! Some good, some bad, and some, quite frankly a little un-nerving.

Let’s get the bad out of the way first. We lost a hive. Not the angry Kitty hive, we did some work there and that was as much fun as it ever it is, haven’t moved it yet, looking at next month. The problem was at the other hives. When I took the Magnetic Fields down to the hives on Saturday, there was clearly something wrong with the Mimko hive.

The bees were few, lots of drones and no one was doing anything very much. I didn’t go into the hive, but called Sharon and said Something was not right. When we went today, we found the honey had all been robbed by other bees, and the hive was mostly weird looking drones, which is what happens when workers lay eggs. The Queen was long gone. Just empty crumbling comb.

We don’t know what happened, perhaps the Queen was not strong, that hive had never done very much and we got no honey from it at all. Perhaps the stronger hive killed her and robbed the honey. Perhaps she died and for whatever reason the worker didn’t make new Queen cells. But the hive is dead.

Ok, well, now that you are all cheerful….

The dressage meet was very fun. It was weird, a lot of the women were, well, I can only say “Snooty” There is a saying that goes something like “Take your work seriously and yourself not at all. The first is essential, and the second disastrous.” Too true. They made me want to laugh, kind of, like HELLO? This is meant to be FUN! Are you being too Cool for me? Spare me your coolness…..

Then there were the rest of the women. Ah. My tribe. Loved ‘em. They can’t wait for me to start riding again, and come and hang out with them, and HAVE SOME FUN with horses. One women in particular, the best rider of the lot, was amazing, besides being magic on horseback, she was wonderful fun. These would be my friend Melissas’s friends.

(just found out tonight that Melissa is a lurker here! HA! Melissa…come out and de-lurk…..)

Melissa trains and teaches riding for her art. I am starting back tomorrow night. It seems there is a sport, or form of riding, called “Bareback and Bitless” which is pretty much what you think it is. THAT is the sport for me. Melissa says I have a year, and will perform this magic at next years event. Melissa has great faith in me.

And this just in. I have my next foster lined up. He came to a shelter across the state today, who wouldn’t touch him, and called the rescue group. Not sure if he can be helped or not, he has had three homes in his short life, and all gave up on him, poor Kitty. He has some peeing issues, among other things, but there is a Cat Behaviour Women in California who has had some success in these sorts of things who will help me. And a breeder who may help as well.

I am not sure I exactly want this, but I am just as sure I want to try. Because Someone needs to do Something, or he will end up in a sanctuary for un-wanted rescues, and never have a chance at life and love. He is scared and lonely right now, and doesn’t trust anyone, or have any reason to. Can I help? I don’t know. Can I try? Yes.

He is, of course, an F1.

Gotta love it.

Life and Death and Love,
Lorraine

This picture has nothing to do with my post this afternoon, but I wanted a picture, and it was handy. And it’s nice. Venus is at her best when looking sleek and spooky in low lighting.

This weekend is shaping up to be quite something, it never rains but it pours, it seems.Tonight is the Magnetic Fields concert, which, sadly, I do not get to go to, as I am doing my own concert in Stillwater, someone should go and tell us how it went. I do get to see them post show, tho, which will be some late night fun.

Tomorrow is all about Cabal, for the first half of the day, starting at 11:00am he is going to be the Other Dog in a Canine Good Citizen Test, and then taking part in an Agility Class Demo, where he and the other Rock Star Dogs show the world how great they are, followed by a Dog Park Fundraiser at a local Culvers, where they will perform again. And of course, another gig for me that night.

Sunday I am going to something called “Dine and Dressage” which involves food and horses, never a bad combo, and that evening the Birdchick is coming out and we are going to Move The Kitty Hive. If your next question is HOW the heck do you do THAT???? I do not know, but the Birdchick sent me THIS….

Ought to Bee a fun evening. I know you have to do this at night so you don’t have workers coming home and buzzing things like “HEY??? Where the hell is the Hive???? It was here, I know it was here! Where is my Queen, oh my Queen!!!” It is to be hoped that at night they are all home and snug and sleepy.

Of course, when they wake up the next morning they are going to buzz things like “HEY! Where the hell ARE we? This is our hive, we went in last night, and now it’s MOVED! I don’t think we are in Kansas anymore! Queen, oh Queen!”

I am looking forward to all of it. (Except missing the Magnetic Fields, rats.)

And oh, how could I forget? It seems there was some late night talking going on last night n the comments, and we decided we should all make Shrunken Head Cider, and take Pictures of it and have a Shrunken Head Festival at the end of the month. What think you? I have always wanted to be a Head Shrinker…

(How to make Srunken Heads: You make shrunken apple heads then float them in warm apple cider. Half the apple, use a melon-baller to take the core out, peel the apple, use a melon-baller to make eye sockets, use a knife for nose slits and mouth, then bake in oven for two hours at 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Serve apple cider in mug with shrunken head. Have all the shrunken heads floating in the pot of warm apple cider.)

Love and Skulls,
Lorraine

In about a week and a half Jungle Loves 1&2 are going off to their new home, with New Mother Kathy! After a series of e-mails and an hour on the phone, we realized that she was most definitely the person the Jungle Loves (and I) have been waiting for.

So I thought today, we would give New Mother Kathy a preview of her girls, as all she has are a couple of pictures I took (hee-hee, we know what they are like) and give you lot one last peek of them. Fortunately, we have Kitty doing video and pictures today.

Ok, so it’s not the feature length film we have all been waiting for, but hey give us some time here!

Meanwhile, more cuteness! Jungle Love 1 and all her spots…

And here is a closeup of her most beautiful spots…

I love the ending to this one, up close and personal!

I’ve loved watching them, my first ever Bengal Fosters, grow from being scared, lonely, very frightened of people, hide under the chair kitties, to two really friendly (if somewhat skittish yet) curious and loving and very playful (the feather stick is your friend!) kitties in the couple months I have had them.

They are ready for a home and love, and people, and I think they are about to find it. Good luck Kathy, and keep us posted, we will miss them but couldn’t be happier!

Love and Fosters,
Lorraine

I have to tell you how bad it sucks to have your bandmate so far away. I can’t tell you how many times I see gigs that Lorraine and I could play and think, “If only we lived in the same town, we could do this club and that club…” There are so many clubs here, but our “band” is scattered and everyone is working on their own albums, etc., it’s hard to get them all here, or me to Minneapolis.

(Here we are with the girls at ConVergence)

(I made that dress for her without measuring and it fit perfectly)

I remember how I would plan a show and Lorraine would say,

This concept was foreign to me, being in the Hollywood scene.

Here’s Lojo, Dev and I at the recording studio. A director friend of Miles’ listens to Lojo’s “I’ll tell me ma” so much he wrote a short story about it. We really did a great job for our first album. Then we did the Hidden Variable Album after that. Sometimes it takes a while of stepping back from,