Apple Tree and Me

Mrrrr Friends,

If you are like me, you appreciate the four seasons of the human year. Autumn is my favorite in many ways...because of the crunchy leaves for chasing and the crisp air that is so invigorating for a furry guy like me.

I took advantage of this very crisp day - we had a frost last night - to go out and check on my pal the apple tree.

You can see her here barely, Oom just wrapped her trunk cause it has a scar from being hit by a boulder. She's about 18 human feet tall I think and has two little trees attached to her roots but growing independent-like (the two scrawny trunks to the left). She used to live down along the brook close to here:

See all those pebbly rocks? My brook used to flow right there and she was right on the old bank. (All the grasses are still flattened from the big water. If I had been in this spot during the flood, I'd have been 2 feet underwater and moving fast downstream.)

That cranky old Irene broad brought the big rain, and the brook turned into a raging river. It took the apple tree away early in the day, and we thought we'd lost her beautiful spring flowers and fun to chase little red apples forever. But Oom found her downstream the day after. She was laying down with one long root still clinging to the bank with her branches hanging on to the two little trees.

Oom was pretty stressed out and sad that day, and she got the crazy notion they should try to save her. So with Boo they pulled her out of the brook, gently wrapped her roots, hauled her up to a new, safe spot, dug a huge hole and covered up all her roots real careful like.

We think that if she makes it, so will our town. Upper Jay, Keene, Ausable Forks and lots of nice people with there roots deep in these places got hammered just like my apple tree pal. I hope they are all okay. If you want to help them you can go here. Tell them Diesel sent you.

Autumn

Mrrrr Friends,

Autumn is here. I love autumn.

Crunchy leaves:

Fresh wood piles:

Clearing runways for tree-scaling:

Fewer bugs down by my brook:

And, pumpkin pie:

And in just a month or two...snow, glorious snow!

Mothballs

Mrrrr Friends,

Mothballs stink and you should keep them away from critters....especially moths.

But I feel like I've been in them since August.

I was having my mid-life crisis, and there was the whole ordeal with the deer fly. I felt like my life was spinning out of control...the only constants were Oom and Boo's love, Alex's stripeyness, and my kibble consumption.

Then there was the big bad water on 28 August. That was just awful for lots of critters and folks. Ava the cat is missing still, the pony got washed away, and I just can't imagine how many other good critters got the tough end. But there was the barn cat in Keene that hung on for dear life, my pal Black is okay in the hardware, and Mike the Cow and his pals are okay too. The water was super high and fast and ate up some people houses and my other neighbor people's barn. Now, some of the people seem mad at the river. Puts it all in perspective for a furry guy.

And then last week, I got this nice letter:

Diesel,


I was a former Wisconsinite who moved to Oklahoma City in 2009. My family grew back in 2004 when we adopted Oy from Sauk County Humane Society, which is how I happened upon your blog. My family grew yet again in 2006 when yet another kitty joined our pack, this one hailing from Westby and going by the moniker Mog.


I had my old PC buried in storage until tonight and going through my old bookmarks, I realized I had forgotten to check your blog as diligently as I had. It was a pleasure to get caught up.


In honor of a belated Diesel Day, I must say that shelter animals are of the most in need of a home and it is up to all animal lovers to spread the word of how in need these animals are.


In honor of you and animals everywhere, happy belated Diesel Day and many, many more :)


C.J., Oy and Mog


That was nice. Thanks Oy, thanks Mog...extra big love for C.J. from me.

And my brook is still fine...swollen from a few days of rain and they kind of messed it up down where it meets the beleaguered river, but up here...there is hope.

Stay out of the mothballs...there's too much to do.

Diesel River?!

Mrrrr Friends,

You remember my nice little brook?

What a difference some melting snow and thunder rain can make!

Somewhere under all that water is my rock. I'm sitting on it here in the middle of the brook in this file photo. Right now, it is a big wave. I wonder if this is how brook boulders have fun?

Fisher Cat!!!

MrrrRrrr Friends,


Yesterday I saw a fisher cat! I'm not kidding, Martens pennanti, not 3 feet away from me and Oom.


Here's what I'm talking about:

There we were, on the wild side of our property which, upgrade, is an alder swamp, and, closer to my brook, becomes a marshy shrubby area where we planted lots of red osier dogwood this spring. I was on the scent of something interesting in a brushy bunch of crunchy dead grass, and Oom was two paces behind me, standing and doing whatever it is humans do when they stare into space.


All of the sudden, this incredible distant relative of mine, came loping out of the alder swamp, passed right by me on his way to my brook. He didn't stop to look at me, or Oom who I could tell was trying to decide when to pick me up, but he knew we were there. He just wasn't gonna fuss about it. He had stuff to do and knew we were friendlies.


As soon as he passed us, Oom scooped me up and I scrambled to her shoulders, though she held on to my tail. We were both a little surprised, wondering if we should be a little scared, but mostly we just wanted to watch the big guy more. And he was BIG. I'd say 2 cat bodies ears to butthole, Oom says that's about 2 1/2 to 3 feet. Plus the awesome tail...gorgeous, glossy, fluffy thing. I was a bit jealous.

The big furry dude made two aborted crossings of the brook. Right before this, Oom was thinking, surely this isn't a fisher, maybe it's a mink? But after we saw him shy away from the shallow but fast water (confirmed after checking the animal picture books later in the house), we were both on the same page: fisher!


After the two aborted crossings, he doubled back right in front of us and pawsed, giving us a casual look while no more than 5 feet away. Then he was on his way, loping along our side of the brook into the neighbor's territory. We lost sight of him, but he must of found a dry crossing, and we glimpsed him on his way up into the forest headed toward the Sentinels.


It has made me reassess my use of my territory. It is a shared space. This morning, before heading into the field, I scoped the wild area from the hillock just behind the house.

And, now, I look over my shoulder a bit more. 

But mostly, I'm excited that animals like bobcats, turkeys, foxes, broadwinged hawks, and fishers like our little world as much as we do. And I'm glad I'm a cat with a home who gets to go Out but always with at least one of my people.

Diesel Day Eve!

Mrrrrr Friends,

I hope you all had productive weekends and enjoyed all your plans and preparations for celebrating May 26, Diesel Day.

I did some serious prowling in my kingdom. Here I am confirming that sedges have edges - don't eat this stuff unless you have some serious digestive blockage that needs a quick turnaround.

Oom put on her funny furry-bottom boots and prowled around in my brook clearing out some excess wood without harming the cool fish hiding spots and bug places...she did scare the heck out of a little crayfish guy hanging out in the water. She said she was encouraging natural water flow to minimize stagnant pools and lessen black fly breeding, but I think it was just an excuse for playing in the water and looking for Diesel Brook trout. I hung out in the cool grasses listening to screaming and swearing crayfish. A big old Pileated Woodpecker flew right over us as he coursed downed the brook path with a big old twig in his beak and we met a very nice frog...I think it was a chorus frog...

I also looked for an appropriate natural Diesel Day gift for my cat pal Alex. I'm hoping to send some Stinkies to my pals at the shelter, but I need to get hold of the blue plastic card with all the numbers on it to make that happen. Alex likes a well thought out, organic gift. These bracken ferns are quite appealing. Hmmm....

What are your plans for Diesel Day? Wednesday is coming soon! 

High Spring Roundup! Part 2: Man-stuff

Mrrrrr Friends,

I was right, yesterday  Oom started using that outdoor cat-eater again. There is one upside...all those little pieces of grass on the lawn sure can be fun to chase.

Yep, I was playing hard core in the grass cuttings this morning. Fluttering grass blades can really get a guy going. So much so, that when Oom said she had to go back in to earn kibble for us cats, I inadvertently - I swear - nailed her when she picked me up.

I try to self trim with frequent tree-scaling and log clawing, but those pesky side nails, they do get long and sharp. A man-cat can need his claws, but I get no pleasure from drawing blood from Oom and Boo.

So a certain amount of cat-manhandling then ensued. Boo thought he should give me a catmanicure. No photography was allowed during this personal grooming event. Don't get me wrong, I'm good with the nail trimming but...a dude needs a bit of privacy!

I promised a review of the big spring events, and here's one: the great spring snowmelt and the resulting rushing brook-flow. We had a nice woman over from the Ausable River Association (that's the big river that my brook runs into just aways down from our place) and she noted that if the little dam on my brook was removed, that my brook might become bigger all year round!

I still think I should do some brook trout breeding and stocking...

High Spring Roundup! Part 1

Mrrrr Friends,

It's the peak of spring! Very exciting for a young cat out exploring his changing world. Here you see the daffodils Boo planted at the base of my Linden scaling tree. We also have heirloom tulips coming up around the big pine...deep red and daffodil yellow.

The grass is growing like crazy which means Oom will be unleashing the outdoor cat-eater machine. As opposed to the indoor cat-eater - which tries to suck a cat up and put him into a tiny box - the outdoor cat-eater is serious, it wants to chop up cats and anything else that gets in its way. It's noisy and stinky. I don't know what they are thinking letting it out and about.

I found a HUGE garter snake yesterday...he was way longer than me. He startled me and I really startled him. I'd never seen a snake I guess. Frogs are one thing...they are fun to watch and at most I will only consider smelling them; they just don't inspire licking. Snakes though, are very exciting...it was very hard not to chase his undulating S's but Oom made it clear I should not.

My newest project is Diesel Spring. About three litter-box changes ago, I was walking along in the long low area between the tame yard and the wild yard, and my paw sank through the earth and into a big wet pool. I immediately explored and yelled for Oom. We found that there's an underground world of water streaming toward my brook...we kinda knew it was there but didn't know it was so big!

So where my paw sank through? That's now a burbling above ground pool - so we're making it nice for cats and birds, putting in a few pebbles, and Boo is going to get me a couple native iris to plant. Oom says we should test the water before cats drink it, but I've been grabbing several licks every day on the sly.

Morning Rituals

Mrrrr Friends,

It's been a tumultuous week on the weather front. Last Sunday, we were in the midst of January Thaw. It was 50 human degrees outside with blustery southerly winds. The Blue Jays were totally doing the pairing up and territorial thing, chippies were scurrying about chattering at each other, there was even a screaming Red-tailed in the sky. I felt like I had a fur coat on...a weird sensation for a nude dude.

But these hardened Adirondackers knew it was just a thaw. Thursday there was a blizzard and Friday night, during the brightest, biggest moon of the year (the Wolf Moon), the temperature dipped into the -25 area. Yesterday morning, I had to break my fledgling 4 degree rule...it was -8 during my morning stroll. But the sun was out and it was gorgeous, so my paws didn't even feel chilly.  Mind over paw?

Alex loves the sun, and spent some quality time out on the porch with our friend the Solstice tree who's providing second story protection for birds. Boo thought she might turn into an icicle but she was fine.

And my brook, while icy, continued to merrily burble along.

Nevertheless, outdoor frolic time is curtailed in these colder times, so a furry guy has to depend on his other morning rituals to help give his day meaning. While my nighttime antics are top-secret - perimeter duty, critter watch and other things that help the world spin on its axis - I always try to wind up sleeping innocently next to Oom. That way, her first big morning ritual is also mine - coffee with foam.

Every morning Oom makes her and Boo really thick coffee with fluffy foam. Now, coffee is not good for cats, but the foam sitting on top is very, very special, in moderation of course! The milk comes straight from the cows at the Essex Farm CSA to my lips. Foamy, warm and frothy, it is a special treat. Every morning I have 3 fingers of foam...uuuummm yum.

At this point of the morning, Oom is stroking the Aluminum Cat...I still don't know what she sees in it to keep her there all day. Me, I take this time to expand my horizons and learn about important subjects.

By mid-morning after warm foam, outdoors time, and intellectual activity, it's time for a little nourishment. Now all of you know how much I love kibble. It is rare for me to veer from the path of cat kibble, however I make exceptions for foam, a good French or Italian red, and yoghurt. Mmmrrrmmm, the same cows that give me the great milk also make yoghurt...they are a talented crew! Here, I am waiting for Oom to make the bananas and granola go away so I can get to the yoghurt.

At this point, there's really very little to do but sleep...until dinner time.

The Chill is Good

-4 Fahrenheit? No problems.

I know a lot of my cat pals are keeping their paws inside these days. That big freeze that hit in the Rockies meandered over this way this past week. Boo looks a bit intimidated, but I say: bring it on!

I'm still a little short on snow here, though. The nice lady who writes the Adirondack Naturalist blog has lots more than we do, even though she's a way south in the Big Park. Check this out under our arborvitae where I've been keeping my cleavers sharp:

But with the cold, having a snow free option isn't completely bad cause, I admit, the snow can get cold.

It's moments like this that I feel a pair of catluks would be a great addition...

But you're wondering about my brook aren't you? Well, we went down this morning when it was just single digits (it got up to a balmy 18F or so later).

And look at the cool stuff we found...water still flowing but some great ice. Check out my rock:

Cool formations...I was gonna walk out an lick them but Oom kind of freaked when the ice creaked under me.

It means a lot though to be able to go inside and warm up, get some chow, nap and read a good bird book.

Times like this, I think about wanderers, or cats at shelters who are looking for homes, or, worse, cats stuck outside who want to come in and can't find a haven. For goodness sake, this is a good time of year to help out your local shelter.

My local shelter is the North Country SPCA and I sent my people off to their fund-raiser last night to chip in some kibble. I'd have gone, but I didn't want to steal the limelight from noted human author, and furry man, Russell Banks. I mean he's furry, he's smart with words, and spins a good tale, but I don't think the womenfolk really want him to sit on their lap.

Cool and Quiet

Mrrrrr Friends,

It's been a lazy weekend and quite chilly - even for an adventurous, furry guy like me. Temperatures in the morning, when our people get up, are in the single digits. Nevertheless, I need to go outside.

Primarily, I need to pee, and a cat should always be able to go outside and do his business if he pleases. Normally, there are a lot of great places in the yard, but the snow and frozen ground make it tough on a fella.

Fortunately, Oom didn't have time to finish her latest stone laying project under the back porch, so there's a whole world of loose dirt behind the house. This is handy for dirt baths, and Alex loves a good roll in the dirt. And the area is just begging for holes to be dug and presents to be buried. For some reason, Oom isn't too thrilled about this development, but all the cats in the neighborhood know about it, and it's important to my social standing to make my mark and keep it prominent.

After doing my duty, I like to take a walk down to the brook. Sometimes, I get Oom to give me a lift and she takes me to my bench. It's got a nice view.

Look at the ice hats growing on the rocks...I guess this is how ice-over starts?

I don't think our little brook is going to freeze up entirely, but, as one of my readers has noted, ice-over might create a paw-bridge to the other side. Then the fun will begin...

A Bare Inch

Mrrrrr Friends,

It's true that my blog has pretty much come down to snow watch. Today there was about an inch.

I took a nice walk to my brook...

And had a  cool drink. Always good to expose the paws to new season snow...gets them ready for the big stuff.

It was a day of quiet adventure...the world seems a little bigger as it gets whiter with snow.

The obsessive weather people say more tomorrow:

Diesel's Brook

Mrrrr Friends,

Just sharing some brook time with you on a fine day.



It's chilly but not icy...quite a fine drink!

I pioneered climbing White Ash today...nifty little 8' foot ascent with a long run up through brush. Very exciting! Oom was very impressed.

Me and My Shadow

Do you think the fish look up from the water and see their shadows in the air?

Not today in this neck of the brook I guess.

The Hill and the Wall

Mrrrr Friends,

We don't have any more leaves. On the trees, that is. We have them on the ground! Nice and crunchy for the most part. Very fun to play in...

This means we can now see up the hill behind my brook.

Very tempting. Very tempting indeed. I've been all over the property on THIS side of the brook. Now I want to go to the other side! There is no clear scramble across for a cat. Even a game cat who doesn't mind getting his paws and underbelly moist.

I've tried to get across from my usual crossing to my rock midstream. No go...big water just on the other side, too fast and deep. I've tried another approach from the neighbors' yard: nice big tree trunk more than half way across, then a big pool. But there are so many trees to be scaled over on the other side.

I'm drawing up plans for a cat bridge.

Speaking of engineering feats...

Look what we've been doing for the past few days.

Oom and I have a natural proclivity for walling: building walls from stone without mortar. We've been inspired by the wonderful wall at Storm King by Andy Goldsworthy.

Okay, to be frank, I prefer standing and running on top of stone walls. The whole laying stones thing is more Oom's fascination. But I was very supportive of Oom throughout this wall building enterprise. I pushed boulders, criticized placements, and considered strapping on a harness to haul in some material.

Turns out that walling is a pretty boring process for a cat. There's a lot of standing and looking at stones, figuring out if they fit, trying to get them to not wiggle. The guys who do this all the time probably aren't as boring as Oom, but she's a beginner.

The end product was nice, though. The base of much of the wall has been there well over 100 years. We built on that. It contains our blackberry farm quite nicely. And I look good up there, don't you think?

Now I need to get her focused on my bridge.

Brook Alert!

Mrrrr Friends,

It has been rainy the past few days. I'm happy padding about in the wet grass especially in our back yard. Sometimes, it takes a little reminding for Oom to remember her top priority, outdoor explorations with the cat, right after the morning cuppa.

This morning it was grey and cloudy, but I was looking forward to catching up after a few days away from dedicated perambulating.

The Juncos are here and many a nattering Nuthatch.

Most of the leaves have fallen off the trees already. They are fun to chase when they are dry but also provide amusement when wet. Clumps come along that just seem life-like to the paw...so they must be neutralized - rumpled up and battered about a bit. It keeps humans in a good mood too when you've drug them out on a rainy and wet day.

So we strolled out to our bench. The brook has been loud since the long rains of the other day and I knew it would be worth checking out, but it was fun to see how high and how fast.

Here's the view from our bench...that's my usual mid-brook meditation rock on the left there and the path I usually hop along (from the tree trunk on the right) is, as you can see, inundated.
Nevertheless, undaunted, I went to to make sure. Nope no crossing here.

And look upstream...this is usually pretty tame.

Nevertheless, I puttered upstream along the bank and found a nice little tree root sticking out that allowed me a good perch for looking into the water and catching a few tasty licks.

Afterwards, I tried to talk to one of the little White-breasted Nuthatches scolding me from the fine pine tree. He wasn't having any of it and wouldn't even pose for a photo.

But we did think the lichen on the pine was quite lovely.
I still have not yet scaled the big pine...I did a run up today but instead chose to tackle one of the lindens overlooking my brook. (Be patient.)

We've included my aborted first set so you can see the careful head-bobbing motion that takes place from launch and all during the climb. Even when I chose to not climb at the last minute, I always continue this scanning motion as it is critical to measuring trunk girth in relationship to grip and velocity. In the end, that was a pretty low climb for my standards but, given it was a new tree - single trunk, no branches, I was pleased with the effort (though the cameraperson still faces a learning curve...perhaps a little advanced technology would help?)

Not bad for a rainy weekend.