Polly’s Follies – 10

Polly was just begging for a photo shoot today, though she would disagree. I just couldn’t help experimenting with a lamp once she sat in front of our back door window inside a cat food delivery box.

She is more interested in my
lamp than anything else...

Well, this is more of a Snoopy pose...

Oh, come on, Polly...
Now my box over-floweth...

My Sweet Tosie Posie at her finest...

Still not quite the glamour shot
I'd imagined in my head...
yet precious, I think.

Cat Daddies

A friend invited me and my husband to see this limited release documentary. I highly recommend it. -

The Buzz on Buzzards

Sorry about the title; I couldn’t resist. I also couldn’t resist expounding on the subject of these often maligned raptors.

Our neighborhood most often sees the social red headed turkey vulture. Their black headed kin are more solitary and aggressive. They will happily gather to take down a vulnerable living animal. ~shudder~ Meanwhile, I’ve joked to visitors that they should keep moving if they go outside.

These North American natives have always piqued my curiosity. I watched them circle and soar above farm country roads along the way to visit family in mid Ohio. The city of Hinkley, located roughly between Cleveland and my childhood hometown, hosts a ‘Buzzard Day’ every spring to celebrate the birds’ return. Though I never saw a single one on that particular date back then, my favorite Cleveland rock station had a buzzard mascot. Check out the rock n’ roll hair on this bird…

An Excellent, Nostalgic Read...

Fast forward to us moving here in 1994 and spotting huge flocks became normal. Sometimes they even overwinter; those birds might be migrants from further north while our summer residents head south. It’s impossible to know for sure. Either way, I believe the reason we see so many matches the old commercial business wisdom: location, location, location.

The Great Miami River is scant miles to our west and a major highway about the same distance eastward. Both rivers and freeways provide thermal updrafts for often effortless soaring over long distances. This makes them major migration routes while also providing plentiful water and, ahem, food for nature’s janitors.

And our home sits atop a large hill. Advantages include earlier access to the sun’s warming rays as well as a higher take-off point. Large flocks roost overnight in what are called wakes due to the fact their hunched appearance evokes Victorian people wearing traditional heavy mourning cloaks. The kettle reference is due to the way bubbles rise in a boiling pot of water.

Thankful as I am to view them, I am glad there are no big trees on our property. I understand that their droppings are both noxious and corrosive.

Do you suffer from invasive natural pests? Have you ever required a professional removal service?

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A Kettle of Buzzards

 

Painfully True but Funny

Sometimes we just have to laugh. People can be so clever. I especially like the hot dog’s party toothpick ‘tail’.

Meanwhile, we don’t treat the holiday different from any other day. It may seem sad but we don’t miss driving three hours one way to stuff ourselves at various relatives’ homes.

However, we got a turkey because Walmart is selling them whole for less than 1 dollar (US) per pound. Our freezer is so packed that the bird’s thawing in the refrigerator.

After cooking it will be broken down – some frozen in smaller portions. While we humans and our cats will enjoy feasting, the bones will make a good stock.

Never a big Walmart fan, can you understand why I’ll shop there in these times? Did you know there is a couple who film grocery store shopping for Youtube viewers?

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Win/Win/Win – & – A Lose/Lose

I’ve been intending to post this for over a week. But here’s the good news regarding my Chewy cat food order. They shipped a case of pure Arctic char after I opted for the combination box. I’m sure the duck entrée would have been eaten. This way, I’m certain nothing will go to waste. Jezebel and Polly both enjoy it and Arctic char is the one and only canned food Terra will eat.

Since Chewy provided such fast and excellent customer service, including a 10% off coupon good through November, I placed a whimsical order of Halloween goodies. Let’s face it, they’re really for me. Therefore I won, as did all involved businesses and their employees.

There's a lot more... :D

Alas, on Sunday the huge US retailer Walmart disappointed me. My husband and I shopped there on Saturday and I discovered their small potted flowering mums had been marked down to a single (US) dollar! I picked up two. Sunday morning I decided to return and try brokering a bargain. If the store would increase their discount for me I’d fill my vehicle up. We’d both win, I figured, as they could reduce the stock (likely doomed to a landfill, sad to say) and I could amend the soil with any plants that didn’t survive winter. So I prepared my car – lowering the back seats for more space, laying down plastic, and tossing in some boxes. My resolve steeled, I drove over. Never negotiating is a major failing of mine.

As I parked I saw a staff member assessing those very plants whose price tags were now blank. I enthusiastically jogged after her and asked about the cost. Maybe they were now fifty cents.

“$1.50,” she said. What? She was kind enough to hear me out and walked me to the customer service desk while warning it unlikely my plan would succeed. My plea fell on deaf ears. The woman refused to budge, not even to the former one dollar. As it happens, likeminded customers swamped them Saturday morning. And as I recalled, every single plant required an employee override.

It’s stupid but true. I left without buying a single extra mum. Some folks would have stood their ground, especially since the signs showed no price at all. No way did I want to argue. Whether those frustrated clerks acted out of spite or actually hope to slow the rate of sale, I have no idea. Either way, the strategy makes zero sense. Okay, maybe $1.50 wouldn’t require system overrides. I doubt it.

Would you have pushed the issue? And why didn’t someone find a way to fix the system instead of screwing over paying customers?

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What on Earth?

Scrolling through thumbnail images on my iPod, I found what looked like turkey feathers or a pine cone. It took a larger image and a few moments to recognize Polly sniffing a basket.

Polly is very photogenic whenever I'm
a half decent photographer...
~rolls eyes~

Can you see the optical illusion that fooled me? Wouldn’t it be neat if the girls wouldn’t hide from a hired professional photographer?

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A Corny Card and Silly Snack

For those who asked to see my silly Halloween greeting card…

Hubby likes his card...

He saw this Holliday themed junk food.
The individual wrappers feature
witches, jack-o-lanterns,
and creepy trees.

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Better Late Than Never

I took time to take photos and video of our kitties’ tails plus bought a Halloween card for my husband. Then I let random busywork let ‘Tock’tober and Halloween pass by without posting the former or handing out the latter. I flat out lost track of the date. ~shakes head~ Anyway, Happy November first and I hope you enjoy my girls’ rear ends.

Jezebel can turn this wispy
thing into a giant brush
if scared or cold...

Jezebel was eating, as was Polly. I didn’t notice the bit of white kitchen floor mat in Polly’s photo until now. It disoriented me during the composing phase. Heh...

As you can imagine, Polly needs
occasional help grooming...

Terra, on the other hand, is more enthusiastic an athlete than eater. Hence the video of her restless appendage.

 

Is Polly not made of absolute floof? And once he opens it, would you like to see my husband’s corny Halloween card?

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