Planning birthday parties for someone else is easier than pulling off one that honors yourself. I couldn’t do it.
However, Cee pulled off a birthday post very modestly in typical Cee style. She even turned a building turquoise just for me. That was way cool!
It turns out that we share a birthday with Dan Antion who hosts the Thursday Door Challenge. So happy birthday, Dan. I missed Still Restless Jo’s birthday two days ago. If you love Jo, and who doesn’t, you might want to head over there and wish her a belated birthday. Jo has a turquoise building in her post as well. Must be my birthday good luck!
Anyone else out there with a birthday this week?
This week Terri from Second Wind Leisure invited us to post about our furry babies in Sunday Stills. Who can resist that opportunity? Sadly, I don’t have some of my pets’ pictures digitized.
For Photos by John’s Cell Pic Sunday, I took some of the pictures with an iPhone 6, some with my Canon, and s few with my iPhone 12. I processed them all in Photoshop Bridge and a couple of them I had to load manually on my phone to my One Drive server because they save automatically as heic files. These are unreadable files on WordPress.
Most of these photos fit Jude’s Life in Colour Challenge. of black or gray challenge this month.
If this post gets too much like my Dad’s LONG slide show productions were when I was a kid, feel free to just scroll through the pictures.
Our Pets In Visalia
Bud or Budley was a party poodle, the only dog I ever purchased. The rest of our animals were found or rescued. The tuft of white fur belonged to Piggles, the guinea pig I got from a teacher at our school. She liked everyone, and sat on our laps, and taught the dogs to love lettuce.
Like most little dogs, Bud practiced his defensive position after his main human passed. When Vince met him, he tried teasing Budley in an awkward attempt at friendship. They got the relationship off to a bad start when Vince put his fingers too close to Bud’s mouth.
Budley loved to eat, go for rides and walks. He lived a pampered life mostly as an only dog until he was 16.
Budley fathered a litter of cockapoos before he was fixed. I got to keep BJ and Jesse. BJ is the only one who grew to adulthood. This is his baby picture. BJ got epilepsy and also died fairly young. He had a sweet personality and was good company for Budley for a few years.
BJ and Piggles 
BJ, Piggles, and Bud 
BJ and rabbit
Nobody bonded with the rabbit, and he moved on the first chance he got.
Our Country Pets
Scardy 
Baby
By the time we moved to Elderwood, Budley lived with my mom and we had no other pets. That lasted until we got out of the car and began to move into our project home, Bellavista.
We found two kittens and their Mama stuck in the mulberry tree in our front yard when we moved to our home in Elderwood. Scardy was too afraid to let us help him down, but Baby trusted us. It was hard to tell these twins apart but Baby was friendlier. Scardy would only come to me at night on the back porch when no one was looking and let me hold him. The next day he would turn his head away from me like he’d never seen me before in his life.
Mama Kitty and her cousin or sister, Callie joined them to make our kitty family complete.
Mama Kitty and Callie gave us several litters before we had all the cats fixed. All the neighbors had little offspring like Pugs, Lucky, and Boots.
Mama Kitty approximately fourteen. 
Callie unknown age
When she was young, Moji looked so much like Mama Kitty it was eerie. As she aged her hair turned mostly black. She has always been a little hefty compared to the others, but now she is quite a pudge. She has a much more playful personality than any of the other cats and enjoys playing alone with her toys. She chatters constantly. Nutters enjoys attacking her.
As Mama Kitty aged, her hair became streaked with brown and she got down to one pound before she passed away at around 18 or 19 years of age.
Moji aged one-year 
Moji aged one-year
Nutters is a cuddler like Scardy became as he aged. Scardy taught him how to squeeze in and make himself comfortable no matter who was already on the blanket. Since Scardy was super grumpy by the time the kitties were born, none of them gave him any static about barging in. Nutters loved Scardy more than anything in the world.
“You don’t have to move…much.” 
“There, see how I did that? Slow and easy. They never know what hit them.”
New Dog in Elderwood
I found Kalev/Puppy Girl on the rural highway at the end of our dead-end road. She rolled on her back and said, “Take me home.”
So I did.
Kalev’s attitude with Mama Kitty and Scardy was totally different when she was the newcomer in the family. The babies never enjoyed her effusive love and plea for acceptance that the older cats received.
The cats tolerated the new member of the family, especially Mama Kitty.
Puppy Girl usually growls at Nutter Butter as he’s easing his way onto my lap. She never follows through. I’m afraid, she would come out the loser with Nutter Butter’s claws.
Kalev always gets lots of attention when we take her out – and she loves to go places and take walks. She has always been on her leash except when she was in her yard at Bellavista where she could run free. I’ve always loved this picture of her. Her hair looks so thick and white.
Her ears and lack of hair attract the most attention. Lots of people call her Yoda.
Chit Chat Update
I enjoyed my quiet birthday organizing my pet pictures and picking out my favorites for Terri’s challenge. My husband got me the sweetest card ever and took his sister and me out to lunch. He also agreed to go with me in January to visit our friends in CA for a week – a wonderful birthday present!
I am over the moon because I walked 10,000 steps twice last week. That’s about 5 miles. I’m not coughing much, and I feel great! God is good to me and I thank him for a lovely 70 years.
Now it’s your turn.
Feel free to join in the fun.
Marsha Ingrao - Always Write 
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