Update: Kitty Condo Open House

Update 2/8/14: the kitties are using the condo! We have eyewitness accounts of both kitties hopping out of the condo, so that means they were IN the condo. For how long, we don't know. Do they sleep in there all night? Just go in for a quick snack? These are the burning questions of the day. Perhaps mounting a game camera to the garage will provide the answers. Stay tuned!

Original post:
The Kitty Condo is done. Perhaps I should say it's inhabitable. Bruce still needs to put up trim, install drip edge under the roof, and hang various decorations, but the inside is done and ready for Shadow and Sera to move in.

As of today, they're still sleeping on the front porch glider (at least, they're there when we go to bed at night). Cats have a hard time changing their routine. They're very cautious. It may take them a few weeks or months to figure out the condo is theirs, but in the meantime, they also have the log deck, the woodshed and the front porch from which to choose to snooze.

Bruce started building the condo inside the garage. To ensure the kitties were safe from coyotes, he built it on a four foot high base. He then added casters so he could move it around.

Oops. He soon realized that it was now too tall to move out of the garage. After disassembling it (which he was going to do anyway to insulate and caulk the inside),

he moved it just outside the garage under the eave to finish the construction.










He added insulation and caulked all of the seams. This condo is going to be toasty warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Wow, hardwood floors! If you know Bruce, you know he doesn't do anything halfway. This condo is a mansion.

It got colder and colder, but Bruce kept gearing up and going outside just about every day to work on the condo.

Finally, the roof is on! That's an access door on the backside, so we can reach in to refill their heated water bowl and food dish, and do some light housekeeping.

There's snow on the ground now, but Bruce just puts on more layers.














So are you ready for the Open House Tour? Here's the front, complete with kitty door entryway and custom window.

The step is to make it easier for them to jump into the carpeted entryway, but still difficult (we hope) for other critters, like raccoons, to get in.













They can sit in their loft and look out the cat head window.

You can see through the open kitty door the carpet Bruce installed on the wall. They can stretch and sharpen their claws before having a snack and getting a little shuteye.











Let's go inside, shall we? We'll take the roof off so we have a better view :-)

Here we are looking down from the loft into the eating/play area. You can see the entryway peeping out under the loft at the bottom of the photo. The wall carpet is on the left, and the access door is at the far end on the left. Our picture is above the heated water bowl.

The access door is barely visible in the camouflage. That's Shadow and Sera in the picture next to the carpet.

Now the access door is open. Yes, the "wallpaper" is kind of Duck Dynasty, isn't it?












Looking from the access door side toward the loft, where the window allows them to see what's happening outside. And there's a photo of Cody and Sera, to make them feel safe.











The food dish and water bowl are within easy reach of the housekeeper's access door.

Bruce custom fit some rubber mats over the flooring so we can easily clean up any accidents.

From the kitties' point of view, looking up toward the loft...

















And the finishing touch - Bruce added the heated kitty bed onto the loft after the roof was installed. Cozy!

Let's exit through the access door. We hope Shadow and Sera like their new condo and make themselves at home soon. Bruce put his heart into building it and did a fantastic job (in my humble opinion).

I'll post some updated pictures after the trim and decorations go up. Hopefully, we'll have some permanent tenants by then. Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks for One More Year

I recently celebrated my 54th birthday. I know some people hate when their birthday rolls around. I always love my birthdays, because it means I survived another year on Earth. I have successfully avoided death for one more precious year and been privileged to enjoy this beautiful life. Yoga has taught me to pay attention and be present. It's amazing what you can see, hear, smell and feel if you just stop everything and...breathe. Of course, most of us can't do that every single minute of the day, but if you just commit to "being present" for five minutes once a day, I guarantee your life will be better for it.

For my birthday, I asked Bruce to take me and the dogs up to Bonners Ferry, a town about 60 miles north of here. We've been wanting to go up there since we moved to Idaho, and just haven't gotten around to it.

The town sits on the south side of the Kootenai River, and is named after the ferry that shuttled gold prospectors across the river on their way to Canada.

This here is an impulse turbine engine. It may have powered a local sawmill.











The Old Town area is about four square blocks, full of restored buildings now inhabited by bars, restaurants, boutiques and shops.

One of those shops, Under the Sun, is full of eclectic items ranging from handmade door pulls to wind chimes to dinnerware. Bruce bought this vintage kitchen timer for me. I think it was really for him, but it was my birthday.

 It also has a cute little cafe in the back.

Unfortunately, we weren't ready for a meal when we visited, but the menu items looked delicious and the ambience was inviting. We're going back!

It was time for the dogs to get out of the truck,  stretch their legs and do their business before we headed home.











Bruce, of course, had to explore the myriad train tracks in the area before we left, and we came across this picturesque scene. We took turns with the camera to get our best "arty" shot.

Personally, I like them both!

It was a relaxing day spent with my favorite guy and the two best dogs in the whole wide world. We saw some new country and discovered a cute little town. Everyone got home safe and sound. Just the way I like it. And I'm ready to begin living yet another year on this planet. Of course, I wouldn't refuse a little trip on the Enterprise if Captain Picard wanted to travel back in time 300 years and beam me up. Really. I'm serious. Worf? Deanna? Can you hear me?

Where The Wild Things Are

The Flawler Wildlife Refuge has had many visitors during the last few months. Bruce's Backyard Beastro, situated near the front of the Refuge, is always busy for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Let's start with the birds. This little guy was getting a snack from the seed sieve attached to Mr. Squirrel's Peanut Mansion. As you can see, Mr. Squirrel is a bit of a hoarder. Peanuts are falling out of the basement window.

This Stellar's Jay took full advantage of Mr. Squirrel's hoarding and helped himself.

We also have a Flicker who really likes the suet block and the seeds that fall off of it onto the ground. Love that beak! Great for getting bugs out of bark.

And then there was the Kestral. Absolutely beautiful. The finches and junkos didn't like him so much, as they were his target for supper, but I was thrilled he decided to stop and pose for me.

Lastly (as far as birds are concerned), there were the turkeys. They only hung out for a few weeks here, but Bruce was happy happy happy when they appeared. He really misses the Campus Commons Turkeys.

On to the ungulates. We came home one day from shopping and I saw something very, very, very large in the backyard. It was lying under a tree, licking a mineral block. It was Grandpa Moose!

When he finally stood up, all you could see were legs. They looked like tree trunks.










Bruce and I spent about an hour just watching him and taking pictures. He was absolutely magnificent!

For comparison, here's a picture of Bruce in front of the same five gallon pail.

While Grandpa Moose was still hanging out, all of the deer came in for their supper. We hadn't seen Big Bucky for several weeks, and hunting season was still on. We were really worried about Big Bucky, but...out of the forest he came. And he posed right in front of Grandpa Moose!

And now we turn our attention to Shadow and Sera, who are still a little wild (but getting more and more curious about the humans and animals who live in the house).














They have taken care of the gopher population around here, which we appreciate, but they also terrorize the squirrels and birds. Stinkers.

Here they are squatting (literally) in one of the squirrel's nests, high up in a tree. Look closely. Shadow is actually IN the nest. We weren't sure if squirrel was under him or not. Turns out he wasn't. He is alive. For now.

They also like to climb into the bird feeder out front and wait for birds to fly right into their mouths. Hasn't worked yet, but they dream big.














The last wild thing to report is quite rare in most parts of the world, but common here in Northern Idaho.

The Giant Dragonfly-Riding Squirrel! Here he is, about to hop on for a ride. Fly on, brave squirrel, fly on!

You've Got A Friend

Update: I forgot I had more recent pictures of Cody and Sera frolicking in the snow. Scroll down to see the two pals just a few days ago...

You may recall, back when Shadow and Sera were dropped off here by their mom, Cody and Bruce would faithfully walk down every morning to the log deck where they lived and take them food and fresh water.

They hid in the logs, but Cody would make a monkey-type noise "Oooo, ooooo, oooo" and they would poke their heads out and look at him.

As the kittens grew bigger and Bruce started working on the log deck, they moved up to our woodshed, and now sleep on our front porch (on a heated pad, of course).

As you know, Cody loves being outside, so the cats had to get used to him sharing their space. They still kept their distance, though. After all, Cody is a big, hairy, woolly mammoth.  A true woodland creature. If I were a cat, I'd run as fast as I could from this guy!

Slowly, Sera became more curious about Cody, watching him and edging closer and closer.

Over several weeks, we joyfully watched as Sera grew braver and approached Cody. Cody, who used to chase cats before we adopted him, now knows all about cats and respects them deeply. Especially the claw parts.

Cody was very patient with Sera and didn't make any sudden moves. He allowed Sera to check him out at his own pace. Finally, one day...

A friendship was born! Now, Sera waits for Cody to come out and play. He rubs against Cody's legs, they touch noses, and just chill out together.

They hang out together, exploring the yard.

Sometimes, Sera runs up a tree and then Cody pees on the trunk. I don't know. It's their thing.

Here are some recent pictures of them enjoying the snow.

Shadow still runs from Cody and doesn't understand his brother's fascination with the dog. His motto is "Cats Rule, Dogs Drool". But Sera loves Cody. And Cody has a new friend.

Sera escorts Cody up to the front door when they're done playing and says "Until next time, my friend"!

Ginger, Cody's late human mom, would be so proud of her boy, and how he has transformed from being Cats' Enemy #1 to Cats' Best Friend.

And for those of you who have been patiently waiting to see Shadow's and Sera's new kitty condo, it's almost finished! Bruce is out there working on it right now. But here's a sneak peek...

This is the covered entryway. I think it needs a little planter box of catnip in there. And a porch light. Maybe a welcome mat? Stay tuned for complete coverage of the Fabulous Kitty Condo!