Friday, 29 August 2025

Neighborhood Cats in Stealth Mode

Our neighborhood cats have been acting rather stealthily, of late. It has been interesting to observe them and speculate about their doings.

Case 1

In case 1, I was outside hitting golf balls into the backyard net one summer evening, when it occurred to me that I should double-check the car doors, to be sure that they were locked. When I went out back to the parking space near the alley, I noticed a medium-brown furry mass under the car. Mindful of the possibility of skunks (yeah, I know, the colour wasn’t right) or coyotes (probably too small, but it could be a young one), I looked at it warily. Suddenly, the mass of brown fur turned around and looked at me, before scooting off. Sure enough, it was one of our neighborhood cats.

So, I went back to hitting golf balls. Some minutes later, I happened to look up, towards the car. A young woman with jet black hair was peeking over the car, curious about the sounds of the ball-striking. Upon noticing me look, she skedaddled.

Was neighborhood cat shape-shifting, I wondered? That comes up a lot in science fiction and supernatural lore. Weren’t there at least two Star Trek episodes with that trope – the Gary Seven episode and a Halloween episode? I mean, if it’s good enough for Star Trek, you just never know, right?

Case 2

Case 2 is rather more naturalistic. A few days later, I happened to look out the back door window one hot afternoon, and noticed neighborhood cat #2, down the sidewalk, beside the small door into the garage. It was the black cat version of neighborhood cat this time.

I watched for several minutes as it stared at the door, with its ears twitching noticeably at times. Clearly, it thought that there was something interesting in there. Well, you never know, there have been mice in there, on occasion. That is one of the reasons that I feel fairly positive about the presence of neighborhood cats. That and their generally intriguing nature.

After several minutes it moved on slightly, to a pile of weeds and related greenery that I had cut down and still needed to bag. It showed a similar interest in that mass of composting vegetation, once more with the ear twitching and nosing about. After some time, it carried on further around the back of the garage. On this occasion, it moved rather stealthily, obviously on the hunt for something.

Eventually, I gave up and went downstairs to continue my work on the computer. A cat on the hunt has infinite patience – me, not so much. When I came back upstairs and checked out the door, I noticed that it had edged its way closer to the house, keeping up that slow stealthy maneuver. But after a few minutes, even it got bored, and scampered off to the side of the house to explore new territories.

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Given the above text, I can’t help but plug this short story by Helena Puumala:

The Summer Cottage Mystery

Here's a nice children's story by Science Fiction and Romance writer Helena Puumala. Yes, she does kid's stories too. Read it to a younger child (pre-school, elementary or early junior-high), or read it yourself to bring back memories of those long, lazy childhood days at the lake, during summer vacation, when your biggest worry in life was a lost kitten. Note that this is a short story of about 8500 words.

It is just 99 cents U.S. (equivalent in other currencies) and is sometimes on free promotion. And, of course, it’s on Kindle Unlimited.

It is available on Amazon, at the following:

Amazon U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon U.K.: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Amazon Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00N0B4TYY

Thursday, 7 August 2025

Where the Apple Falls, An Easter Story, now on Audible

Where the Apple Falls, An Easter Story, now on Audiobook (Amazon)

It is set at Easter and has some family-related themes that relate indirectly to Easter, but it doesn’t have to be Easter for to you to enjoy it and you don’t have to be particularly religious, either.Where the Apple Falls. On e-book and audiobook.

Where the Apple Falls, An Easter Story

This short story (approx. 6500 words) focuses on the complex and somewhat troubled relations between children, parents, and grandparents. It also revolves around the mysterious forces of the universe, including the various notions of the divine held by the people in the story, which sometimes conflict, much as they do in the world in general. An Easter service and a freshly planted apple tree draw the parties together, over one fateful Easter weekend.

The story is just 99 cents U.S. (or equivalent in other currencies) and is also available on Kindle Unlimited. It is periodically on free promotion on Amazon as well.

Amazon:

U.S.: http://www.amazon.com/Where-Apple-Falls-Easter-Story-ebook/dp/B00JSDW6XY

UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Where-Apple-Falls-Easter-Story-ebook/dp/B00JSDW6XY

Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00JSDW6XY

Australia: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00JSDW6XY

Germany: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00JSDW6XY

France: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00JSDW6XY

Spain: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00JSDW6XY

Italy: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00JSDW6XY

Netherlands: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00JSDW6XY

India: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00JSDW6XY

Japan: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00JSDW6XY

Mexico: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00JSDW6XY

Brazil: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00JSDW6XY

Tuesday, 5 August 2025

Food Sharing with the Squirrel(s)

Our resident squirrel(s) (there may be more than one) has taken to leaving apples in prominent places around the house, generally near the front and back door, including the porches and stairs. Sometimes he or she leaves them on the porch railing, sometimes just outside the door.

The apples are from our apple tree, on the front lawn. It is a spectacularly productive tree during some years, and quite a barren one during other years. Given that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, the appearance of these doorway apples must be the work of some life-form and the squirrel is the obvious candidate. Plus, I have actually seen the squirrel do this on a few occasions, so there is witness testimony as well as circumstantial evidence.

A former colleague, who grew up in China, said that her family refereed to this as food-sharing with the animals. We sometimes leave leftover food (if it is the right kind of food) on the deck for the birds – usually it is the magpies that take up the bulk of it, though the little birds also sometimes (carefully) go in for a quick snack. The squirrel sometimes takes its share as well. So, it is hard not to think that the squirrel is reciprocating, showing its willingness to share the apples.