Backyard birds this week.

And Life and Nature just go along, paying no attention to us. First sighting in the yard this year. As usual, I heard him before I saw him. Steller’s Jay Our Juncos stay all year round, and they love our seed mix, which contains some hot pepper now. https://videopress.com/v/vIC6azQe?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true As usual, our red-breasted nuthatch comes …

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Guest Author: British Photographer Alastair Hilton comments on Culture and Politics in Britain, and elsewhere.

I have followed Alastair Hilton on X for a couple of years, and literally every post is a little gem, each one having a photograph and a little essay. He lives on a narrow-boat on an English canal, bought a new "sailing boat" last summer, spends a lot of his time in pubs (where he …

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Did someone say “Kittens”? Yep, and here they are.

Yesterday I received an email from Purrfect Pals, saying that there were some kittens with a room of their own. Normally, their little kittens are fostered, but this group is on premises. I yelped with joy, since I love little kittens and we are looking for some (Kikyo died in July so the house needs …

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Happy Halloween!

Fall colors and decorations in my neighborhood. Bluey and friends! Fall colors Some Halloween cats from around the Web, and my very favorite witch’s Familiar! Angus the Bold Angus is a real chonk! With serious floof! Jiji, the Familiar for Kiki. He speaks with a Brooklyn accent in Kiki’s Delivery Service. And a few cartoons. …

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Around the Queen Mary 2

I was impressed with the decor around the ship on which we were passengers for a week. It is the oldest of the Cunard Four Queens (the rest are Queens Victoria, Elizabeth, and Anne), and in line for refurbishment in Hamburg next year. Let’s go “bottoms up” and explore some of the decor and patterns …

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The Deep Blue Sea. And something else.

We are back in US waters, in the North Atlantic heading south to New York. The wake Wave Whitecaps The two above photos were taken through a window on Deck 3. The artifacts are defects in the window, and water stains caused by rusting window frames. Secondary waves, parallel to the wake Morning sun on …

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Once again, just the Sea and the Sky…….Oh, wait! Tanker!

The Queen Mary 2 sails out the mouth of the St Lawrence, and heads down toward Nova Scotia. We have a Sea Day with no port calls. From our balcony. Sea and Sky Sea https://videopress.com/v/WmTXTKxL?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true In the morning, gray sea and sky When we returned to our cabin after lunch, conditions had changed a bit. …

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More adventures down the St Lawrence in Canada.

The Queen Mary 2 gets underway late in the afternoon, just after our Mark Steyn group comes together for a taping of Mark’s regular show. Yesterday, we traveled from Quebec City overnight to Saguenay up the Fjord, which we totally missed. We did hear the ship moving, but it is remarkably stable. This morning we …

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OMG!! A surfeit of little black kittens!

I just returned from my second day of volunteering at Purrfect Pals Cat Shelter, and this is what greeted me at the door when I first walked in. 4 black cats. Fiona, Earl, Glenda, Earl, Henrietta Yep, there are actually four! Can you see the missing kitten? I really couldn't figure out which was which, …

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Scenes from the Cat Shelter

This weekend I started my volunteer gig at a cat shelter, Purrfect Pals in Arlington, Washington, a few miles north of my house. They are a no-kill shelter whose motto is Every Cat Matters, and they sure do put that into practice! My work is very free-form, no set schedule and no set duties, other …

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