Wondering Wednesday

Bibi-Chan: Just wondering if anyone thinks there is anything wrong with this picture:

Happy Halloween to our friends who celebrate. It's not a big deal here in France , but tomorrow, being All Souls Day, is a national holiday!

Tama-Chan Tuesday

Tama-Chan: Now that she is back home and has her mind firmly on our comfort, #1 is doing a pretty good job of revamping our facilities for the winter. The cat run will stay open on good days throughout but it's clear that we will not be spending as much time out there until next spring. You already know about our two new sleeping spots in the study, which brings the total there to six, adequate for four cats. Now, she has added a very soft new cushiony thingie on the back of Tommy's sofa in the living room and I was of course the first to try it out:

She tells me that there is a pockety area that one can slide int for even more warmth, but I have not investigated that yet:

#1 has also been working to catch up on laundry and ironing, and I of course have been helping:

#1 says not to be taken in by my saintly look, and that I am in fact always ready to scream like a banshee at any of my housemates at a moment's notice. I say it's slander!

And now I really do need my beauty rest.

Manly Monday

Tom: I don't know how long this is going to last, but the change to winter time has had a salutary effect so far in that we were actually out of the door for our morning walk before 9am! #1 says it's also possible she got up earlier because there was a lovely sunrise (she can see them from her bed). Either way, no complaints from me. I was ready to go!

So much fun to be had with one orange ball!

Bibi-Chan: I have proof today of what a good boy I am. In fact, I am a real little angel. Just look:

That is me, sitting by the roast chicken, waiting patiently for #1 to give me my share. I never even tried to steal even a tiny piece!

And after I got my share, I was able to have a little wash:

A little prince has to look his best always:

Genji: What's that about my ear?

I was helping #1 make the bed...

It's seriously hard work, you know! I think I should get danger money.

Vidock: Now that I am back in my winter quarters, photo ops are going to be much harder, just because of the way my stable is constructed. So here is one of my studly self from when I was still out in the field earlier this month:

Have a great week, everyone, and we hope all our friends on the path of the storm on the East Coast will be safe.

Sunny Snuggles on Sunday

Tama-Chan: Yes, Dear Friends, the sun is out! We had our first real frost of the season last night and woke up this morning (after an extra hour's sleep since the clocks moved back to winter time last night) to blue skies and glorious sunshine. Tommy says he had a most excellent time in the fields this morning!

So this week, I have been indulging in what #1 calls "Dynamic Snuggling" with Tommy:

Or should we call it "Ride-On Snuggling"?

As you can see, Sei-Chan's approach is sort of the opposite of mine! 

Here she is coming up for air:

And here is a group snuggle with Tommy, Sei-Chan and #1!

My Beebs has been snuggling with #1 too:

Gen-Chan is really hard to catch when he is snuggling with #1 as he almost never stops moving, but here he is, hanging out with Tommy:

And here are the two Chan boys, snuggled up with #1 in bed:

We do apologise for the lack of "V" snuggle shots this week. The right opportunities simply did not come up. We'll try to do better next week.

Have a snuggly Sunday everyone!

SEIturday Style

Sei-Chan: Do I look crabby to you?

Well, I have every right to be! The sunshine they promised us this week mostly failed to materialise. And it has gotten a lot colder. And the clocks are going back tonight so it will get dark earlier. Not very positive, is it?

That being said, our friends on the East Coast of America are facing a hurricane and our friends in Finland woke up to snow. #1 turned our heating on yesterday so the house is nice and toasty. So, I shouldn't really be complaining, should I? Instead, may I draw attention to my "PAWsitioning", something that our friend Khyra looks at very closely:

What do you think Miss Khyra?

The cat tree in the kitchen now has the added bonus of being right up against a warm radiator!

And #1 says I look ultra-cute, fast asleep in this photo:

In other news, our sis Violette was delighted by the nice comments about her frootbats yesterday, although she was rather hurt by Mr. Black's calling her "Horsebreath" and being quite unimpressed with her effort. Mr. Black, we love our sis Violette and we hate to see her sad. She lived a pretty hard life until she was rescued by us. She even tried to move into the house but we had to tell her there was a minor size issue, so she lives the Chateau life instead, over where Vidock lives too, five minutes from here.

And on the subject of Vidock, following the outcry about the lack of his frootbats, #1 took a look in the archives and came up with this:

So, it just remains for me to wish you all a very Happy SEIturday!

Frootbat, Flying Ears and Family Friday!

Bibi-Chan: It's been a while since we had a Frootbat Friday post so we thought we would delight you with our lovely ears this week.

As is only proper, I shall start with myself:

...followed by my Genji bro who was trying to look like some Egyptian deity!

Hey Bro! Deities don't wear collars with little hearts on them. Haha!

Pensive-looking Mama Tama has taken possession of yet another new cozy bed in the study:

Sei-Chan is supervising, as usual:

Violette says (rightly) she has pretty good Frootbats too!

As for Tommy, his ears have been flying!

And to round off with family, here is a pic that Mr. R sent us of Tommy's Mama Minnie, his aunt Cora, sisters Sophie and Elsie, and niece Emily:

Quite the pile, don't you think?

Happy Friday, everyone!

Thankful Thursday

Tom: we have lots to be thankful for this week, starting with the help of our blogging friends yesterday in identifying this little flower:

Particular kudos goes to the gang over at Paw Relations, as well as to Oui-Oui. They both figured out it was a type of garlic flower. In fact, it's CROW GARLIC (Allium Vineale). #1 eventually found it herself on a site called Wild Flowers of the British isles. It's clear she needs more field guides!

We are grateful for our comfy and warm house as the days get shorter and the nights colder. We have had a very mild October so far, but have made fires in our fireplace the last couple of nights as it has gotten chillier. An arctic wave is expected starting tonight, so the central heating will probably go on too.

I am, as always, grateful for my long runs in the fields:

We saw this holly tree that thinks it's Christmas already!

We were very thankful to get confirmation a couple of nights ago that there are indeed barn owls nesting in our attic! When we went out at midnight, we heard the usual screeching and when we looked up to the specially build entranceway to the attic, we saw a young owl waiting for his or her Mummy! We couldn't get a photo so here is one off the Internet:

In France, barn owls are familiarly known as "Dame Blanche" or white ladies. We feel so honoured that this family has chosen to live with us!

Vidock and Big Tom are very thankful to be in their cozy and dry stable!

And last but not least, we are thankful to our friend Ms. A for this bounty of cèpe (porcini) mushrooms she gathered for us in the woods nearby!

Wonderful Wednesday!

Genji: Why wonderful, you ask? Well, remember our friends from Kissabull who were desperately trying to raise enough funds to save their new house from foreclosure? Well, they did it and the Pibble House has been saved! They sold almost everything they still owned, and friends from all over pitched in to help, and we are just so thrilled for them, and keeping our paws crossed that it will be smoother sailing from now on. We are very, very proud of our global blogging community!

In other news, I have been doing a wonderful job helping my bro Tommy protect and manage his large collection of balls:

Of course that one is a most excellent colour for me, don't you agree?

Tommy has a hard enough job managing his balls as it is...

It has been very misty, almost foggy, in the mornings, and the spiders have been hard at work in the fields. #1 photographed this rather lovely work of art yesterday:

And finally, here is a question for you: do any of you know what this flower is?

#1 has been pouring over field guides and can't find it anywhere!

Tama-Chan Tuesday

Tama-Chan: If I may, I would like to start today's post with the weather forecast:

Isn't that just the loveliest thing you've ever seen?

So, may I invite you to join me out in the run for a bit?

Come on! It's fun to explore!

Of course, when there are sunpuddles, being inside can be fun too!

I will leave you with a rather cool picture that #1 took in the fields this morning. Look at the way spiders "wrapped up" that plant!

I know it looks grey but it was in fact very misty. And you can of course see Tommy in the background!