Another Day Older...

 

but, not deeper in debt.  If you said, "Song done by Tennessee Ernie Ford in 1955, written by Merle Travis in 1946," you get 100 bonus points.  Yeah, I had to look up those dates.

Murphy is another day older.  He has no idea that jumping up on the wall was "a bad thing."  No, he is not a bad boy, but he is the first cat since Smoke who was allowed outside without being on a leash... and I don't know how I would retrieve him if he went over that wall.

Joan took him out on the leash yesterday, then let him spend some time in his catio.  I did take him out without the leash for a walk around the yard, but absolutely stayed RIGHT BY HIM.  He was confused about that.

Mornings are when he likes to run, so Joan insisted on the harness and leash when I took the furry boy out this morning.  He is like a different cat when on the leash: walked nice and stayed right by my side.  Seriously, he walked on the leash as well as any of our cats have.

No, I did not get a photo of him outside on the leash, but I did take one indoors when we got back - you can see his new harness (that goes well with his coloring)...

 

A Concern...

 

We have 6' concrete block walls around our property.  No, we're not worried about marauding hordes - this is very common in planned housing developments here in the Valley of the Sun.

Thanks to those walls, we have let Murphy be outside, under our watchful eyes, without being leashed.  I said, "That might have to change if he ever jumps to the top of the wall.  This morning, he made that leap.  Not over the wall, but to the top of it.  I approached him slowly, so it wouldn't spook him, then picked him up and carried him back inside.

No point in scolding him, because he is naturally curious - it's part of being a cat.  But, if he goes over the wall from Steph and Dan's yard, he could wind up in the yard of a neighbor... and me scaling the wall (and trespassing) would be the only way to bring him home.  I don't know that he would have the foresight to jump back to the top of the wall to come home.

And if he went over the wall from our yard, he could become coyote food.

While I was in the shower, Joan took him outside in his harness and on a leash.  He wasn't sure how to act... we only use the leash when away from the house, and I am the one at the other end of that leash.

After running some errands and having lunch out, I decided to let him be outside.  Unleashed.  And being watched VERY closely.  He isn't sure about that, either, but that's how this is going to go for a while.

 "Why are you so close, Dad?"  He made no sudden moves, but I still stayed close.  The boy can be fast... faster than any of our other cats.  And stealthy.  That can be a sneaky combination.  Not casting any dispersions.  Just the facts, ma'am.

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Apparently, today is National Love Your Pet Day.  I read that on the internet, so it must be true.  We have another similar celebration, called... every day.

 

The Sun and the Moon...

 

Well, kinda.  I ordered another lens (50-210mm) for my Sony camera - it was delivered yesterday.  I didn't have a chance to test it out, other than looking it over, last night.  This morning, while taking Murphy out, I put the lens through a few tests.

It was just before sunrise, so the moon was still out...

 I am impressed with how this lens does with a potentially tricky exposure.  This exposure was racked out to the longest focal length, and the relatively compact size of the lens made it easy to hand-hold for the exposure.  As always, I compress images here, but the detail is excellent at full resolution.

I then swung to the east to get a photo of the clouds over South Mountain being lit from the sun before it was up over the horizon...

 Good contrast and color.  This lens is a keeper.  Fast focusing.  A nice compliment to the Sony a6700 camera.

One final test: capturing a moving feline in the low light...

 Not his best angle, but the lens did a good job.  This gives me a compliment of lenses to use with the Sony camera.

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It's been a couple weeks since I got out on the Burgman 200 (the CTX has been getting more attention). Took care of that this afternoon.  Sunshine, high in the upper 70s... no camera (stills or video), just riding with some tunes in my ears.  February and March are when we used to come visit Steph and Dan here in the desert, when we lived in the Tropical Tip; yep, this is the good weather.  Into the 80s for the next week or so.

Some locals are moaning about it, saying "the heat" is coming too soon.  Mesh riding jacket and pants today - it was just right. 

Keep Playing That Rock 'n Roll...

 

If you said, "Edgar Winter's White Trash, 1971," you get 40 bonus points.  Some of the lyrics: 

Keep playing that rock and roll
Keep doing what you've been told
Save your money up for when you get old
Got to keep playing that rock and roll

Well, I have the "get old" down pat.  ;-)  I may have to work on that "doing what you've been told" and the "saving up my money" parts.  Mark, Ron, and I are playing out next week.  We were invited to play for a Memory Care group, both patients and their care-givers (a once a month gathering).  It will be our first time playing out as a trio.  I haven't played in front of anyone since Covid (although there were a bunch of "stayin' home" music videos.

Today, we worked on fine-tuning a set list.  Fortunately for me, it was at our place, so I didn't have to drive (or deal with traffic).  I had equipment set up in my music room, trying to make it easy for everyone...

 My Bose PA, amps, microphones, and guitar options were ready before the guys got there.  Mark brought a couple of his guitars and a pedal board.  We spent about 4 hours rehearsing for what will likely be an hour or so of playing out.  Joining us today, as an "unbiased" set of ears, was Tom, another one of our music buddies.

 That's Tom on the right, Ron in the center, Mark on the left; I was sitting at that desk (where I do my recording).  I anticipated a couple hours... I missed that by a couple hours.  Still, a good time, and a purpose.

 

In the Morning Light...

 

Murph and I have a morning routine: after I get him fed, pills and meds distributed, and my hot chocolate drank, I take him outside.  We sit, we walk, he runs, I follow.

As the sun peeked over South Mountain...

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Slooooooooowww...

Joan asked me if I wanted to take her out for lunch.  "As a matter of fact, yes, I do.  Where would you like me to take you?"  She surprised me when she said, "The Old Spaghetti Factory."

A pleasant surprise.  I rescheduled a FaceTime call, and we were off (around 12:30).  Traffic was easy as we made our way downtown.  We had to wait "just a minute while we get a table set up" that turned into about 10 minutes.  Once seated, we waited another 15 minutes before the waitress came to our table.  It was a preview of what was to come.  While the food was good, it was about a two-hour lunch.  For spaghetti.  At a place where that is pretty much what they offer.  

It was kinda painful.  Good thing we weren't on a schedule.

 

Cat Patrol...

 

You signed Murphy up for the Neighborhood Watch?  No, but thanks for asking.

This morning, Steph came into our place... "My heart is sad."

Well, that's not a good opening line.  A lady in the neighborhood rang their doorbell and asked if they could keep an eye out for her kitty that got over the block wall around their yard.  A light colored calico named Confetti.

I told Steph, "Give me 5 minutes to get dressed and we can go out to look for the cat."  I met her, Dan, and Rubina, and we started our search; splitting up to cover more ground.

I have mentioned that it is "rural" just beyond the wall around our yard.  Unbeknownst to me, Dan took this photo as I was coming down the foothills of South Mountain...

 Yeah, it "falls off" pretty quick as you go south.  We covered a lot of ground, looking in scrub brush, under cars and along fence lines.  Once down the hill, I headed west; past a few places that are obviously not part of our zoning.  No sign of any cat.  I eventually made it down to the school that is about 3 blocks west of our house, then started east, again looking under cars and in any corner that might be a cat hiding place.  No sign.  I talked to a few people along the way, asking them to keep an eye out.  I had no idea of the woman's name, but I knew where her house is.  As I got closer to that house, Steph and Dan came up along the other side of the street.

"Did the lady get on any of our Neighborhood Facebook groups?" I asked.  Steph didn't know.  Since I was now right in front of that house, I went to the door to ask.  A gentleman answered the door, I asked if they had posted anything about their missing cat online, and he said...

"Oh, the cat came home."

Good to know!  Stephanie was relieved.  I was happy to not put my aching back through any more bending to look under cars.

While we weren't a part of the finding process, I'm glad for the happy ending.  And we did get some exercise on this lovely February morning.  I came home and hugged my Murphy.  He was very happy to see me... it's time for his lunch.  ;-)

 

Waffle House...

 

I had proposed breakfast at Waffle House today last night with Steph and Dan.  So, this morning, we were off to the second closest Waffle House.  I've made the joke before that "Denny's is for people who like Waffle House, but don't know how to fight."  This particular Waffle House is what I would call... upscale.  Well, the Waffle House itself is pretty much like every other Waffle House, but it is in a nicer retail area.  And, I didn't feel like a fight would break out in the parking lot at any moment.  ;-)

There was a wait for a booth, but it was worth the wait.  One other upscale thing about Waffle House in general: a bit of sticker shock when the waitress gave us the bill... about $85 with the tip.  (A 50¢ per egg surcharge, by the way.)  That said, we all agreed it was a tasty meal, and plenty of food.

It set the tone for a good day.