Blame It On Murphy The Devil Cat

I'm pretty good on computers.  I can type really good and maneuver my way through the Internet.  And most of the time if I am just using the mouse I can even do it all with this sitting on my arm.

Murphy has a fascination for sitting on my arm while I am on the computer.  This could be for several reasons.

1. He's watching the screen just like me.
2. It's the mouse.  How smart is Murphy? Does he know that we call that thing a mouse?
3. It's the big red roller ball on my mouse.  He has a big red ball of yarn that he likes to play with.
4. Or it's because this is a perfect position for him to get his ears scratched.  Sorry there is no photo of this. I need at least one hand to take the photo.

I say it's number 4 above.  Murphy is very smart.  He knows he can put his butt in my nice comfy lap while he has the front part of his body propped on my desk.  He has to actually lay over my arm for security.  And of course while I am operating the mouse with my right hand ... that leaves the left hand free to scratch his ears.  And that is what Murphy is all about - ear scratching.  (Yes his ears are clean.  We check them all the time.)  Ear scratching must be just the most wonderful thing in the world to all cats.

So what am I blaming on Murphy?  Boo boos and gibberish.  Notice the proximity between Murphy and the "enter" button on the keyboard.  Murphy is notorious for sticking that left paw out and hitting the enter key.  He's also been known to have a cat fit and run across the keyboard causing all sorts of problems.  And occasionally when I have left the computer unattended for a few minutes, I have caught him trying to roll the red ball on the mouse while he is sitting on the keyboard.

So if you see gibberish from me, incomplete posts, or deleted posts ... in all likelihood it was Murphy - the Devil Cat.

Next Blog Button

Did you ever click on the little button toward the top of this page that says, "Next Blog."
I can get lost out there for ever.

Cabin Fever

Someone has cabin fever!!

It snowed here last night.  Murphy's outdoor bachelor pad and litter box

are buried under a couple of inches of snow.

Needless to say, cats and snow don't really go together.  So Murphy has to

resort to other forms of entertainment today.

He doesn't usually sit in this window. Such a thoughtful pose.  I think I know what he wants.

An ear scratch!

This would be a great shot but the light's all wrong.  Ever try to photograph a black cat???

Maybe I can play with it later.

Thanksgiving Photo

I'm crazy about this cat.  He is cantankerous sometimes, he drives me crazy wanting me to scratch his ears, and Lord knows how many times I have stepped on his tail.  But then he lets me take a photo of him like this ...  

and I remember how sweet he really is.

This photo was taken on Thanksgiving morning before our 25 guest showed up.  He stayed under the bed for most of the festivities, only making one mad dash through the living room as he headed out to his bachelor pad for a call of nature.  He was so stealthy about it, I don't think anyone else noticed.

Sweetvalley In The Fall

Went by Sweetvalley the other day.   It was gorgeous!



Sweetvalley is owned by my little brother.  He used to live there all the time but work took him away.  Now he rents it out to folks who like to get away to quiet places with great views and see nature at it's best. 

He always has a flag flying.  And that big white, round rock in the front yard is an old gris mill stone.  It traveled a long way to get here - all the way from Henderson, Tennessee where our grandparents had a farm.  When John was just a little boy, he would stand on this old stone to get on his horse. 

This is an art print I did of the road in front of his house.  I titled it "Lake Cove" which is the name of the road.  I really love it this time of year with all the leaves on the road.  I like to drive through there with the windows down.  There's just something really neat about driving through all those leaves. 

I like this friendly sign over the front door. 

And this gorgeous wreath.

And the decorated mailbox ... which is a dead give-a-way that my sister,

Anne has been over there decorating.

And I really love the kitchen window.  Don't know why I haven't noticed this before.  Couldn't resist creating another art print - "Sweetvalley Window." 

To learn more about Sweetvalley, go to  http://sweetvalleykentuckylake.com/default.aspx

 



Murphy's Bachelor Pad

Murphy is a pretty lucky cat.  In addition to having the run of the house and a screened in porch, he also has his own private fenced in yard with a cat door so he can come and go as he pleases.

The textured fiberglass steps are one of his favorite features. 

They have a nice rough texture that is especially nice for back scratching.

And head rolling.

This is Murphy's Exorcist impersonation.

It's not a very large yard. 

The see-through fence allows plenty of entertainment.   Murphy can watch for hours - kind of like watching TV.  In addition to human entertainment from across the road, Murphy has many night time visitors -deer, wild turkey, raccoons, opposums, the occasional mole or baby rabbit, lunar moths, and of course neighborhood cats. 

Another favorite feature for Murphy (and for Lee and Eric) is this outdoor sand/litter box and scratching post combination. The landscape timber holding back the sand is Murphy's favorite scratching spot. 

All in all, it's not a bad deal.

Rocky Beach

Two of my nephews were here a few weeks ago - Caleb & Justin. I'm terrible about remembering ages but I think they’re around 3 and 5 - little fellas - and close to the ground. The reason I mention their height is because of Rocky Beach.

This is a close up of what we always called "Rocky Beach."  Can't imagine how we came up with that name.  Do you see anything fascinating there?   Well - neither do I… now.   I think you have to be really short, close to the ground so you can see it better and of course be young and open minded enough to let your imagination run wild.

Here are few other views.
 

 
There’s a beach down that way that has no rocks, just sand. And yes, we always called it “Sandy Beach.”
 
 

 
Another view. I love TVA but hate these big towers they plopped down right in the middle of this beautiful scene. So …. I usually do my magic trick and ….
 
 

 
Poof!!!! The towers are gone!
 
Back to the rocks.
 

 
 
When we were kids, Rocky Beach was where we hung out. Shoes were required, even when we swam. My sister Anne reminded me the other day that we thought if we picked up all the rocks, we would have a sandy beach.  That would have been a lot of work for two little girls.
 
 

 
My grandma lived just up the hill from Rocky Beach. Over the years we hauled several tons of rocks up to her house one bucket at a time because we were always finding fascinating rocks that looked like turtles, or bowls, or birds, or ashtrays, or that had shell patterns imprinted in them, or had holes all the way through them.  These rocks were just too unique and wonderful to leave laying around on the beach to get lost among the other rocks.
 
 

 
Justin and Caleb hauled several buckets of these fascinating rocks over to Gammie Anne’s house the other week.   I wonder where she stashes them?  I wonder what Grandma did with all those rocks we hauled to her house?