brilliant color neighbors Bob—used to be “Baby” but prefers being Bob. orange begonias Dos XX lager; in a Margarita glass Rose of Sharon a single Million Bell
Category: Nature
“a rose must remain, in the sun and the rain…” and even flakes of snow






(Photos © SOMETIMES, 2020
snow and cats…in a slideshow.
Here’s what happened overnight: December 1, 2020. This is the scene from my office window, directly across the street is the Huge Yellow Tree that I featured here a few days ago. Alice, my little cat that also appears in these pages now and then, has never seen snow before…she was quite impressed, although she seemed to be worried when she saw her friends outside of the door.
The wet snowfall was quite heavy, and weighted down tree branches. I’m happy to say that now, a day later, much of the snow has fallen off and most branches have snapped back into position…except for the occasional branch that has broken and will take some tree-trimming to repair.
The trio of yellow/white cats are related to each other in a couple of generations, but none of them are related to Alice. The tent -like structure is my most recent annual version of a cat shelter. These cats are not my house cats, and they just live outside at will most of the year, but I like to provide this ramshackle shelter for them. The main structure is under the cats, a table lined outside with bales of straw, and clear plastic to provide windows and light. The shelter walls are adjustable depending on the weather, if it is too warm they are uncomfortable, but I want them to have a warm place to sleep and hang out in the winter. The temperatures here in Ohio vary greatly within a very short time, and it could get unseasonably warm, or down below zero.
I still have not quite figured out the new innovations built into the Word Press Editor, otherwise I would have captioned each photo. I haven’t done a slide show before. All of the photos on this post, and on my site SOMETIMES, are taken by me, unless otherwise stated. More photos of the snow (and the cats) to follow.
Same point of view, two days later:
Same Yellow Tree….taken on Saturday, November 15. Same vantage point, view out the window of my office room. Then scroll down to see what three days and a brief, but mighty windstorm did to the neighborhood:


Taken Tuesday, November 17. The Tree, as I call it, is seen as actually at least two individual trees, as is obvious from the second photo. It took only two Ohio November days, a touch of thunder, rain and hail, and high wind to completely change the scenery. Nature at work. (Photos ©Sometimes, 2020.)
piggy-back grasshoppers

(photo ©Sometimes, 2020)
(I was sitting outside, minding my own business, when this critter ran into me and landed on the pavement nearby. I didn’t get a good look at it until later, when editing on my mainframe some snaps taken with my camera phone. Actually my subject was cats…so this grasshopper shot was a bonus.)
My 2018 cat shelter (Part I)
Time to update the outside cat shelter. Lots of straw, tarps, assorted crates and wood…and a big table… plus more to come.
Barbara, for faithful followers’ information, is the wild Calico Cat that lives outside and was rarely seen…until the greenhouse where she hung out for years was torn down last spring, leaving poor Barbara rather confused and homeless.   But now she has apparently decided to move into the shelter on my back deck. She is not afraid of me, and comes out when I call her name. All of the cats locally defer to and respect “crazy Barbara” as she is sometimes called…they make room at the food dish and water pan, and apparently tolerate the tough old lady.
Cats, more cats…and dogs
A thing of beauty is a joy forever…John Keats
(all photos ©Sometimes, 2018)
Here’s the opossum, right on cue
serenity in a shallow brook?
No more kittens…but here’s a possibility
The latest kittens from next door. Â Barbara has been featured in this blog before…she is a rough and tumble lady that appeared from thin air long ago; she lived in the now defunct greenhouse across the road. Â Not sure where she lives now, she is very illusive.
[all photos ©Sometimes, 2018}
bringing down the trees: a study in accuracy & precision
I spent most of three days watching the clearing of a 1.8 acre lot which I sold recently.  The operation was both sad and fascinating.  The company that did this work was efficient, the crews worked magnificently together, and the huge trees fell precisely as intended…where they had stood for a hundred years.   (All photos are my own.)
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