Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Sunday 5 July 2015

Sunday Selections #231

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.
 
The meme is now continued by River at Drifting through life.  The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to River.  Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen.
 

Like River I usually run with a theme.  Today?  Sort of.  A crisp clear dawn, and some photos of the things which are coming into bloom in the garden.


  

Wintersweet or  Chimoanthus praecox





Jazz n Jewel only bloom in the garden for very short periods at the moment.  They are both wussy cats when it comes to cold weather.



112 comments:

  1. I like your cat pals best of all! Are those bubbles in your garden shot?








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    ALOHA
    ComfortSpiral

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    1. Cloudia: Jazz n Jewel think they are the best things in the garden too. By a long way. And yes, they are bubbles. I am still trying to freeze some.

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  2. Lovely spring flowers to see here on our Fourth of July Day. It has been so hot, but today is bearable. Our flowers look good still due to abundant rains...but it has been a long while since I saw the joy of a yellow daffodil!!! Thanks.

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    1. Bookie: I am glad to hear you got some relief from the heat. Perfect timing too. I hope that we see more daffodils - at a more seasonal time of the year.

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  3. Lots of color...for color...check my blog today *wink*

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    1. Author R. Mac Wheeler: I have seen your very patriotic colour. Lovely.

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  4. Is the last photo of a camelia? Gorgeous color!! And I certainly love Jazz and Jewel, even if they are wusses! They're beautiful cats, that's for sure.

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    1. Carola Bartz: It is a camellia. Slowly that tree/bush is coming in to bloom - and the parrots are leaving us some flowers.

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  5. Yes, our cats are related. Norbert is king of the wusses.

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    1. Birdie: The wusses lasted nearly twenty minutes today. They have now come back in and hunkered down for the day. After breakfast of course.

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  6. Like the wintersweet, a new flower for me. So strange to see daffodils at this time of year.

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    1. Sue in Italia/In the Land of Cancer: The wintersweet smells great too. It is blooming when it should - the daffodils are a tad premature. I hope to get many more in a couple of months.

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  7. How lovely to see what is blooming in your garden at the moment EC. Blooming Marvelous!
    Are they bubbles I see in the second pic? Blooming Bubbles!
    Are you still experimenting with freezing them? And nice to see your pussy cats. Blooming Pussy Cats!

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    1. carolincairns: Love the way you are channelling Peter Cundall with that comment. In this house he is known as 'mook man' for his love of good honest muck.
      I am still experimenting with freezing bubbles. I will get it right soon. I hope.

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  8. Beautiful! I also really like seeing the kitties in the garden. :-)

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    1. DJan: They agitate to go out, and decide very rapidly it is tooooo cold. Frost on bare pads is not for them. Which is understandable.

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  9. How wonderful the garden grows, it must have been your touch EC.

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    1. Bob Bushell: The garden grows as it wants to. I can't honestly claim much credit.

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  10. Your seasons seem so different to me. In my mind's eye, you are now in the throes of winter; equivalent to December or January in my hemisphere, with snow up to our backsides and howling winds. How can daffodils have pushed so far into winter?

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    1. Joanne Noragon: You are right. We are in mid winter. I haven't the foggiest idea why some of the daffodils, and the anenomies and jonquils are blooming. More are just poking through the soil and hopefully will wait until the more usual Spring.

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  11. A bright and cheerful start to Sunday.

    And I see that the wild creatures are on the roam! Beware all!!!

    I hope the coming week treats you and all others in your household with the greatest respect, EC! Cuddles to Jazz and Jewel and purrs to them from Remy and Shama! :)

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    1. Lee: The wild things have been out, and are now sleeping off their exertion. I will pass on Remy and Shama's purrs - which I am sure they will return. Well Jewel will. Jazz is very territorial. Even about cyber purrs.

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  12. How nice to see your Sunday selections again, and as usual, lots of lovely flowers. I need to get outside and take some shots in my garden, too! We had lashings of rain yesterday but there is some sun today. Have a restful and happy day, EC!

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    1. Alexia: We have fog at the moment. Fog and frost. Rain next week. Perhaps.
      I would love to see how your garden grows - and a happy day to you too. Have you settled in to home again yet?

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  13. All of those photos are beautiful, but I absolutely love your photo of your two cats!!!

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  14. Your garden is lovely, and a refreshing sight to this wilted Californian.

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    1. Geo.: Having gone through the wilted and parched seasons here too I so hope you get some rain soon. Very soon.

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    2. Also being a Californian, I HAVE TO second Geo!!

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    3. fishducky: I have family in California - and my heart aches for you all.

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  15. Looks like you have lots of pretty flowers to enjoy- we are starting to get veggies from the garden and the best part is the kids are doing all the hard work and we get the results. Have a wonderful Sunday!

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    1. Terri @ Colouring Outside the Lines: Sometimes I would like some child labour here. Rather a lot of child labour. Enjoy your vegies - home grown always tastes sooo much better.

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  16. Kitty blooms are the best kind! At least they found a dry day. :)

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    1. River Fairchild: They weren't impressed with the frost though... Not at all.

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  17. Your bluebells are waaaay ahead of mine and I love all your daffodils. I've never seen wintersweet before, although I have heard of it.
    Lovely to see Jazz and Jewel out getting a bit of fresh air.
    Is that the moon in the morning sky?

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    1. River: It was the moon. Nearly gone for the day, but it was early when I headed out. I hope that we get many more daffodils at a more seasonable time.

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  18. You seem to have your bloomers out very early.

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    1. Andrew: Too early. It is bothering me a bit. Fingers crossed that most of the garden comes out a bit later. Several months later. I hear Canada is hot. It will come as a shock when you return to Oz.

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  19. Really colorful garden. The last photo is great.
    Have a happy weekend.

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    1. orvokki: I hope over the coming months it will become much more colourful. Fingers and toes crossed.

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  20. Chimonanthus! Takes deep breath, willing it to travel from Canberra....
    And I thought I saw bubbles.

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    1. dinahmow: Wintersweet is a delight isn't it. Ours still has most of its leaves so some of the blooms are hidden - but my heart leapt when I saw the first one (and smelt it). And you did see bubbles. I am continuing my frozen experiments.

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  21. A good collection of flowers. Simply awesome and capturing.

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    1. dumcho wangdi: Thank you. I hope to see a lot more in Spring.

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  22. It all looks lovely. I'm surprised at the amount of blooms in your mid winter as I know that it gets very cold overnight where you live, Is this unusual?

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    1. Craig: It is unusual. I expect to see shoots poking through about now, but to have daffodils and hyacinths in flower is unusual. There are many more to come, so I am hoping this is a limited aberration. While we have been having chilly nights, mostly the days have been lovely. Today was the exception though - I don't think we got past 6 degrees today.

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  23. Lovely to see the blooms, missing daffodils at home this year...

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    1. whiteangel: The daffodils will be there next year. For the moment you are seeing other delights. Lots of other delights.

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  24. your garden is so beautiful, all those lovely flowers, for a minute your cats looked like bears then I saw they were cats. Ha.

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    1. Linda Starr: The cats think of themselves are bears - or at least tigers. Ferocious, majestic beasties. Legends in their own minds.

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  25. I love it when kitties bloom in the garden :)

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    1. Snoskred: I love the furry little blossoms too - despite their thorns.

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  26. Another great Sunday Selections EC. Your photos are a treat and your kitties are so sweet :) Thanks also for your kind thoughts regarding Gregg's Dad. Have a great week!

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    1. DeniseinVA: Thank you. I hope this is a much better week for you and yours.

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  27. You have a lot of flowers.
    Are Jazz and Jewel pussywillows then?

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    1. Alex J. Cavanaugh: The garden is one of my obsessions. There will (hopefully) be many more flowers. Jazz n Jewel have more thorns than pussywillows. Like them they are deciduous though - as the patina of fur on everything here confirms.

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  28. Like Jewel and Jaxz, I am also a wuss when it comes to winter weather.

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    1. Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe: It is summer which does me in. Jewel loves it, and bakes her black brains every chance she gets. Jazz over does it and comes in and flakes our on the floor.

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  29. My black Jim looks quite like your two. He doesn't go out at all since I don't think he's smart enough. Love the flowers :)

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    1. mshatch: Jewel is the more intelligent of this pair. By a long way. Jazz has some street smarts, which enabled him to survive when he lived on the streets. I don't think he would last long now - and fortunately he will never have to.

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  30. Awwwww, I just adore your Wussy Cats! Such panthers! xxxxx

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    1. My Inner Chick: You have been listening to them. They think they are panthers too. Hugs.

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  31. Nice winter flowers. Nice winter cats!

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    1. Strayer: Spring flowers blooming in winter. Every season cats...

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  32. Beautiful images :) I loved them.

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  33. Gorgeous as always, EC. I particularly like the celestial body peeking at us from the sky of the first one. It's come to admire the flowers.

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    1. John Wiswell: Come to admire the flowers? Or to laugh at the petty concerns of the humans below?

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  34. You take such perfect pictures. Mine are blurry and mostly of my thumb.
    Thank you for sharing. You are creative even when you say that you aren't. You should make a calender. Yes and sell them and be rich. I would buy one but only if I got a discount. I'll never outgrow being cheap.

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    1. Sonya Ann: Digital cameras are wonderful. Take fifteen (or fifty) photos and delete all but one. IF I make a calendar, (not v likely) you will get a discount.

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  35. It always amazes me how we can be enjoying such different seasons on the same earth we're all spinning on:)
    Your cool feels like welcome shade to me....thank you:)
    -Jennifer

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    1. Jennifer Richardson: It is wonderful isn't it? If we don't like the season we are in, we can go and revel in someone elses....

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  36. Amasing, what grows in your garden when it's cold. So beautiful! Thank you for the pics.

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    1. Myrna R.: I hope that more will grow as the weather warms up. There are certainly many, many bulbs starting to poke through the ground. Which is lovely.

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  37. I always love these little peeks into your world. That shot of the winter dawn moon is quite something! And so much is flowering in winter... wow! Of course, I always like pictures J & J....

    We've been feeling very grateful to live in a tiny little sliver near the coast that is not a walk-in oven at the moment (although still much warmer than we ever used to have). It has been consistently over 100, and several days around 113F (45 degrees to you) just east of us in Redding. I've been checking my weather app with fascinated horror. It's frequently still around 80 (26c) after midnight. It's always hot inland in the summer, but not so many continuous days like this. At any rate, enjoy the lovely frost!

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    1. Paper Chipmunk (aka Ellen): I have been looking at the temperatures in your state with fascinated horror. I hope you get some relief. Soon.
      The winter moon was an unexpected bonus. I went out just after first light to continue my experiment with bubbles, and was delighted to see the moon.

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    2. The thought of bubbles with that moon at dawn -- genuinely lovely!

      I hope there's some relief from the heat soon too! I'm supposed to be traveling down and into the interior later in the month. UGH.

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    3. Paper Chipmunk (aka Ellen): Another medical mayhem trip? Eeeuw. And I so hope there is a cool change. A very cool change.

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  38. Your view of the sky is becoming as familiar to me as my own. Those red flowers in the last picture are gorgeous!

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    1. Carol Kilgore: Really? I am obviously posting too many shots of the sky.
      The camellia tree/bush is a delight. Despite the depreciations of the birds.

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  39. Thank you for the good wishes to the Californians! I was just there visiting with my father and it was unbearably hot. We went to the coast each day for sea breezes. Back home in Portland, OR, I am watering at 6:00 am each day to keep my lovely garden alive. Thank you also for a wonderful visit to your world and your sweet kitties. Long may they reign!

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    1. Susie@life-change-compost: Drought (and heat) are both dreadful things. I am not watering the garden at the moment, but only because many things are dormant over winter. The early watering will return too soon.

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  40. Its always nice to look at colourful flowers when they're bursting into life. William Shatner has proposed a $30 billion kickstarter to build a water pipeline to save California. God bless him.

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    1. Spacerguy: What a wonderful initiative by William Shatner. I hope many, many people follow suit.

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  41. J and J are beautiful wussy cats.
    I just read Spacerguy's comment - that's very cool of Shatner. It's scary times indeed, and I'm spending hours perched inches from my A/C unit. I'm not complaining about that...though I will when I see the bill.

    Take care of yourself, EC.

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    1. Rawknrobyn: Very, very cool of Shatner. I loathe the heat and am very grateful that we are in our cooler months.
      Stay as comfortable as you can.

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  42. Your photos are always so beautiful and bring a smile to my face. Love the bright colors and who can resist a cat (or two) in a photo. :)

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    1. Mason Canyon: I am surprised at how much colour there is in the middle of winter. And Jazz n Jewel thank you. They tell me that they are by far the most beautiful blooms in my garden - or any garden.

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  43. Love all the bright photos...thanks for sharing!

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    1. Kelly Steel: My pleasure - and I am glad you enjoyed them.

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  44. Wonderful flowers and such a lovely sky!

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    1. ladyfi: It was a beautiful dawn. Well into negative temperatures, but beautiful.

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  45. How can you still have those blossoms in winter? Amazing.

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    1. Riot Kitty: The garden is confused. I am confused. And there are more spring flowers coming out every day. Fortunately the temperatures are NOT spring-like.

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  46. The colors are just magical. Great shots!

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  47. What beautiful flowers and how strange to see daffs blooming. I love your cats. I have 3 gingers and a Birman and they are the same. Out for a few minutes and then in for the day somewhere comfy.

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    1. Zig: Cats are very, very good at finding comfortable places aren't they?
      I have no idea why these daffs have decided mid-winter is an appropriate time to bloom. Weird.

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  48. They are not stupid are they cats? Nice to see them in bloom.

    Love all the flower shots, especially the 2-tone daffodils.

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    1. LL Cool Joe: The cats have us wrapped round their furry (and sometimes spikey) paws.
      The sol d'or jonquil is one of my favourites. Judging by the nibbled petals other things like them too.

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  49. I saw a sunrise a few days ago and thought of you, EC. (I'm not usually an early riser.)

    I love all the wild things in your garden, but I have to confess the black ones are my favourites - by a nose.

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    1. jenny_o: I hope your sunrise was beautiful. And a gentle start to the day.
      I can see that I need to do another cat post. Jazz loves the camera, but Jewel is (like me) camera shy.

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  50. So strange to think of you having cold weather when it's SO hot here. And so wonderful that you have flowers blooming at all times of the year.

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    1. Lynn: We try and have things blooming all year - but spring is when this garden is at its best. Summer it is often crispified in the heat. I hope your heat eases off soon.

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  51. Looks like you are getting spring blooms already

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    1. Donna@LivingFromHappiness: We are. Before winter is even half over. I don't know whether to be happy or scared.

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  52. Lovely post ,greeting from Mons in Belgium

    http://louisette.eklablog.com/mes-autres-blogs-p842116

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  53. Antics by kitties always a treat! Such peace and beauty in your post.

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    1. Karen S.: Antics by kitties are a treat - except when they decide to play chasings over the bed at three am. And take their quiet shoes off and THUNDER up and down the house.

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