What’s a matter you, Paparazzo? Where’s the stinking cheeeezzzz, already?
Silver: “So, Loki? Do you think the stupid Paparazzo put the cheez in this thing?” Loki: “I don’t see no stinking Cheez dish or smell no stinking Cheez! But I suppose there could be Cheez in that there thingamagig. But I’m tellin’ you Sliver, Cheez or no Cheez, I smell a stinking rat of a Paparazzo!”
Silver: “So that is what I was smelling? Un RATTO puzzolente di paparazzo!! He’s probably hiding the Cheez for himself”
Mable: “Hey, puzzolente ratto di paparazzo! How do I open this thing and get to the Cheez?”
Sasha: “Who cares about stinky old Cheez when you can be on the cutting edge?”
I had a Cat 7 (seven cats piled on me) at 3:00 in the morning. Loki is under the covers, lying across my hips. That’s where he likes to sleep on me. See the Kitty Key for an accounting of cats.
It’s the night before Christmas And all through the house The cats are all quiet and lying about Dreaming of catnip and catching a mouse While Blue waits for the rat in the fridge to thaw out The birds are all ready to roost for the night To wait for the fat guy with a beard that’s all white Then they all looked at me round-eyed and distraught “You’re fat with white hair and a white beard, are you not?” I’m fat, my beard’s white, that I cannot deny But I’m not him, I assure you, and I’ll tell you why He’s jolly, wears red, and carries a sack I’m a curmudgeon and cranky, and I always wear black But before you all get your tails in a twitch Besides old Santa, there’s La Befana, the witch So, one or the other or both they may call Offering peace and prosperity for one and for all
Christmas Eve Sunrise
Sheep, Glenda & Silver dreaming of catnip and catching a mouse. Well, maybe not the Sheep.
Marble: “Bah humbug! Wipe that smile off your silly face, Santa!”
Marble: “Talk to the Christmas paw!”
Silver: “Crown me the Cat of Cats!”
Silver’s bow Silver’s bow It’s Christmas time for the kitties Ding-a-ling He’s Kitty King Tomorrow will be Christmas Day
Gwendolyn: “Hey, stupid Paparazzo! You’re not the only cranky curmudgeon wearing all black!”
When I first started riding in July, the flood control channel was dry, and I could ride across the arroyo where the water ends, 300 yards from where I took this photo. At first, the flood control channel filled with water from rain collected on the west mesa up to 20 miles west of Corrales. That was the beginning of the second week of September. Since the beginning of October, the flood control channel has been filled with water. However, we have had zero rain in Corrales in October and little rain in Rio Rancho west of Corrales. I finally came to the realization that the water in the flood control channel is the treated wastewater from Rio Rancho backing up into the channel. I have not investigated why the water is backing up into the flood control channel now when the channel was dry in July, August, and the first week of September.
The treated wastewater from Rio Rancho is released into the mouth of the flood control channel near the levy and flows into the Rio Grande, as does the runoff collected by the flood control channel. Rio Rancho is the third largest city in New Mexico, with 109,060 people in 2023.
Cyclists, runners, and hikers who want to cross the flood control channel to continue north or south on the levee or the Bosque trail either have to ford the water or walk, run, or ride 200 yards into the flood control channel to get around the water.
The outlet for Rio Rancho’s treated wastewater.
Treated wastewater flowing toward the mouth of the flood control channel. The water smells like chlorine and detergents. I was surprised to see people fishing there the other day.
Different views of the treated wastewater outlet.
Erosion east of the current outlet. The erosion may be from before they reworked the area. The photo on the right is looking west from the eroded area.
The photo on the left was taken on 9/9/2023. The photo on the right was taken on 10/28/2023. You can see how much farther the water extends into the channel in the photo on the right.
Sasha and Glenda hovering over the heater.
It’s cold this week. The cats are clamoring for the space heaters we use to warm the spaces close to us. The cats were all piled up on me at 3:50 AM this morning. I had a cold ride this afternoon with the temps in the low 40s.
Cats from head to toe: Sasha on my chest in the foreground. Gwendolyn’s ears are on the right in the foreground. She was under the covers, resting her head on my shoulder. After Sasha is Marble, Spunk, Silver, and then Glenda is at the end of the bed, curled up on my feet. Loki was on Laurie out of the picture.
If you have ever wondered what hornworms (often called tomato worms) turn into, this giant Rustic Sphinx Moth (Manduca rustica) is one example. They also turn into the common Sphinx Moth or what is often called the Hummingbird Moth. The big boy was born in the catio this morning, so it’s a Euinox Rustic Sphinx Moth. Laurie saw the kitties looking interested as the moth crawled across the floor (wings not dry enough for it to fly). She snatched it up and put it outside the catio, out of reach of the cats.
Rustic Sphinx Moth on my hand for scale. It was about 3 inches long.
Spunk trying on his Equinox Wings.
Loki started celebrating Equinox with a bit of catermortis. Silver and Glenda are in the background.
Marble Hot & Fresh in Fall colors in Minutes.
A big hand blessing the beginning of Autumn at Dawn.
We had a cat 7 on the bed this morning. Having all seven cats on the bed at the same time is an extremely rare event. The cats from left to right: Glenda, Silver, Loki, Gwendolyn, Marble, Sasha, and Spunk.
I stayed in bed for an hour after I woke up. I wanted to let mostly sleeping cats lie. It was cold as hell inside and even colder outside when I got out of bed and checked the temperatures at 7:07 AM. It was probably a few degrees colder outside at 6:00 AM when I woke up. It was obviously cold enough that all the cats felt the need to be in bed with us.
Off Center & Not Even 