The Adventures of Boo Berry Betty and TLC Cai-Cai on 2024 Friday—The Huge, GIANT Rain Event, Friday, October 25, 2024

Posted on October 25, 2024 by Dayphoto

Chapter 10, Now What?!!!

“Now what!!?” I looked at Boo Berry, “Now what do we do?”

Boo Berry just looked at me with huge, huge, bug eyes and started shaking and shivering.

“You are helpless,” I said.

“No, I’m not, but I’ve never lived where a big storm could come and get me. I lived the first three years of my life in a small cage with a blanket for a bed and no windows. I have only experienced storms HERE! With you and Mom and Dad!! And Mom or Dad or both of them are always here with us. I have never had this happen before ever! “ Boo Berry explained.

I just looked at her. Shook my head in sad dis-belief, and walked over to the kitchen window.

With a graceful leap I placed myself on the ledge of the kitchen window.

Suddenly my tail bushed way out and the fur on my back started raising way up.

“What do you see out there?” Boo Berry asked me.

“Nothing.” I replied. Blue skies, a few very fast moving clouds, and wind. Not the over-the-top kind of wind that took out the willow tree branch but a kinda wind I really don’t like being in. The kind that ruffles up you fur, if you know what I mean.” I explained to Boo Berry.

Nothing. But my tail says there IS something, I mused to myself.

“Maybe we can see something upstairs. If you look out the bed window and I look out the office window maybe we will understand what your tail is trying to tell us.” Boo Berry suggested.

“Sounds like a plan!” I jumped down out the kitchen window and raced as hard and fast as I could through the house to the stairs, Boo Berry just behind me eating my dust.

Quickly I jumped onto the bed, then up onto the window sill. Turning slightly I saw Boo Berry hop onto the sewing machine chair, then over onto the cedar chest and push her nose against the window trying to see if there is a reason my tail is so bushy.

“What do you see?” I yelled.

“Nothing! Just a lot of fast-moving clouds, the wind moving the leaves around in the tree, and the blue sky starting to grow smaller.”

“Yeah, that’s about what I see also.”

I jumped down, Boo Berry jumped down.

“Now what?” I wondered out loud, “what now?”

The Adventures of Boo Berry Betty and TLC Cai-Cai on 2024 Friday—The Huge, GIANT Rain Event, Friday, October 18, 2024

Posted on October 18, 2024 by Dayphoto

Chapter 9, Mom Doesn’t’ Understand

“TLC C-C, What is the matter?”, Mom asked me as I came running toward her.

“Did something scare you? Look at your giant bushy tail! My goodness. What is going on?”

Mom picked me up and petted me.

“Your eyes are HUGE, TLC Cai-Cai, HUGE!! Did something chase you?”

MEOW!! MEOW! I screamed at her.

MEOW!!! YEOWL!

I jumped down and ran back toward the house.

“You want in?” Mom puzzled.

“Okay, you can go it. I don’t understand what has you so agitated, but, if you want in you can go in.”

Mom got up from what she was doing and started walking toward the house.

“Tell MOM!! We have to hide! In the house!!” I screamed at Boo Berry. “TELL HER!!”

Boo Berry started dancing and walking in front of Mom…getting in Mom’s way. Trying to get Mom to hurry to the house and get inside.

“BOO! Stop it! You are going to make me fall down.”

Mom reached down and picked up Boo Berry.

“HURRY MOM!!! HURRY!” I yelled.

Boo Berry was squirming and twisting so bad in Mom’s arms that she reached down and gently sat Boo Berry on the ground.

“Geez, I don’t get whatever has gotten into you two, but if you want in the house. Fine. Here, go it.”

Just about the second the back door closed, we heard Dad enter the farm yard.

Mom was still standing by the backdoor when Dad walked up and asked Mom if she would like to go with him to town. He needed a part. They could also get a wee snack at one of the Fast Food Places so she wouldn’t have to fix lunch.

“Okay,” we heard Mom reply. “Just let me get my purse and we are good to go!”

Mom opened the backdoor, and we started hollering at her…NO DO NOT GO! A BIG STORM IS COMING!!

She walked on through the house, picked up her purse, knelt down, and petted us talking soothing baby talk.

“It’s going to be okay.” I’ll be back in an hour or shortly after that. You are in the house now so whatever was out there you are safe now.”

With that, she shut the door, turned the key….and walked away.

Boo and I just looked at each other—

The Adventures of Boo Berry Betty and TLC Cai-Cai on 2024 Friday—The Huge, GIANT Rain Event, Friday, October 11, 2024

Posted on October 11, 2024 by Dayphoto

Chapter 8, After My Nap

“Hey, TLC!!!”

“TLC!!!”

“Come on, come out from under the bed and let’s go outside!!? Boo Berry hollered at me.

I opened one eye.

YIKES!!!

There was Boo Berry staring me RIGHT in my FACE!! I mean RIGHT in the face! I could even feel her whiskers on my whiskers!

I jumped up. Hit my head on the bottom of the mattress, almost knocking me back down, crawled back up a bit slower; got out from under the bed.

Then was Boo Berry bouncing and prancing around, telling me to come on hurry—-Mom is getting ready to head outside.

I looked at her. Then I slowly, slowly stretched out my front paws as far as they would go, opened up my claws, and dug into the carpet.

“DON’T do that!!” Boo Berry screamed. “Mom doesn’t like it when you claw stuff!”

I just smirked. I drew my claws back in then stretched out my whole body, leaving my back legs and tail behind. Of course, I also stretched out my back claws to hang onto the carpet. (The back claws don’t work as well as the front paws, but they do a sorta tolerable job.)

“Come on! Mom is opening the backdoor!” With that Boo Berry was down the stairs and gone.

I heard the back door shut.

Hum…guess I wasn’t fast enough.

I sauntered down the stairs, into the kitchen, and jumped up on my special spot where my cat food is kept. (Mom gives me this special spot, preen, preen, because the dog would eat ALL my food and her food too.)

And I….don’t gobble my food down. I savor it. I eat a little, then I leave it, then I come back and eat a little more. Sometimes I refuse to eat it—just to keep things interesting.

For instance, I take two bites, look at Mom with horror on my face, then I try to cover it up like it is poop or something.

Or, I take two bites and gag…fish and turkey always make me gag. ACK! It is sooooooo nasty.

Beef is more like poop so I do try to bury it.

Now CHICKEN…that is a whole other story. Yummm, I like chicken.

Then again it must be the RIGHT chicken…

Oh!
The back door opened.

“Oh, there you are TLC. It’s time you go outside with Boo Berry and me. You’ve been it long enough. We’ve got things to do and stuff to see, and you need to be there with me doing and seeing.”

Mom picked me up, put a bunch of pets on my head (my favorite place), walked with me in her arms to the back door, opened the door, and out we went.

There at the backdoor sat that smiling pooch.

“See I told you Mom wanted our help!” Boo Berry said as she trotted behind Mom who was pushing the wheelbarrow.

I yeowed at Mom, picked up my feet, and started after Mom and Boo Berry.

When we got to the brick flower beds Mom stopped, and started doing stuff in the flower beds. Boo Berry sat down in the shade put her head and her paws and watched everything Mom was doing.

I climbed up onto the nearest bed and started watching Mom also, when suddenly— MY TAIL RAISED STRAIGHT UP and creepy crawly tingles ran up my tailbone.

MOM! I screamed MOM!

The Adventures of Boo Berry Betty and TLC Cai-Cai on 2024 Friday—The Huge, GIANT Rain Event, Friday, October 4, 2024

Posted on October 4, 2024 by Dayphoto

Chapter Seven— I Think I Need to Find Mom

I got tired of looking for mice,

And lizards—boy, those are super-fast and fun to catch, or

a squirrel

I got tired.

Just plain old tired

I think I need to figure out where Mom is.

If I butter her up she will pick me up and carry me to the house.

If I can’t find her outside, then I guess I will go to the back door and wait for someone to either come in or go out.

MOM!

MOM! I yeowed

Oh! There you are Mom, purr, purr, rub, rub, purr.

“Oh, TLC my Cai-Cai, do you want Mom to pick you up and take you inside?” Mom reached down and put her hand on me.

Zip!

Up I went. Right onto her arms, so we could walk into the house together.

“Sure, is cloudy out here today,” Mom talked to me as we walked toward the kitchen.

“It would be nice if it were to rain, but no one is holding their breath. The heavy clouds are all over on the Uncompahgre Plateau. I am sure they are getting rain, which is a good thing.”

Then we were at the house.

I wiggled and squirmed until I could jump down and head over to my food bowl.

I am so tired of all this rain talk—Food and a nap. That’s all I want!

Slurp, slurp, yum, chew.

The Adventures of Boo Berry Betty and TLC Cai-Cai on 2024 Friday—The Huge, GIANT Rain Event, Friday, September 27, 2024

Posted on September 27, 2024 by Dayphoto

Chapter Six— The World Has Turned Bonkers

Shhhhhhhhhh

Mouse

Right there

Careful

SHHHHHHH

I put one paw carefully closer to the mouse

SUDDENLY large hoofbeats came dashing down the road right next to where I was hiding in the weeds.

HUGE HOOVES!!

I looked up. Jumped a mile high, and tried to scramble out the way FAST!

It was our resident Buck deer.

Well, ONE of our residents Buck Deer.

“MEOWWWWWWWWW!” I screamed.

“SLOW DOWN!!! WHAT IS THE BIG HURRY!” I yowled at him.

“Huff, huff, pant, pant; Big storm coming in”, Ranger the Deer gasped between big breaths! “I’m trying to find the rest of the herd so we can high-tail it to the Back Forty and hide in the Black Forrest up there.”

“Big storm? Aw, come on. It’s not going to be THAT big you have to run crazy, is it?” I asked skeptically.

Ranger looked at me like I was — well, I was daft or something. “Hum yes, yes, it is.” He replied.

“I can feel it in my antlers, the velvet is tingling and my horns are vibrating. That only happens when something huge, big, and well, scary is coming down out of the sky.”

“Really”, I sat down and swished my beautiful big fluffy tail back and forth in the dirt. I’m not feeling anything super big and usually my tail gets all giant and sticks out every which way sending shocks down my spine.”

Ranger and I looked at my tail—I had to turn around but Ranger just walked over and stared at my tail.

Nope not big. No shocks going down my spine.

“Nothing here on this cat,” I said.

Just then the whole herd of deer pounded into view.

Running hard and fast.

“STORM! RANGER! STORM! WE GOT TO GET TO THE BLACK FOREST FAST!” They screamed as they flew past.

Ranger gave me a sideways look—“Guess you are on your own, TLC—-See ya later!” With that he was gone with them.

Shish…the whole world has turned bonkers. I went back to looking for mice.

The Adventures of Boo Berry Betty and TLC Cai-Cai on 2024 Friday—The Huge, GIANT Rain Event, Friday, September 20, 2024

Posted on September 20, 2024 by Dayphoto

Chapter Five —– The Rain Moves In

It’s starting to cloud up. Yepper. Clouds on the Western Horizon—I told Boo Berry —“don’t pay attention, it doesn’t mean anything.”

“But what if there is thunder?!” Boo Berry’s eyes bugged out.

“Oh, heck, it will be so far away, way over there in on the mountains—so far away we can only sorta hear it.”

“Yeah, but… WE CAN STILL HEAR IT!!” Boo Berry shuddered.

“Oh, geez, just go in the house,” I replied. “In the house, you can’t hear thunder way over on the Plateau.”

With that, I picked up my paws and headed out to the grain bins. I only looked back once and saw Boo Berry staring at the back door wanting to get in.

What a dog, I muttered.

On the way to the grain bins, I ran into the hens again. They were scratching and clucking to each other…rather busy I thought, when suddenly, Skitter stopped and looked up at the sky. Cocked her head to one side, fluffed up her feathers in a very fluffy way, and muttered something to Silver, as she turned toward the henhouse.

Silver looked at her in a perplexed manner then started following Skitter toward the hen house.

I watched them for a spell, “Hey, where ya going? There are still bugs out here to catch and eat!”

“Not right now, cat! We’re heading into the hen house. Not worrying about eating we have lots to eat in our house: yummy lay mash, a halved cucumber, and a wee little bowl of dried mealy worms. See ya after the storm!” Skitter called as they ran into the hen house.

Storm! Everyone is getting sorta wrought over a storm that may or may not happen. Shish!

I passed the grain bin. Sat for a little bit in the road, trying to decide which farm road to take next. To the left is the gated pipe and grass field Dad cuts for grass hay. First Cutting is all he ever does on it. That is when the grass has bloomed and headed out making lots of protein-rich seeds.

That field has been cut, baled, and stacked. And I’ve played in there with Boo Berry until I am rather tired of that field.

To the left is the haystack yard, past that is the equipment storage area: the plow, a combine, all the necessary implements to work up the ground, you know, stuff like that—and, OH! YES! And the little headgate where the irrigation water splits to go to two different spots.

That’s where I’m going!

Some mice hang around there in the weeds, and water snakes hang around to catch the mice who are hanging around in the weeds!

Yes! I am! A perfect spot to hunt!

The Adventures of Boo Berry Betty and TLC Cai-Cai on 2024 Friday—The Huge, GIANT Rain Event, Friday, September 13, 2024

Posted on September 13, 2024 by Dayphoto

Chapter Four —– A Couple of Hens

Boo Berry and I played hide and Get Boo Berry for a long time. Gradually, Mom got done with whatever it was that Mom was doing and started walking back to the farmyard and (I suppose) onto the farmhouse.

Boo Berry got all nervous, gave me a long look, then bounded after Mom.

That left me to walk in by myself.

Oh! Well, it wouldn’t be the first time.

As I was walking in I ran into the two hens, they were right by the grain bins clucking and scratching in the weeds.

“Hey, CAT!!” the White hen yelled at me. “STOP! I need to tell you something! Something very important.”

I stopped, of course. I had nothing better to do.

“Okay—I’m listening.” I replied.

Cluck, Cluck, cluck….”Just a minute…..there is a cricket!!!”

POUNCE! missed, well, kinda sorta missed, got one back leg. POUNCE!! “Bull’s EYE!” The other hen yelled, “Right in the back of the cricket!”

Gobble, gobble, yum, yum.

“Hey I want a cricket, is there another one, let’s look and see!” the second hen clucked.

“Okay, okay,” scratch, scratch.

“You two are annoying!!! I growled. You stop me for something and then just as you start to tell me you lose your train of thought! I’m going. This is a big waste—–”

“NO! WAIT!!! I have to tell you that something big is going to happen and it’s going to happen SOON!!!” Skitter put her claw on my paw and looked me right in the eye. Well, she did have to turn her head to one side to look me right in the eye. But….anyhoo I stopped.

“Silver and I woke up this morning just knowing that something big is going to happen on the farm and it’s going to happen real soon.” She took her claw off my paw and sorta walked around me.

“I don’t know what it is but we both feel it—like maybe we better get all our eggs in the nest early. And maybe we better not go out of the farm yard too far…because, gosh, we don’t know, but we do know. It’s just a feeling in the feathers. Something big is coming.”

At just that moment the other hen scared up a whole slew of big giant flying grasshoppers!!!
I jumped up into the air to see if I could catch one or two. The hens were scrambling madly pecking and attacking the only way a chicken can.

BUGS! The best kind! Skitter yelled with her mouth full…YUMMY BUGS!!!

The Adventures of Boo Berry Betty and TLC Cai-Cai on 2024 Friday—The Huge, GIANT Rain Event, Friday, September 6, 2024

Posted on September 6, 2024 by Dayphoto

Chapter Three—LUNCH or Is It SNACK!

Here I am! All snuggled down in the Grass/Alfalfa field.

Mom and Boo Berry are getting closer and closer, but not close enough—- yet!!!

All I have to do is wait a bit.

Oh! Look! There are little white butterflies everywhere out here…

Oh! So exciting!

They flitter and flick from one plant to another.

Flitter.

Flick.

Flitter.

Those little white things are really flickering. One lands on the alfalfa, another on a blooming steam of grass…

Oh! This is really interesting.

I snuggle down in the grass/alfalfa a little deeper. When I do about six grasshoppers jump up out of the grass and hop out of the way.

Well, almost out the way…one lit right on a stem In—front of my eyes(!) and one RIGHT ON MY LEFT PAW!!

Oh!

SHHHHH!

Hum, what do I do? If I move it will jump off my paw and get lost in the grass and the one on the grass will also jump somewhere!

My tail is twitching and twitching…just the tip of it, I don’t want to make those two delicious morsels move.

I’m being very, very still…not even moving my head to see where Boo Berry and Mom are.

BOO BERRY AND MOM!!! I will have to do something very soon—before they get here and scare everything away!

Okay, here is what I’m going to do. I’m going to open my mouth very slowly, move my head closer and closer to my left paw, and chomp down on the grasshopper just sitting there all perky and proud of itself!

THEN I AM GOING TO EAT IT!!!

Slowly, slowly, slowly I open my mouth.

Then I gradually put my head close to the grasshopper sitting on my paw and BITE!!!

Yepper! Got it! Yummmmm! Crunchy squishy goodness!

Okay.

Now where is the other one?

“HEY!!! TLC!!! You came! You even beat us here!” Boo Berry hopped over the gated pipe scattering grasshoppers and butterflies everywhere.

“Let’s play, TLC! Let’s see what to do out here in the field!” she yelled as she crashed through the grass and alfalfa plants. Bugs flying everywhere! I MEAN EVERYWHERE!!!

Get it. Crashed. Madly dashing everywhere.

Well, there goes the snacks!

“Wait up, Boo Berry—Wait UP!!!

The Adventures of Boo Berry Betty and TLC Cai-Cai on Friday—The Huge, GIANT Rain Event, Friday, August 30, 2024

Posted on August 30, 2024 by Dayphoto

Chapter Two Just Wait, Boo Berry, You Just Wait

One thing Mom and Dad do every morning is check the weather. Dad looks at [only] one site, but Mom checks out three different ones. Then Mom rechecks it at noon. Mom is weather-obsessed.

Just say’n.

So—anyway, Mom and Dad look at the weather. Pronounce that we might get some rain, which would be a good thing; 30%.

“Actually, 30% usually doesn’t get us anything.” Mom mused. “Most of the time when they say 30% all that rain stays up on the Plateau never heading our way.” Mom got up from searching about the weather on her phone called Boo Berry and me and headed out the back door.

WAIT!!! Before I go any further the Plateau means, the Uncompahgre Plateau. (un-come-paug-re, that is how it sounds to Boo and I. Maybe you can say it a bit differently, but still, it gives you an idea).

We spent the morning, working with Mom—Dad headed out to change the water, Boo and I sat around in the shade, way too hot for sunshine sitting, and Mom worked in her yard.

Still, the day was a very beautiful! The sun was shining, the sky a bright blue, birds singing everywhere, big white fluffy clouds, and a soft, soft breeze ruffling our fur as we lay w….a….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz………

HUH!!!? WHA?!

“Wake up-TLC! Mom is heading out to the field for something. She asked if we wanted to go.”

“Go?! Is she talking that loud blue thing that has a blue box on it for YOU!!! (Not ME) to ride in?”

“No, no….hurry—we’re being left behind!” Boo Berry barked at me as she ran off to be with Mom.

Fine! Run off! I can run faster than both of you and I can beat you there! I stood up rather slowly, stretched out my front paws as far as they could go…ahhhhhhh, the old backbone feels good all stretched out. Then I stretched out my whole body so my back feet were helping pull my backbone the other way. Then I sort a stood there and gave my whole body and shake, even my ears!!!

By the time I got all this done, Mom and Boo Berry were turning the corner by the Butler Grain Bins.

I watched them disappear then I went from zero to ZOOM!

Yep! Just as I said. I caught up to them and even by-passed them; going so fast I made a mad dash into the field and hid.

Now all I have to do is wait for Boo Berry to walk by and I can jump out and scare her!

Hee, hee, hee.

Boo Berry Betty and TLC Cai-Cai on Friday— The Big, Really The Adventures of Boo Berry and TLC, Huge, GIANT Rain Event, Friday, August 23, 2024

Posted on August 23, 2024 by Dayphoto

Chapter One—Breakfast, No OUTSIDE

I caught a lizard!! Yes, I did! It was fast, fast, fast, but I was FASTER!!

Let us see, this is August. August is usually an over-the-top hot month, but NOT! THIS! AUGUST! I am loving it!

I go outside as soon as Mom lets me go. Which isn’t early enough, mind you. I would go outside the second the sky starts to turn light. Well, not really, like it just starts to get a grey sort of color.

Mom lets me go outside when SHE goes outside.
So silly, Mom. I’m a big boy I can take care of myself.

I tell Mom that and she says: “Not right now TLC, there are still foxes, coyotes, skunks, raccoons, and stray cats moving around out there. And YES(!) they are in the farm yard and even on the lawn. You just have to wait until I go do the chickens. By that time the sky is waking up, the birds are chirping sleepily and those nighttime creatures are heading slowly back to their bedrooms.”

Sometimes I just keep rubbing on Mom’s leg while she fixes everyone’s breakfast, but sometimes I bite Mom to get her attention. But the best thing I do (when I remember) is I lick Mom on the leg. That always gets me a big love on the face and a kiss on the nose. Rubbing Mom’s legs sometimes gets me pushed away, with her saying: “TLC you are going to trip me someday, Move over.”

If I bite Mom, I bite really hard and fast then I run really fast to the back door hoping she will be mad enough that she will want to open the door and let me peel out. It never works. She just lets me sit there while she keeps on fixing everyone’s breakfast.

STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT BOO BERRY!!! STOP IT!

Well, if you would just come over here and sit quietly by the chair leg, I bet you would still get your food. That’s what I do and I still get my food.

Yeah, but—-she won’t hurry! I want her to HURRY!

I’ve been watching for a long time now and Mom doesn’t hurry. It takes her the same amount of time every morning. EVERY morning, TLC.

But…But if I can get her to hurry, and I can get a couple or two of licks on the cat food into my tummy Mom will head out to do the hens! AND WE CAN GO WITH HER!

Nope. Doesn’t matter if you get a couple of licks of cat food or not, when Mom gets the chicken food ready that is the only time we go outside.

Try it sometime….just sit over here by me. Stare at mom with a big excited smile on your face and watch. First Mom gets your cat food and puts it in a dish, then she gets my dog food and puts it in a dish, then she gives it to us.

You take two licks of food, jump down, and rush to the back door. Me, I just let the dog food sit, it’s not going anywhere.

Don’t do that!! TLC, just sit here and watch.

Now, while you are meowing at the back door Mom is working on the Chicken food.

See.

Ah…here we go—Mom, a big dish of chicken food, me right behind Mom, and you screaming at the back door.

If you would just sit here you can make it to the backdoor just before Mom and you can peel out the second she opens the door.