Breaking Cat News by Georgia Dunn for December 20, 2022

Aww. Ora wants to help too!

Some of those helpers are smaller than others. I’ll leave the question of how helpful those smaller participants are to someone else.

My mother used to put out suet bricks full of seeds as soon as it started getting cold.

Ora Zella — NO! Peanut butter is disgusting!

Entertaining and educational. Very nice.

As much as this sounds like fun, we don’t have a lot of birds in winter around here. What we do have are rats, possums, and raccoons. Although, I could set some things out in the morning and bring them in at night. That might work.

There’s the chart someone was looking for. Very nicely done Puck.

Sort of OT – Holiday decor

Peanut butter is high in fat which the birds need in the winter, but is messy trying to mix the seed with peanut butter and spreading it on pine cones. I think more goes on the hands than pine cones. It is fun though, it is worth it.

Can the boy succeed with ‘helping’ paws?

And I discovered another word that Go Comics won’t allow. Greatly restricts discussions of theology and Elizabethan literature.

Ah, Faustus! Now hast thou but one bare hour to live,And then thou must be darned perpetually!

Thank you, Puck. That’s very informative!

What? Cranberry Space Goo, is not one of the ingredients?

Bird Buffet!

As we reach christmas and hopefully adoption day for the little ones we get.. this arc I don’t have anything ot say about really. It’s a nice gesture, fun for the kids and given this strip is all ages, a nice thing to do (especially since the collections are geared towards kids, which i’m fine with as it means we get regular collections).

How much peanut butter will Ora Zella get all over her fur?

With her Tortie coloring, how long will it take for the People to notice?

And how many People will go on her “wrath list” because of the bath/clean-up?

I get a Pucky chart for my birthday! And my sister has bought me the BCN calendar for my gift from her! Best prezzies ever!

Happy gotcha day Elvis!

Tommy

Very good ideas! A remotely-triggered camera would be nice to see who comes to eat the goodies.

Wouldn’t it be nice if what he rolled there

Helped to keep the birds alive and strong

And wouldn’t it be nice to live together

In a world where Pucky’s charts go on and on

You know it’s gonna make it that much better

If the Robber Mice kick in a little cheddar

Wouldn’t it be nice?

- Brian Wilson / Tony Asher / Michael Love – Wouldn’t It Be Nice

I wonder what the inspiration behind this is. I know in Finland making bird feeders this time of year is traditional because they believe their ancestors can return to Earth in the form of birds in winter. Could that be Georgia’s reasoning? It also reminds me of a job where I wanted to do this, but my boss couldn’t read the shopping list I had written and had to confirm I wasn’t asking him to buy beer.

Isn’t having birds eat their seeds the way fruit trees reproduce? How can the seeds be toxic?

Never do Orange slices. It is not native so not sure how the animals would like the citric acid.

Meanwhile, Back on the Nile

Elvis-Anum: Nothing like a nice rest after a morning of copying scrolls.

Beatrixia: Are you going to take a nap?

Elvis: Yes. Right after I finish this tea and scone which mysteriously appeared on my desk.

Bea: Must be part of the un-crime wave going on.

Elvis: Could Lupinium be behind this?

Lupinium: Someone call me?

Elvis: Do you have any idea about the un-crime wave?

Lupinium: No. I wanted to show you my new tumbling tunic. I don’t know how it got there.

Bea: Maybe the Royal Procurers know something.

Agnes-Ata: Someone mention us?

Bea: Yes. Do you know anything about the un-crime wave going on?

Agnes: We’ll never tell. But anyway, we’re all heading to Punn State for the end of year cheesetaking seminar.

Elvis: Safe travels.

Oh, little helpers and peanut butter. I see fingerprints and smears everywhere!

Did not know that fruit seeds were toxic ro birds — what a great way for children to Celebrate Christmas!

I make snide observations for Christmas. That’s kind of like arts and crafts, right?

I would do bird feeders like that but, unfortunately, my two like to hunt and they bring home trophies. I’m not in the mood to be cleaning up the corpses.

As lovely as this may be, check that there is not an avian flu outbreak in your area. By offering a variety of foods in one place, you are encouraging different bird species to congregate and spread disease. 52 million (yes, 52 MILLION) domestic poultry have had to be killed to slow the spread of the current outbreak of the disease.

Decades ago I lived in Venice Beach, CA where ducks roam freely on the canals and can be seen walking through the neighborhoods. When there was an outbreak of avian flu among them, the decision was made to cull the local ducks. Unfortunately, kind-hearted but not very thoughtful people would capture ducks and give them to their friends in other parts of the state to “save them”. Because of that “kindness”, the disease spread like a wildfire and over a million ducks had to be killed to stop that outbreak.

Sad, but true.

OT: My 31 year old granddaughter and I just got home yesterday from a train trip to NYC to see ‘Phantom of the Opera’. The city was wonderfully crowded with good natured people. Buses, taxis, cars and every vehicle in sight was honking horns and busy. Times Square was crowded. Macy’s was decorated and busy with shoppers. This 83 year old grandma had trouble keeping up, but I made it and had a wonderful time with my beloved girl.

I found out a few days ago that the birdseed that has sunflower seeds, if it gets wet, will mold even if outside. I’m now using only millet.

I used to do something similar after I took down the Christmas tree. I’d tie it upright from the big maple and do the peanut butter cones and popcorn. “Used to” because it’s another case of squirrels ruin everything. The decorations would be destroyed or chewed off and dragged away within a few hours.

Your charts never disappoint, Puck. Great job!

With sad news, I’ll add a good one (to me at least)…today is my birthday. Parents were told I wouldn’t see 16 and today I just turned 72. Love you all

For those who have access to FB and/or IG, Georgia posted an ADORABLE picture of Iggy basking under the glow of a lamp!

Don’t know if this link will work:

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=574363987835554&set=a.147503580521599

Oh, I LOVE this idea!

Watch out for bears! Seriously, they rip down bird feeders and I am sure they would love a bird feeder tree.

Don’t give the kids or O. Z. sewing needles.

While the werewolf is so ready to help the Boy, clearly she doesn’t yet know what their going to do with the ornaments.

For all those that celebrate, Happy Solstice (as it is today in the southern hemisphere) (and tomorrow in the northern hemisphere).

We just decorated the tree with ornaments we think will survive if Bartholomew decides to pull the tree down. I hope next year I can put up some of the more delicate ones. My mother sent me the ornament my Nana, her mother, gave me for my first Christmas. It’s just a store-bought plastic ball with a cardinal and snow inside, but she wrote my name and the year on the base and that makes it precious.

I see one little kitty that’s going to get peanut butter all over her little paws and then when she tries to lick it off, she’ll be doing the “peanut butter is stuck to the roof of my mouth” lick.