July 16

When Eileen lived in Albuquerque, NM, she adopted two shelter cats.  Duvy was of indeterminate age and had been abused and abandoned in the desert.  He was found under the buffet table in a Native American casino out in the middle of nowhere.  Duvy is, without question, the most Zen creature in the world.  He eats; he sleeps; he gets his cheeks and tummy scratched.  Repeat.

Monster, a fluffy white puffball who could curl up inside Eileen's shoe when he first arrived, had been put in a bag with his litter mates and tossed onto the highway.  Monty was on the only when who made it, and even then the shelter folks told Eileen to come back when he died and get a new one.  While Eileen bottle fed the little guy, Duvy groomed him and kept him warm.  When it was time for solid food, Monster would stand under Duvy, between his front legs, and Duvy would push Monster's face down into the food bowl until he figured out he was supposed to eat the stuff.

Both cats made the trip back up north to Wisconsin with Eileen and have taken up residence with us.  As far as we can tell, Monster doesn't sleep at night.  Instead he has many adventures, all of them no doubt swashbuckling because in the morning he is simply exhausted.  It's all he can do to stay awake and keep tabs on us until we leave for work.  The weekends really wear him out because we don't leave for 8 hours so he can nap and get ready for further adventures.  Today's map is just small sampling of Monster's day/night....  Mary

Monster with his odd colored eyes (one blue, one amber)

Duvy, the Zen Master