Two Cats Lounging

The bad news on the CH cat front is that we lost a couple more during the summer--Pablo and Rusty have crossed the Rainbow Bridge. We are now down to three official (neutered/spayed) CH cats--Heidi, Buttons and Beau. We also have a couple of unofficial cats who hang around but whom we consider too nasty to try to capture and take to ACE (Animal Care in Egypt). Buttons and Beau have been found lounging, sometimes in strange places (Beau was roosting in a storage cabinet in the Photo Archives yesterday). Here are a couple of photos of them at their loungiest!

Beau takes a selfie!

Buttons keeping cool

No. 4! But Who's Keeping Score?

I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this post-a-day pace up, but I'm doing my best! These first few posts have to deal with within-the-walls matters, as I will not have an opportunity to venture out until the weekend. Today I can show you the view from my office...

...and some of the bikes which our workers use, both to get around the campus quickly and to commute between their homes and CH...

...and a few of the majestic Washington Palms to be found on the grounds...

...and two more of our coterie of cats, Dusty and Beau...

Dusty the Hierakonpolis Cat

Sitting Pretty

Beau the Wonder Cat

So-named because of his resemblance to Buttons

You'll be pleased to learn, I'm sure, that any cat who decides he or she would like to take up residence here is required to be neutered or spayed. We are lucky to have access to the services of Animal Care in Egypt for these operations.

And finally, a beautifully enameled vintage lamp from the courtyard...

Sunny Day

What a difference a day makes! This morning has been mild, breezy, sunny and clear, as opposed to yesterday's haze, smoke and dust. It was a morning for going up on the roof and enjoying my morning tea and the view. The birds were enjoying it too. There were bee-eaters, sunbirds, kites, doves and bulbuls!

And Beau was out-and-about today, too, enjoying the view from the roof.

Is it live, or is it Memorex?

Good friends Alain and Emmanuelle carried Carol Gillott's wonderful portrait of Beau in Paris (at Ladurée) when they arrived at CH:

I think she did a marvelous job! Merci, Carol.

More Hollyhocks and Beau at Play

The hollyhocks (all pink) are going gangbusters here at CH. Here are some of my latest photos:

The previous photos were taken during an early morning constitutional in the company of Beau, the Wonder Cat. It's hard to catch him when he's staying still!

I forgive the little dickens a lot because he's so darned cute!

Beau Gets "Snipped"

Yesterday it was finally time to take Beau out to Animal Care in Egypt for his little operation (we figure he's about six months old), something that is required of all cats who wish to live at CH. I had to stop feeding him Friday night, and couldn't let him out of the room because he would be sure to find food somewhere else! The night wasn't so bad, but come morning he began to realize that he wasn't going to be fed or let out of the room. Let the wild rumpus start!

Beau is quite loudly vocal even during normal times, so we expected that the ride out to ACE might be somewhat noisy. We were not wrong! If we had needed a siren or horn Beau would have sufficed. I took videos of the ride just to memorialize the sounds he made. One stretch of road happened to be where men were busy harvesting sugar cane, which slowed us down a bit. Let's just say that we were ALL quite "happy" to finally arrive!

So, we finally arrive at ACE:

In the waiting room:

In the treatment room:

After the injection:

After the operation:

Back home:

Recovering:

He wouldn't leave my side all last evening, but you'll be pleased to know that he's back to his old self today, as if nothing had happened. Bravo, Beau! And thanks to all the great staff at Animal Care in Egypt!

Beau Goes to Paris...

I was reading a post on the Paris Breakfast blog maintained by my friend Carol Gillott, and was reminded of the fact that she paints watercolors of people and/or their pets in Paris (and other cities). So I decided to send Beau to Paris! I sent this photo:

Then I selected a "setting" from Carol's set on Flickr: Eiffel Tower Cats. It's not at the Eiffel Tower as you can see, but it has the Eiffel Tower in it, along with some champagne, as well as the famous Ladurée macarons.

And... (drum roll, please!) here is the wonderful result:

So, do you want to send your pet to Paris (or somewhere else)? Check out Pets in Paris Portraits and I dreamed my pet went to Paris. Or perhaps you'd like to send yourself?

Beau on a Hot Stone Roof

I just realized I haven't posted any photos of Beau lately. Here he is on the parapet of the annex roof:

He's certainly "grown up" and "grown out" since he arrived on November 2:

Of course, he's never met a bit of food he didn't like! In any case, he's a handsome boy, living up to his name.

Close Encounters of the Scorpion Kind

I had my first encounter with a scorpion today--a dead one (or so I thought at the time!). A guest here at CH found one in his bathroom and drowned it in roach spray. Once he told us about the creature we all had to traipse in to see it. He then scooped it up onto a napkin and left it to dry, after which he brought it out to the courtyard for us to see in a "drier" form. It really looked like a scorpion then. I ran to get my camera and took some shots with my hand next to it to show scale. It was pretty small, as you can see from this photo:

Well, as our guest told me at dinner tonight, it turns out that the little guy wasn't quite dead! I'm glad my guardian angel was looking out for me!

On a more pleasant note, Beau joined me on the roof for some sun worship this afternoon:

And the bee-eaters were out in force:

And one of them was actually eating a bee: