Eagles Over the Kennebec

Today, December 15, is the eighth birthday of Kelimcoons Sooper Trooper. We usually call him Trooper, but for his birthday, he gets the Whole Formal, at least once.  Festivities are planned throughout the day.  The sun has obligingly come out, and is puddling nicely in the napping spots.  We also have a Flying Mouse Competition planned for later in the day, and a grooming session.  We will also have Jazz on Pandora.  Trooper is partial to Jazz.

Today, December 15, is also the day that "Block Party" (collaborative effort number 82 by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller) will be published to Baen.com, around noonish US Eastern Time.

We'll obviously be very busy here with the Natal Day Festivities, so feel free to sing out when you see the story come up.

Here's a picture of the Birthday Cat, wondering what all the fuss is about.

Yesterday, Steve and I took a leisurely drive in really perfect weather, down to New Hampshire, where, in a little town near Center Harbor, we stopped to interview Belle, and to admire the new crop of Kelimcoons kittens, of which there were many, and busy.

Belle, who was presented as "shy" decided rather quickly that we weren't the least bit scary, consented to enter the cat carrier, and accompanied us on our return trip to Maine.  Aside from a complaint or two at the very beginning, as we were negotiating the remove from the rather tricky driveway, and another, as we made the transition from Route 25 to Route 35, she was completely calm, and napped for most of the three-hour return trip.

Once arrived, she confessed that she was not quite up to meeting new subjects cats. Staff therefore prepared the Retiring Room for her use, and she withdrew behind the washing machine to recruit her strength.

Staff visited her several times on the overnight, once for an extended cuddle session -- Belle was also billed as a "big lap cat," and this seems to be so, and this morning, she once more undertook a journey, this to the office of her new physician, who made certain that she had taken no harm from her exertions, and recorded her weight at 15.1 pounds.

That detail taken care of, she returned to the Cat Farm, where she immediately began a systematic and thorough inventory.  Scrabble hissed -- not unexpectedly -- when Bell entered Steve's office.  Belle did not return the favor, but gazed upon her with wide eyes, and an expression that seemed to say, "Why, look; a tiny cat," before she continued with her inventory.

Trooper, I am sorry to say, hissed at Belle when she came into my office.  Belle didn't even seem to hear it.  She jumped into the copilot's chair as if she knew exactly what it was for, and that she had perfect right to use it.  Gave me a couple of head-bumps, showed the belly and went off to count the linens in the bedroom.

Right now, she's resting under the headboard, a time-honored resting place for those who wish to insure their privacy.  Trooper and Sprite are with me -- Trooper on top of the file cabinet, and Sprite in the red basket on the desk.  Scrabble is behind the suitcase under the desk in Steve's office -- another time-honored private place.

And peace reigns over all.

Steve's gone to the grocery store; I've started the laundry, and will be doing some chores around the house.  Possibly reading will happen.  When I finish the current book, it will be time to read Dragon in Exile and Alliance of Equals back-to-back, and so drift back into working mode.

Tomorrow, at the unghodly hour of 8 a.m., we shall have the sheetrock guy, who will contrive a back wall, and put on the first of three coats of paint.  Once he's done, we will, hopefully, be quit of contractors for the foreseeable future.

Which will be nice.

Today's blog title brought to you by Kelimcoons Belle of the Ball, and Leroy Anderson.  Here's your link.

Some photos from earlier, after Belle's triumphant return from the vet's:

Mozart was our first Maine coon cat, and he came to us courtesy of Kathy Robinson of Kennebec Cattery, which is not, as you might suppose, in Maine, but in Pittsburgh.  He was born in March of 1998 and came to live with us in November of 2003, after his first situation proved less than ideal.

Kodi and Nicky had both died earlier in 2003, leaving us with Hypatia -- a grey-and-white "barn cat" -- and Max! -- a cafe au lait masked wonder.  Mozart came to us in early November, and two weeks later, we also brought Scrabble on-board direct from her temp placement at Animal House Pet Supply.

Mozart was the only Maine coon in the house, and he was Rather Shy.  He and Scrabble buddied up for a while, being the new kids, but as Attrition Happened, Scrabble asserted herself, while Mozart remained somewhat reserved, though affectionate and interested in the projects of His People, assisting with the writing, and reading, of numerous books.

In mid-2005, we found ourselves running a household with only two cats.  We thought we'd add a third, and we thought we'd get another Maine coon.

We brought Dulsey on-board, but she couldn't find a place within the Mozart/Scrabble dynamic, and eventually moved on to her forever home.

In 2008, we brought Hexapuma into the team.  He of course immediately fell under Scrabble's spell, agreed that she was, indeed, The Most Qualified to Run Everything, and left her to it.  He would sleep near and with Mozart, and occasionally invited him to play.  Mozart seemed to ignore him, mostly, but obviously missed him terribly, as did we all, when he died.

When Socks came to us, in 2012, Mozart paid more overt attention to him, perhaps at first thinking that he might be Hex.  He would occasionally cuddle up with Socks, and it might have been that they would have become big, sloppy, cat buddies, but Socks was barely with us a year before he succumbed to cancer.

Which brings us to the New Kids in Town.  We adopted Trooper from Kelimcoons in New Hampshire in June, 2013, specifically as a companion to Mozart, who was clearly feeling the loss of Socks.

Predictably, I guess, Mozart ignored Trooper, who wasn't grey, and who very much wasn't Socks.  Trooper, who had come from a house full of cats, and who had been on the show circuit, continued to make overtures, to sleep with the old guy -- by now, Mozart was 15 years old -- and to try to tempt him to play.  We pretty quickly saw the difference between 15 and 4, and in November, 2013, we brought Trooper's daughter, Sprite, up to Maine.

Sprite and Trooper bonded immediately; they shared a common vocabulary (do not laugh; Maine coons TALK, and while Sprite has a lot more to say about stuff than Trooper does, it's perfectly obvious that they have conversations and consult with each other); they shared a common house culture, and an understanding about How We Cats Go On.

Maine coon females are billed as the shyer sex; however, there is a certain Mom Cat Foo that trumps. . .almost everything.  Sprite immediately took Mozart in paw, cleaning his ears, snuggling next to him to nap, cleaning him up, and seeking him out to just check in several times a day.  Mozart gradually came to the point where he'll lick her cheek when they meet, and will occasionally bury his face in her fur, because apparently all that multi-colored fluff smells Really Nice.

He's a little more conflicted regarding Trooper.  I can see this.  Mozart, who will be 17 on March 1, is a shadow of his former self, and even in his prime was a smaller cat then Trooper, who is tall and muscular -- a working athlete.  Trooper, however, puts up with the occasional swat in the face with patience, and insists that a guy needs another guy to snuggle against, and to watch things with, and occasionally to do his ears for him.  And Mozart mostly accepts that.

It's been really interesting, watching the two New Kids maneuver Mozart into their Coon Circle, insisting, gently, but consistently, that, no, we do not sleep on the blanket by ourself; we share the blanket -- and the person reading under the blanket, if any.  We stop and chat with each other when we meet in the hall; we eat together; we sleep on the humans at bedtime, all of us; there's plenty of room.

So, in all, I think we did the right thing, bringing the New Kids in; and that Mozart is having as peaceful an old age as anyone can, surrounded by his grandcats.

All righty, then!

Today is December 15, the day on which we here in East Winslow and all of you Around the World! celebrate Trooper's birthday!

Trooper is five years old today, and he has a full day planned.  Here's just a glance at his celebratory calendar:

9 am     Breakfast with Mozart
9:30     Rassle with Sprite
9:45     Play in the water dish
9:55     Run up and down the hall, moobling loudly
10:00  Look out the back window, nap on bookshelf, check in with Mozart, nap in rocking chair
Noon  Mail call
12:05  Nap on couch with Sharon
3:00 ice cream!

. . .I think you can see that he intends to pull out all the stops for this Very Special Day.

Here's a picture of Trooper from a little earlier in the year:

As if Trooper's Birthday weren't enough reason for celebration, we here at Archers Beach -- and all of you Around the World! -- are on a short story watch.

Sometime after noon Eastern Time today,  "The Night Don't Seem So Lonely," ought to automagically appear on the front page of the Baen website.  I, of course will be very involved in the Birthday Celebrations (see above) and may not be keeping as close an eye on the interwebs as I might otherwise do.  Therefore, I am depending on you -- yes, YOU! -- to let the world -- or at least all of your friends -- know when the story goes live.

Thank you all for your assistance, and!

May the Joy of Trooper's Birthday fill you with purrs.

* * *

Progress on Alliance of Equals
40,387/100,000 OR 40.4% COMPLETE

A large black dragon soared wing-to-wing with a slightly smaller golden dragon.  They flew straight at her, or maybe she flew toward them; she felt the cool breeze flow along her wings, savored the tang in the air, and suddenly, they veered, and she did -- or tried to, twisting as her wings failed her, and her balance, clutching for the nearest support --

Early today, Trooper declared his supremacy over the String, by placing himself squarely on top of it.  During the course of our breakfast, Sprite conducted several campaigns to try to win the String back.  All were met with failure.  This is the last soiree.  Note that the Stuffed Bunny has joined the fray, apparently on Sprite's side, since he seems to be biting Trooper's tail.

Later, resigned to this momentary setback in her plans for World Dominion, Princess Sprite naps in the window.

Emotions are settling down here at the Cat Farm.  Mozart and Trooper both managed to sleep on the bed last night, albeit on opposite sides.  Mozart has given over cursing, which is, I think, a Great Relief to us all.  Which brings us to this morning's situation.

Trooper came to work:

. . .and Mozart came in to check out his various places under the desk, and the rocker.  He observed Trooper in position, and deliberately sat down -- with his back turned, of course.  He cleaned a shoulder, to show the depth of his unconcern, and then casually strolled down the hall, with nary a curse-word to singe the air.

Progress, we haz it.

And now I'm for the living room office and the Rest of the Manuscript.

So, we wandered down to our neighboring lovely state of New Hampster, where we were interviewed by Trooper, Nate, and Missy, Rita, Kelly, and Kim.  They decided that they would allow us to bring Trooper home, so we did that.

This is Trooper:

He's looking up at Mozart, who was cursing at him from on top of the file cabinet.  Mozart's not usually a curser, and the high, squeaky voice does lend a certain. . .piquancy.  Still, he got his point across.  Trooper's voice is kind of a mellow honking sound -- very charming.  Mozart was. . .nonplussed, but did not descend from the file cabinet.

Here's Mozart on top of the file cabinet:

Here's another picture of Trooper, who really likes my blue oriental rug:

Right now, relative peace reigns.  Trooper is on the copilot's chair and Mozart remains on the file cabinet, but has decided to ignore the fact that there is Another Cat in the room.

In a strange reversal of roles, Scrabble is perfectly OK with the fact that there is a Third! Cat! in the house, and has allowed Trooper to pass her several times, unmolested and uncommented-upon.

I'm hoping the drama will be well in the past by tomorrow this time.  I've never known Mozart to hold a grudge even half that long.