black cat

Weekend Cat Blogging #288: Saturation

We at CatSynth are feeling pretty saturated this weekend, particularly with music and social events.  But that doesn’t stop us from posting some recent unsaturated images of Luna:

Probably not the best pictures from a technical point of view (they were taken with odd lighting and at high ISO, the “setting of last resort”). But they still seem precious in their way.

Weekend Cat Blogging #288 is to be hosted by Salome at PaulChens FoodBlog?!

The Carnival of the Cats will be up this Sunday at Mind of Mog.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator

Weekend Cat Blogging: Homecoming (temporary)

With delays in the construction at CatSynth HQ, I decided to bring Luna home for the weekend. It is nice to have her home, even though it is only temporary.

As one can see in the above image, things are a bit out of place in anticipation of the work, but that doesn’t stop us from enjoying our time here. Here we see Luna checking out a new toy (a birthday present from a friend of ours):

Note the picture frames neatly resting on the stairs behind her. Much of the artwork (paintings, prints, etc.) had to be moved as well.

Weekend Cat Blogging #287 is at Mind of Mog.

Kashim, Othello and Salome are pulling double duty this weekend, hosting both the weekly Carnival of the Cats and the monthly Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos. We suspect they are going to be busy.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Happy Birthday Luna!

Today marks Luna’s official birthday.  She turns six years old either today or sometime near today.

I arrived back in San Francisco last night, just in time to celebrate with her, although not at home.  There is (once again) construction at CatSynth HQ, so Luna is staying at her boarding facility until it’s over.  I know she will not only be safe there, but she will be doted on and receive lots of love and attention.  When I went to visit her today, she came over to greet me, but then immediately settled down to nap.  But I was able to get some “relaxed” birthday photos.

Please join me in wishing Luna a happy birthday!  And thanks to everyone who has already left her comments.

Weekend Cat Blogging #283: Heatwave (in November)

It was a rather intense week here, with the San Francisco Giants victory, the elections, and the backdrop of exceptionally warm weather in November!  It was hot and humid, and even stayed warm enough at night to spend time outdoors.  For Luna, the heat means stretching out, relaxing, and waiting for things to cool down.

I quite enjoy the heat – especially the rare treat of a warm night – but Luna clearly does not.  I left the ceiling fans running for her, and a cold towel. The weather has cooled down quite a bit this weekend.  And the energy of the city will hopefully start to return to normal as well.

Weekend Cat Blogging #283 is hosted by Patchouli and Pam at sidewalk shoes.

Carnival of the Cats will be hosted this Sunday by Meowza at iMeowza

The monthly Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos is hosted by Nikita at Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt: naranja

The theme for this week’s combined Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt is ORANGE.  So here is a series of photos in which Luna encounters our large stuffed fish, appropriately named “Big Fishy”.

For the last couple of years, Big Fishy has mostly been in the closet (no pun intended).  But we took the opportunity to bring him out for this week’s theme.   It may not be the most seasonal interpretation of orange, but we do have a black cat.

It also occurs to me that yesterday’s photo also fits today’s orange theme.

Weekend Cat Blogging #281 is hosted by Nikita and Elivra at Meowsing of an Opinionated Pussycat. Check out their latest “street scenes” of cats from their neighborhood in southern California.

And the Weekend Cat Blogging Hallowe’en Edition will be hosted right here at CatSynth next weekend!

Photo Hunt #236 is hosted by tnchick. This week’s theme is orange.

The Carnival of the Cats is hosted by Kashim, Othello and Salome.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt: Stripes

I had been planning to post these very cute photos of Luna in her perch at the top of the stairs for Weekend Cat Blogging, and the just happen to be perfect for this week’s Photo Hunt theme of stripes:

No need to say much here. I think Luna speaks for herself quite well through these images:

Weekend Cat Blogging #279 is being hosted by Kashim, Othello and Salome at PaulChens FoodBlog?! The are going PINK this weekend for breast cancer awareness.

Photo Hunt #234 is hosted by tnchick. This week’s theme is stripes.

The Carnival of the Cats will be up this Sunday at Mind of Mog.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt: Natural

The theme for our combined Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt this weekend is natural. This complements a theme from a year ago, artificial. At that time, we explored the interplay of Luna’s natural beauty with her artificial surroundings. Especially in light of my recent experience with New Topographics, it seems like an appropriate subject to revisit. We often explore the interplay between Luna’s naturally curving biological body and the straight lines that dominate the art and architecture of her surrounding environment.

The patio is really our landscape. It is an artificially constructed one, but it is a space claimed by natural elements, such as the plants, Luna, the bugs she likes to hunt, the grass she tries to eat out of the flower pot…

Another bit of nature this morning, this time one that is not so welcome.

These snails were a menace in our garden when I lived in Santa Cruz where they seemed to arrive in swarms. This is the first one I have seen in our patio in San Francisco in over two years. Removing it from a cactus is not a simple task. On the plus side, it was opportunity to practice with macro shot, which is not something I usually do.

A sad note. Our friend Nirmanakaya’s Viandra (aka “Sniffie”) passed away last week. “Sniffie and Florida Furkids” have often visited and shared their thoughts with us on topics far beyond feline, and in turn we got to know a little about them. Sniffie will be missed, and our thoughts go out to her family.

Weekend Cat Blogging #277 will be hosted by Othello (with some assist from Astrid) at Paulchens FoodBlog?!

Photo Hunt #232 is hosted by tnchick.

The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted this Sunday by Nikita and Elvira at Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging #276: A quiet morning

It’s a quiet, rainy morning here.  So we are just relaxing a bit.  Luna was sitting quietly on the carpet for an extended period of time, which gave me an opportunity to play with the cameras.  First, a detailed black-and-white portrait (36mm):

Next, it’s over to the iPhone camera for more fun with the Hipstamatic app:

I think both the green lens effect and the monochrome of the first image capture qualities of this morning.  So does this nice big yawn:

A quiet, moody and gray morning like this is actually welcome.  It’s an opportunity to rest and turn inward.

Weekend Cat Blogging #276 is being hosted by Patchouli and Pam at Sidewalk Shoes.

The Carnival of the Cats will be up this Sunday at When Cats Attack!

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.