Category Archives: Recommended Reading

What the Ek? Prey-ing for Birds

Jinx Yengst likes to read about the cardinals, finches, and other birds in his dog- (eh, cat-) eared Golden Guide: Birds. Not only does he like to learn about them as he watches from his favorite cat seat, but he also likes to chirp—or is it chatter? chitter? trill? Or is he reading aloud toContinue reading “What the Ek? Prey-ing for Birds”

Fostering a New Habit

Any cat can tell you that a comfortable habit is hard to break. Miss Kitty, for example, loves to lounge on the lanai with a favorite book.  Not that she has the time to read it, mind you. She’d like to, but life is complicated. There are so many other things to do, you know.Continue reading “Fostering a New Habit”

Crack, Bam, Dot—Creating Chaos Out of Colorful Order

When a neighbor recently invited me to play mah jongg, I balked. Having played once, more than a decade ago with my friend Claire, I didn’t want to appear foolish. So, I sought out Mr. Beamer Baclawski. He’s a fanatic, doesn’t suffer fools quietly, and did teach me to play Rummikub. I started with theContinue reading “Crack, Bam, Dot—Creating Chaos Out of Colorful Order”

Purr-fectly Understandable

John Caskey, an avid reader of this blog, shared with us the article, “Your Cats Can Tell When You’re Speaking to Them,” which appeared in the January 2023 issue of Scientific American. The author, Tanya Lewis, reported on a study published in Animal Cognition that found cats, like dogs, can discriminate speech addressed to themContinue reading “Purr-fectly Understandable”

Stalking the Shadow of Giants

The last time I talked with my friend Sharyn Tufts, she told me that her feline housemate Louie was so enthralled with Gerald Ciccarone’s The Shadow of Giants that he insisted she share the premise of the book with our readers. The Shadow of Giants is the first book in Ciccarone’s Millennium’s Gate trilogy, aContinue reading “Stalking the Shadow of Giants”

Succeeding at a Creative Challenge

When I visited neighbors Nancy and Vince Baclawski recently to share my May 25 feature in the Florida Weekly, co-bloggers Rocky (top) and Beamer insisted on reading the newspaper before Nancy and Vince could get their hands on it. Editor Cindy Pierce had interviewed me in conjunction with a story I had entered in lastContinue reading “Succeeding at a Creative Challenge”