Category Archives: Uncategorized

Scrubbing for Wildlife

Mickey Blanchett takes after housemate Rick when it comes to observing birds. On a recent bus trip organized by the Calusa Nature Center to the Archbold Biological Station in Venus, Florida, Rick spotted horned owls, swallow-tailed kites, and caracara when everyone else saw cows. His wife, Nancy, is accustomed to people gathering around Rick whenContinue reading “Scrubbing for Wildlife”

Going Head-to-Head with Manatees

Pukka is not a people-friendly feline—unless, of course, he’s snuggling up with his housemates, Martha and Rick. Only then does he allow his true cat-onality to express itself. His prevalent feral spirit involves patrolling his environment, bringing home small rodents, and indulging a curiosity with another primitive mammal—the manatee. Not that Pukka would actually jumpContinue reading “Going Head-to-Head with Manatees”

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”