The Cat Room

So, today we were back with our volunteer two-hour weekly stint in the car room. This time it was just four cats in three cage: one bonded pair and two solos. First up were the little black panthers ISSA (all blACK EXCEPT FOR THE TIPS OF HIS TOES) and MUSE (who has a few more white little white spots). ISSA has has an identify mark: a tiny bump at th tip of his tail. Issa was charming so we took him out for a morning walk. He did okay at first but got increasingly worried that the people approaching were cat-eating fiends in disguise, so we took him back inside. When it was ONYX and when TIGER's turns we decided to keep them inside. ONYX loves games and toys and attention and catnip. He knows all about doors, but is more interested in opening doors and peering inside cupboards than in going in. TIGER is quieter, but only by the standerds of his fellows. All in all, friendly, playful, and affectionate. And they all liked the catnip. --John R

So, yesterday I petted an alligator named Lucy. We'd gone down to our favorite farmers' market, the one in Auburn.* When it's summer season Janice and I generally go about once a weekend to look around at fruit and vegetables but sometimes add a craft item. Two weeks ago it was a wooden pen. I like wooden pens for the aesthetics but they tend not to be v. durable. By far the most interesting non-food item this week was a booth which held a smallish alligator and a python with unusual color. Their keeper encouraged them to interact with people. Hence these photos. The alligator was active and confident; the boa lively. We got to stroke each while we got there handler to hold them A pleasant surprise. I'll have to see if the group of Seattle turtle fanciers whose exhibition we stumbled across quite a few years ago on the other side of Seattle are still active. --john R P.S. *This is the one with the crow statue, complete with little statues of French fries. Somebody out there knows his or her crow. Current (re-)reading: skimming bits of A. A. Milne' play adaptation of Grahame WIND IN THE WILLOWS

Young's Fairies

So, yesterday I read a review by Ronald Hutton of Francis Young's new book FAIRIES.* What I've read so far of the review I found surprisingly comprehensive and well-written to boot. Two points in particular caught my attention: Hutton's statement that the largest current genre of literature is fantasy and his pointing out that much (most?) of the scholarship on fantasy is done on the fringe if not outside academia. Also notable to see is Young's faring far afield (he devotes time and attention to the BalticS). In short, someone who really has something to say in a crowded field. --John R. *thanks to DF, AH, and DAA for drawing this to my attention. current reading: FIRST WHISPER OF THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS re-reading THE ROOK by Daniel O'Malley