It's my party...

 ...and I'll sleep if I want to!

Hi Bozo, Lindy and all mum's blog readers out there. This is Ambrose and I heard it was my birthday. What's a birthday, Unca Shadow?

Oh, he says, he's never tasted one so he doesn't know! (He also muttered that he doesn't care!)

I think it's something to do when I was taken to mum's house in another place F A R away. I was a very small, hungry and scared kitty. I remember growling as an Askari carried me to mum's house. He asked mum (who wasn't my mum yet, remember!) if this was her cat. And she said no, her ginger cat is lying in the lounge. 

I must admit, even though I was very afraid, I held my little kitty breath and wondered what would happen to me now. Would I go back to living in the bush and being cold and hungry?

No...

Although I didn't know it, I 'd been taken to the right place. 

Mum thanked the Askari, took me from him and carried me inside her house. (I didn't know what a "house" was then.) She carried me to a bedroom, placed me on a bed, and left closing the door. 

A little while and she returned, and calling softly to me, she put a a bowl of runny white stuff  in front of me;  I sniffed it first and then lapped it up. It was yummy!  Mum left the room again and when she came back, she had a very big plastic bowl with grassy stuff in it. She placed me inside and after I'd sniffed the grass, I pulled one paw through it and suddenly I knew what this was for! 

Mum had gone out again and this time when she came back, she placed a bowl of yummy-smelling stuff in front of me; I sniffed it, licked and then ate all the minced beef as well.

Now mum lifted me, and put me on the bed with some fluffy things near me. She said something to me which, although I didn't yet understand yoomen talk, made me feel safe and warm. (Now I know the fluffy things were kitty toys, but then I just cuddled up to them and fell asleep!)

Next morning when mum came into the room, I was already scratching inside the box of grass. She cooed at me and said she was going to get me feeling really good. She lifted me and carried me out of the room into another place. This time she put me in a white bowl full of... 

W A T E R!!! 

Ewgh!

MEOOUW! 

All the while mum talked softly to me while she put slippery stuff on my coat and dunked me under the water. I just clung to her hands like a drowned rat - er - cat!  Then she wrapped me in a large cloth and carried me back to the room which was nice and sunny by now. She placed me on the floor in front of the window,  and, although I didn't know it at the time, she took a photo of me! I decided to licked coat. Mum cheered and said I was a good kitty! 

 

I, Ambrose, the first day in Mum's house after she bathed me! 

 Mum said it was a good sign when I licked myself, as this meant I was interested in living! 

I, Ambrose,  the first day in my new mum's house

If you want to see exactly how it was the day and the next week that I arrived at mum's house in a F A R place, please click here.

If you want to see how mum first thought that I was a GURL, then please click here

So how come it's my birthday now? Well, mum decided that the day I came into her life, was my birthday. 

Oh, and mum says that when some of her long-standing blog readers see this post, they might remember the time I became a Hedges kitty. 

For more cute posts, please click here




 

 

Wholesome beauty in shadows

South African variety of tomatoes: a gift from my friend, Louise, grown here on camp in East Africa!

For more Shadow Shots Sunday please click here

It's critter party time again!

When I thought about this week's post on Eileen's super meme, I wondered what I'd have to share. It's mid-winter in Northern Tanzania; the area is B R O W N and very dusty. However, as can be seen on my mid-week bird post which you can see here, if you wish, Grant and I managed to spot many birds even under these strenuous conditions. 

Going through my photos of the past week, I found several critters (and of course, birds) to join Eileen's party today. 

 A pair of Dik-dik seen in the torch light on our night drive last week

One evening we spotted a bird running off the road into the bush. I only managed to get one photo and sent it off to Jez in Dar for identification. He and the other Dar birding fraternity were very excited about our sighting: 

Hildebrandt's Spurfowl. This bird is endemic to East Africa and only seen sparingly so this was a good sighting! 

During the late summer we saw many bishops, the males, glorious in full breeding plumage with several dowdy, but well-marked females in attendance. At sunset one evening last week,  Grant stopped at a small bush near the road,  where several birds were settling in for the night. 

Fire-crowned Bishop, (second top from right) in eclipse plumage with his wives - a far cry from the bright red bird in summer!

While celebrating the General Manager's birthday at the club a few weeks ago, I spotted a raptor fly down onto the grass. I walked over and took several photos. 

African Harrier-Hawk 

Grant and I had business in Mwanza this week. We stopped off for lunch at the Malaika Hotel which is on Lake Victoria. As always, I have my camera to take photos.  As always, we look for birds and I photograph them!

Long-tailed Cormorant sitting on a rock in Lake Victoria

And as always, I find cats wherever we go. And photograph them! There are many cats at the hotel but we only saw one last week: a battle-scarred old Tomcat. 

A Tomcat at the Malaika hotel, Mwanza

I'm linking my post today to Saturday Critters with Eileen which you can visit by clicking here