There is the friendly neighbor cat, who feels right at home…even waits by the door to come in (though she is never invited.)

There is a mushroom house occupied by two cheerful gnomes.

Nearby you will find a rabbit, a deer, a few ducks, and other statuary.

The most recent addition we noticed on our last visit was a little door in a previously unoccupied hole in the walnut tree.  This attracted a great deal of attention and speculation about the occupants, although they did not appear at home when we knocked (many times).

The wildlife varies but is always entertaining. This large green beetle appeared out of the blue a few weeks back, the only one we have ever seen. It must have been lost or taking a rest stop on the way to somewhere else.

We’ve been trying to visit Filoli as often as possible before they close for the rest of the year. We saw a lot more fauna than usual today…perhaps because it was so quiet, few visitors in the gardens.

There were turkeys on the way in. (here is an old turkey pic from another visit.) One of our first stops is always to see the birds…there is one bird in this coop that makes an odd laughing sound…almost like a hyena. Madame told the doves some pretend stories to get them talking.

We saw our first cat ever…one of the gardeners said there are 8-10 cats who live there.

We also came across a chicken, roosted on the side of a path. I didn’t see her at first…madame thought she was a statue until she moved. The chicken was getting comfortable, perhaps about to lay an egg. She didn’t get up or run away…just waited for us to leave.

On the way out, we saw a pair of deer grazing on the grass.

Today I tried out a feature on my new camera called “movie digest.” It takes a few seconds of movie footage before and after each photo I take (while using that setting).

I was pleasantly surprised…not only did it capture the essence of our day, it was a lot more interesting than the video I intentionally took. (Beware, it is a little wobbly in places…now that I know the video is shot before the photo, I will try to be a little smoother in the camera handling. )

Filoli movie digest from Jill C on Vimeo.

“Daddy, is it OK if I have one moneyness? Thank you!”
— the kid asks for and receives a penny

Though the kid can’t read yet, she loves books and storytelling. Her mom reads her stories on a continual basis, reading and re-reading the kid’s favorites.

As a matter of fact, the kid actually has many of her favorite books memorized. Check out the above video where the kid ‘reads’ a current fave, Top Cat, to see what I mean.

“Now we have ‘Stay at home Wubie’ and ‘Travel Wubie’!”
— Lucy, talking about the Siamese cats she discovered outside our condo on Hawaii’s big island

Hawaii is full of life, especially wildlife. It seems like the most alive place on earth. The soil is so fertile and rich, you can plant a clipping and it will grow…just shove a twig in the ground. The birds and bugs and animals also flourish here.

On Kauai, there are wild chickens everywhere…in parking lots, at the beach, park, roadside, backyard, shopping center, even the airport!

We saw an endangered monk seal at the beach, loads of birds, and even a mouse. Eek!

On the Big Island we discovered toads on our lawn, big ones, sometimes hidden in the short grass, so you almost step on them. Last night there was one on the road we had to stop for and let pass. Was that a squirrel, nope, it was a mongoose. And the bumblebees! So gigantic they weigh down any flower or leaf they land on.

And on the beach, we saw crabs, fish, birds and….turtles! Next on the to see list: whales and dolphins. (We saw some whales spouting from the shore on Kauai, but we want to see them a little bit closer.)

This trip we have had cats wherever we went…the resident cats at our hosts on Kauai, and wild ones here on the Big Island. When we arrived, what did we see but…a mirror image of Wubie! A siamese cat in a feral version, in the parking lot, just washing his feet. So naturally we took a shine to him. Then we saw his twin. And tonight, we saw a third siamese.

Those three had friends, all living out on the lava and in the shrubery nearby. Probably every week they get new benefactors from the condo and resort dwellers who miss their own fuzzy friends.

And on the home front, our Wubie is keeping his catsitter busy. But we’ll save that for another post!

“Yes, he is annoying because he doesn’t wake up at 9 or 10 or 11 or 12!”
— Lucy commenting on Wubert’s early morning breakfast demands

“I’m a little girl and he’s not a gentleman so he’s not my little baby!”
— Lucy explaining why Wubie can’t be one of her “babies” (like her dollies)

“Hey look at this—a tall Wubie with a smile!”
“That’s Wubie at night playing baseball! That’s his window, and his treehouse, and his bat, and his baseball!”
— Lucy explaining her latest drawings of Wubert

Way back in 1998, Jill and I had been in our condo for a few short months when we realized something was missing.

1998 was a big year for us. I’d (finally) gotten my BA from SJSU, began working fulltime in Palo Alto, and settled down in a peaceful, quiet condo with Jill. Looking back, it was probably too peaceful and quiet, because we both came to agreement that we longed for the pitter-patter of little feet.

Yep, we needed a cat.

We started looking around, and one day dropped by a local pet store that occasionally showed off rescued cats in need of homes. The store had a little room in the back that housed about a half-dozen cages. On this day the little room held captive a clowder of Persian cats that had been rescued by the aptly titled Persian Cat Rescue Society.

Though we weren’t looking for a Persian, we walked into the room and took a look at the wall of cages, each one housing a pair of cats and a litter box. As we strode by each cage, Jill would give a kind word to each cat:

“Hi, little feller! Aren’t you a cutie!”
“Hiiiiii! Meow, meow, little guy!”
“Look at you! Oh, what a pretty tail you have!”

We were almost finished w/ our little tour when Jill stopped in her tracks in front of a cage. Inside, taking up most of the metal box was a big fluffed out Persian. But next to the Persian, relegated to a permanent spot in the litter box due to the tight confines of the cage, was a small, quiet(!) Siamese cat. Yep, it was Wubie. For Jill, it was love at first sight.

“OH, HI, LITTLE KITTY! LOOK AT YOU! YOU’RE SO SWEET!”

She immediately tried touching the object of her affection, plunging her fingers between the metal bars of the cage. Seeing this, Wubie stepped out of the litter box and flicked on his “charm” switch. (Funnily enough, I think this is the last time he flicked on his charm switch, the little con artist!) He pressed himself against the cage, allowing Jill to pet him while he purred quietly(!)

“Oh, this is the one! I want him!” Jill said excitedly.

“Are you sure?” I asked as I eyeballed the cat. “He’s not a kitten, ya know. He’s a full grown cat.”

“He’s the one!”

I looked at the cat again. “Pretty cat,” I thought. “He seems friendly and low-key.” (yep, famous last words.)

So, while Jill staked out the cage w/ her “claimed” cat, I went looking for a store employee who could help us out. To my surprise, none of the employees could assist with the cat. Instead, they referred us to a Persian Cat Rescue Society flyer with a contact phone number. Remember, this was 1998, so neither of us had a cell phone.

Jill reluctantly left Wubert as we both went out in search of a pay phone. Luckily, we found one right outside the shop. However, our hopes were dashed when our call led to an answering machine.

We left an excited, semi-coherent message, pledging our dedication and commitment to this newly discovered caged beastie, made sure to leave our contact info, and hung up.

I remember that call very well. By that time, Jill’s admiration for this new cat had become contagious. I wanted this cat too. And there he was, looking pitiful and depressed, hunkered down in a litter box behind bars. But we couldn’t save him. The only thing we could do was say goodbye and go home to wait for a call that might never come. We felt utterly powerless.

Time went by, enough time for us to conjure up paranoid thoughts of assorted miscreants swooping in and taking our cat. But then the call came.

“Yes, we want the cat!” Jill said to the woman on the phone.

“Are you sure? He’s a Siamese cat you know.”

“Yes!” Jill said. “I’ve had Siamese before. I know what to expect.”

“What to expect? What are they even talking about?” I thought as I listened in. The majority of my experience had been with gray tabbies. “Whatever. A cat’s a cat,” I decided.

Arrangements were made. When the day came, we drove off to the pet shop, excited as can be. When we saw Wubert, he looked worse for wear than our previous meeting. He now had an infected eye and was looking rather glum.

However, this time we were able to do something about it. We filled out the required paperwork, paid our “adoption” fee, and excitedly purchased cat food, toys, and a litterbox for our new charge.

Once we got him home, our new roommate took some tentative steps around the condo before doing some full-fledged exploring. We named him “Mr. Wu” which eventually turned into “Wubert”. Lately he’s been “Wubie”, the moniker Lucy applied to him.

Now here we are, almost 13 years later. Having Wubie has been great. He’s been a loyal (well, as loyal as a cat can be!) constant companion. However, I now understand much better what it means to share a home with a Siamese cat. Shortly after the adoption, Wubert shed the quiet, tentative demeanor. Once he became fully comfortable, he decided to wave his Siamese freak flag high.

Some observations about Siamese cats:

• They are loud and proud
• If they are lonely or bored, they will let you know about it, loudly
• They are stubborn
• I truly believe that they see many daily interactions as a struggle of wills
• They are incredibly perceptive (Wubert will run and hide if he thinks Jill and I are doing anything that looks remotely conspiratorial. He can sense when a trip to the V-E-T is imminent)
• Have I mentioned they’re loud?

Anyway, that’s the rather longwinded story of how we met Wubert all those years ago. Now, here’s some stuff that’s a little more recent:

Wubie’s getting older, so now he has to see the doctor every now and then. These are some pictures from a recent trip to the V-E-T (we spell it out when in front of him)

The above two pics were taken in the V-E-T’s office. The pic on the right was snapped after Wubie came home after a two day stay at the hospital. They had to put him under while he was there, so they shaved a little window in his sleeve where the needle for the anaesthesia was placed. Here’s a close-up of Wubie’s “window”:

More pics of Wubie after his return home. The left picture above shows him playing the role of customer at Lucy’s “store.” The pic on the right shows the two taking a break.

And here are two last pics of the partners in crime just hanging out. Young Kid and Old Cat—sounds like a cop buddy movie.

BTW, long before this blog was created, Wubie had his own web site. We have an archived version of it here.

“I’m a new dolly!”
— Lucy, after washing her feet

Every so often it gets a little quiet and I start to wonder what madame is up to. One day my mommy-radar was tingling and this is what I found…

which reminded me of this…

(That’s Edith climbing to get Mr. Bear’s new clock from Edith and Mr. Bear. )

When I popped onto the scene Lucy assured me of her great climbing ability, and I did let her finish getting the toys and climb down by herself.

She has used the chair to get things like cookies from high places…last week I found her quietly reaching for cookies on top of the micro by using the chair…but adding the stool to it is a new trick.

I think I will keep those cats at a more accessible level from now on…and keep listening for when it is too quiet.

“Tell me a story Daddy, but keep your eyes open so I can see them!”
- Lucy getting her sleepy dad to tell her a story

Here are some pics of the kid from the past week. Every time I look at pics like these it always hits me how fast the kid is growing up.

We had a nice get-together at my mom’s place last weekend. My mom has a neat backyard, with lots of trees and plants, squirrels and birds. The neighborhood cats love it. These pics show one cat in particular who’s always lazing around in the yard. Lucy and her cousins gave the cat rockstar treatment. The cat loved the attention.

Jill and I had never used this pool before. However, the kid had never been swimming, so we packed up our towels and flip-flops and made the trek. It was actually pretty fun (and very refreshing) so I think we’ll make regular use of the pool until the weather cools.

I’ve written before about how I like tooling around on weekend mornings while the girls are asleep. Last weekend I hit a few garage sales. My dad took me to lots of flea markets when I was a kid. I loved going, even enough to get up at 7am on a Saturday (that’s pretty early when you’re 8 or 9.) He’d look at old hi-fi equipment while I was on the prowl for comic books.

One of my fondest memories involves my dad getting me a big box of a beat-up comics for $2. I had enough to keep me reading for the whole summer! Talk about heaven.

I think that’s why, to this day I love hitting garage sales, flea markets, and thrift stores. Anyway, at one of the garage sales I hit, I saw a neglected little bicycle. I immediately shifted into flea market mode:

(look at everything except bike; before leaving, look at bike and ask out of curiosity…)

Me: “How much is the bike?”
Seller: “$10.”
Me: (pause) “Would you take $5?”
Seller: “I’d rather have $10.”
Me: “Well, good luck with that!” (interest gone, turn to leave)
Seller: “Howzabout $7?”
Me: “I’ve got my truck right here. I’ll give you $5 and take it off your hands right now. You won’t have to worry about it.”
Seller: “OK. $5.”

My dad would have been proud of me. So I got the bike home, scrubbed a couple of years of grime off, and voila!—the kid has a bike.

This year the big event of the day was Lucy winning a prize at one of the game booths…a kitty cat! She has had luck on the ‘wheel of fortune’ two years in a row. Yay Lucy! I think you’ve found your game!

Notable happenings from the past month:

• Celebrating Jill’s birthday in SF (too bad John couldn’t make it!)
• Easter Egg Hunt at Gma Vita’s place
• BJ Penn Book Signing
• Getting together with old friends, including Kelly

Stuff I’ve watched/read this month:

Movies & Books