Laundry Day

The boyz are telling me it's time to do some laundry...

Hammock Boy

Theo takes on many personalities but one of my favorites is hammock boy. How can anyone resist hammock boy?

Under the Red Sky

We had some severe thunderstorms move through the area last night. Afterward the sunset was rather cool looking...

The Wise One

Thompson is a knowledgeable baseball fan. He knows that even though the Twins beat the Royals 19-1 last night, that a baseball season is a marathon and not a sprint and that good teams take things a game at a time. So he didn't get too excited about one very impressive game...

Bear Imitation

Diego-san does a pretty mean imitation of a black bear drinking out of a stream.

TGIM

Monday is one of Theo's seven favorite days of the week.

Our Resident Skeptic

Diego-san seemed a bit skeptical when I told him I was just going to spend the day relaxing at home...

Three Peas in a Pod

Or who is that monkey in the middle?

Mind Control

I think one of the boyz was using some mind control over me this morning. Before I left for work, I told the boyz that I wasn't certain at all what my schedule was for the day or when exactly I'd return home.

I had an early evening softball game but the only way I was going to be able to make that was to leave work early, which I wasn't sure I was going to be able to do. Plan B was I had a ticket to go see the pop group Squeeze play at the Minnesota Zoo. The weather forecast called for rain most of the day with a chance of some severe thunderstorms.

So, if I made it to my softball game I'd probably be home around 9 p.m. If I went to the concert, I probably wouldn't make it home until after 11 p.m. If it rained hard and I came straight home, I'd be home by 6 p.m. Thompson didn't look too thrilled when I told him I wasn't sure when I'd be home. I packed up my softball uniform and my Squeeze ticket and left for work.

When I got to work it dawned on my I had left my bat and glove at home so if I was going to play softball, I was going to have to go back home first. This meant that I had to leave work even earlier then I expected. And that's what I did. So the boyz's schedule wasn't too disrupted and they were happy to see me come home earlier, rather than much later than I normally do...

I've Got Nothing

I wish I had something interesting to say or do when the boyz look at me like this...

Torii Killed Da Goose

Regular readers of the blog know that I occasionally dog sit my friend M-'s two dogs Kurbie and Torii. Torii long ago dismantled his favorite toy- a honkin' goose. He still goes beserk when you say to him, "Torii, where's your goose?" He'll tear around the house until he finds the ripped up goose. When I went to buy my boyz a replacement catnip banana I thought I'd be nice and buy Torii another honkin' goose. It took him less than two days to de-honk the goose and rip the stuffing out of it. Here he stands proudly over his work.

Theo Reflects

Hey Theo... who's that guy looking opposite of you?

Book the Banana

If you wanna play with the banana in this house you better book it far in advance. Theo tends to monopolize the banana so the other two boyz have to schedule time with it when Theo is busy doing other things...

Treats

I gave the boyz canned food for lunch. I don't give them canned food as much as I should and all three got pretty excited when they smelled what was coming. Then I treated myself to lobster for dinner. The grocery store had it on sale so I thought I'd splurge. I've never made lobster before and it was great. Of course Diego-san wanted me to share some of my treat with him. To his audible disappointment I did not do so...

Chores

This was what Diego-san was doing while I was outside on a very hot and humid day trying to get the lawn mowed...

Theo's Joke

Theo: "Hey Thompson. What did the one wall say to the other wall?"

Thompson: "I do not know."

Theo: "Meet you at the corner!"

Thompson: "Whatever."

Professional Lounging

Believe it or not Thompson is not a natural lounger. He works hard, practices every day at being a good lounger.

Yoga Time

Diego-san leads us through our morning yoga session.

The Drinker

Theo has learned a great deal from his older brothers. One thing Diego-san has taught him is the proper way to drink.

The World's Watchguard

Don't worry world. Diego-san is keeping a close eye on you.

I've Just Seen a Face

"I've just seen a face I can't forget the time or place where we first met..."

Take Your Positions...

You snooze, you lose.

Resting Up

Theo's resting up for the weekend. He needs to conserve his energy in order to run around like a cat possessed.

Bananas

I finally got around to replacing Theo's favorite toy- a stick of dynamite stuffed with catnip. The pet store didn't have dynamite however- they offered me a choice of a banana stuffed with catnip or a cigar stuffed with catnip. I jokingly asked the sales clerk if she thought Theo would mind that I wasn't buying him a stick of dynamite and she answered me all seriously, "Oh as long as the texture is the same... I don't think he'll mind..."

I went with the banana in honor of Daisy's late sister Pixie who loved bananas. The boyz all enjoyed the purchase although as this video shows, their message for their buyer was that he should have realized bananas come in bunches and it probably would have been better to buy three bananas and not one...

The Latest Plan

This was Diego-san's strategy in trying to prevent me from going on my latest trip. Fortunately for me I was able to coax him out of my luggage by offering another furminator session.

35 Hour Train Trip

Had a very short west coast trip... flew into Seattle on Friday morning. Took the Amtrak to Los Angeles. Flew back home last night. It was a lovely train trip- going down the coast and seeing mountains and the ocean.

Where's Daddy

Theo is wondering when his papa is going to come home...

The Race

My favorite part of this video is Thompson feels he needs even more of a challenge so he races through the tunnel creating an obstacle course for himself...

ShhhhHH

Maybe Diego-san won't even notice that I'm gone taking another quick trip...

Health Day News Article

One of my favorite things Thompson does is when he tries to do the kneading thing on my chest it's like he thinks his missing leg is still there and I can see that side of his body twitch in rhythm as he purrs away...


Three-Legged Dogs Aid in Robot Design
How they compensate for missing limb may help scientists design robot that adapts to 'injury'
-- Robert Preidt

WEDNESDAY, June 30 (HealthDay News) -- The movement of three-legged dogs is being studied to help scientists design robots that can adapt in the event of an "injury."

German researchers used high-tech infrared cameras to record the movements of dogs missing a fore limb or hind limb as they walked and ran on a treadmill. The tests revealed that the dogs used different coping methods, depending on which limb was missing.

Adjusting to a missing fore limb is more difficult for a dog than dealing with a missing hind limb, for example. Fore limb amputation requires the remaining limbs to undergo careful adaptation to coordinate with each other, a process called "gait compensation." In the case of a hind-limb amputation, the fore limbs continue to act as they normally would in a four-legged dog, so there is little or no compensation strategy.

The difference in compensation strategies may be due to the fact that a dog's fore limbs carry more body weight than the hind limbs.

The research is slated to be presented Thursday at the Society for Experimental Biology's annual meeting in Prague.

More information

The American College of Veterinary Surgeons has more about dog and cat leg amputations.

Lifestyle Changes

Thompson is the only one of the boyz who spent part of his life as an outdoor kitty. Most of the time he seems content with indoor life. And sometimes he even seems to want to be an even more indoor kitty by finding a spot in the house that shelters him even more...