Category: Cats paw blog

Our local Polecat

By cpadmin

Our local Polecat. Before 0900 this morning we noticed that our tomcat had climbed to the top of one of the poles that hold up the washing line. We are not really sure why he did this. The only explanation that comes to mind is that every year some pigeons build a nest in the crook of a nearby houses satellite dish. As the crow flies the washing line pole is quite near to the nest. It’s a wooden pole so he could get his claws in to help himself up. Getting down was not as easy though.

Gale fetched the step ladder, but of course you can guess what happened. He slithered down the post as she approached. I now know why someone wrote a book called, “That darned cat”. Naturally, my first thought was to nip back for my camera, whilst Gale fetched the step ladder! Two images of our local polecat are shown below.

See more images of Ernie’s adventures on our website

More of our images can be seen on our website https://www.compassphotography.co.uk

Polecat
Polecat 2
Get me down
Pole cat 1

That darned cat!

By cpadmin

That darned cat!

That darned cat!
Ernie on his perch!

That darned cat! Ernie where he shouldn’t really be sitting, on the newel post half way up the stairs. Setting up properly for this shot was not an option! The tripod and one or two test shots would have got it right, however by then you know what would have happened. That darned cat would have leapt down to the stairs or up to the windowsill! They say, “Never work with children and animals”.

The only chance I had, when summoned by Gale’s shout of alarm, was to point and shoot three quick bursts and avoid shooting into the light coming through the window. No chance to fiddle with the settings. Maybe it didn’t turn out so bad though. For years I have been wanting to capture one of the cats as they stick their head through the banister. Usually though, by the time I have fetched my camera they have moved.

Ernie is just over a year old and he thinks he is immortal. He goes up the tree chasing pigeons who nest there and he brings back and plays with feathers! The painting is, by the way, all my own work!

Have a look at more of our images on www.compassphotography.co.uk

Equipment: Sony SLT-A65V, Tamron 16-300mm – settings F4.5 1/40 ISO100

That darned cat!
Ernie where he shouldn’t be

Cat’s paw blog-Sunday lunch on the settee

By cpadmin

Sunday lunch on the settee

Here we are at Sunday lunch on the settee. There I am in the picture, the good-looking one. The man with me “does for me”, looks after some of my needs, but he could do better! We are both sitting on the settee at lunchtime today. Ours is a poor household, he had cornflakes for Sunday lunch would you believe! Most people have a roast, but he had cornflakes, but that’s alright with me because I get the bowl with the surplus milk afterwards. That is when he eventually deigns to put it on the side! Some days he hardly leaves any milk at all, but today it was not too bad!  It’s a hard life!

Anyway, there we are both looking out of the window. I think he was looking at his garden, whilst I was following my ornithological studies. As you ask, they are progressing quite nicely, I had that fat of pigeon in my sites earlier today. Yesterday, I was inches away from a blackbird, it hadn’t noticed that I was behind the flower pots. What really annoys me is the blue tits, even though I sit under the bird feeder they come and go, cool as a cucumber. And of course the bits they don’t eat drop on me!

Getting back to the picture, you’d think that they would keep the photographs on the wall straight, but they don’t. It’s a nice view from the settee, warm too so perhaps I’ll have a snooze. More another time!

Equipment: Sony SLT A65V, Tamron 16:300mm lens.

Settings: F6.3, 1/25, ISO 100

 

Sunday lunch on the settee
Ornithological studies