It has been a very long time since I wrote a blog post. I didn’t want the year to fizzle out without me updating you on my goings-on and wishing y’all a happy, healthy, and capy New Year!
There is a lot to cover so I think I will do it randomly. I don’t have the brain cells or the patience to try to figure out the best order.
Driftwood’s new cat
Go figure! Driftwood got a cat of his own! His name is Mamba, like the snake, and he is all black and slinky looking like the snake. He’s not venomous, as far as I can tell.
MelT complains that Mamba is hard to photograph because he always shows up as a black blob with sinister green eyes. He doesn’t look too sinister in that photo, he looks cute and snugly.

Mamba was a feral kitten only six weeks old when he came to live with us. He was pretty scary at first, all claws and teeth. He has calmed down since then. Not all the way calm, his claws and teeth still come out but he claims he is playing.

It is hard to sleep with Mamba because I don’t trust him. Do you see what MelT means about the sinister green eyes? My bear helps me through things. As long as I am hugging my bear nothing bad can happen. I wish Mamba knew that.

Mamba is about the same size as WBB1! That’s just the size Driftwood and I were when we first came to live with MelT. Luckily, Winston Bumblebee Barcode the 1st is just as refined as his name suggests. He can’t be intimidated by a kitten.

You can see that WBB1 is his same old self. He enjoys singing for his food as much as ever. He’s got a big voice for such a small animal.

Mamba does not know he is playing with fire when Flopsy comes over. Flopsy really has a temper and NO patience when it comes to kittens. Since Mamba came, Flopsy doesn’t even like me or Driftwood anymore. We still like him though.

I don’t know why those Dr. Seuss books are all about cats in hats. Cats like boxes a lot more than hats, in my experience.
The Big Flood
A really exciting thing that happened at our house was the flood! We got fifteen inches of rain in about four hours!

That is our driveway during the storm. It looks like a raging river! MelT says she is glad there were no cars parked out there or they would have floated away. I would have liked to see that! Our new orchard is out there on either side of the driveway. Luckily all the trees are okay. I can hardly wait to get some fresh fruit in the spring.

It looked like it would be fun to go out there and swim but MelT refused to let me out of the house.

This is looking out the back porch toward Capybara Creek. It’s out there between the trees somewhere. Surprisingly, creeks can disappear under water just like driveways.
Explorers
MelT hadn’t replaced the fence in the back yet and the flood kind of knocked part of it down. She won’t let me out there anymore until we get a new fence. Lame.

The new fence in the front wasn’t hurt by the flood so Drifter and I are still trapped. People are always asking MelT why Drifter doesn’t just jump out. That is crazy, he’s a cat not a kangaroo!

I am glad Driftwood can’t get out. We spend a lot of time out there together exploring the wilderness.

Driftwood is braver than I am, he always goes first.

I think he’s so brave because he can climb a tree if he sees danger. I guess I could go in the water, but that is not my way.
My bear
IF you look up at the photos of me with Mamba, you can see one where I am hugging my bear. Oh, how I love my bear! She doesn’t have a name because she doesn’t need one, she is just snuggles incarnate. I have been hugging her since I was a little baby.

We’ve been together a long time, me and my bear. She’s got a lot of hugs stored up in her.

So what’s this? MelT bought me a new bear. Does she really think I can transfer all of my love, affection, and hugs to a new bear? My bear and I have a long, wonderful history. I’ll probably hug new bear sometimes but my bear is always going to be my favorite.
I am going to wrap up this post now. I covered a lot of ground. There’s more that happened but these are probably the most important things.
I hope everyone has a very happy New Year. Remember to hug your own bear.