Source: K Bell Hair Studio & Spa
Two Saturdays ago, around noon, the temperature reached 82º. Three hours later the winds blew, trees swayed, the leaves quickly fell, leaving many branches bare, and the temperature suddenly dropped some 16 degrees. A front came through, and just like that... the "Dog Days" of summer were gone. RUFF!
"Rough"... are the summers in Philadelphia and the burbs: with its unrelenting days and nights of oppressively hot and humid weather, with air conditioning and its constant irritating hum being the only respite, making the unbearable somewhat less unbearable.
But is summer really as long as it feels?
According to an article on NPR: "Not All Seasons Are Created Equal," Professor Jay Pasachoff of Williams College, made this precise calculation:
Spring lasts 92 days, 19 hours
Summer 93 days, 15 hours
Autumn 89 days, 20 hours
Winter 89 days, zero hours
While it might be hard to convince those of us on the east coast, who deal with frequent Nor'easters and marathon events regarding snow removal, that winter is short, the shortest of seasons, I have no doubt believing that summer is long, painfully, l-o-n-g!
Which is why now, I can say with GREAT pleasure...
"Good Bye 'Dog' Days of Summer!"
"Hello Autumn days with 'Cats'!"
Cats??? I know it's a leap, and I'm not even a pet lover... unless... the animals happen to be "toys"... and then I'm over the moon!
Source: Altered from Wayfair
I love, love, love, cute plastic toys of all types, which occasionally include animals like the toy cats I ordered from a company called "Strange Cat Toys," based out of Tampa, Florida, run by Cory & Evette, a husband and wife team.
The name "Strange Cat Toys" may be a bit ambiguous in that the toys being sold are not for cats but for humans, with most adults choosing to display them rather than play with them.
The images below are from "Strange Cat Toys" with this one showing a small sample of inventory:
Here's a corrugated shipping box full of boxed toys. Many of these designer toys are sold in blind boxes... blind in that you don't know which toy out of a series you are getting. All the more fun!
Here are 3 boxes I received from the "Paper Bag Cat" series.
These cats toys look rather abstract and appear to be folded like origami.
The second set of 3 cats that I ordered are a bit more realistic and are made by a company called Kong Zoo. And yes, they come with removable eyeglasses.
This image shows all the cats available in the series.
So cute. So colorful. What joy!
And for all you cat lovers out there who prefer real cats to toys, I'll leave you with these black and white images by Italian catographer, Sabrina Boem, who began photographing cats after adopting two of her own, Sissi & Ricky.
This series called "Window Cats" came about after noticing how much time cats spend looking through windows at home or napping on sills.
End of summer, cats, or toys... any interesting tales you'd like to tell?
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Next... Here are a few links you might find interesting:
Watch this Japanese larger-than-life realistic 3D cat here.
Cat Mania in Japan here.
Cats wearing glasses here.
Giant cats and Brutalist Architecture here.
Watch the trailer for the new movie: "The Electrical Life of Louis Wain" about a real-life artist who painted cats here.
Vacationing woman thinks cats miss her. Read the story here.
NPR's article: "Not All seasons Are Created Equal" here.
Check out Strange Cat Toys' website here.
Happy Halloween!
From the Gang at Here and Next!
And a shout-out to friends and their felines... Lisa and her domestic pair, Sadie & Mill, Barbara and her sweet Henry, and to Rob & Bev and their amazing efforts in caring for their neighborhood's stray (feral) cats.
MEOW! MEOW!
XOX... Dyan
Do the paper cats come folded or do you have to fold them? I like the Kong Zoo cats. How many strange cat toys do you own? The 3-D cat is amazing! It looks so real and like it could pounce down on you. The cat wearing glasses certainly are tame and patient to allow someone to put glasses on the and keep them on.
ReplyDeleteWe have 2 cats that show up daily and several others that come now and then. The 2 "regulars" have taken to sitting on the window sill of the kitchen window when they want me to know that they need more food in their dish. Other times they just sit and watch me as I move about in the kitchen preparing a meal. I'll stop what I'm doing and lean up close to the window and we stare at each other or I'll smile and talk to them. They've gotten pretty tame too. Now when I come out to fill their dish, they don't run away. Instead, they come up to me. Recently we saw 2 new kittens that we hadn't seen before and don't know where they came from. We've only seen them a couple of times. If the come more regularly, we'll have to try to capture them and get them "fixed".
Winter certainly seems like the longest month. I found the "tilt beats distance" explanation very interesting. I learned something new today.
How nice to have company while you're cooking :)
ReplyDeleteObviously, your strays have learned to trust you and welcome your presence and generosity. Nice symbiotic relationship!
re: Paper Bag Cat Toys... They come fabricated that way and are made of plastic, not paper. That set, along with the Kong Zoo set, are the only plastic cats toys that I own.
Like you, I loved the Japanese 3D Cat and replayed that video over and over again. So clever! Imagine walking down a city street and being greeting daily by that meowster. What fun!
Thanks so much for all your comments!!!