The Raven's Roost

 Last night two of the cats got into a real knock-down screaming fight at 2 in the morning. The feral tom had been on the back deck and that set them off - since they couldn't beat him up Feisal and Crowley decided to beat each other up. There was SO. MUCH. FUR. There were lumps of Crowley-fluff all over the house, and someone even peed on themselves a little. So yet another good nights' sleep interrupted by screeching animals. A couple of nights ago, the local nesting pair of Great Horned Owls had to drive off an intruder and they did so very close to the north side of the house with all the hooting, screaming, and assorted weird noises that they're capable of making. Anyway, for your enjoyment, here's a pic of Feisal, the reason I can't buy nice yoga mats.


And here's Crowley, chilling with one of his favorite snuggle toys. He leans on it like this as if he's kickin' back with a beer or something.


Crowley is actually named after Aleister - there was a comment asking about it, but now I can't find where the comment was and I feel kind of bad about that. Sorry!  :D Anyway as you can see he has very thick, fluffy fur, so he's well-armored. But this time of year he's also blowing coat so it's not unusual to find tumbleweeds of black and white fur everywhere. 

By next week I should have a bike helmet, and when I do I will be heading up to Keystone Heights to ride around on some of the paved bike paths there. I feel a lot more confident riding now, but with the sandy patches in the road, I can't go as far as I'd like without bogging down and having to walk. I have a quarter-mile stretch here that I can go up and down before I hit the really soft sand but just peddling the same bit of road over and over is getting a little stale. Anyway, I ordered myself a basic road bike helmet with MIPS, so it should protect what little brain I have, and it looks about as dorky as every other bike helmet. But I got mine in matte finish sea blue, so even if I have to look like a dork, at least it's a color I like, LOL. 

Anyway I might try walking to the other side of the washout, but I know that in another quarter of a mile there's another sandy soft stretch that just isn't going to be great for riding unless you have a fat tire bike. I wonder if Traiwick Road is a little firmer - they work on it a lot so it might be in good shape, but sometimes it's very washboard-y. I probably just shouldn't even worry about it until next week, or maybe try deflating my tires slightly and see if I can power through the sand.