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My mother’s cat Smoky is staying with us. She is an elderly dilute tabby Manx. In an attempt to keep her from laying on my laptop as I use it, I made a bed for her in a crate on my work table. She seems to think this is an acceptable compromise.

While Rion and Lightning have been sharing dog beds for a while now, this was the first time I ever saw them touching while they did so.

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At 70F with no humidity I thought it was a lovely day for a walk. Rion, with his tarnished silver coat, didn’t agree: “it’s okay, Mom. I’ll wait here until sunset.”  (We have new (to us) phones!  With cameras! And Bluetooth!)

YouTube – Danish Championships 2010 in Rabbit Hopping.

(via Cute Overload)

Click on the photo to see more photos.  Their flight crews are also entertaining.

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I try to remember to call them Rudbeckia, but since I grew up in Maryland, I think I will always think of them as Black Eyed Susans (the state flower of Maryland.)

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The only time I’ve ever seen one of these in the wild, I had to keep hold of a 95 pound dog who was desperate to make its acquaintance.  I enjoyed seeing it in the tree at the zoo much more.

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Seeing these at the zoo seemed a bit superfluous since I see them crossing the road on a daily basis in the summer.