settlin' in slowly...

it’s hard to believe it’s been nearly 2 months since i wrote my last blog post… but having decided not to blog and just concentrate on moving and settling in i have to admit it has been nice not having that self-imposed pressure we sometimes put ourselves under to get a post 'up'…

so moving and settling in is exactly what i’ve been doing - well, when i haven't been working… i'm certainly enjoying the house with it’s space and peace and quiet (internal noise aside that is - 'part and parcel' of shared space) compared to the flat… no hearing other doors opening and slamming, nobody walking overhead wearing jack boots (that’s what the womon upstairs sounded like), no hearing other peoples toilets flush, no hearing their loud televisions or their other noises…. i hate flats, have never been a willing flat dweller…

shadow had the hardest move and settling in time of the household… there are only a few cats in the street, and no-one had lived here for a while according to a neighbour, so the two boys from down the road had made this their territory too… so my boy had to learn where his territory started and ended and stake a claim on his backyard – which of course entailed a lot of mewling and stand-offs with the two local boys – rags, a beautiful ragdoll cat (albeit without a tail due to an accident) and felix, a manx boy (born with no tail – a genetic mutation associated with the manx breed)...

after all of that sorting themselves out, the boy has the run of the place now as the ‘neighbours’ moved out a couple of weeks ago – they were moving from south yarra to st kilda, and here we’d moved from st kilda to south yarra – somewhat ironic, hey - and they'll be going through their own territorial disputes finding their place with their new neighbours now…

there are cute possums around, but shadow doesn't pose a threat to them - well, not at night time anyway - he has a curfew - he's an inside cat once darkness descends... it's seems only fair for the wildlife who come out to forage during the night hours, and who have lost so much of their habitat to our encroachment - they can do without having to dodge one of the most efficient hunters in their search for food too... sadly for the night critters not all feline guardians feel this way...

shadow is definitely enjoying his backyard – fences and trees to climb, a backyard shed to sun himself on top of, garden beds that we’re in the process of extending so we can get some vegie seedlings in – it must be like paradise to him after having to make do with the small courtyard at the flat…

i thought i’d share some photos - the boy, the camellia, the beautiful skylight in the funny little nook in the loungeroom, which happens to be the perfect reading space - and guess i’ll slowly get back into the swing of blogging over the next few weeks…