Happy Birthday Tanjiro

"What about me?"

Yesterday was Tanjiro's fourth Birthday also,
he kind of got neglected because Uschi
took center stage, as usual.

Tanji danced,...

Loped, and

Did some zooooming of his own,

before taking up is favorite position,

Stretched out on his couch crack.
(He likes to be in full stride all the time.)

"Hiiiiii"

"I'm a big muuuuush."

"Chin scruffies feel good, thanks Meowme."

Happy Tanji.

Later with his dad.

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Worst Birthday Gift EVERrrrr !!

Today is Tanjiro's and Uschi-Swirl's Fourth Birthday!

So we stopped at the store and got a

Happy Birthday cake and a

Hello-Kitty "Happy Birthday" balloon.

We were excited to get a blog shot of the balloon
floating above a Bengal hidden in some tall grass.

Uschi happily strolled around
showing off his new balloon.

Where is Uschi?

All of a sudden,

Vladi lept, and Uschi lept,...

Uschi flew around the yard,...

Zooooom,...

Zooooom,....

He just kept on going and going,
we have never seen him run so
hard and for so long.

We were laughing so hard,...
Until we realized he was scared of the balloon.
(yes, bad parent behavior)

The balloon was deflating and scared Uschi was
rapidly approaching total exhaustion. He was still running
as hard as he could but was now barely moving.

He headed for the pond,... We ran!!!

He went right in,... and swam,...
like an Asian Leopard cat fleeing from a predator.

Lesley was beginning to wade in to rescue him,

I shouted he would be fine,...
keep taking pictures for the blog.
(BAAD, dad behavior)

THEN,...
he stopped swimming and we saw this look,...
(click the image to enlarge it)

OH NO!!

As he went under, I lept in,...

and grabbed him as he was actually under water.

Exhausted but back to shore,...

Uschi looks intense but was absolutely limp and

Shocky.

Headed home ASAP!!

Uschi didn't want to get out of my arms
(atypical) but it was more shock than anything.

I toweled and put him down,...
he slunk behind the cloths bins and hunkered.

"I'm not coming out"

"Are you okay?"

"Come on Uschi,..."

He was still shocky and hadn't groomed himself about
1hr later, we really wanted him to just show some signs
of alertness, then all would be alright.

"Noooo, I'm not ready."

Eventually,

He shot under the kitchen sink and looked out.

Now we knew he had progressed to "just being scared,"
so we got on with things.

After another hour or so,...

Uschi cautiously curled up under my "office" chair.

Keeping an eye out for danger.

Time for a special treat,...

Some cat-nip...

Makes Uschi look like a young kitten.

Feeling a bit more confident.

Uschi checks out the dreaded Hello Kitty balloon.

But he was still a bit "off",... he stayed

By my side for hours,...

Then, finally,

Collapsed,...

with his head on a pillow.

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Roof Repair Assistants

It doesn't seem like our bathroom exhaust fan is living
up to its advertised quality. There is flow, but
it seems like it should be doing more. I noticed that
the roof vent was full of wasp nests so, during yesterday's
family walk, I leaned the long fruit ladder against the
roof, at an exaggerated angle, and went up to clear it out.

In a matter of about one minute,...

Vladi came over the peak to lend a paw,...

"Hey Dad,... this capped vent doesn't look like it is up to code,..."

"Vladi don't rub on that,.... I 'fixed' it"
i.e. it might fall off. >;-)

"Hey what is that?"

Uschi was headed up the ladder.

"Hi guys what is going on?"

Uschi safely transitioned to the roof and
Vladi headed down the ladder.

"This is cool..."

No problem.

"This is fun!"

Vladi tried to head straight up the kennel
screen but couldn't make it over the rain-gutter.
(He went around and came back up)

While, Uschi explored.

Brothers having fun.

"Hey DAAD,... this looks cobbed together also!"
(Remnants from a poorly built home-made solar
HW system that was falling down when we moved in.

At least one thing on the roof looks good.

"DAAAD, more code violations down here,..."

"I don't want anything to do with all that,..."

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