Looking back on our September

October 7, 2019 Natascha22 Comments

Hello everyone! The late evening of October 7 already! Unbelievable. September was a busy month and a month with lots of migraines and fatigue, unfortunately. But as of now, I’m getting into a good phase again, feeling well. Hope it will last a bit longer than the last.

Sweet Sonic is doing really really well! He’s not had any issues anymore with his tummy. His digestion is working like it should now with the new food. He’s happy and playful.

The weather has turned to autumn for good by now. But it started getting rather cold at the beginning of September already. Since then we had more days with rain or heavy overcast than sunny days. Though we had two wonderfully sunny and warm days the previous Thursday and Friday. So the cats were able to enjoy the sun on the balcony again. Sonic enjoyed the sun on the bed, while Murli and Samantha were on the balcony.

Sonic on the bed — Sonic on our bed, enjoying the sun

Recently it had been too cold to leave the balcony door open all day, even with the sun it had been too chilly. But the cats have to get used to that again for the winter…

Now I will often put a chair in front of the balcony door when it’s sunny, because the girls absolutely love to curl up on chairs in the sun. But especially Murli really isn’t too happy with the door closed most of the time now.

Everyone a the door — Murli right at the door, Samantha on the chair and Sonic sitting behind them.

I recently started to give them kitty grass again and they can’t get enough of it. They just absolutely love it! I only put it down for them a couple times a day, because otherwise, they would be at it constantly.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

As I mentioned, the weather turned cold right at the beginning of September. We had planned to go to a huge Airshow not too far away from Graz, which only takes place every two years. We had looked forward to this one for so long! Though, right at the weekend of the Airshow, the weather had turned from summer to autumn from one day to the next. The temperatures had plummeted, it was raining, windy and the visibility was low. That is why we decided not to go, as we would have been in the cold and rain all day. Hopefully, we can go to a different Airshow next summer!

The Birds

The Sparrows and Pigeons are all quite happy! The swarm of Sparrows is very active and lovely to watch. I feed them every day and they’re not afraid of me, coming really close sometimes.

Sparrow nearby — Cute Sparrow near our balcony

The pigeons are coming really close to me too! Most days there will only be one or two visiting. But sometimes it seems they have a party going on and bring all their friends.

Pigeon Party — Pigeon party on our bedroom window and balcony

Of course, it’s great entertainment for the cats inside, when the birds sit on our bedroom window.

Pigeon 2 — This pigeon likes to sit on our bedroom window shutters

The Bathroom

Two weeks ago, they fixed and sealed off the area around our shower tap, so no shower water can get into the wall anymore. Also, it was found that the shower tap itself did not even have a problem… That was great, as it made the work a lot easier.

Tomorrow morning, the man from the company who measured the humidity, in the beginning, is coming again to see if the humidity is decreasing. Since the repairs dragged out for so long, it’s kind of early to measure now, since it was sealed off only two weeks ago. But we will see what comes out of that. I guess he’ll have to come again at some point when more time has gone by.

There are many more posts coming

I have lots I want to write about and share! I’ve got many ideas and hopefully my health (migraine, fatigue issues) will be holding up as well as possible, as there is so much I would love to do.

We’ve been doing great and are really happy! Though we feel the summer was too short for us. Ralph isn’t looking forward to the cold winter… But I’ll make sure it’s going to be comfy, warm and cozy at home.

All the uncertainty regarding Brexit isn’t nice and no one really knows what will happen in regards to Brexit, but hopefully things will get worked out. It will already be good to have an end to the uncertainty regarding it.

Hope you’re all well! Thank you for stopping by.

Love and Purrs!

Everything · Pictures · Ralph and I · The Cats

Sunday, June 30, 2019

June 30, 2019June 30, 2019 Natascha30 Comments

Sometimes, I can’t find a fitting title, so I just use the current date…

You might have heard about the heatwave in Europe? We did have a few really hot days, but it cooled down to normal levels again for this weekend. Though, the temperatures are rising again and according to the forecast, the coming week will be even hotter than the previous one.

With my ongoing quest to spoil the cats as much as possible, I wanted to create more shade for them on the balcony. So I ordered a cover for the railing, which will shade the floor of the balcony. I ordered this blue and white striped one, because I love things to be as colourful as possible.

Balcony - railing cover June 29, 2019

Of course, I could just mount a cover for the whole length of the balcony railing, but then the cats would not be able to see into the garden as easily. Therefore, I folded the cover in half and mounted it so the cats would still be able to look out on both ends easily. I left more uncovered on the right side, where the bird feeder is.

The mats I had previously used for shade were by now almost falling apart from taking them up and down constantly. With this balcony cover, I don’t have to worry about taking it down all the time, since it’s made for being outside. It’s working nicely and creates full shade.

Balcony June 29, 2019 2

The wooden privacy fence and the big blue umbrella together with the new cover make the balcony really comfortable and also more private, while still giving the cats enough unrestricted view to watch everything going on outside of the balcony.

Balcony June 29, 2019 3 — The right end of the balcony, where the bird feeder is.

Then, while I was shopping yesterday morning, I discovered a mat that I knew would be great for the cats to lie on outside. It is quite long and makes it much softer and comfortable.

Balcony June 29, 2019 Murli and Samantha — Murli and Samantha

I still covered the mat with their blankies and they absolutely love it. They’re out on the balcony even more now!

Balcony June 29, 2019 Murli and Samantha 2 — Murli and Samantha

The reason why we don’t really need an umbrella for the right side of our balcony is this very tall Sycamore tree. In the late afternoon, it will shade the whole balcony. Although there is a span of time where the right side is in full sun for a while, before the sun gets behind the tree, but it’s not too much of a problem.

Balcony - Sycamore tree June 29, 2019

Sweet little boy Sonic prefers to stay inside for the most part. He’s always been that way and usually only stays out on the balcony for a short time, unlike the two girls who stay out there for hours.

Sonic has his favourite spots and also loves to flop down wherever he feels like, even if he is totally blocking the way.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The nights at the moment

With the hot summer days, people leave their windows open all night, including us. It is normally absolutely quiet in our block, which is really amazing considering how many apartments there are. I can leave the bedroom window wide open all night and there is just no noise and it’s wonderful!

Or it was… The lovely quiet night has been broken up by the screaming and moaning of a woman, every night for the last week.

Edit: I forgot to clarify… It’s not a woman in pain btw… She’s at it with a man and it’s totally obvious, so that there’s no mistaking what’s going on. Seriously, it’s so annoying! We heard a man moaning for a while as well the other night, that’s why I know it’s a woman with a man.

It sounds like it’s coming from the ground floor level of the building next to our building. She is really loud and it will go on ALL NIGHT. She will start at like 1 or 2 am and then keep going until it’s morning. She will stop for maybe 15 minutes in between and then start up again. Of course, it keeps waking us up. I had to close the window last night, because we needed sleep, even though I would really need the fresh air overnight when it’s hot like that. It prevents getting a migraine from stuffy air.

Here is a google maps screenshot of the part of our block where our building is. I concealed the street name with the flowers lol. It’s just safer that way I think since you never know who finds your public images and blog.

Anyway, here it is:

Google Maps screenshot of our block

The blue arrow points to our building and the area of our apartment. The red arrow points to where the moaning comes from. We can’t see the building like that from our point of view, so we can’t be sure which apartment it comes from exactly, but it’s definitely this building.

It’s just crazy! I’m certain it won’t be any different tonight either. I’m currently thinking about what to do if it does not stop. I’ve heard other people calling out to them to keep it down, but she does not seem to care at all.

Some people…

Otherwise, we all have been doing well! I’m currently looking forward to getting all my pain medicine for 18 days, starting the coming Friday. This means I don’t have to pick up my bottles every afternoon from the pharmacy. Maybe we can go up on the mountain near Graz on one of those days and take lots of photos and videos! I love doing things together with Ralph, we always have such a lovely time, no matter what we do.

Have a wonderful rest of your Sunday everyone! The cats are sending out purrs and paw hugs!

Everything · Nature · Pictures · Videos

Last week a baby Redstart spent the night on our balcony

June 9, 2019June 10, 2019 Natascha26 Comments

Last Friday, May 31, in the evening, all of a sudden, a little baby Redstart landed on our balcony. It’s a Common Redstart to be exact. It wasn’t there just moments before and unfortunately I did not see it fly up to our balcony, or down to it, from a nest higher up. It must have just left it’s nest that afternoon, to learn how to fly.

With the baby bird on our balcony, I knew why I could hear Redstart’s flying all over the garden and calling relentlessly, seeming quite upset for most of the day. They must have been looking for their baby and weren’t able to find it for hours. I had been wondering what was going on with them all afternoon.

A little later I tried to take a picture from the bedroom window, but that wasn’t all that easy through twice the amount of fencing from the balcony. But you can see the baby’s red tail:

31-05-2019 20-50-10

That little one was just sitting still, not moving for a long time, except for blinking it’s eyes. It stayed quiet as well. It was already getting dark when it started calling out, as the parents were near. Finally they were reunited again and I was able to watch the baby as it was being fed on our balcony. I was watching it all from our bedroom window, which is to the right of the balcony and set a bit farther back. Unfortunately it was too dark by that point to get a proper video or photo.

Since I was not sure how well that little one was able to fly at that point, I did not want to risk it getting scared and flying down onto the ground. Because they can flutter down at first, but not really up. So I left the door closed and nobody was allowed out, neither Ralph, myself or the cats. The balcony was to be off limits for as long as the little one would decide to stay. It would have been dangerous if it would have sat on the ground all night, unable to fly higher again. But the baby bird was safe on our balcony, as it’s too high for even a cat to jump onto it.

With the balcony door closed and the blinds all the way down, there were lots of meows at the balcony door for a while… From Murli.

Here is a video I took with my camera, shortly after I saw the Redstart baby sitting there. That little bit of baby bird fluff that’s still on it’s head is totally adorable:

Before the video with my camera, I just took a video with my phone, not knowing if I would have time to get the camera. The special thing about that video is that you can see one of the neighbour cats hiding in the high grass, stalking. The kitty was actually stalking pigeons that were down on the ground, but she looked up once she saw me and the baby bird.

The next morning, I got up early and looked out of the bedroom window first thing, and the baby was still there. But once I got into the kitchen and carefully looked out under the lowered blinds of the balcony door, it was gone. A few minutes later I saw it on the ground, getting fed by one of the parents. I saw it was able to fly about half a meter higher into the bushes.

Later that afternoon, the parents were calling for their baby again, flying all over the garden, looking everywhere. I was able to film the Mum when she was near the balcony and once on the balcony. Thankfully they found the baby shortly afterwards again.

Since that day, the parents and the baby are together, and there is no more upset calling and flying around by the parents. I hope I will see the young bird again soon, and hopefully get a photo or video of it :-)

The quality of the photos and videos isn’t perfect, but it’s still a lovely thing that I wanted to share with you all.

Murli, Samantha, Sonic and me wish you all a lovely day!

Postbanner

Everything · Nature · Pictures · The Cats · Videos

This week on Kitty-TV

June 2, 2019June 10, 2019 Natascha22 Comments

It was bucketing it down for most of the week, all the way until Thursday. This is my post for the days before this weekend.

It was really dark, rainy and cold. The rain kept going day and night for most of the week. Except for Murli, the cats didn’t even want to go on the balcony. But the birds were just as busy at the feeder, no matter how hard it rained.

Though I could see the birds fluffing themselves up, trying to sort out their wet feathers, like this cute Great-Tit that was sitting in the tree across from the balcony.

Little Great Tit 001 Little Great Tit 002 Little Great Tit 003 Little Great Tit 004

But even Murli had to watch Kitty-TV from inside for most of the week. Though she was quite happy to hang out on the chair I put close to the balcony door.

Murli on the chair at the backdoor — Murli

Samantha rather cuddled up in her warm basket and Ralph covered her up, which she actually enjoyed, since it had cooled down a bit. Samantha doesn’t usually stay under a cover. If she stays underneath, she needs it. To me it did not feel too cold, but I did put the heater back on after this.

Sonic stayed in the bedroom most of the time, it’s his favourite room. He also had his favourite ball with him, which he fell asleep with after we were playing.

Sonic with his ball in the bedroom — Sonic

But despite the bad weather, the Woodpecker finally came back! We haven’t seen him or her since last year in June. It just kept raining and raining, and he was busy digging for bugs and worms in the trees, especially the broken off branches.

After it stopped raining for just a little bit and even the sun almost came out, we could see him have a little rest on the tree right across from our balcony.

Woodpecker003 — Sweet Woodpecker having a rest after it stopped raining

Woodpecker001

Woodpecker002 — Not long after he had a rest, he was busy in the garden again

I also have a video of him trying to sort out his wet feathers after resting on that branch before:

But we got another surprise! This year, the Woodpecker did not come alone! No, this year it’s a pair! Now this sweet pair are feeding each other and helping each other get food. We see them visiting the garden every day and they might have a nest somewhere close by.

It’s the sweetest thing and we feel so very lucky to be able to see birds closely like this.

The sparrows and the Great-Tits are just as cute. They have their nests near by as well and we’ve seen the babies once they start flying, or trying to. The cats absolutely enjoy their Kitty-TV, as do we.

Sparrow close 001 — The feeder at the balcony. I took these photos from our bedroom window with zoom.

Sparrows at the feeder 002 — Great-Tit about to land

Sparrows at the feeder 003 — It’s busy like this in the morning and later afternoon

Sparrows at the feeder 004 — This is the newer and bigger feeder with 4 seats. There was too much complaining and chasing with just two seats on the smaller feeder before lol.

I’ll post about our weekend as well, but in a separate post.

We hope you had a pleasant week! I’ll catch up with you all in a bit <3

Postbanner

Everything · Pictures · Places · Ralph and I · The Cats

Our nice weekend

May 27, 2019June 10, 2019 Natascha16 Comments

Friday started out much warmer and more sunny than it has been for many weeks. But Caturday felt almost like summer, as did Sunday, when it was even warmer. So of course the balcony door and the windows were open all day for the cats to enjoy, and for us too.

It was nice to feel warm air coming in from the open balcony door for a change. I put the umbrella up and some hung two mats on either end of the balcony for shade, and put the chairs out.

Samantha jumped right through the string curtain and onto this chair…

Samantha with string 01 — Samantha: “What? Do I have something on my face?”

Samantha with string 02 — Samantha does not care… Bird watching is more important.

No, she could not care less about the string on her head. The birds were up and down at the feeder and it was just nice out there in the shade.

Murli and Samantha stayed out there most of the afternoon on Saturday.

They like to change the chairs every now and then. Thankfully we have more than those two chairs, so I was able to get a chair for myself too.

Unlike Samantha, Murli tends to get hot more easily with her longer fur, so she went in to rest on the fridge for a while.

Murli on the fridge 01

Murli on the fridge 02 — Murli on the fridge

Later in the afternoon, more and more clouds came up, and the wind started picking up too. We really thought rain would be coming again.

Clouds 01

It was totally overcast by the time I went to bed later that night, but to my surprise, the next morning (Sunday) was clear and sunny!

This lovely Sunday became the first really beautiful warm day this year. We all really enjoyed the warm air coming in through the windows and the balcony door all day, and how nice it was outside.

Even Sonic, who only really likes to go out for longer when it is warm, was enjoying it out there. The birds were active at the feeder as usual, providing entertainment for Sonic, Samantha and Murli.

Also on that Sunday, Austria voted in the European Elections. I went to my local voting station right in the morning, because it might have been much more busy later that day, since we live in the biggest district in our city. It was just down the street from us in a school building.

Election at the local school — The building where I voted

Above the entrance it says “Mädchen”, which is German for “girls”. It is an old school building and still has the writing from when schools used to be separated into girls and boys houses. The second half of the building, which is farther to the left and not in the picture, the writing above the entrance says “Knaben” which is an older German word for “boys”.

It was quite busy in our street that day from all the people going to cast their votes. This school was just one of many voting stations in our district. Every district in the city has many of them. It’s usually very close to where you live and schools and other public buildings are used as voting stations.

Anyways, I went back home to enjoy the rest of the day with my awesome husband and my sweet kitties. So we truly had a great weekend, despite having had two migraines.

Today, Monday, I woke up with yet another migraine… The weather had changed again and it was dark, cold and raining. It kept raining all day too and we had to put the heat back on lol. But we’re already looking forward to the weekend again, because the forecast says it will be nice!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend and had a pleasant start into the new week <3

Catlady from Austria

Tag: kittyfun