Sending a Message the Old Fashioned Way
A few nights ago a little after midnight, as I was getting ready for bed I heard a faint “meow” coming from outside. Now, if you know me, you know that I have two cats who are strictly indoor cats. I never ever let them outside. So when I heard this meow from outside, the first thing I did was make sure my cats hadn’t pulled some sort of miraculous escape. I found both of them sleeping peacefully indoors, thankfully.
But the meowing continued, and got louder. So I decided to investigate.
I opened my front door and stepped out onto my front porch, only to be greeted by a long-haired little siamese kitty. She sat there right on my doorstep, as if she were home, and just waiting for her human to let her in the damn house already. As soon as I came out she meowed and got excited and started rubbing up against my leg. Bug and Sooki (my cats) were sitting in the window looking out, and as soon as they saw the “intruder” cat, they got mad. Well, Sooki did anyway. And “mad” is an understatement. There was much hissing and growling and territory-claiming coming from that little angelic mouth.
I checked the “intruder” cat for a collar or tags, but there were none. She didn’t look like a stray, though, so I figured it was just a neighborhood cat who was lost. I shooed her away, and went back inside.
But that little cat was sure she was home. She camped out on my doorstep and meowed for at least 30-40 minutes. I felt horrible. Poor little kitty just wanted to be home, and thought my house was the place she was supposed to be! She was lost. This is where I become infuriated at irresponsible cat owners who (a) let their cats roam free at night unsupervised and (b) do not put identification on their pets. A less animal-loving neighbor probably would have called Animal Control, which is basically a death sentence for the cat.
Eventually I fell asleep, and the kitty was gone by morning. I didn’t see her again until today.
This afternoon I got a knock on the door. I opened it to see my next door neighbor, with the long-haired siamese cat in his arms, struggling to get free.
“Is this your cat?” he asked. This neighbor knew we had cats, and so when this little kitty performed the meowing routine on his porch, his first instinct was to check with us, for which I am very grateful. (If my cats ever DID find an escape, it’s nice to know I have neighbors who would look out for them!)
I told my neighbor no, that is not my cat, but I knew of this cat. He’s obviously not a cat person, and didn’t know how to “hold” a kitty, and she was squirming uncomfortably in his arms. So I stepped outside and took the cat from him, relieving him of his cat-rescuing duties.
Fed up at whoever owns this cat, I decided I was going to do my best to find her home. I proceeded to walk with the cat in my arms from door to door, knocking on every door in my little area trying to find the kitties home. Of course, on a Tuesday afternoon, everyone was at work and I got no answers. About halfway through my journey the cat struggled out of my arms, so I hope that meant I was near her house. But she then proceeded to follow me like a puppy to every following house, and then all the way home back to my house. I knocked on at least 10 doors.
Unsuccessful in my pursuit for the cats home, I just left it on my porch again and came inside, frustrated and sad for the little kitty.
Then I got a crazy idea.
I went and found one of my cats old collars. Then I wrote the following note:
“Dear neighbor,
Is this your cat? I know she lives in this area, because a few times this week she has showed up on my porch thinking she is home. She seems Lost. I feel bad, because she has no tag and I have no way to help her find her way home. Here is a free cat collar. PLEASE go buy a pet ID tag at Petco for her to wear, so next time she is lost, she can find her way home. Thanks! 
”
Then, just like they did with pigeons in ancient European times, I wrapped the note around the collar, with “READ ME” on the outside, and went and tied my message to the mystery cat.
I couldn’t help but laugh. I mean, who does that?! A crazy concerned cat lady, that’s who.
The mystery cat didn’t seem to mind the collar much. After I snapped it on, she proceeded to roll around in my hydrangea bush and under my day-lilies.
Hopefully next time I see her, she’s donning a fancy shiny name tag.
Three Years Ago Today…
Three years ago today, I married my Steve.
Now, three years later, I look back in awe at how much we’ve grown, and how amazing he is. I loved him then, but love him now even more than I ever knew was possible. He’s pretty fabulous… and I am lucky. I can’t wait for the next 60 years of our life together. xoxo
June, the Wedding Season! A Few Tales…
It’s been a very hectic & busy June for Steve and I. The main reason? It’s wedding season! Love is blooming and making itself known all around us.
Steve, being a professional bass player, has been kept very busy being hired for weddings across the state, and beyond. One of the bands he plays with, Marmalade Hill, gets frequent super-fancy wedding gigs through the summer, many of them in Sun Valley, Idaho… a 5 hour drive away.
These gigs sporadically began in April, and he’s spent a couple weekends on the road with Marmalade Hill playing a Friday Night at Whiskey Jaques, then a wedding the next day, to return home on Sunday. But this month it’s been almost EVERY weekend that we’ve had a wedding.
Wedding season began for me on Memorial Day, where I took the 2 hour drive north to Logan, Utah to photograph the wedding of my sister’s childhood friend, Kristin to her boyfriend Corey. Their wedding was held at a park, and the weather was just perfect. My sister was also a bridesmaid, and I had a lot of fun taking photos that day!
The first weekend in June was our one and only *free* weekend. We celebrated my 32nd birthday by having a BBQ with friends on Saturday, then on Sunday (my actual Birthday), rowing on Oquirrh Lake in the morning, doing some shopping and relaxing in the afternoon, and going to a family dinner that evening.
The next weekend was the wedding of my dear friend Cindi to her longtime boyfriend Jason. Their wedding took place in Moab, Utah at a place called the Red Cliff’s Lodge, which overlooks the Colorado river rushing along giant red rock cliffs. We left early Saturday morning to get down there before the wedding began. I toted along all my photography gear… (because really… I can’t go to a wedding without it), and went a little crazy taking photos, while trying to stay out of the way of the photographer she had hired, the beautiful & talented Sarah Drown of Sparkle Photography. Their ceremony was one of the most emotional and touching I’d ever witnessed. We had a fabulous time!
After Cindi & Jason’s wedding on Saturday, we crashed at a hotel on main street in Moab. We woke the next morning ready to explore. We had planned to get together with all our friends and hike Delicate Arch in Arches National Park. The weather was scattered thunderstorms that day, though, so most people opted out of the hike. The only ones who ended up going were me, Steve, Sommer and Mike.
It was such a weird day, temperature wise. It would rain, then the sun would come out, then go back to rain again. I opted for pants instead of shorts, because cold breezes kept ripping through the canyon, and I really really hate being cold. Halfway into the hike, though, I really regretted the pants. Part of the Delicate Arch trail is a huge slickrock hill. It’s completely exposed… there is no shade or trees at all, and the sun absolutely beats down like you can’t imagine. I was so hot I was tempted to just take the pants OFF and hike in my knickers.
That area is just so gorgeous, though. I kept stopping to take photos. I could take photos in Southern Utah for hours and hours and never get tired of it.
After a long day of hiking, Steve and I packed up and drove home. We got home Sunday late evening, and pretty much crashed.
The very next weekend, I didn’t have to work anywhere… but Steve had a wedding gig he was playing in Sun Valley. This one was for some College Football star (whose name has slipped my mind) and it was some big fancy shindig. Steve and his band left early Saturday morning to make the drive and get there in time to set up by 2pm.
That evening, just as the wedding had started, I get a call from Steve. “You’ll never guess who I just spent the last 10 minutes talking to,” he said. “Guess. Someone famous.” Obviously, that’s too broad of a clue. I had no idea. So he just told me.
“Rush Limbaugh.”
Auuugh! Gross! I proceeded to laugh and ask questions… we both absolutely LOATHE that man. Steve has a real knack for only running into celebrities he hates. [Tangent: last month his band ran into Kobe Bryant while the Lakers were in town to play the Jazz in the playoffs. End Tangent.] Rush was a guest at the wedding… a friend of the Bride’s father.
“Why can’t I run into someone cool, like Jeff Bridges or something,” Steve asks. Then he sent me this phone pic. Rush is the disgruntled looking dude in the gray suit.
So Steve and his band spent the whole evening chatting with Rush on and off. Despite how much we dislike him, he said he’s perfectly nice in person. I had to text my Pop, who’s a Rush Limbaugh fan, and he told me to have Steve tell Rush that my Dad is a total “dittohead.” So Steve did. Rush liked that. (I guess a dittohead is someone who loves Rush’s show.) Steve also enlightened us all with a few fun observations. Rush is a horrible dancer, but will not hesitate to be in the front of the crowd dancing anyway. Rush is a chain smoker. He smoked cigarettes allllll night long back to back. (When Steve asked him why he wasn’t smoking a cigar, Rush told him they ‘take too long’.)
And finally… Rush is totally deaf. One hundred percent deaf! He has a cochlear ear implant that allows him to hear at all. He told the band that if he takes it out he can’t hear a single thing. Dan, one of the members of the band, being a total smartass replied, “Well, can you still hear YOURSELF talk?!”
Everyone laughed, but the joke went right over Rush’s head. He replied. “Yeah! I can hear myself.” Hah! [Another tangent: Dan is also the member of the band that said something so offensive in the microphone at the bar when they met Kobe Bryant, it caused Kobe & his entourage to storm out of the bar. But that's a story for another time!]
Steve got home that weekend late Sunday night. Again, exhausted, he crashed and got ready for another week of work.
Then, finally, to wrap up the weddings of June, last weekend I traveled to Moab again to shoot the wedding of Angela and Chris, the cute couple whose engagement photos I took in a lavender field last summer. Their wedding also took place at Red Cliffs Lodge… the same as Cindi & Jason. I was glad, because I was now familiar with the spot, and knew just how to prepare. I took Lindsay with me as my photo assistant. Steve had yet ANOTHER wedding he was playing on Saturday, but in Lehi. So again, we had to spend the weekend apart working at weddings.
Lindsay and I left early Saturday morning. We made great time and got to Moab with plenty of time to spare. We checked into our hotel, walked around the shops, and stopped to get ice cream and cupcakes. After filling up on sweets, we got dressed for the wedding and made the short drive up scenic UT-128 to the lodge.
Angela & Chris’ wedding was phenomenal! We started shooting photos at 3:30pm, and didn’t stop until after 10:30pm. Needless to say, I took thousands of photos, and my hand was totally cramped by the end of the day, but it was so worth it! Angela & Chris hired the band Great American Taxi to play their wedding… which featured the lead singer from Leftover Salmon. The band was just AWESOME and they played under the clear starry sky with a full moon. They also had a campfire set up, and even a fire thrower. Those two sure know how to throw a party!
I’m still working on editing the photos from that wedding, so I don’t have any to share here yet. But hopefully this week I’ll have them done and up on my Flickr and Portfolio site for all to see! They’re some of the best photos I’ve ever taken, I think!
Now, it’s July. And, with a sigh of relief… we’re finally relaxing. *whew!*
