Our neighborhood Coldspring Creek is a ditch

Tortoise Cat: I'm no swimmer, but that so-called creek down our block seems more like a ditch.

Chameleon: That almost-stagnant stream is part of this city's drainage system, I suppose.

Tortoise Cat: EYOW -- outside drains! So there are NO fish to catch in there, anyway?

Chameleon: Well, there might be a few, but probably far between, Tortoise Cat. Now I imagine you swim expertly, instinctively.

The Invisible Chameleon hides in shadows, but today shadows fade and blur!

Tortoise Cat: OK, whatever you imagine, Chameleon. But I'll seek more neighborhood say-sos before I dip a paw. EYOW, that'll take a long while!

Chameleon: OK, I splash and tell a little while later, Tortoise Cat.

Tortoise Cat: EYOW, that's swell. But don't shake off on me, after!

The Invisible Chameleon is splashing to check this Cold Spring Road ditch for fish!

Tortoise Cat blogs reluctantly with cold paws -- about moving on

Tortoise Cat: The garden is still wet, the chilly wind is blurring my eyes and now my paws are cold...! The final days of this Cat-Grass Season are upon us, Chameleon!

Chameleon: We'll be inhabiting a new territory before it ends, Tortoise Cat, in a place your favorite season lasts a few whiles longer.

Tortoise Cat: Oh, and then that big house and outside we visited will be MINE?

Chameleon: I will help you establish your rights-of-way at OUR new place, Tortoise Cat. Most of the many critters in residence for many seasons there will welcome us...after I explain the situation diplomatically. Now, the other cats...

Tortoise Cat: Other cats live there already, Chameleon? Unacceptable!

Chameleon: Tortoise Cat, it won't take long for those other neighborhood cats to accept you, and skulk AROUND your territory, instead of through it (as a general rule...) so stay playful!

Tortoise Cat: Will Skunk be visiting us at our new home, Chameleon?

Chameleon: Skunk has family nearby...Our new home is a lively place in a woods, so there will always be wild company creeping, crawling and swooping in, Tortoise Cat.

Tortoise Cat: I shall miss this big favorite garden...but the Big One promised there are more gardens around those mysterious new blocks without sidewalks...How many whiles must pass before we depart?

Tortoise Cat wags her tail waiting for a squirrel

"Squirrel went in there," meowed Tortoise Cat, "But I can wait a while and wag!"

Tortoise Cat: Why did the link list disappear on our blog, Chameleon?

Chameleon: The Big One explained Blogrolling.com might be linking by mistake to a bad website that could cause computer problems for our visitors. The Big One removed the blogroll until that problem is fixed.

Tortoise Cat: Could we link-blog another way?

Chameleon: The Big One is looking into it. You might have to open another Web 2.0 account somewhere, start all over and do it yourself, Tortoise Cat.

Tortoise Cat: EYOW! I would rather stroll and play with that squirrel who keeps hiding stuff in the rock garden.

Chameleon: I was kidding.

Tortoise Cat: Let's go out for a while before it gets dark! Look, that squirrel is hiding stuff in the Big One's trash bag!

Chameleon: It happens. OK, let's stroll.

Tortoise Cat wonders why the raccoons stopped visiting

Tortoise Cat in the Courtyard Garden Savoring Autumn Breezes and Sunrays

Tortoise Cat: Other cats prowling keep me up all night, asserting my territorial rights. I would rather greet the raccoons.

Chameleon: Those raccoons steer clear of you lately, Tortoise Cat, probably because of the terrible names, terms and threats you howled at the family when they trotted by a while ago. What a rumpus it was!

Tortoise Cat: How strange! I simply do not recall emitting a single tone that night, Chameleon. Well, anyway the flowery and breezy smells are preoccupying me now.

Chameleon: You are indeed much mellower most mornings, Tortoise Cat, especially after you simply stretch, stroll and nibble your favorite cat-grasses. 

Tortoise Cat dreads the end of Cat Grass Season

Tortoise Cat and the Next Generation of Thistles

Tortoise Cat: Chameleon, I smell hints of colder days blowing in soon. My paws and whiskers can feel the dark, snowy, icy season that I refuse to acknowledge by granting it a nick-name stealthily, steadily creeping up on us!

Chameleon: Oh, play on, Tortoise Cat. This year's Cat Grass Season will last some fun whiles longer. Weeds and grasses are renewing and thriving in our home territory, though our tree neighbors are shedding their leaves early.

Tortoise Cat: Does Cat-Grass Season last longer in the Central Valley of California, where the Big One wants to go and mark new territory?

Chameleon: Grasses grow through the darker, rainy days there, but need extra water during stretches of longer, hotter days.

Tortoise Cat Hastening Home in the Wind

Tortoise Cat: You know how much I dislike wind gusts and rain storms, Chameleon, but let us pack and go anyhow—before the first snow falls and all the puddles freeze over.