Memories of a black cat ... July 29 comes around again.

Bagheera 

31.10.2000 - 29.07.2014

King of the Jungle

The quintessential panther

Stalking ... he gave lessons in this art...

Wrestling the tinsel garland monster ... and winning.

Got the freezer staked out. You want those frozen veggies...? Too bad.

Donut hole. He loved his beanbag -- you had to fight him for it, and he usually won.

Christmas adventures at Coromandel Valley...

Looks like the tinsel monster capitulated. Almost time for a nap.

Close to the end; just a few days left. Sad times, knowing it was almost time to say goodbye...

Wind time back to happier days: the panther, king of his jungle.

Hard to believe it's been three years ... but it has. Harder even to believe that it's been a whole year since I uploaded his memorial post on 29.07.16 -- so much has happened in that year -- and those of you who know me from facebook will know that "the big thing" was losing Mom on June 20. I haven't been able to post here about it (emotionally not ready), but behind the scenes I've been working on a biography of her life, and it's reading like a novel. I'll be posting it very soon now, with pictures. But --

Today is for remembering the black panther. The pictures speak for themselves, and I'll close with a poem I wrote for him when he was in his prime...

Ode to a Black Cat 

Slender shadow, stalking, rare --

Master of the wide-eyed stare...

Silken; soft -- with sickles, ten:

Will he shred? The question's when?!

Curled in slumber in his lair --

My pillows and his long-shed hair ...

Five minutes on my lap again then

Without a glance he's gone again.

...Love you, little boy ... miss you still, and always will. Dream on in peace -- if you're not out there on that next adventure, which I actually suspect you are.

I guess I'll be back next year with more pictures ... and doubtlessly a few more tears.