Black Blake

Vacherie, Louisiana 2018

Oak Alley, Vacherie, Louisiana 2018

Medium format film

New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

Medium Format film

New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

Medium format film

Irish Bayou, New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

Medium Format Film

St Roch, New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

Medium format film

New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

Vacherie, Louisiana 2018

Greenwood Cemetery, New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

The French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

Medium format film

The French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

Medium format film

The French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

Medium format film

The French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

Medium format film

The French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

The French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

Medium format film

The French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

Greenwood Cemetery, New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

St Roch Cemetery, New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

St Roch Cemetery, New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

St Roch Cemetery, New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

Holy Cross, Lower 9th Ward, New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

Holy Cross, Lower 9th Ward, New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

Medium format film

Greenwood Cemetery, New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

Holy Cross, Lower 9th Ward, New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

Medium format film

The French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

(1793) The French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana 2018

Meet Mr January Jon Shea, with his buds, Luna and Midnight. Jon is an uber talented musician in the Bay Area I’ve had the pleasure of playing in a number of bands with over the years. He is a music lover, people lover, and a true feline lover to the core. So glad for these three to kick off this years calendar. 

Jon wanted to add this heartfelt note... “I was never a fan of cats until I dated a girl with a cat named Cupcake that was the sweetest. I grew attached to her cat and never realized how easy they were to take care of and that they were great companions. After we split apart I wanted to fill the void and decided to get a cat myself. I went to the humane society to adopt one and when I walked in there was a cat named midnight by the front counter in a cage that said “best cat in the building, gives kisses.” I looked in and there were two fake palm trees with a hammock, and there was midnight laying on the hammock. When I picked him up he instantly planted a huge wet kiss right on my lips. I immediately said, “I’ll take this one for sure.” My ex-girlfriend was kind enough to go with me and she recommended we walk around to look at some of the other cats. While walking around I though it would be nice to have a cat like Cupcake that was larger and cuddly, that’s when I found Luna. I figured if I had two they could keep eachother company. To this day they are inseparable and are best friends. Not only have they been great companions throughout the years, they have been by my side when I had no one else. I always look forward to having them greet me when I walk in the door. I sometimes think they are angels because they are always so sweet and comforting to me especially when im upset or going through hard times. They can sense when i’m upset, and they always come up and lay next to me in some of the toughest times I have experienced. I can’t imagine life without them and encourage people to adopt cats as they are the best little companions, especially for single people. I want to thank Blake Yeager for the opportunity to have this photoshoot and calendar so I could have some photos with my two best furry friends.”

High up in his Bayshore condo lives Mr February, Jerry, and his 4 month old Bengal Hybrid, Wilson. Even while surrounded by books, guitars, and the smell of rich mahogany, Wilson only seems to be interested Jerry's presence (and the occasional feather). In their short time together Wilson has come to believe that Jerry is her mom, she spent a good amount of the shoot using him as a shield from the camera. 

Jerry wanted to add this conclusive scientific quote, "If the world was truly flat, cats would have knocked everything off of it by now."

Mr March is a true "tail" of forbidden love, which is an important story to share for the closet cat-man. For thousands of years we men have met the primal characteristics of our neanderthal forefathers with an innate ability to start fires, chop wood and tame beasts. Logan was no exception, a strapping Florida man who often could be found deadlifting in the company of his Rottweiler Coby. Then his sweet now-girlfriend, Megan, and her cat Maya came into his life. Although reluctant at first, this relationship paw play has brought one more of us to openly embrace the friendship between cat and man.

Here is a candid message from Logan..

"Maya is a calico cat, she is the best cat. Truth be told I would never have had a cat if it wasn’t a packaged deal with my girlfriend, Megan. In the process of getting Maya, I would tell Megan that she would be “our cat” but in actuality I intended it to be hers and her sole responsibility. But very quickly, Maya made it clear she would be ours. Despite her incessant headbutts, I have come to love this furry little thing and no longer claim her as my illegitimate cat child.

I'd like to add that Logan is a very selfless human who helps people much more challenging than a kitty all day every day, myself included, literally saving lives. I appreciate his participating in this project, and the severe encouragement from Megan

Roger Sullins is a Tampa treasure. He has been a beacon of light to me since the day I moved to Florida and I know he inspires and enlightens many many others. He’s a top notch musician, served his country over seas, a worship leader, and a husband and father. For April he joins us with his Cat Ziggy. He’s an impressive 19 years of age but doesn’t look a day over ten. As long as I’ve known Roger he’s always had a gang of dogs and cats roaming his South Tampa home. These furry family members and his plant based diet enthusiasm show his deep support of the whiskered ones. Any little friend like Ziggy who reaches 19 years old clearly has some good genes and a loving human.

Happy Caturday and welcome Mr May! You will not meet a more talented guitarist on planet earth than LaRue Nickelson. He is a monster performer, composer and teacher. More importantly he is a monster cat lover. One glance at his daily "fur feed" will show he is no im'paws'ture. Posing this month with his human is two year old "Hodor". Hodor literarily showed up at the door one day and has never turned back. In his free time he enjoys musical hallmark cards, devouring fit bits, and adding a high level of distraction to LaRue's strict practice regiment. It seems many of the catmen double as musicians..is this a coincidence? It's paws-sible. Or perhaps these meowthical creatures are just the muse we need to write the next cat scratch fever.

Happy June from Tommy & Zeke! When Tommy isn’t flying turboprops along the eastern seaboard, he can often be found piloting his way into his little whiskered friend Zeke’s heart. Tommy was another member of the species exclusive “man's' best friend club” until 5 years ago, when this lesser known bro-migo came into his life . He was in a dark place at this time, and shared that this new companionship comforted him as he pulled through into the light, and by the looks of little Zekes remainder of a tail, he may have been adopted into a life more worth wagging for. Not so easily seduced by the tossing of a ball or the intoxicating ring of a whistle, Tommy acknowledges the curious pleasure of earning a cats affection. After my visit, it was clear he had succeeded in gaining Zeke’s paw in friendship, and Zeke had gained Tommy’s hand

Mr July! Eddie Rivera is a creative force and staple of Tampa art. You can find is work on trains, buildings, arms, legs and just about anywhere that can be hit with some paint or ink. Eddie is joined here by his four legged accomplice Mofongo. "Mofo" has a reputation as the neighborhood hustler, convincing everyone that he is their little family member. There's no telling how many claim him as their own, but I had Eddie dna tested and he is definitely daddy. His most impressive trick is his abilitiy to work up a sad limp that mysteriously dissapears once he's been fed. Mofongo and Eddie are a powerful combo, adding a colorful page the Cat Man annals.

Welcome Mr August, John, and his boys “Batty Koda” (little guy) and “Mulder Kat” (big guy). John Waterman is a good human, a great human really. He is the co-creator of a podcast empire composed of “The History Shmistory Podcast”, “Points Get Scored Podcast” and his latest venture, “The Pork Chop Kings Podcast”. John can read and understand the words in books. More importantly he is another success story of a devout dog man, born again into cat-lick faith, through feline conversion therapy. At one time the emasculating perfume of litter would cause him a painful emotional rash, but he has deeply embraced the love of these two furballs, and all the nimbly bimbly relatives who have climbed up their family tree. I must add that Batty and Mulder were some of the most camera friendly models i’ve ever worked with, like real seasoned vets (don’t say the V-word out loud if there are cats present). John loves his cats and loves his wonderful wife Kaitie, who had a strong paw in this whole fuzzy situation. I’d like to thank all of the women out there who have played a part in nudging the Mr’s into this project, and helping break down the wall between man and tiny harmless beast. 

Welcome Mr September, Terry, and his amigo Emilio (Estevez)! Terry is a Tampa based web designer and in many ways a selfless and authentic human. Don’t let his tattooed herculean shell fool you, the sweet whisper of a kitten has been able to seduce even the most untame-able stallion. Emilio himself is a bit of a free spirit, choosing to spend most of his time enjoying Florida’s year round mostly tolerable temps, and a variety of neighborhood amenities. His step brother “Charlie Sheen” became so friendly with the neighbors (most likely after reaching an elevated level of tigers blood) he decided to not come home, but not Emilio, he knows where home is. This man and cat go their separate ways to hunt and gather each day, one to the office and one to the streets, but no matter how wild it gets out there, at the end of the day, they always find their way back into each others hearts, and as you can see, each others arms.

Happy October and Welcome to Lou and Luna! Lou is an integral part of our city, a much needed and treasured culture and creativity incubator. His unique flavor of dark and haunting music can be found often echoing through the tarred walls of The Hub, with his wonderfully original band, The Brand New Opiates. Lou’s artistry can also be appreciated at his new restaurant Pascal’s Artisan Bistro on Davis Island, where he is chef and co-owner. He has spent decades perfecting the art of food, and after my recent visit it was crystal clear this is a high level, high grade culinarian. As impressive a resume as this is, let’s not forget Lou’s Phd in Cat Dad-ery. Luna, at the distinguished age of 12 years old (just over 60 on the feline clock), was a rescue from the humane society (high five). I’ve actually known Luna for some time now from her days as a Davis Island debutante living at “The Ranch” where she was a social fixture and literal party animal. Lou and Luna are like butter and bread, as you can see, and we thank them for being part of our Tampa community, and for adding another signature to the illustrious Cat Man registry.

Happy November and welcome Doug and his peeps, Charlie & Mr Jones! I met Doug at Yeomans Pub many moons ago, where he was slinging drinks to musicians, artists, pirates, general deviants and whomever surfaced at low tide on Davis Islands (shout out to O.G. Yeomans R.I.P). It's hard to find an established Tampa band that didn't play their way through a PBR soaked night in this fine watering hole at some point, and without a steady stream of alcohol (and a smile) from Doug's hand, none of these memorable yet foggy nights would have achieved their epic status (he also was responsible for booking the talent). Doug was two timing at Tampa General hospital as well, where he is a respected x-ray tech going on 15 years now, throwing in the occasional bar rag for a full time set of scrubs. So he is quite literally involved in saving lives on a daily basis, which is pretty admirable. Whats particularly admirable today is the two lives he saved from the cobbled streets of Soho, that of this months furry features, Mr Jones (Dylan, not Counting Crows) and Charlie. One late night while making the rounds in Hyde Park, these two little guys showed up, most likely after being thrown out of Macdintons for having one too many bowls of milk. It was clear Jones and Charlie had fallen into the clutches of South Tampa homelessness, surviving day to day on brackish street puddles and waiting for that last bite of pizza crust to fall from another tipsy college plate. It was love at first sight. Doug knew immediatly there was going to be two more men in the Gannon household. With a little help from his friends and a strong nudge from his lovely wife Ally, these boys jumped in the car that night and have never looked back. As impressive of a coat as these felines have, take one look at this man-mane and it is obvious Doug has the best locks in the bay, and after my visit it was abundantly clear that these are locks of love, locks of cat love.

As this year and this collection of felines and fellas come to their conclusions, it’s my pleasure to introduce Blake & Blue. If you weren’t aware i’m Blake (the one with the hat). I’m a photographer and musician living in the Tampa Bay area for around fifteen years now by way of Minnesota, Washington State and born in Colorado. I live to create and create to live. My husky old lady, Blue, is approaching fifteen now (70 in cat years). I brought her and her sister Stella (R.I.P.) into my life shortly after moving to Florida to join my bandmates and I in our Hyde Park bungalow. Since then we’ve moved several times, survived hurricanes, many Florida summers, health scares, big ups and downs, and despite my disappearing for weeks or months at a time, she waddles to the door each day with nothing but smiles. It’s no secret that many of us have such a special connection with our pets due to their ability to show us true unconditional love, perhaps a quality that does not come so easy to us humans. For myself and many other fuzz friendly fellas a cat has found a very special place in our heart, for others a dog, pig, duck, or the whole farm. Love your cat, love your pet, and love each other the way your pet loves you.

Hello people of 2019! My deepest gratitude to all of the cat men, whiskered models and supporters this last year. I believe that together we showed the world that real men love cats, and real cats love men. Now it’s time to expose a species that can warm the heart of even the most fortified Cat Man, that of the Cat Woman!
In efforts to make this a comfortable transition, our first feline is a model from last years calendar, the lovely Maya and her human Megan. Maya agreed to pose again to show that the symbiotic relationship with her cat man and cat woman is similar, but special in its own way. Also as it seems common in many cross species partnerships, the woman is responsible for inviting the cat into the home. I can’t resist mentioning that Megan and Logan (Mr March) are recently engaged, making this the first, of I’m sure many, calendar engagements!
Megan works in admissions at a Tampa addiction treatment center, helping people find clarity and serenity after a life of turbulence. Much the way she admitted Maya into her life just over a year ago. After the tragic loss of her first born furball Alladin (r.i.p.), a call came from friend that a special little lady who had shown up in their backyard one day and decided to stay, needed to find a permanent home. Megan welcomed her with open arms, and Alladin’s vacant room in her heart had found a new tenant. Maya didn’t blink making the transition from fending for herself in the lowly cat projects of St Petersburg, to becoming the life of the party welcoming any and all guests into her new pad, and even quickly embraced her new much bigger brother Coby, who they call a dog. Some of her hobbies include rolling in the dirt and giving loving head butts, which are coincidentally two of Megan’s favorite activities.
I’m thrilled to have Megan, Miss January, start this year off with a bang, and I wish you all a peaceful and prosperous year!

You turn the key. The sound echoes through the hallway. Awake, the tiny heart races. The clicking of the toes, the stomping of the boot. Your eyes meet, your hearts melt, you are the blood running through the vein. A warm embrace, a gentle kiss, the skin, the fur, they are now one. The milk fills the bowl, the pizza rests so softly on its plate, the night is young. Sweet familiar music fills the air as the needle strikes the record, however sweet, it falls in the shadows of your smiles. The songs your souls sing to one another rise above all else. With no witness, you vow to always be there. Suns will fall, moons will rise, the earth it will tremble and all of us along with it, each day. But here in this moment, your are safe, you are whole, you are healed. You are cat and you are woman. 

Welcome to March, welcome to the heat, welcome Aj & Lil Wayne.

Aj responded to an ad a few years back where a couple was moving and Lil Wayne was not to be included in the move, so sparing Weezy from a life in the system she decided to make her family one life bigger. Now you should know first off that this Lil Wayne is actually a lil lady. Maybe there was some confusion on the gender identification of a cat at birth (it’s much like a human, only smaller) or maybe the only identification that mattered was recognizing Lil Wayne’s unmistakeable street style, dirty south beginnings, unfettered vocal prowess and tattooed sexy black tuxedo head to toe, all day long. Weezy is a high ranking member of the Ballast Point Crawlers. There’s plenty of paw life on the streets of South Tampa, but she proudly watches over her pad, often times from the roof-top, where she can keep a close eye on the neighborhood and more importantly be the first to see her peeps pull up. Many Florida cats, along with its humans, enjoy the ability to live the indoor/outdoor life, and a free spirit like Weezy can’t be contained, but don’t be mistaken, at the end of the day she wants nothing more than to come inside and love on her people. Aj says that at times it’s a love hate relationship with Weezy, mostly do to her apparent need to wake the fam up at 4am every morning spitting verses, to which Weezy responded “Haters gonna hate.” I should add that while we had clear direction and a fresh indoor location for this shoot, Lil Wayne decided that we would be following her to her favorite patch of grass outside, where she would permit a few minutes of photos but only after a few rolls in the dirt, for wardrobe of course. Before she hopped the fence and went on about her day she kindly sent out her thoughts and prayers to myself and all the cat lovers out there and asked to share this heartfelt message, “If you can’t beat ‘em, then you pop ‘em. If you can’t man ‘em, then you mop ‘em. You can’t stand ‘em, then you drop em. You pop ‘em, ‘cause we pop ‘em, like Orville Redenbacher”

What do you get when you cross a paralegal/troubadour/burning man fixture, with a Maine Coon/rescue/well mannered fox? Delilah & Audrey.

MAY I introduce you to Dr. Ashley Heintz and Butters. Ashley is an acupuncture physician, eastern medicine guru, and all around healer in the Tampa Bay area. Butters is a grown up lady with plus one toes, minus one tail, and a less than enthusiastic feeling about photoshoots. I must mention that I have been receiving treatments from Ashley for years now, as well as many of my friends and family, and I am confident there is a direct correlation between my ability to guide this pen steadily and her wizardry. The story goes that Ernest Hemingway, a southern neighbor of ours in Key West, was gifted a six toed cat from a sea captain in the nineteen thirties. Sailors were known to collect these polydactyl cats based on a belief that they would bring good fortune to the ship, or perhaps the extra claws made them an unmatched predator to stowaway rats. Generations of these mystical marvels have procreated on this tiny island, and with no ability to migrate further south, certainly some of the more maverick of the bunch must have made their way north. Hemingway was known to name all of his cats after iconic characters, the gifted matriarch being Snow White, which brings us back to Butters. Is it a coincidence that Ashley, who undoubtedly possesses a sixth sense, was magnetized to this six toed super-feline, and felt she must emancipate her from a fettered life in pussy prison? I think not. The more time I spent in the company of these two it became abundantly clear that this mild tempered, slow moving and unassuming creature, may be an integral part of the ameliorating powers that Ashley emits. Although Butters seemed to enjoy a camera in her face about as much as she enjoys having all 24 of her claws clipped, I thoroughly enjoyed this unique cat encounter, and I hope this “image” brings good fortune and healing to your month.

It is June. This is Megan. This is Murphy. This is Lilly. Megan is the boss of her real estate agency in South Tampa. Murphy is the boss of the four legged circus in her Seminole Heights bungalow. Lilly aka “the creeper” is more of a spectator, but with all of these bosses someone must be bossed right? Megan rescued both of these beauties through SPAC almost a decade ago and they are a part of the recipe to the Jordans full house, which includes a husband and two dogs named Reuben and Big Mac (who is the size of a slider at best). Reuben recently disappeared for a few weeks in The Heights, and thank god was discovered a few miles away after what i’m sure was a not so excellent adventure. Now when Murph wanders out the door, it is only to greet Megan at her car each day with a “how was your day honey?” and certainly to determine if enough sales were made to bring home a few slimey slabs of salmon. Lilly is a sweet angel but prefers to stay a little more behind the scenes. If I were to share the proofs from this shoot it would look like a scene from Rear Window, as she danced from corner to corner, perch to perch, and gazed with a soul excavating stare as Murphy enjoyed the first offering of bribery. However an important dynamic to acknowledge is Lilly’s unbreakable bond with Reuben (the escapey). Much like humans there just are certain personalities that seem to compliment each other and true love blossoms in the strangest and most unexpected of places. Without saying a word these cats taught me more about loyalty, integrity, family, and the meaning of life, than I could read in a lifetime of encyclopedia Britannicas. Megan, Murphy and Lilly may be just the type of trinity we need, to bring the world together, to save the planet, one lick at a time. (I’d like to clarify the treats were for the cat models not for Megan)

It’s July, it’s officially summer, and I can’t imagine a better way to ring it in than with the spicy quartet of Meggie, Possum, Coon and Trash Boy. Meggie, the three cats, two chickens, a parrot and a human or two, share a home in west riverside heights. This charming house is seemingly trapped in time with it’s 60’s Sicilian decor, the same way Coon (the boss) and Possum bare their Bengal family’s stripes and unmistakeable vocal timbre. A bengal is traditionally a mix breed of an Asian Leopard and a domestic cat, what balance of the two and how far removed from the jungle they are varies. One day, when these sisters were younger, there came a dreadfully unappetizing odor from under the bed. Upon inspection it turned out to be the resting corpses of four squirrels, clearly a thoughtful offering, and an expression of the wild love that a cat can share with us. Now the mention of unappetizing scents brings us to Trash Boy. Trash was bred in Ybor City, and consistent with most Ybor gentleman he has many a colorful story to tell, an unbound personality, and the facial hair and tattoos to prove it. While living in her families stretch of properties in Tampa’s “Latin Quarter”, Meggie was introduced to Trash, after he hitched a ride on a trailer several blocks away, and showed up on her front lawn, never to look back. The name came quickly as even through his airing exodus, Trash Boy carried the robust fragrance of eau de garbage. This interspecies family is a wonderful example of us living beings coming together to form lifelong bonds, regardless of heritage, class, grotesque methods of showing affection, and even scent. I must add that we have photos of the cats, chickens, birds and humans all on this couch with such poise and stillness that I am still pinching myself. And for that, Meggie, Coon, Possum, Trash Boy, Peep, Piccolo, Stich and Adam, I salute you.

It seems appropriate that in these “Dog Days” of summer, we take a brief pause to cool off with “Baby,” who enjoys nothing more than a cool, cat sized crevice and her mom, and Alison, who enjoys nothing more than her baby, Baby. Sadly it seems Baby’s first year of life may have been a tragic one. To this day she has kept her lips sealed on what exactly took place, but she ended up as an orphan in a Michigan Humane Society, where she spent 6 months, mostly tucked as far back in her cage as she could go, terrified of each and every potential family that came for a viewing. To this day she has a much easier time co-existing with other tailed beings than non-tailed beings, demonstrating that perhaps her earliest memories of interacting with us were not so favorable. Just when she thought there was no hope and that there would be no seat at the table of life for her, Alison appeared, like a Lady in wool armor, to carry her into the light. The fact that Baby did not fit the mold of the desperately outgoing, bubbly, magnetic kitten, that we all know and love, was the very reason that Alison knew she must show this helpless juvenile that we humans also carry a heart, and it need not be blinded by convenience or curb appeal. Together, Baby and Alison (and a few other friends who have moved on to the cat calendar in the sky) escaped the icy grip of the north and moved to the sunshine state. To support Baby’s newly found lavish diet of salmon and tilapia, Alison works at a treatment center. Here she continues her mission of carrying a message of hope and salvation to those who have found themselves trapped in the seemingly inescapable cage of addiction. In the same way her clients are not transformed over night, Baby has taken some time to come out of her shell. This five pound Maine Coon mix has demonstrated an innate ability to make her way into the slightest of holes, cued by the pavlovian echo of an unfamiliar step. In her most notable performance she slipped into the wall of a vacant apartment where she spent several days in solitude until she was finally extracted using an elaborate system of edible bribery and caging. An honorable mention would be the time she slipped into another cozy hole in the wall shortly after our photoshoot (which in my career as a catographer is not only common but to be expected). Aside from these chilling tales and her colorful past, she is no different than any other feline friend. She relishes the pairing of craft catnip and catch of the day, sleeps on human beds, rolls in the snow when available, you know..cat stuff. One thing for sure is that these two share a bond with one another that has proven unbreakable, as they navigate the jet streams and turbulence of life. Baby has become a shadow to Alison, following her every move, from room to room, day to day, and has even developed a familiar method of inter-species communication that shows us we need not always be bound to the meaning of ones words, but simply put, we can just make noises at one another, which is really what we’re all doing anyway. In my brief encounter with Baby, i was able to translate a fitting message that she wished to leave for Alison, an excerpt from the fabled poet J. Bieber, “You know you love me, I know you care. Just shout whenever, and I’ll be there. You are my love, you are my heart. And we will never, ever, ever be apart.”

As the “Endless Summer” license plates pass us by on the road, it seems to be invoking more of a nightmare than a fantasy, but lets ease into autumn with the help of this cool couple, Evelyn & Andi. Evelyn is a yoga instructor, midwife student, musician and founder of Recover T, an online and market focused store and mission where recycled t-shirts are crafted into fashion accessories. Andi is a White Turkish Angora, a unique feline specimen, and to one up herself, she possesses one blue eye and one yellow-green eye, covering several bases for anyone who fancies a companion with a particular ocular hue. The term “odd- eyed” was bestowed upon cats and humans alike that possess this atypical trait, but the Turkish people of the early 19th century had reinforced the fact that “odd” is not necessarily a derogatory term but in-fact quite the opposite, considering these marvels of nature a national treasure and even went to great lengths to preserve this species. There was a saying that “the eyes must be as green as the lake and as blue as the sky.” It is also not uncommon for bi-colored cats to have unbalanced aural abilities, but judging by Andi’s swift greeting to my arrival at the door, and her fairly well intonated vocals (for a cat) it seems she has transcended that stereotype. When Andi was adopted into this family, as is common with many cat tales, she was not only met by Evelyn, but also a pitbull, a tiny italian greyhound, and a husband. Not only that but there are two more adopted cats on the way, to even things out, and even rumors of some chickens, assumingely to officially make it a farm. Evelyn clearly has an abundance of heart that she must share with others, it is evident all throughout her work, her art (including the painting you see in the photo) and her devoted relationships with humans and animals alike. Andi has an abundance of heart, an abundance of spirit, and an abundance of fur, some samples of which she kindly let me take home as a parting gift.

We seem to be embracing holidays more and more, I personally support this movement. Anything to break-up the mundane and at times stale tides of life. The same departure we experience while watching fantasy films or visiting with mickey mouse, children and adults alike. So this time of year we decorate seasonal vegetables, play dress up, and explore things we consider “dark”. It’s a shame it’s only one month a year, maybe if we wore unusual costume every day we would consistently be filled with this holiday joy, or maybe we just need to become more comfortable in our own skin, which brings us to Nicole & Mr Bingley. Nicole is dressed appropriately for the month as a witch, but she is dressed appropriately for the year as well as she is actually a witch. Mr Bingley went an entirely different direction, wearing no costume, or even fur, at all. Yes this handsome bachelor is a furless Sphynx cat. He goes day to day, sharing all of his sheer skin glory with the world, if only we could be so brave. Not featured in the photo is Furgus, an adorable siamese trailer park rescue, who asked to not be featured in the shoot due to his involvement in witness protection, the cat acts he saw in the trailers can be pawed away, but never forgotten. Nicole is a biological anthropologist, biology teacher, long time friend of the cat, and heads the group “The Literary and Scientific Witch Community” on facebook. In her charming cottage in the woods, her and her coven of cats and a small human add a wonderfully colorful chapter to the female and feline storybook. On the surface, to me, the efforts of the witch revolve around showing love to all living things, letting go of the negative, inviting the positive, and seeking protection. Perhaps we could all use a little more of this magic in our lives. One thing for sure is Nicole has cast a spell on these two handsome devils, and we thank her for conjuring the spirit of cat and woman love with us.

Like sands through the hourglass, these are the days of our nine lives. Two thousand and nineteen is coming to an end, but not before all of the cucurbits are harvested, all of the tofurkies are captured, and every ounce of spiced wax is melted. This month we venture far from the pumpkin patch into the city. In this urban landscape we meet Julia and her two little city slickers, Mango & Curry. Julia is a professional singer and real estate agent living in The Big Orange, by way of Washington D.C. Mango & Curry are rescues from Ft Laudy, and yes they most definitely like to party. Julia is a newly discovered cat lover. Shortly after adopting these two charmers a year ago her senses were awakened. Like that first sniff of fresh catnap she was projected into the feline galaxy and this threesome has now become a one-some. You want proof? In a final stand with an ex-lover, a line was drawn in the sand. When the thorny question was posed to Julia, “Me or the cats?”, well, I think we know the score.. A cats brain, however tiny, is capable of more than many of us realize, in however peculiar of ways. Cats will adapt to their surroundings and surroundees as well, in their own peculiar way. While prancing through her industrial loft, causally singing (in a most angelic way I must add), Julia was quickly accompanied in three part harmony by Curry & Mango. I stood in awe as they went through a medley of hits ranging from Cat Scratch Fever, Honky Cat, and my personal favorite, the magical Mr Mistoffelees. Even if the vocal range of a cat only has a one note spread, it was all the note I needed to hear to recognize the love in the room. Peace and love to all this month, and lets give special THANKS for GIVING us these strange little creatures, and this trio for giving us a peak into their world.