Intro to Byrd's Nest

I am lucky.  I have so much love in my life.

I thought I would take a little time to introduce all of us here at the Byrd's Nest.  Chez Nous.  We live in a rather small mobile home with a teeny, tiny yard but two rather large porches and three doggie doors.  "We" consists of  one very nice roommate whom I seldom see, four orange cats, two gray and white cats, one calico cat, two small dogs, one medium dog, and myself. (That's 12 of us, including the 2 humans, in case you were counting)  It also holds an embarrassing amount of art supplies and books.  Lots of books.  

Just now, we are also playing host to a friend's dog (Joey) while my friend is out of town.  Joey does not always respect the cats boundaries.  He loves to chase them.  They do not love being chased.  But in reality, he means them no harm.  They seem to know this, because they are annoyed, not scared.    All the dogs love being together, they race around the place, play-growling and sound quite fierce.

Once in a while, though, peace does break out.  I snapped this picture the other day:

From left to right: Fred, Joey, Lil'Bit and Murray.  The cat on the pillow is Jefferson, the cat in the basket is Addams, I think, but it could be Franklin. At least one of the lumps of bedding is another cat, but I can't tell which one (possibly Tabigayle).   As you can see, there is not a lot of room left over in the bed for me.  Sometimes we have arguments about that.  I do not always win.

It's nice here, lots of windows and a large sliding glass door that opens on to a beautiful porch where most of my plants live.  It's cozy and inviting.  I have a huge couch for guests, but when they are not here, the dogs use the couch as a launching pad for some of their races.  The entire dinning room has been made over into an art space, which, sadly, I seldom use.  But at least all my art supplies have a home.

Since I am pretty much bed-ridden most of the time, my activities are mostly mental.  I write and I do artwork.  One of my challenges has been to figure out just how to do artwork while lying in bed.  Zentangles are  relatively easy to do (when the cats are not helping), but I also love Polymer Clay.  Sadly, Polymer Clay does not lend itself to being worked in while in a slouching position.  I will try to get a couple of photos of the little claywork I have accomplished.  I'm rather proud of it.

Like I said, I am lucky.  I have so much love in my life.  My four-footed friends, my family,  each one of them has a personality and I love watching them interact.   All of them pretty much get along with each other (occasionally rude words are exchanged, but not too often).  And I get to watch them, I get to be with them. They climb all over me and like to help when I am typing on the computer or trying to draw a zentangle.  They donate fur for clay inclusions.  Even the very shy ones have no fear of me.   I have earned their trust.  I adore all of them. 

I am lucky indeed.