Dirty is as dirty does

Cats are obsessed with rolling in dirt. Seen in the late afternoon sun are (clockwise from top left) Homer, Betty, Amy, Buzz, Betty, Olga.

This ritual is followed by going inside and shedding the accumulated dirt onto clean bedding and upholstery.

Betty Galore

She's making the world a betty-er place to be.In the sink:In the kitchen window:In the wheelbarrow:In the tree:In the alley:

Ready Betty

My new trike totes FedEx boxes, cat food, and thrift shop finds. So how much longer must Betty wait for her Saturday ride to town?

Slipcovers are here

My kitty beds finally got a wardrobe. Slipcovers are now available -- they're washable, dryable, customizable, and interchangeable. See the Moderncat post here. Betty was the star of the slipcover photo shoot, but only under duress. I woke her up from a nap for this photo:And here I heisted her while she was licking her lips after a snack:Betty is so over being a kitty bed supermodel:

All-star benchwarmers

My homemade benches are like Lego blocks for backyard kitty lounging. Below are Daisy's tail end (left) and a sleepy-eyed Homer.Below is Sailor when he still had his chocolate back stripe.Be not deceived by Betty's alluring smile; the jaws of a beast lurk within (la Bete = the beast).Below is Gus, my eldest feral, the most charming boy I cannot touch.

Betty Turntree

Betty Turntree is botanically related to Helen Twelvetrees and Dolly Tree -- screen queens of an earlier era.

Betty on high

As Betty took the ladder to the top of the shed, she smelled something bad. The kind of bad that forced her lips ajar until the smell had cleared.The rainwater barrel Betty's lying on is bone dry. It's been a whole year since it rained here, but that's fine with Betty. Thunderstorms wreak havoc on her already electric nerves.

Matched pairs

Betty looks remarkably calm considering that feral bad boy Jerry is just behind her.Puppy, who's been wallowing in dirt, and kitten Ida are unrelated but so alike. They're both lovey pushy lap hogs. (That's my lap.)

Cirque du Betty

Betty simply refuses to be surpassed when it comes to outrageous poses.

Back up Betty's tree

This tree (this branch, in fact) is Betty's favorite performance space. When other cats climb her tree, she gets jealous and has to upstage them with her acrobatic antics.

DIY climbable Christmas tree

A mod tree I made is featured on moderncat. It's not for sale, but the DIY instructions are online.

Dirty Betty

Rolling in dirt is my cats' favorite outdoor activity.Betty got herself dusted up and then floated like a brown cloud into my lap.

Fall rummage

I emptied the garage (something that hasn't been done to that musty shed in 60 years) to build shelves for my scrap lumber collection.The temporary junk piles in the back yard make fine kitty entertainment. Roger, Betty and Olga check it out.The new garage shelves, to be made of these wood scraps, will be feral-oriented, with a series of cat steps to the rafters and even a sort of spiral kitty staircase.

Group portrait with benches

I made these 14 benches from old discarded wood left over after I rebuilt my fence. The benches are perfectly proportioned for me and the cats. I rearrange them all the time, all over the yard.The kitties-in-the-round are, clockwise from center bottom: Natalie, Linus, Olga (face and paw only), Gidget, Daisy (back only), Alvin, and Betty.Gidget (left) and Betty prefer the top bench.

Too many models

Betty had lots of company while she modeled this kitty bed. Gidget hammed it up in front while Olga stalked from behind.Betty's poses are fabulous, but I wound up using a photo of Olga on the bed. (Betty's spots are just too much for this floral pattern!)

Queen of the jungle

Betty Bob is working on tricks for her Tarzan tree act. She can practically swing around a branch by her back legs. My friend Hope calls her "Bob, Bob, Bob of the Jungle."

Belly up

As summer heat goes up, so do the cat bellies.
Above is Betty; below are Daisy (orange tabby), Homer (grey tabby), and Cosmo (black).

Cinderbetty

Betty loves to squeeze herself through the hole of a cinderblock.Daisy has been doing this same trick for years (the photo below is from 2003).

A cat's work is never done

I may let my laundry pile up, but cats do not. Betty and Roger are seen here in serious tidying-up mode.When Betty looks up from her work, she has the expression of an underpaid laundress.