Cats = Progress!

So, if you'll recall, the neighborhood cats have been lurking around our property and have been known to watch us from a safe distance. (See this post for our first installment. Note that the black and white cat in pictures 1, 3, and 4 is not the same as the cat in picture 2; it took us a month to realize that!)

We found out that the two black and white cats are brothers, and they belong to our next-door neighbor. They're indoor-outdoor cats. More outdoor, though.

Over the past few months, we've been trying to woo them, but they've been pretty skittish. We've put out cat food, sat outside while they observed us, and started leaving our patio doors open. Their feline curiosity eventually got the better of them, and they stepped over the threshold and into our den! At the slightest movement on our part, they'd bolt back out the door. But they kept coming back. One day they made their way into our living room. And then our computer room.

Here's what happened today:

That's Boots on the left and Hector on the right!
("Boots" is short for Lieutenant Fuzzy Boots.
Why yes, Gus did name him! How did you know?)

Are they not the most adorable things you've ever seen?? :D

Wisconsin wildlife!

Today, at my parents' place in Wisconsin, we were outside working in the garden when we heard a very strange bird call, which none of us had ever heard before. My mom investigated, and this is what she found!

There are two of them, one directly below the other.

Wildlife

So, about a month ago, we were in our kitchen and detected movement (in the near-dark) in our screened-in sun room. Gus pulled out a flashlight and turned it on, and this is what we saw!

It's an opossum!
It was eating the cat food we'd left out for our friendly neighbor cats

From the front, it was evident that she had a pouch full of babies!
In this picture, a few tails can be seen.
Sorry about the poor picture quality, but my camera was set on "night",
and she just wouldn't sit still long enough for a portrait.