30-Day Writing Challenge Day 1

Hello, dear readers.

I've finally done it. I've finally accepted the 30-day writing challenge. Today is, you guessed it, day 1. Well, I think you didn't need to guess because it's right there in the title. Day 1.

I'm not sure I'll write for 30 consecutive days, but I'll write for thirty days and see what happens. I'm also not sure of my topic today. I think I'll go with the lead image.

The lead image is of Barney the Barn Cat. Sit back and let me tell you the story of Barney.

I used to get my nails done all the time. Being a tomboy, I never did figure out how to do my nails myself. I tend to get paint in my hair and my nails never come out even. I wouldn't even dare try to do acrylics myself. Good thing there's a little nail salon in town. At the time, the salon was owned and operated by Tricia Tran, a lovely Vietnamese lady, with a soft spot in her heart for strays.

Tricia had adopted a stray cat who only had one eye. Customers would come in, sit in the massage chair and Sam would jump right up in their laps and start purring. Everybody loved Sam.

Of course, Tricia and I talked about animals of all sorts. She knew all about my animals here on the ranch and I knew all about the animals she had rescued, including Sam. Now, before Tricia had resigned herself to keeping Sam, she tried to give him to a few people. But Sam always ran away from those homes and came back to Tricia. She tried to get me to take Sam. I told her no. I already had two cats.

Well, one winter day, I get a frantic phone call from Tricia. Our local animal control officer had shown up at her shop with some tiny kittens. Apparently, the mama cat had been run over and the babies were still with her trying to nurse. Tricia begged me to come get one. I, in turn, begged my husband. Keith finally said ok, but I had to get a boy and I had to agree the cat would be a barn cat. I agreed.

I drove over to the nail salon and there was the animal control guy with a cage in the back of his pickup truck. There were 4 adorable kittens, all mewing loudly. I told him I wanted a boy. As I approached the cage, one little kitten came up to me. She climbed the side of the cage and rubbed her head against my finger. I fell in love and I fell hard. I took her.

When I got home, Keith and I went out to the barn to make her a little nest. She was going to be a barn cat.

The little nest Keith made for her

Keith said it was too cold outside for such a little kitty. He said to let her stay inside just one night.

The first day I brought her home

Keith has always been a big fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers American football team. Their colors are white, black, and gold. Keith decided this little kitty was a new mascot. He thought she had the Steelers' colors. I mean, look at her. Of course, Keith was right.

Keith having coffee with Barney

I think the cat is more Keith's cat than mine. She never went back outside, and she is always on Keith or in his clothes.

The first day I brought her home

She loved to ride in his collar

She sleeps on him all the time

We got her spayed so we didn't have any more tiny little surprises. After she was spayed, she started to get really fat. Now, she is just a fat, fat cat. That's what I call her. Ms. Fat Fat. I have a lot of other names for her, too. Boop. Booboo. Noisy. And many more names.

Keith still has coffee with her every morning. She yells at him if he doesn't give her enough attention. She does the cutest thing all the time. She will go up to your face and give you a boop on the forehead with her forehead. It's where we got the nickname Boop.

There have been times when for one reason or another we have had to put her outside. When we put her outside, she immediately goes up on the roof of the house and doesn't come down. Not even to eat. And she yowls and meows very loudly. She won't come down on her own. We have to go up and get her. It is a long hard process for us. So, we just never put her outside.

Barney has to be brushed several times a day, otherwise, she gets knots in her hair. The knots will turn into big clumps that look like dreadlocks. We sometimes call her Jamaican Kitty. When she gets these big knots, I have to cut them out with scissors. I'm always so scared I will cut her. I never have. But I do worry. So, now, we just brush her and brush her.

For a long time, she didn't like to be brushed. She would actually attack the brush and bite it. Sometimes she would attack the hand holding the brush.

Barney is a Calico cat. And I guess Calico cats have a pretty distinct personality. For example, she will climb all over a person asking to be petted. Once the person starts petting her, she bites them. She used to bite my nose all the time. Her little teeth are SHARP! I have to avoid her bites because I'm allergic to cats. If she breaks the skin, I'll get a pretty good rash. I think I'm also allergic to her hair. If one of her hairs gets in my eye, I'll never get it out and my eye will swell up.

Sometimes, she tries to help me with my writing.

She's "helping" me write by lying on my laptop

Despite the allergies and biting, I love my Ms. Fat Fat. And she loves me, too. But not as much as she loves Keith.

Thanks for reading my Day 1. Until next time, stay happy.

All images are original photos by Jonica Bradley