Catching Up

Shameless self-promotion . . .

One of our photos from Italy has been entered in a photo contest. We are currently 21 20 19 out of 311 photos. You can vote by clicking here.

Remember a 10 is good!

*smile*

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I have to catch up on a few things. I see the pic from Wednesday's post has vanished. what is up with that?

This is the salad:

YUM

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I have returned from Ottawa. It sure is nice to be home with loved ones again.

Ruth had some bad news for me today. One of our former students, whom we taught a number of years ago, died while riding his bike at university. What a bloody shame. While I taught Graham years ago - and then only as a rotary teacher - I remember him as a hard working kid who deserved better. Not that anyone deserves this sort of an end. Ruth tells me that she has never known a student to die. Unfortunately for me I have had this experience before and I can tell you it is not a pleasant one!

I've spent some time looking through old yearbooks from my teaching days, fixing Graham in my mind and remembering some of the classroom interactions we had back then. Fun times (even with the odd headache!)

I'm at the risk of becoming maudlin . . .

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. . . moving on to more enjoyable things . . .

One of my favourite things to do In Ottawa is to visit the cat sanctuary on Parliament Hill. Tucked away in the trees that border the rear of Parliament Hill is a small community of stray cats. This area, which has now come to be called the "Cat Sanctuary," has been home to strays since the late 1970s. A volunteer ensures that the shelters used by the cats are maintained and that the animals are fed every day.

Originally the project of Irène Desormeaux, their care passed to René Chartrand in 1987 upon Desormeaux's death. While Chartrand built a small series of structures resembling mock Parliament buildings inside a small enclosure for them, the cats are free to roam the property, easily slipping in and out of the gates. According to Chartrand, the cats were allowed inside the Parliament buildings to help control rodent populations.

There are currently around 14 different cats on the premises. The cats are all spayed or neutered, and receive free inoculations and care from the local Alta Vista Animal Hospital.

It was a pleasure to visit with this guys this morning. I made my donation in the locked box to assist with the food and upkeep for these kitties and then sat on the bench and watched. Soon three or four of them had come over to the bench and were making my acquaintance. It was a nice way to start the day, too bad the rest of the day was not as enjoyable.

Comments

[Robert]

Aw, those cats are gorgeous! Their accommodation looks pretty stylish too.

I do admire the volunteers who dedicate their time, and often quite a bit of their money, to looking after stray animals.

My sister used to volunteer at the cat sanctuary at the Torre Argentina in Rome - some gorgeous (and occasionally friendly) felines there too.

[Jerry]

Their home mirrors the House of Parliament. It is so cool to run into these guys so close to the 'centre' of power in Ottawa. I admire anyone who takes the time to assist strays like this. We have a rule for pets - we will only get out cats from shelters.

Funny - we heard about the wonderful cat sancturary in Rome but never found it.