11.12.2013

Links December 2013


Environmental news:



Imperial news:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/decline-of-the-american-empire-global-configurations-of-power-the-swindle-economy-and-the-criminal-state/This analysis of US global influence has weaknesses (for instance a debatable assessment of the coup in Egypt), but presents an over all conclusive picture of an empire, which still can strike back with deadly force and will not be defeated from the outside. It will maybe crumble and fall by its inner contradictions, but even that is not for sure.
slave masters
Mandela Gaddafi 3Mandela Castro 3

This month link list is combined again with pictures of the cat family. This time it is Sumo’s turn. Sumo is also known as Indi, Old Lady, Miss Marple — I’ll tell more about that later.

It is raining. A cold spell last week has killed the remaining marigold and camomile blooms. The plants fought bravely till the end, holding their blooms high up in defiance of the cold weather. But the frost broke them down and finally killed them. Good by, my wonderful flowers, I hope, you will live on by your seeds.
There is not much to do in the garden now, except repair work after a hefty storm, which blew out a few panels of the two greenhouses and damaged the roof of the big toolshed. The panels were still intact, just laying around somewhere in the garden, so with a lot of bending, pushing, and squeezing I could put them in place again. The roof of the toolshed has to be replaced, which will be a major action, because the toolshed is big (5.4 meters wide and 3 meters deep). I have already fetched all necessary material, I only wait for dry and mild weather.

The holes in the roof are temporarily covered with various sheets, which doesn’t look pretty, but seems to work.
Sumo sleeping windowsill DSCN2586
The cats have gathered around the stove. Only Sumo is missing, she just wanted to go out. Sumo knows well how to pass the cat flap, yet she refuses to use it and instead always sits in front of the patio door, looking at me entreatingly and hoping, that I open the door to let her out.

A few hours ago she was away for a longer time and I became anxious and ran out into the rain to look for her — I cannot leave my old cat lady lonesome, forsaken, and desolate strolling around in the poring rain. I looked into every corner of the garden, but she was not there. Then I went across the road into the forest and called her, but no luck. I walked in the wood for a little while before I decided to give up and just as I turned back to the house she was behind me.

She probably was near me all the time, stalking me and watching me secretly — cats like to do that.
Sumo is now 16 years old. I don’t know where she was born, but she grew up in the home of a near neighbor, guided and tutored by an older cat, who became her dear friend and companion. When her old cat friend and mentor died, she became withdrawn and moody, spending most of the time outside and only visiting her then host family to get food.
Sumo window DSCN0554
Nobody know why, but in spring 2010, half a year after I had moved in, Sumo decided to join the cat family which resides at my house (Mato’s cat family). She was not at all welcomed, and I vividly remember the hissing and growling, when Rosy chased her out of the garden (which happened quite a few times).

Sumo btw was not the first cat lady to join the family by her own decision, four years earlier Princess Min Ki had done the same, only Min Ki did it more clever and with remarkable social instinct and sensitivity.

One cannot accuse Sumo to have even the slightest tendency or trait of something which could be called social instinct, she is a loner like most cats, but in addition to that she is an outsider, she is unfriendly, ill-tempered, suspicious, and always ready to defend herself.

But she is a fighter, she is dauntless, intrepid, unflinching. Her persistence and courage are admirable, and this character trait in the end secured her a place in the family. Sumo did not sneak into the family like Min Ki, she broke in, choose a place and stood her ground against any attempt to expel her.
Sumo stove DSCN0879
Sumo was not called Sumo at that time, her former host had given her the name Indi. I changed her name to Sumo because after joining the family she soon gained weight and has now considerable six kilo. She seemingly likes the cuisine here and also appreciates my policy, to serve the cats as much food as they want.
Humans can eat as much as they want (at least in affluent Western countries). The intelligent ones choose their diet wisely and eat as much as they need and not more. My feline friends are clearly able to do the same, if obesity should ever endanger their health I will take action, but right now no special measures seem to be necessary.

Since one year Sumo suffers from a slight form of arthritis but she runs around in the garden and jumps high up onto walls, she surly does enough exercise and is astonishing fit for her age. Sumo also has a mild but persistent constipation and I have started to give her laxatives, we will see if that helps.

Sumo doesn’t care about her name, she just reacts to the sound of my voice. I occasionally call her “old lady” (which is self-explanatory) or “Miss Marple.” Please let me tell how I came to use the name of Agatha Christie’s main character for my lovely old cat lady.
Sumo DSCN0077
It was in early spring this year when Sumo joined one of our obligatory daily walks in the forest. Readers of the blog know already, that these walks of the cats with me are an indispensable part of our life and the high point and crowning of the day. What the readers maybe not know is, that the walks have a long tradition and go on now for more than ten years. 

Sumo is not a regular participant and I was delighted to see her joining the group. Usually she follows the other cats and me in a few meters distance but this time she was right beside me. We went up to the clearing in the middle of the forest, then turned right and walked down into the valley near the tree nursery at the southeastern border of the wood. From there we could have diverted right to go back to the house via various routes or left to follow a way along the edge of the forest which ultimately leads to a small lake. 

When Sumo accompanies me I usually take a shorter route to make it easier for her, but this time her behavior encouraged me to choose a small path parallel to the beforehand mentioned way which leads into a jungle of scrubs and young trees. This particular region is only accessible in early spring and late fall, because the vegetation is so dense, that in spring the path soon is completely overgrown and impassable.

In fall last year Sumo had walked with us the same path, but she gave up when the terrain became difficult and I had to fetch her later separately. She had fortunately waited at the point where she gave up — she knew, that I would not forsake her and leave her alone in the wilderness.
Sumo forest DSCN1326
It was a sunny and mild day, the cats were all in good spirit and we made fast progress. We were already far beyond the point where Sumo had given up in fall and she still was beside me and seemingly absolutely determined to see this through. Sumo was hell-bent to succeed this time.

As the vegetation became more dense and the path more narrow, Sumo had to walk behind me, but she always stayed as close as possible. This was a place where she never had been and she knew that finding a way out on her own would be difficult.

The other cats were now also following close behind me. Normally the cats use all possible sideways to explore the surrounding area. Especially Rosy, who has a phenomenal sense of orientation and knows the forest better than me, always tries to find shortcuts and alternative pathways. In this jungle though, Rosy was out of luck and she had to retreat from her sideway exploration, desperately meowing to signal me that I had to wait to let her catch up again with the group.

So I made a stop till Rosy was in sight and when we started walking, Sumo took the lead. She didn’t know the way, but she guessed, and she guessed well. At one point she took the wrong turn, following a path that deer had created and that would have led us to nowhere. A short call from me was enough to put her back on the right track, but from then on she did let me take the lead again.

The shrubs were now as dense as they could be, mostly hawthorn and wild blackberries. These bushes have nasty thorns, making a wrong step and becoming entangled into their thorny branches means severe trouble.
The forest plants know how to defend their territory.

Cats normally are able to skillfully and elegantly slip through thorny shrubs but this wall of brambles let even them become anxious and clueless, also Sumo seemed to be a bit hesitant now. Fortunately at this point we were already approaching the end of the jungle, it took just a few meters more (actually about ten meters) carefully maneuvering from gap to gap to reach the way between the small lake in the east of the forest and the big clearing in the middle.

This way is a bit wider and never overgrown because occasionally the forest owner drives with his tractor there. It is also the only track which is used by wanderers, normally a reason to avoid it because when the cats encounter strangers they disappear into the underwood and only slowly appear again when nobody is in sight anymore.
When Sumo and I were able to set our feet (paws) onto this way we both drew a long breath of relief and paused. We had to wait for the other cats who one by one emerged from the maze. They were all quite exhausted but when they looked around and realized that we had finally reached this main way which they all knew well they were relieved, jubilant, one could even say exalted.

So we put ourselves together, Sumo again took the lead and we went up to the big clearing and from there straight down to the small crossing where a well disguised path leads directly to our house.

Arrived at home, the cats got the best food that I had in store and I sat down to eat the leftovers of my muesli. I felt elated and proud, we really had achieved something remarkable and we would remember this walk for a long time to come. Sumo had earned my deep respect and probably also the respect of her fellow cats, it was very clear, that her standing in the group would be different from now on.

And as I sat there, surrounded by my little friends, I suddenly knew that as a consequence of this days event Sumo had a new name, a name that would reflect her achievement, a name that she had rightfully earned — from now on she would be called “Miss Marple.”  
Sumo book shelf DSCN0638
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