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Hi:

I'm Ben. Here I am in Nova Scotia in one of my favorite places - up in the Apple tree next to our house. It is an old tree and easy to climb and I have a great view from here.

I didn't always live in Nova Scotia. In fact, I don't remember where I am from. I do remember Sue and Dan found me in a junk shop in Marathon, Texas. I was pretty desparate at that point in my life and when Sue walked into the shop I just grabbed hold. She seemed to like me and took me outside to see Dan. He said it was okay if I came along for the rest of their trip. I finally had regular meals, a place to sleep and lots of loving. From that point on life has been one big purr.

For awhile I didn't know what was going on. We drove around in the van and every day we were in a different place. Boy, some of those nights in the van or tent were really cold. That's where I learned to snuggle down into a sleeping bag. We visited Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Then we spent a couple of weeks at a nice place in Oakland but the cat there didn't like me much. After that we crossed Nevada and went to Colorado. There was a nice dog there. While there I went to a veterinarian; I've felt a lot different since then - much calmer. We came east across Kansas, Illinois and Ohio. Bad dogs in Illinois; nice cat in Ohio.

I finally made it into a place called Canada. For three months (human time) I lived with a lady named Brenda, a man named Neil, and five cats. Wow! That was great. My pal Thumper and I had a wonderful time together. I sure miss him.

One day Sue and Dan showed up again. Good thing they got there when they did. My long term cat memory was going fast but I did remember them. Away we went away in the van and ended up in this place - Chebogue Point, in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. I was looking forward to more of those cold nights in the van. They turned out to be cold nights in something called an RV. It was cold in the house too. I didn't think it would ever warm up. I am getting the idea that this is home and we won't be traveling around in the van as much.

I like it here. The house is being taken apart so I have lots of places to explore. We have a big meadow around the house so I can hunt mice. I can sleep in the RV and get warm in the sleeping bag or stay in my own private loft. It looks like I may soon gain a sister. Another orphan showed up on the door step and pulled old "snuggle" trick on Sue that I used in Texas. It worked again so it looks like Missy will be around for awhile. Hopefully her trip to the veterinarian will calm her down too. I think we will get along.

Welcome to my web page.

Here I am taking it easy on a warm sunny day.Usually, I am much more active than this.

As I am here, busy exploring the latest hole in the wall.

Okay. So, they got me a brother. Guess they figured I was lonely. Actually, Dan and Sue thought it was a sister so it started out as Missy. The vet clued them in so now it's Itsy. As you can see, Itsy is a lot smaller than I am. Is guess it 's like 'itsy bitsy' or something - cute! Anyway, we get along fine. I even groom the little feller once in awhile - he usually needs it.

	We do have our moments. I think they should have named Itsy as 'Feisty'. Sometimes he gets out of line and I have to show him who is boss.
Back to exploring. Think I will try the 'tight rope' trick.
	Resting again. We do this about 22 hours a day. It's a tough life here in Nova Scotia.
Ain't we cute!

Our neighbors got this new animal. Its name is Billie since it is a girl. We can smell if from here so don't have to get much closer. Looks dangerous to me. I also note that it eats thorn bushes so I think I will stay away.

Well, I'm up to my usual - getting a little sack time. See that clock in the back? It tells when low and high tide will be. I see it as a way to keep my biologial rhythm in line with natural patterns. It's kind of a Zen thing you know. You understand, of course, that my ancestors came here from Tibet. So, I know about these things.

This is Ezra. He used to live next door. But, Itzy and I treated him so well that he decided to move in with us. Dan and Sue don't seem to mind. He was very curious about the ghost that appeared next to our wall at the end of October. There were other strange happenings at that time if I remember correctly.

This is my brother Itzy again. He is doing the balancing act on top of the scratching post to look out the window. Not a bad trick. Dan and Sue named him Itzy because he was so small. Sure fooled them. They should change his name to Fatzy. Not to be mean about this -- but he is shaped like a pear and I don't think that reflects well on the cat kingdom as a whole.

We have had a lot of snow this winter so we spend a lot of time on the futon or window sill looking out at the snow and cold. You can see we have all grown up quite a bit in the last year or so. This is me, Ben, doing my thing.	Over here are Itzy and Ezra doing their thing -- wishing for Spring to arrive very soon. There must be mice out there somewhere! Itzy is still eating well as you can see.

I told Dan that it just wouldn't work to have Ezra help him with the construction work. Just look what happened. Dan sent him off to make some simple measurements. The next thing you know Ezra is asleep on the job. He doesn't write all that well either so it probably didn't make much difference.