On Thursday, May 26 we started container gardening at the studio. It’s mostly hot peppers and herbs, and it’s going to be yummy (and spicy). Kathleen and Tristan did most of the work, and I took the photos.
The Blog
Mamie, Vanderbilt and Daphne, those are the cats at Catherine North, right? Who’s Gus? Gus is one of two short haired black male cats living in the area around the studio. As Mamie was placed in foster care (and later adopted), we were able to take care of getting another stray cat fixed. We set the trap the night of Monday, March 21 and we caught Gus.
On Tuesday, after a successful operation, we picked up Gus from the Cat Clinic and brought him back to the studio to keep him inside overnight. The following day was that big snow storm. We received over 20cm of snow that day, so we didn’t want to let him out into the cold, blowing snow. We ended up keeping him inside another day, he wasn’t very happy about it. But it was for the best.
Gus was set free back into his world on March 24. He was quite happy about that! It’s nice to see him around the neighbourhood. Occasionally, he comes by and spends time with Daphne and Vanderbilt.
In addition to getting Gus fixed, the clinic was able to look at an abscess he had on his left front leg. They were able to clean it, and we’ve noticed since being back in his habitat he is no longer limping.
Doing little things, helps to make people smile.
When I get the chance, I try to take advantage of the above ‘social-law.’
I went to Toronto a couple weeks ago, delivering something to one friend of mine. Before I drove up, I read that another friend was playing a show less that 1 KM from where I was going to be… and her set started around the same time that I was originally planning on heading home.
Conversation with the first friend went on longer than I planned… and by the time I arrived at the venue: the set had just finished.
I still paid the $7 cover; walked into the basement of the Dakota, and immediately noticed this girl staring at me.
It took her a couple seconds to recognize me in the light, and to clue into the fact that I was really there. As I walked up to her: I was watching her face… I can still picture the instant that she realized what was happening.
Within one tiny moment in time, I saw her face change from confusion; to puzzlement; to disbelief; to shock; to denial; back to disbelief; and then finally it resting on complete joy and happiness, with a large smile on her face…
I was in the area, I stopped into this bar, and I put a smile on this girl’s face for a guaranteed moment in time… It cost me $7, and a hug which I enjoyed.
We chatted for a few minutes, then I took off and drove home… I left that bar feeling great, just because I know I put a smile on at least one person’s face that day!
…
I spent Valentine’s Day this year working in a commercial building, finishing up the Electrical in a unit that was building 8 office room’s.
At 6:37pm I got a text message… ‘Ditched on Valentines Day, don’t I feel special.’
My response to that was: ‘You and I are going out for a coffee when I’m done working in about an hour an a half.’ … An hour and a half later; and we were both sitting down with a coffee in our hands.
Within minutes she started to cry in front of me; because things with her boyfriend did not work out the way she wanted them to…
All I could do, and all that I did, was sit across from her in the Tim-Horton’s, and talk with her… It cost me $3.05, and 2 to 3 hours of my time… But I know that when we left, she walked out the doors with a smile on her face.
(This is not the first time I’ve spoken to this girl while she’s in tears… and it is not the first time that I know I put a smile on her face!)
…
(This next story is the one that sparked my desire to write this obscenely-long post…)
I was dating this girl once, and her mother and her-self went on a week-long vacation down south somewhere. I was asked to take care of their house; to make sure it doesn’t burn down, and to feel their pet bird…
I was also asked to re-hang some pictures and posters in the girl’s bedroom… While doing so, I couldn’t help but write a couple messages on the backs of some photographs. Sweet; Kind; and Happy things…
I left messages that I knew would make her smile when she read them…
Things that were so childish, and so random… that anyone would smile after discovering them…
As far as I know, she has only discovered one or two of them…
I haven’t spoken to her in a while now, but out of nowhere she messaged me yesterday on the Face-Book: ‘I want to know what else you wrote on !!’
I was about to tell her all of the secrets… but then I paused and thought about it:
She is still thinking about this; she still remembers it; and by the way she continued to ask: I could tell that she was excited be thinking about it again!
Trying to figure out what else I did, is still driving her insane!
I wrote these notes 6 years ago.
6 years, and the idea of what I did is still giving her bursts of excitement and curiosity!
—
What tiny thing have you done for someone, that is still having a positive effect years later?
If you answer ‘Nothing,’ then maybe it’s time you try something…
Sometimes it’s a friendly face and a hug, sometimes it’s lending your ears, and other times something childish turns out to last for years…
These 3 events took little effort on my part… a few minutes in a bar, a coffee with a friend, or 30 seconds scribbling a message on the back of picture, before you hang it on a wall.
Taking a small amount of time out of your day may be an inconvenience to you, but when you give that time to others, it increases its value ten-fold, at least!
Take care, and show kindness to those around you…
-Tristan
Last night was an exciting night at Catherine North Studios, as we prepared to bring Daphne in to the clinic to be spayed.
Catching Vanderbilt last week was a straightforward affair. The clinic lent us a humane trap to use. It took a dish of tuna and about 90 seconds to coax Vanderbilt into the trap.
Catching Daphne, on the other hand, was a totally different matter. Apparently, word spreads fast in the feral cat community: “Don’t go for the tuna, it’s a trick!”
After several hours of Daphne doing everything BUT get into the trap, we tried to just sneak up behind her and catch her by hand (Plan B). We nearly got her too, but she’s a squirmy little thing!
Plan C was to trick her into coming into the studio, which we finally managed to do with a package of chicken-flavoured Temptations (evidently the crack cocaine of cat treats).
And then the real fun began.
This is a good time to remind everyone that Daphne and Vanderbilt are feral cats (unlike Mamie, who is very tame and friendly). D&V may look super cute and tame in the pictures, but they really are WILD animals.
Once inside the studio, Daphne acted a lot less like a housecat and a lot more like a panicked squirrel. After tearing around the studio several times, through the kitchen cupboards, behind the console, under the ping-pong table and across the stove (!), she eventually parked herself up on top of the kitchen cupboards.
Eventually, our very own Jordan “the cat whisperer” Mitchell managed to bring her down and put her into the crate. (Thanks Jordan!)
We brought Daphne to the clinic this morning. Her surgery went well and she’s doing fine! She’s back at the studio now, resting in the big dog crate with Vanderbilt at her side. (We managed to tempt Vanderbilt out of the rain and into the studio this afternoon — which is another story altogether!)
Tomorrow we’ll release Daphne and Vanderbilt back into their territory. More to come!
It turns out that Mamie, the mama cat who moved into the backyard behind Catherine North Studios, is pregnant (again!). But we have some great news to share — thanks to Lisa Winn from Ladybird Animal Sanctuary, we’ve been able to place Mamie with a foster family that will take care of her until her new kittens are born.
Unlike Daphne and Vanderbilt, Mamie is a sociable cat who doesn’t shy away from human company. She is certainly going to be scooped up very quickly once her babies are weaned and she’s put up for adoption.
Mamie moved out on Thursday night, and we miss her very much. Many of us at the studio had grown really attached to her. But we still have her kittens Daphne and Vanderbilt to remind us of her.
PS We can’t say enough nice things about Ladybird Animal Sanctuary. Founded by singer/songwriters Janine Stoll, Lisa Winn, and Melissa McClelland, Ladybird is a non-profit organization whose goal is to help reduce the extraordinary number of pets euthanized in Ontario each year by taking a load off of the shelters that are bursting at the seams with unwanted animals. Please check them out and give them your support.
