(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . PWB: Noble Fur Fridays - Farewell For Now [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-06-02 Since the beginning of February, I have posted 15 diaries in the Noble Fur Friday series. Soon I will be on my way to the forests of Idaho for my summer work. Once I arrive, I will be focusing on my work and will have little time for diaries. Perhaps I’ll do a few more when I return to Georgia later in the year. For the “season finale” of Noble Fur Fridays, I’ve decided to highlight some of my favorite pics, plus one video, of a very special kitty. We go in chronological order, from 2015 through 2021. November 19, 2015, the picture that helped inspire the new kitty’s name. She was about five months old at the time. The above picture was taken a mere three days after I first laid eyes on the new kitty. I had returned from an extended working trip in the Northwest. My neighbor introduced me to an orphan cat that had been found in a firewood pile in my driveway. In that short span of time, the kitty had already made herself at home. I took a series of pictures, some of which remain among the best I’ve taken of her. As I followed the new cat with my camera, I was trying to think of a fitting name, one that included my forestry background. Even though she had just met this strange new human, she was incredibly calm, graceful, and elegant. Noble Fur came to mind, a reference to noble fir, which is one of my favorite western tree species. I considered other names, and even asked for suggestions in a Daily Kos diary, but no other names came close. December 3, 2015. She was equally comfortable indoors or out. I did have to teach her (successfully) to keep her claws off the furniture. December 29, 2015. I took lots of pictures of her on the back stairs. January 16, 2016. She definitely had a playful side, and she knew how to play gently. This video was taken by a security camera in June of 2016. Any time Noble Fur would see me, she’d race at full speed to greet me. On this morning, I stepped outside with my coffee, and Noble Fur came running. It’s clear from this clip that we had a very special bond. By the end of the month, Noble Fur would be wearing a harness and leash, in preparation for the first of five trips across the continent. June 29, 2016. First trip across the country, helping me navigate through western Missouri. That summer, I rented a house in McCall, Idaho (not the one in the picture). It was in McCall that I began going on frequent walks with Noble Fur, after she adjusted to the leash and harness. I quickly learned that she wanted to march right up to everybody’s front porch. Kitty did not understand the finer points of private property. September 14, 2016. Back home, January 20, 2017. A tree had fallen in a storm. The cutoff end was about 8 feet off the ground. It was a perfect vantage point for Noble Fur to oversee her domain. Another angle of Noble Fur on the log, in her Sphynx pose. May 26, 2017. If you ever needed evidence that cats can get comfortable anywhere, here’s Noble Fur resting her head on a landscaping rock. August 31, 2017, in dry grass in central Oregon. March 30, 2018 at home. I found the rock slab in the woods. At one time it helped support a building, which had long since rotted away. Getting it home was an ordeal, but now it’s a bench in my yard. October 4, 2018, in Wallowa, Oregon. Kitty was confined to a small motel room while I worked, so I made sure that she took some interesting walks when I got back from the woods. July 1, 2019. In an aspen forest in Utah. An exercise stop on the way to Oregon for the summer. November 20, 2019, in the front yard. January 2, 2020. In the front yard, looking up at a squirrel. October 20, 2020 at an Airbnb in South Carolina. April 25, 2021, peeking from a hiding place in the yard. June 25, 2021, at Sherman Pass in northern Washington. One of my last pictures of Noble Fur, taken November 24, 2021. If you need a Noble Fur fix and want to visit the old diaries, here is the link to my diary page. foresterbob's diary list [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/6/2/2172683/-PWB-Noble-Fur-Fridays-Farewell-For-Now Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/