Beauregard top, Danï underneath. We all watched with great trepidation as Hurricane Idalia passed us by in the Gulf, only to strike well north of us in Florida’s Big Bend area. We had plenty of rain, especially after it moved out of Florida, which was interesting. Rain is always welcome here in Florida because without plenty of it the vegetation rapidly dries out and becomes fuel for intense county-spanning wildfires. During the rain and thunder everybody settles into the same room with the humans, some even spralling across our laps.

At this point in time Beau is nearly eight (birthday in early October) while Danï is three. Once again I’m reminded how time is fleeting. I still remember (without photographic aids) when they all arrived as kittens.

Both photos taken with the Olympus Pen F and the Panasonic Leica 25mm/1.4 first edition. On micro four thirds the 25mm is a normal lens. Being a Leica designed lens, not Leica built, it produces photos with excellent character. Being Panasonic built I was able to afford it over 10 years ago. If it had been Leica built I wouldn’t have touched it because it would have been well outside my discretionary budget.

It’s been very hot in Florida. We’ve had daily excessive heat warnings that have been going on for weeks now. Our air conditioning labors to keep the house reasonably cool, even if the thermostat is set at 78. I don’t want to blow up the air conditioner by overusing it. We’ve already had two incidents here with power, where the lights have flickered. One was this morning; while out on a very short walk around 6:30 I heard a transformer blow up in our neighborhood. Our power stayed on. I can only imagine how the effected homes stayed without power before the transformer was replaced.

I keep the little ones inside now, and make sure everyone has full bowls of clean water. Everyone comes around to visit, or else find a spot to nap. I know that cat ancestors lived in the desert, but today’s cats are a lot more domesticated than wild; they won’t do well out in this high heat and humidity.

Camera was the Olympus E-M1.2 with the m.Zuiko 17mm/1.2 PRO.