FAT CAT & BLACKIE ( aka BIG & RICH )

My sister, Ruth, and I are having a garden party in 'our' back yard in a couple of days. Our yards run together like one big yard. All our daylight hours for the past two weeks have been spent working to get the yard up to par. The weather doesn't care about our party, and is not cooperating with us.

Neither is Fat Cat. When we humans are in the yard, it should be for one reason. Head scratching or feeding. Fat Cat has an attitude to start with, and it's not pretty. So when he's ignored it gets worse. He has a buddy, Blackie. Now Blackie is much nicer than Fat Cat. That's really not their names, their real names are Big and Rich.
But when people come to the house they all say, "My what a fat cat" so we started calling him Fat Cat.
I don't remember how Rich became Blackie? Duh.:-)
Fat Cat plops down right where you're working, even grabs at the hoe—A real nuisance!

He doesn't mind being called Fat Cat, he looks at me like, "yeah and don't you forget, I'm big and mean, I am." I shake my head. When I bought my home, Big and Rich already lived here and the owner hated to move them to the city where he was going. He asked me if I'd keep them, I said sure, no problem. I'd never owned cats before. I never questioned why two cats were named 'Big and Rich'. With Big it was obvious, and Rich looked like he was wearing a tux, you know, all dressed up—rich like?

Several weeks after I'd moved in and was telling my friend, Katy Measures, ( animal lover ) about my new cats, she asked their names. When I told her, she laughed and thought that was funny. I was puzzled until she explained there's a country music group called Big and Rich. That must be where Big and Rich got their names.

So anyway, I wanted you to meet Big and Rich ( aka Fat cat and Blackie ). They're in my new novel.

In the novel, one of the characters is a young girl named Brooke Montgomery ( eight years old ). She's wild about animals, especially cats. I've decided to give Big and Rich to her. She'll love them and I bet she can turn  Fat—I mean, Big into a sweet loving guy. Not that he's not already loving, he just likes having his own way—all the time!

Brooke is an only child. I believe the responsibility of caring for two cats ( or being cared for by two cats ) will be good for her. Brook is a smart, strong willed little girl and she likes to have her own way too. Watch out Fat Cat! Her father, Jackson Montgomery, ( antagonist in the story) is probably way too lenient. Just my opinion, and I admit he has his reasons.

Back to the yard. I decided to take pictures, proof of the trouble Fat Cat causes and how difficult it is to finish the job when he's around. Blackie was a good boy, taking his nap.

I'll ask Brooke to keep us posted on how Big and Rich are settling in—oh, and by-the-way, Big and Rich are brothers.