Julie Kitzenberger | Julie’s Blog

Featured in the News, Thanks to a Beaver

I’ve been planning to live to be 150. That’s years, I’m talking about. When biologists recently confirmed we are physiologically made to last at least 200 years, I upped my goal accordingly.

Yet, on the day I saw my first wild beaver in my neighborhood creek, I felt my life was complete! The beaver-spotting passion has taken hold, closely matching how I feel about cats.

Not everyone has a chance to spot the beavers, even when they are out early enough.

For the benefit of other creek trail walkers, I posted my … Read the rest

One Ant’s Partial View of the Total Eclipse

Pinhole Camera

I wasn’t going to bother with the total solar eclipse. I didn’t have time. I hadn’t planned 3 years ahead to reserve a flight and lodging at the Grant Tetons so I could join the masses sitting along the center path of totality on Gros Ventre Road. I hadn’t purchased the special viewing glasses. I didn’t have any white construction paper to build a pinhole camera. And I had an appointment Monday morning that I couldn’t change. I just didn’t have time.

I wanted to finish a real estate photography project before getting sidetracked with anything else. My dad was … Read the rest

An Urban Beaver Plies Its Trade

First blog image

I SAW THE BEAVER !!! My life is complete! I’ve seen the Beaver, the elusive resident of a local urban creek.

Having had major surgery sometime back, I’m under strict instructions to walk regularly. A year has passed since the operation, but I still vigilantly walk 60 to 90 minutes each day. I take my camera with me on every walk, prospecting for images along the trail bordering a local creek. Adding a hood to the end of my 100-400mm telephoto lens gives my camera an overall length of 14 inches and a visual impact commented on by many who … Read the rest

Published in Western Horseman, Thanks to a Cat!

When one adopts a shelter cat, unimaginably wonderful things can happen! We all know their companionship can fill a lonely heart; their unique personalities can entertain; their loving purrs can comfort and heal.

But did we know they can also get you published in Western Horseman? Well, Coco the Shelter Cat did. When my mom lost her beloved grey Persian of 14 years, the empty house became too much. She adopted 5-year-old Coco, a part-Siamese, from a local shelter. Not allowed to have a cat where I lived at the time, I became Coco’s most ardent fan, assuming “cat … Read the rest

Creative Writing: Government-approved

Yesterday the morning news reported that the Government has made suggestions for those furloughed during the recent Congressional stand-off: Folks should try to get part-time jobs until the stalemate is done. Suggestions included get a part-time job at Starbuck’s or — (I kid you not!) — doing Creative Writing! Wow – what a feeling to be Government-approved! 🙂… Read the rest

Thanks to My 7th Grade Typing Teacher!

A writer-photographer mentor and friend has urged me not to post my photo-stories on my “Julie’s Blog” until after they are published. “But then what do I blog about?” I asked. “Write about writing,” he said.

But I don’t WANT to write about writing!

Writing about writing seems to be engaging in the exercise of some type of self-analysis (writing-wise) or self-conscious reflection that I’ve been trying to get away from. The Pendulum swings: When I was growing up in Berkeley in the 1960’s, folks were pushing the Pendulum across the arc to the side of self-awareness, the very valid … Read the rest

The Royal Rescue

Someone grabbed my ankles. Someone wearing thick, heavy leather gloves was holding my feet so I couldn’t move, so my talons couldn’t cut away the hands. Someone was holding my wings so I couldn’t fly.

Well, this wasn’t going to fly! How did I ever get this close to a person? What was that uncomfortable, throbbing pain in my left toe? Why did I smell so bad? And what were those strange sounds?

“No cell phones allowed in Wildlife!” someone was barking. “We don’t want the wildlife to get accustomed to urban sounds.”

But I’d heard those sounds before. … Read the rest

Special Friends: the Cat & the Pigeon

I’d like you to meet Jean-Minou, a former stray who has made a special friend! His is a stray cat success story. He’s a very large, lovable Maine Coon cat who used to roam the neighborhoods until he found the perfect home to move into, with his guardian Janet. Maine Coon cats are known for their intelligence and gentle personalities, and Jean-Minou is no exception. Jean-Minou first noticed Janet’s back yard because she raises pigeons and there was a big wooden pigeon coop in the garden. Once Jean-Minou got to know Janet, she invited him to come inside, where it … Read the rest

Velcro: A Handsome Tiger’s Shelter Cat Success Story

July 2013 CATSnaps Cat of the Month.

I’d like you to meet Velcro, a former shelter cat!

Velcro is a very handsome tiger cat with a purrfectly wonderful personality. Thanks to his guardians, Teresa and Will, Velcro was adopted into a wonderful forever home just in the nick of time, when he was 3 months old. He was a teensy tiny kitten and cute as could be! Time passes quickly when a cat is having fun, and Velcro is 4 years old now! He is so happy that, back at the shelter, he was allowed to bring his special shelter … Read the rest

Nemo: A Feline Teen Heart-throb’s Shelter Cat Success Story

June 2013 CATsnaps Cat of the Month.

I’d like you to meet Nemo, a former shelter cat!

Nemo is a Russian Blue domestic shorthair cat who was adopted by Marlies and Mark last summer from a local shelter when he was 9 months old.

The household already had one cat, a lovely 8-year-old domestic shorthair with the softest black fur, named Poes (pronounced “poos” — Dutch for “pussycat”). There was a bit of an adjustment period for Poes, as Nemo is a very bouncy kitty and jumps higher than any cat I’ve ever seen! Poes is old enough to be … Read the rest