T IS FOR....

T   is for.....

                    ......TUG BOAT

Isn't she beautiful?  Sturdy, strong, seaworthy, (whoops,  maybe I should have used this for 's' day).  On a previous blog I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up.  Well I answered  "a pilot" meaning a pilot of an airplane, but I also thought I would like to have been a TUG BOAT skipper.  This photo is actually of a pilot boat, which are sometimes used as a tug boat.  This was taken at one of our stops in Peru last year. Here are a couple of photos of tug boats in action.

I think it is fascinating to watch how these little workhorses maneuver massive ships through narrow passages into harbors and into their docking place. I could watch them at work for hours.  It seems to me that it takes great skill and excellent communication with the big ship to do all this without any calamities. The massive, giant ship is so dependent upon the skill of the little tug boats.  Whoever hears of these heroes of the harbor?

Now for a change of pace...here is a different kind of TUG.

T is also for a TUG at the heart strings.

Yesterday we drove up to the north of the island to see the Na Paali coast.  We parked  in front of a wide stretch of grass that bordered a scenic beach.  Of course there were chickens  pecking and scratching away at the grass and also begging food from the tourists parked there. (There are chickens running loose all over Kauai.  The reason why is a story for another day.)  But there in the midst of all these chickens was this:

...another Kauai Cat -- actually not much more than a kitten.  As I watched the chickens and the cat I thought how strange it was to see a cat among the chickens.  In fact the cat seemed to be playing with the chickens , or at least trying to play.  But they mostly ignored her.

She was following them around, batting at their tails and even rolling onto her back, exposing her tummy -- a sure sign of submission.  I called her over to me and she came running across the grass on her short stumpy legs.  She looked like a mixed munchkin breed.  She was meowing all her way over the grass coming to me and of course several chickens also came with her looking for a handout. She meowed and meowed but wouldn't come near enough to let me pet her.  She hung around close to me and the chickens, but I had no food.  Then one of the more persistent hens pecked at her to chase her away.

                            

Then it dawned on me.  All the 'playfulness' between the chicken and the kitten was actually the kitten trying to persuade the chicken to let her have a share of the goodies coming from the tourists.  No wonder she never stopped meowing.  She was hungry -- and I didn't have anything for her!  Her plight tugged at my heart strings all the way home.  Poor little thing.  If I'd been on my own, I would have driven back to a store (about half an hour away) to buy some food and bring it back to her.  Not very practical I know, but that's me when it comes to cats!

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The letter 'T is brought to you by Mrs. Nesbitt and her TRUSTY TEAM