Poetic Thankful Thursday

 Today is Poetic Thursday hosted by our pals Teddy and Angel Sammy at Two Spoiled Cats

Today's photo prompt is

We hope you like our Haiku

Monkeys on the loose

Are these the escapee ones?

They made a big mess

Today is also Angel Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!

We will be THANKFUL when Hurry-cane season ends.  It seems to go on and on this year.

The Adventures of Periwinkle and Stinky

 

Periwinkle paced back and forth in front of the Teleportation Tunnel.  She hoped her boyfriend, Stinky, wouldn't be disappointed in what she had planned for their Adventure today.  She knew any time they spent together was special but really liked to plan fun things to do.  

Suddenly, she saw the Tunnel start to vibrate and with a WOOOSH, out popped Stinky.  They spent time whisker kissing and paw patting.  Stinky asked how Periwinkle's family was doing since her fursib Raz went to the Bridge.  Periwinkle said they were still very sad.  Stinky gave her an extra hug.

Soon, Stinky asked what the Adventure was for the day.  Periwinkle, apologetically, said they were staying at her house but that she hoped he liked what she planned.

"First, we need to celebrate International Box Day even though it was yesterday' she said.  Always happy to find a good box, Stinky agreed.  Periwinkle had an array of boxes for them to enjoy.  She chose a Chewy box...

Stinky picked an Amazon box!

They both giggled when they saw this house that had a ton of packages delivered by mistake and agreed that it could be like Box Heaven!

Next, Periwinkle explained that the next day was Summer Solstice.  Stinky (knowing how Periwinkle researched things) asked her about it.  Periwinkle explained..."The summer solstice is an astronomical phenomenon that happens annually and begins the summer season in the Northern Hemisphere.

It’s when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky, resulting in the longest period of sunlight hours in the Northern Hemisphere and the least amount of sunlight in the Southern Hemisphere.

It begins on June 21 at 10:58 am ET, and Orlando is expected to see 14.9 hours of sunlight on this day.

When the North Pole is closest to the sun, it’s called the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. In contrast, when the North Pole points farthest from the sun, it’s called the winter solstice, which is the first day of winter, astronomically."

As always, Stinky was impurressed with Periwinkle's knowledge.Periwinkle told Stinky that there were lots of sites that explained more and showed how to celebrate.  

They spent some time on her Mom's laptop looking at various sites like https://www.almanac.com/content/first-day-summer-summer-solstice and https://www.wanderlust.co.uk/content/five-ways-to-spend-your-summer-solstice/

and they watched a YouTube video...

               

"This was a fun Adventure," said Stinky.  Periwinkle told him they had one more thing to do and that was to remind their friends that it was now Hurricane Season and they needed to be purrpared.   They spent some time re-visiting their post from 2021 about Hurricane purrparedness.  (Click HERE to read it)

Finally, they decided to go to the beach for a picnic and to think about the Solstice and enjoy nature.

While they were there, they enjoyed a picnic lunch that Periwinkle's Mom made for them...

When they got back to Periwinkle's house, they spent some time visiting with her fursibs and Mom and then found a sunpuddle to nap in.  They shared whisker kisses and paw pats and soon it was time for Stinky to head home.  With one quick whisker kiss and a wave, Stinky headed back into the Teleportation Tunnel for his trip home.  Periwinkle went back to their napping spot and smiled to herself.  She was such a lucky ladycat to have such a wonderful boyfriend and she couldn't wait till their next Adventure.

The Adventures of Periwinkle and Stinky

 

Periwinkle paced back and forth in front of the Teleportation Tunnel.  Her brofur Raz teased her that she was going to wear out the tile if she kept it up.  As always, Periwinkle couldn't wait for her boyfriend, Stinky, to arrive.

With the Familiar WOOSH, out popped Stinky right into her arms.  They giggled and spent time whisker kissing, paw patting and catching up.   Stinky told Periwinkle how much he looked forward to their adventure and the two tabbies agreed it was the highlight of their week.

"What are we doing today?" asked Stinky.  Periwinkle said they were getting back into the Teleportation Tunnel and headed to the Florida panhandle.  "Huh?  We're going to hang out in a PAN?" said Stinky.  Periwinkle laughed at that which made Stinky look sad.  Periwinkle ran up to him and gave him a big hug and kiss and said she was sorry and he brightened up.  Periwinkle said "It is called the Panhandle because it is straight and narrow like the handle of a pan with the broader area of the state below it, like the bottom of a pan."  She took his paw and they hopped into the Teleportation Tunnel.  When they popped out he agreed they were in a cool place.

Periwinkle made Stinky promise to behave since she didn't want him running down into any caves alone.  He promised and, paw in paw, they started investigating.  Immediately, Stinky darted over to one of the entrances.  "STINKY, you PROMISED" said Periwinkle.  Stinky ran up to her and said he would be good.

The two decided the best way to see the caverns was with a guided tour.

The were amazed at the caves and how beautiful they looked with colored lights on them.

The tour guide explained that there 34 caves in the park but only one is available for tours. “At current count, there are 34 caves in the park. Pretty much anywhere you see a ridge in the ground, that’s a cave.” 

The guide added, “Indian Cave,” for example, is a bat sanctuary that houses anywhere from 400 to 800 bats at a time."

Periwinkle shivered and Stinky put his paws around her shoulders.  The guide told them the caves stay at 65 degrees all the time.  Periwinkle thought that was way too cold for Florida.

The guide continued “The limestone formations in which the cave passages are developed were deposited in shallow, warm seas that existed more than 30 million years ago,” says Jacob Strickland, park manager. “The cave formations, called speleothems, formed over many thousands of years by the same process that created the cave passages for which Florida Caverns State Park is famous. The depth of the cave averages 45 feet below the surface, and is 65 feet deep at its lowest point. The lower portion often floods during periods of heavy rain, but shortened tours are still offered. The principal attractions inside are the calcite formations, which range from the fantastic to the grotesque.”

As much as they enjoyed the tour, they were happy to be out of the cave and wandered around the grounds a bit.

They were pretty interested in the Disappearing River.

But they decided to steer clear of this guy...

Being the thoughtful cats that they are, they visited the gift shop to find something to bring home to their Moms.

Being cats, they could not understand why they often heard their Moms say they couldn't sleep.  They decided to bring home Dreamcatchers to both Moms to help them (Plus the fev-vers could make good cat toys!)

Soon it was time to return to Periwinkle's house.  Stinky spent some time visiting with Periwinkle's Mom and fursibs and they had a snack of Temptations.  They both agreed there was a lot to see at the park and it might be nice to go back someday.

After whiskers kisses, snuggles, and paw pats, Stinky entered the tunnel, blew one more kiss and off he went with a WOOSH.

Periwinkle and Stinky want to remind you that tomorrow is the first day of Hurricane Season.  If you live in an area where you might be affected, click HERE to read their post from last year.

Here's a video about the Florida Caverns

You can visit their website HERE.

Monday Sparks

 Even though McGuffy's reader is taking a break, we are continuing our Monday Sparks posts!  From the original Sparks posts:

Welcome to Sparks. Many years ago, it was my intent to post an inspirational thought each Monday. It would be my weekly meditation, and perhaps feed other people's spirit as well. Life got busy, and this fell by the wayside. Now, I feel a strong need to bring this feature back. 
The negative energy in the world has become thick and oppressive. Social media has become a part of this dark, negative storm. There is an obvious universal need for more positive energy and peace. And, we can all be part of this affirmative change. 
I believe we are meant to be lights in this world. If we allow our light to shine, we can see where we are going. It is then that we can begin to truly see each other clearly. Together, we can light up the entire world!
I hope you will join us. Please link up a positive quote, thought, poem, or verse. The badge and code can be found in my sidebar. Add the badge to your post to invite others. The more, the merrier. I welcome your thoughts. Peace.

This Spark will be our mantra for the next couple of months since August, September and October are the peak of Hurricane Season! 

We're excited to be special guests at our pal Marv's blog today.  Click HERE to visit.