Looking for birds

pen & ink image of Mr. Claudius

is c2009 GreyElf Graphics

Oh, Christmas Tree

Claudius' ode to the Christmas tree....
Sung to the tune of "Oh Tinnenbaum"



Oh, Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree,
They brought you inside, just for me
Oh prick-ly and piney tree,
Oh what a toy you'll be for me

I swat your balls of green and blue,
I snack on tinsel, popcorn too...

Oh Christmas tree, this toy for me
Why did they all just yell at me?

Your GingerBread and Candy-Canes
Have given me such gassy pains

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas Tree,
Your branches sway invitingly

I'll pounce and grab at everything,
Oh what a sparkly, big play-thing

Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree,
You're leaning over crazily....

I'll bite your branches and garlands,
I'm swinging from the lighted strands

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree....
How could you just go fall on me??



Merry Christmas from
Mister Claudius

Hideaway Day

I am hideaway cat today.

The weather unfit for Beast. Man is silly. He trudges out to do things in the snow. Woman, too. They push the white drifts about in piles. Struggling through the cold wind. Frigid Futility.

This cat does not follow.

Cat Paws will not touch the ICE. COLD. Stinging sleet....

Cat will hideaway inside with Warmth. On this hideaway day.

Hideaway inside til outside is fit again for Beast.



Mister Claudius.

Heat Run

Too COLD for this cat. Indoors, it is chill along the edges and crisp upon the whiskers. Outdoors is less of a friend. The wind bites and howls.

Wait, I do, upon the chilly threshhold. Paws are tucked in close, as I listen for the voice of my newest best friend.

A Rush and a Rumble announce the arrival of her - and I fly fast as thought to crouch at her side - she is Warmth and she breathes in the corner of the living room. I flatten against the hot register and revel in Warmth's marvellous breath upon my fur.

In Winter, She is my dearest friend. The heat run.


Mister Claudius

Winter Coming

The Wind tells me to lay low. To slink beneath the house or better yet to hide inside its sturdy walls. Frost has long since bitten the leaves to brown, the grass is stiff and colorless. Grey dominates the landscape. The Cold stings my paws as I hurry along the stone walkway.

Hurry, Hurry. Ignore the birds. Pass by the mice in the foundation. Resist the hunt.
Find warm sanctuary from the Storm.

Black and white behind the kitchen window, nose pressed in worry to the glass.
I watch from inside and wait. Wait. Wait.....

Winter is Coming.


-Mister Claudius

December Days

December makes me tuck my paws in close under my chest as the wind ruffles my fur. I wait on the stoop for birds to come close while the sun sinks low in the sky. This is my third winter and not as favorable in my eyes as the spring or summer.

My black and white fur stands out against every landscape, as I sit here handsomely and wait for the ones who wear shoes to let me inside where it is warm.

I wink at you, good reader, with eyes of Jade, until my paws touch keys again.


Mr. Claudius