This is the kind of thing that makes me want to tear my hair out in frustration. I happened to see a little toad that looked just exactly like a piece of bark. I had to get off a couple of quick shots with the digital camera before it jumped away, and didn’t have time to mess around with all the options and controls. The camera simply would not focus on the toad. It was set to “auto.” This is the sad result.

As you see, the background is captured perfectly. I tried to fill the whole screen with the toad, zooming in til I could zoom no more – all to no avail. I didn’t have any problem taking a photograph of small flowers, but I suppose that’s because there weren’t really two distinct field depths.

So what is the secret, photographers? If this happens again, I shall scream.

Our sweet little cat Zoom has been missing for five days now.

Zoom was abandoned in the park that borders our property about a year ago. He adopted us.

He’s very shy, but he trusts us. When I go out on the deck with my morning cuppa java, he is usually waiting for me. He greets me with chirps and miraows and mutterings, and once I settle down and have my first sip he jumps into my lap and snuggles in.

We’ve gotten very attached.

I put flyers up around the neighborhood last night, and sent an email to the neighborhood list.

There have been multiple sightings of two/three coyotes in the neighborhood, and other cats have gone missing. Concerned, I once tried to take him indoors, but he climbed the walls. He is an outdoor cat.

When my stepson brought his dog Evie over – a pitbull (a very sweet and intelligent pitbull, but a pitbull nonetheless) – he zoomed up a tree immediately. Got himself down too. I was hoping that he would zoom out of danger.

My deepest fear at this point isn’t even that he is dead, but that he’s just injured and can’t find his way back home. I know that he’d be back if he could get here. I’ve searched the woods out back and across the street – nothing.

My hope is fading.

They didn’t have a grey and white kitty, so this is as close as I get to our kitty Zoom. Zoomie here will play with the cursor. Click the “more” button to get a treat for him – hold it close and he’ll take a wee bite at a time. Click on him and hold to pet him. If you have speakers on, you’ll hear him purr. Very cute little blog toy.

Hee-hee.

The real Zoom adopted us – I think he was a kitten tossout in the park. He is the sweetest cat I’ve ever known. He chirps and mutters to me, and asks permission to jump in my lap by touching my shin very gently with his paw and blinking at me.

I haven’t been able to get a good photo of him yet. He’s always on the move, hunting and exploring and zooming around. He’s very very shy of anyone except the three of us.

There is a big dark grey cat that terrorizes him a bit, but the opposum leaves him alone.