J. Moonboots

"For to assemble the letters that make up the name of a thing, 

in the correct order, was precisely to effect a magic, 

to establish a new kind of influence over that entity, to summon it forth!" 

--David Abram, The Spell of the Sensuous

I would have told you all sooner that we welcomed a new kitty 



to our home, but every time I bust out my keyboard, she crawls

on top of it and starts purring, in the most inconvenient but 

adorable way. Or chews on it.

And then, it took a while to find her name.

Her name at the shelter was Chloe. Her mom is Charlotte, her brothers are Cody 

and Chevy, her sister is Cupcake. It was a whole "C" theme!

But still, I knew that wasn't her name.














"That's not my name!"




She is feisty, stubborn, brave and rambunctious, curious and comical; continually 

tumbling over herself in somersaults, running full out with the hooked tail that 

means "Playtime!" in cat language, and stretching her little stripey self in huge leaps 

that usually end with her hanging on the edge for dear life, scrambling for purchase. 

Sometimes she falls. Mostly, though, she makes it.  

She curls right up on my lap. I stroke her head. Just like that, we're an interspecies 

love story. I sing her the "Soft Kitty" song even though she is not sick.

Deena Metzger wrote, “In the Hebrew tradition, saying The Name, Calling The 

Name, Naming has enormous spiritual power; is, perhaps, the supreme ritual act.” 

(Intimate Nature: The Bond Between Women and Animals).

We named her Juniper. Juniper seems to be the sound of her personality. Also, 

we brought her home in June, she is tiny, therefore she is our Junebug. 

Stazi Lu is not thrilled with this development. 

Juni follows Stazi around. She goes where she goes, does what she does, only all the while 

she is trying to start a wrestling match or game of chase. Basically, she's like an annoying little 

sister you can't shake off. You try to take a nap, and she jumps on you. Things like that make 

you run for the basement, where you can have your food bowl to yourself and snooze in 

uninterrupted peace.

Juni relaxed. Stazi, not so much.

But you never know, with cats. They could be snuggle buddies before the year 
is out. I, personally, have never had cats who actually snuggle with 
each other, but it could happen.

For now, it's irritated growling, displeased stares, heated pursuits and the 
occasional hiss. But really, I am encouraged. A couple of times, 
Stazi licked Juni's fur. This almost qualifies as 

world peace, in cat terms. 

It is good to have a young one about, stirring us all up, playing the clown 
and the trickster. 



Today, she learned about the ways of the vacuum cleaner and how 
the cursor is not to be caught, no matter how quick one's paw. 

p.s. Blogger was giving me a crazy hard time formatting this so I apologize for weird 

line breaks, misalignments and other graphic tomfoolery. Maybe I should go to Wordpress.