They're still going strong

I keep trying to take good pictures of the three neutered, vaccinated feral cats who are now living well in a small network of backyards in our neighborhood, getting their food and water from our feeding station.  The problem is that whenever I open the door and try to step onto our back deck to take a picture, the cats run off and either disappear behind a fence or hide under the leaves of an evergreen tree.  It's amazing to me that after all this time (it must be nearly a year now), they don't understand that I would never harm them.  Don't they recognize the person who has been venturing out in all kinds of weather to make sure their food is set out every morning and their water is clean?  Not even the little one who has taken up permanent residence, apparently, in the small insulated house supplied by The Cat Connection, will let me near her.  The other day I saw her snoozing in the doorway of the little house, waking now and then to look out and watch the rain.

Still, I'm relegated to standing inside my kitchen and taking photos with a zoom lens through the kitchen window.  It's torture!  How I'd love to be able to go outside and give them each a big hug.