Lord of the Rings Fanatics Plaza

I have great ambitions for this thread, but let's be honest, what are the chances it will ever include anything other than cat pics? (Quite high! There will also be dog pics, lizard pics, stray cat pics, yawning cat pics, and goat pics.) Maybe I'll write an embarrassing poem, for old time's sake.


...and maybe some other stuff later.

Critters! They're both so beautiful, but I love the eyes on the pupper. Also, I am 100% here for the goat pics, please post them soon. Goats are awesome.

Floofs and embarrassing poems are a perfect combination. And as someone who cannot come up with good thread names, I am delighted by your thread title.

The camera love's your critters, Aerlinn! I especially like your kitty's resting spot. Great shots of them.

I love the cat pic! Seeing it much larger than on discord makes the colors pop. Your dingo is very handsome as well. And if there will be goat pics, I will be a very devoted follower of yours!

Thanks for dropping by to coo over the floofs everyone! We get so many comments on her eyes @Taethowen, but I have one little cousin who's scared of her because he thinks they're ghost eyes!


Confession: my goat pic promises may have been slightly premature, but I did find one. This fellow was waiting with me to board a ferry. It's a short trip, so accommodations are a bit rudimentary.


The island we were headed to is, itself, famous for deer. I have yet to hear a satisfactory explanation for why there are deer on this one particular teeny tiny island and no where else within about 700 kilometers. Except for the odd stag who loses a bad fight and has to swim to the island next door. The Kerama Islands also feature seagoing wild boars and this pair of lovestruck dogs.

GOAT! He (she?) looks so tiny! What a traveling companion! And deer blep! So cute and soft-looking... Want to pet... Please share more fuzzy friends when you can! <3

Also I'm not crying over the story of those dogs, you're crying over the story of those dogs

@Aerlinn my best friend had a dog with eyes like that. Sadly, he passed away a couple years ago, but oof. Those eyes are always so stunning.

Oooh, why was the goat going on the ferry? It seems awfully chill there!

And the deer! It's adorable and seems so tiny compared to the deer I have in my part of the world.

Oh, isn't that deer lovely. Such eyes. What a wonderful story, The love story of Shiro and Marilyn in Okinawa. Have you seen the movie?

Greetings Cottage-dwellers! It's lovely to dust out this thread.

In my absence, I seem to have acquired a collection of bug photos--so if you are not a great fan of creepy crawlies, please forgive me. Also forgive the possibly over-zealous, phone-based editing...if it were not already past midnight I might re-do the spider and the little red fellows. Though I rather like the caterpillar. Advice always appreciated on that front!

ID's via Google Lens and questionable blog posts

Left: Known as cotton stainer bugs and some kind of Japanese stink bug (native)
Center: Taiwanese tussock moth caterpillar, don't touch!! (invasive?)
Right: Orb spider, wasp spider, banded garden spider? It's yellow and it's hungry.





(Apologies if the formatting is a mess on mobile. I'll adjust as I go.)

Oh that caterpillar is so bright! It's so cheery on a cold day!

Yay, new pics! Those critters are lovely to look at! Though... I wouldn't want a spider in my face as I run through the forest (happens too often in autumn).

Thanks for stopping by! @Pele Alarion, one of the biggest spiders I ever saw, I spotted from the driver's seat of a (moving) car as it was spinning a web on an overhanging powerline. That's TOO BIG. And I think I would scream if it ended up in my face.

A couple of more recent stray critters. Well, the fellow on the right has a collar, I suspect he's an honorary resident of a nursing home.

Love the insect photos, @Aerlinn! Insects have such magnificent colours. So pretty!

Cats give me the shivers. I believe it is their unblinking eyes, hahaha..

I want kitty loves! lol

I am a cat lover with a husband so allergic I've seen his face swell up. So no cats for me. Which means every picture of cats is a great picture of cats!!

AWWWW. They're so cute! I'm currently fostering a kitty named Boots who looks a lot like the one on the right, without the mustache!