

Dawn seemed a shade ominous this morning.
The Sun seemed to scowl.
This, as I mentioned recently, is my interpretation of a Red Sun.
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It turned into no more than a hazy day.
And cool, which was a good thing, considering it was the day of the 5 vet appointments.
We discussed making a plan.
Then didn’t.

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Sometimes no plan is better.
Depending on the job at hand.
The key to this job, getting Tinkerbelle contained.
Fortunately she is a creature of habits.
After breakfast, a snooze.
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She was scooped up and containerized in one quick move. Surprise is everything.
We had mentioned not getting the containers out until we were ready to act.
90 seconds later, a clatter by the front door told me that the man had decided to abort the plan.

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Luckily, Patches and Lily were blissfully unaware, downstairs.
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Poor blind Lucy was minding her own business beneath the work bench. With her it was a matter of grab and shove.
She has some very sharp bits but I managed to avoid contact with those for once.

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Hearing the rattle of cat conveyances, from her perch above a kitchen cupboard, Dee Dee wound her neck in thinking we would by-pass her.
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It was all accomplished so fast, no one had time to blink.
Out to the car, counting cats, one missing….
Return indoors for said cat….
“Why is taking cats to the vet so stressful?” asked Grant.

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At least in part, I am sure it’s because we get ourselves wound up with anxiety, which a cat’s sensitive antenna picks up.
So because we didn’t really have a plan to worry about, we eliminated all that.
Once Tinks was dealt with…
…piece of cake.
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There is always, also, a degree of worry over what the vet will discover.
Today it was just “wellness checks”, but we have a crew of middle-aged going-on senior girls.
However, everyone got a good report.
We were home within 90 minutes.

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Which made me giddy.
Grant was going back out to the Post Office, having not wanted to go there with a car full of wailing cats.
“I’ll come with you!” I said.
Those trees by the pond had looked especially pretty and I really must get another picture…
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At the Post Office, I noticed how the trees had filled out, obscuring the church steeple which reminded me of Stump Church.
‘We must go have a look sometime” I told Grant as he handed me today’s two “begging” letters.
“No time like the present!” said he.
After all, we had expected the whole morning to be taken up with cat issues.
So off we went.
Only there is some sort of road work going on.
It has been weeks now, but the detour signs are still in place.
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We vaguely tried to find our way around to the other side.
Very vaguely.
Any ride in the country is good.

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Last time we were out we came to a bit of wetland where Grant spotted this.

Mr Beaver declined to show his face.
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We didn’t find Stump Church today


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We meandered along leafy lanes

At a stop sign, a familiar sound!
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We had unloaded all the cats at home.
Hadn’t we?
We sat for a moment, wondering….
Then, across the road we saw that we were being addressed:
“Are you coming to visit?”
“Have you brought food?”
If only we’d known!

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We carried on.


The newly tilled fields make a nice scene. Peaceful.
Though there were no discernible clouds, the sky was overcast.
Still, an enjoyable drive.

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In every season, the terrain looks different, so sometimes we think we’ve made new discoveries only to suddenly realise that we are somewhere quite familiar.
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I doubt we’ll run out of country lanes.

Or the joy of discovering them.

I’m glad the visits to that nice man was successful and there were no injuries on either side!
Thank you, Carolyn, for today’s thoughts and pictures. Cats get stressed in the same way you do before going to a doctor, as you wrote about before.
Good news that they are well.
Joanna
Oh yes, give me a few country roads and I’m happy! You have really lovely country lanes – everything looks so lush and crisp. Those colourful trees Carolyn – it’s just so stunning! Well done on the cats’ appointment – good reports from the vet is a good day 🌟.
I have lived here for 11 years, and I am still discovering roads that I have never driven down before. Some of tthem are so small, they look like someone’s driveway.
Do you have to drive to the Post Office to collect letters? No delivery to your house? I would find that very inconvenient.
Best wishes, Pete.
In the old days, I would have thought it inconvenient to have to go and pick up mail but these days it generally consists of letters begging for money or political rubbish. Nothing that can’t wait!