It makes me very happy to know that I am back on Lily’s radar and I am delighted that she sometimes curls up to sleep beside me at night.
She occupies the space that used to be Toby’s.
.
So what if she starts poking me before it gets light?
“It’s important to poke old people!”
“To make sure they’re still alive!”
“Otherwise we’d have to make alternate arrangements for breakfast.”
Anyway, it’s not just Lily who nudges me from sleep.
Willow starts prowling, about the same time, uttering quiet but pitiful cries and all of this wakes Muffin who does not tiptoe about:
“GET UP! HUNGRY!”
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And soon she’s underfoot, waiting for her second course.
A little lick of something nice.
Grant is a pushover.
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The boy stopped by for breakfast today. I invited him in but he preferred al fresco.
10 minutes later though he was on the porch, keen to come in and warm up on a frosty morning.
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We were going out and he doesn’t like being trapped in, so I went to round him up but he had found one of the new fish.
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Back in Washington State, therefore over 5 years ago, we provided this particular toy which was very popular and has remained the favourite.
It has been washed and soaked in a catnip-infused concoction many times because we were unable to find its like.
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Recently I found them on Amazon but I didn’t get too excited because cats being cats, I figured they would say: “Not the same!”
But I was wrong. I couldn’t get them out of the package fast enough.
.
“I love that red one and the green one!”
“Well you can’t have mine!”
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After about 15 minutes, the cats remembered themselves, or maybe by then they had batted the fish under the furniture, and they went back to being the unimpressed creatures we cherish.
The Boy, however, seems never before to have encountered anything quite as exciting as this toy.
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We weren’t going to be gone long, so we left him at it.
Attempting to separate a cat from its property, never a good idea. It ends in bloodshed. Yours.
.
We tootled off to have another look at the winter landscape.
There is snow in the forecast for Sunday, maybe, and again next Tuesday followed by, who knows?
.
.
I love the appearance of willows in winter.
Having taken the scenic route, there was no traffic and not a soul in sight.
.
.
It is cold but with not a breath of wind.
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The other day I mentioned “winding up” my car window and Pete asked me if I had been time-travelling. I can’t remember the last time I actually had to crank a car window. It was hardly a nuisance.
Like so many small things that are now automated.
You have to wonder what’s next.
The catnip fish seem to be a hit. It’s a shame that doesn’t work for dogs. The last car I had with manual window-winders was a Fiat Punto that I traded in in 1998. I actually prefer them, as electric ones can suddenly let you down at the most inconvenient time.
Best wishes, Pete.
Thank you, Carolyn, for the catnip story, my cats adore their toys, just like yours!
Joanna
Strange how we still refer to winding up the window and “turning” the light on!
“It’s important to poke old people!”
“To make sure they’re still alive!”
-from The Book of Wisdom, (Volume 3, Chapter 15, Verse 1) by Lily. (Endorsed by many other cats.)
Haha, I wonder what will be those “alternative arrangements for breakfast” that Lily might intend! I enjoy watching His Nibbs play with the fish – he’s clearly very impressed … just like I’m impressed with your beautiful winter landscape photos.