Bits And Pieces

We have had several days of spring-like weather, complete with sunshine and some flooding of biblical proportions. I don't care for wet hooves but Jack and I have been following the trajectory of the sun and baking ourselves thoroughly on high ground. Occasionally we descend to a muddy area to roll, making sure to work the raw material into every follicle so that when it dries we look like clay donkey sculptures. The woman then attempts to groom us and that results in her flailing her arms in the volcanic dust cloud and coughing spectacularly. We regard her histronics with stern disapproval. It was nice while it lasted but now we are back to "normal" temperatures for this time of year.

Fortunately, Penny has taken it upon herself to entertain us. With the thaw, all sorts of strange and odoriferous things have emerged. At our ten o'clock feeding one night last week, the dog disappeared into the paddock. She frolicked to the house ahead of the woman and shot up the stairs to the room where they keep the moving picture box. The male human was staring at said box and ignored Penny's entrance. When the woman finally hove into view, the prevailing calm was broken by a series of strange and ungodly vocalizations issuing from her person. Penny had snuck a "thing" into the house and deposited it on the floor. Penny says it was a "treasure" which she tried to share and the cat, who is my informant, says it was "pfffttt", which is her term for anything she thinks beneath her.

It turns out the "thing/treasure" was the rather dilapidated hind limb , complete with hip bones protruding, of one of the brown hopping creatures who lives(lived) amongst us. Penny had, ahhhh, "conditioned" it to a state in which it was nearly unrecognizable. The cat watched with disgust as the male human ran to find a bag in which to place it. Meanwhile Penny, who was following him, shot back up the front stairs and retreived her treasure. The male returned and scratched his head in wonderment at the bare floor, only to turn around and find Penny sitting directly behind him with the object in her mouth. Negotiations ensued and the offending object was removed from the premises. Sometimes I'm almost glad we live in the barn.

Sally is expanding her territory and skills by the day and is trying her paw at many things. She now has a scratching post thingy which she attacks with glee and uses to sharpen the needle collection in her feet. The tack room is so cluttered with cat toys and exercise apparatus that soon our meagre feed supply with be pushed out completely. Sally has learned to climb the mountain of dreaded shavings bags to gain access to the rafters and has even begun exploring the drive shed. She has been eyeing the crows in a thoughtful manner but I fear she has set her sights too high. Those are avians of a criminal and dangerous nature.

I hear rumours of a spring birthday/garden/tea party for me but knowing the woman it will somehow involve work or "being a good citizen" which is just an underhanded phrase for work.