Hermitgrrl goes to a parade

I got up "early" this morning- quarter to eight is early for a day off. I sometimes forget how much I like mornings... when I'm not at work. Usually I like them for sleeping until ten, but sometimes it's good to enjoy the only cool part of the day there is in these summer months. It was only 68 degrees at 9:30, but by the time I got back at 11:30 it was nearing 85.
I got a wild hair around ten and decided I would actually check out the parade, so I called for my kitties and headed up the mountain. I realized that I had never hiked on our mountain in the morning. The lighting was so crisp and sunny, I got a little euphoric on nature fumes. Sun baked pine needles do that to me. The kitties get a little silly too, dashing through the leaves and pouncing on each other. And there I was counting on them to warn me in case of impending mountain lion attack, when all they could do was run up trees and take brief moments to sniff the laden breeze.
I've never seen a cougar, but CommonLaw woke to what he thought was a woman screaming the other morning, and upon running outside to investigate realized the sound was a little off. He conferred with the neighbor, who said the noise was coming from the forest. This is the second time he said he's heard something large and wild up there, the first time he came by to ask if all my cats were accounted for. "Not to scare you", he said, (a little late for that) "but I heard quite a ruckus up there, like animals fighting". Now, I am totally against killing mountain lions. It upsets and saddens me when one wanders too close to people's houses and the authorities decide killing it is the only option. They are majestic, but I sure as heck don't want to run into one ever, so I keep an eye on the kitties' antics in case of sudden floofing.
Here Lilly looks like she might have heard something, but I figured all the sound from the town's 4th festivities would keep most wild critters subdued. It was loud when I got to the ridge, the mountain makes a pretty decent sound barrier 'till you crest it. Not much of a view perhaps, but I could hear the announcer, and the occasional song that I'm guessing was being blasted by various parade groups. And the cheering, and general sounds of merriment.
I think it was the funnest parade I've ever gone to. Hermit style, as it was. No jostling crowds, only trees and birds and, of course, kits around me. No traffic jams or parking mishaps. I could relax and enjoy from the outskirts. The very far removed outskirts. And I thoroughly enjoyed myself this holiday.

Post Script: The thermometer claims it's only 90 out right now, 5:30 pm, in the shade, but I dunno. The thermometer inside says 95, and it's definitly cooler in here. Well. It's hot. That's accurate no matter what number you asign it. :P