Thursday, March 20, 2008

Spring Growth Trumps Fiber-optics


The daylight here in the armpit of hermit mountain is increasing as the spring season waxes. I can find a patch of sun somewhere in or near my yard for over a three hour block each day now. It doesn't stay in each spot long, and it's never bigger than 12 feet or so, but still, quite an improvement! When it hits the translucent flesh of newborn clematis leaves, the beauty is almost painful.

Just sitting quietly and admiring the vibrant green is like prayer. Maggie, on the other hand, prefers the plastic fiber optic Christmas tree. I woke up to her rustling around in it this morning. Not only was she making a cozy nest for herself, she was trying to eat the fake needles! She definitely needs to get out more.


Oh! I had a home invasion last night! Well, CL being out of town, I have been locking AND dead bolting the door at night. At 2 am I woke up. I'm not sure what exactly woke me. It was pitch black, and I could hear a cat eating.

Oh, sorry, I have to digress for a second here. I went to bed at one, so I hadn't been asleep long. The night before, I went to bed at 12:30, and I slept until 12:30 the next day! Twelve hours of sleep!! At first I kept telling myself I needed it. Eight years of getting up at 6 am, averaging six hours of sleep, a little catching up made sense. I was at the point where if I got 7 hours a night I felt like I was ahead of the game. But I'm on my second week of freedom now. How much catching up do I need? What if I just sleep 12 hours a day for the rest of my life??? There won't be a whole lot of time for living. Well, I only slept 9 and a half last night, so maybe my body will balance out the swinging between six and twelve hours. Okay, that's all.

My first thought as I sat up in bed was that there was a raccoon or skunk in the house. It wouldn't be the first time they came in through the cat window. Usually, though, I can tell by the loud scarfings and crunchings that it's not a cat. Wild critters are very sloppy, hurried eaters. What I was hearing was polite, quiet. By now my eyes had adjusted to the faint light of the (sad, forgotten, unused) alarm clock. I climbed to the foot of my mattress and leaned forward to peer around the corner. The bed has already made the trip to Arizona, so my mattress is on the floor. Well, I didn't see a thing, but BAM! CRASH KABLAM RATTLE SCRAMBLE BANG!!! Something large bolted from the kitchen, a mere six feet from where I crouched wide eyed and blind.

I was bummed my eyes hadn't adjusted enough to see more than a very big shape. I ran to the door, where the light switch is, and turned on the kitchen and porch light. I scoped the porch, but it was already gone. It couldn't have been a skunk or anything smaller- the shape I saw was huge! But to fit through the cat window, it couldn't have been bigger than a raccoon. Plus the agility needed to climb over the fish tank and armchair, well musta been a raccoon. the most polite one I ever heard eating, though. That's important, you know.

When I turned back towards my bed, I saw Maggie and Sebastian crouched side by side, huge eyes staring. It was pretty cute. I'm glad the raccoons haven't ever hurt my kitties. Pheonix came in then, tail floofed, and inspected the food dish. After a bit of sniffing, he decided it was safe to eat. I grabbed a flashlight, turned of the lights, and went back to bed. If the intruder came back, I wanted a good look at 'em.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

maybe it was a bobcat!!!!!!!!!! haven't we seen em up there? hope packing is going well, your toilet is already and waiting! couldn't resist saying that! i actually read a little today... i still look like a who down in whoville with a black eye and a gimp, but time shall heal i hope! i think the not walking for 2 months is going to be more annouying in the long "run"

see you soon! love n hugs, mumsish