The day after the “Big” storm – 80 instead of nearly 100 – what a change! Warm enough to feel like summer but not so hot as to make it miserable to be outside. By early evening, it was extremely pleasant so we had some outdoor fun…
a little “Karl’s Rules Soccer”…
Done with soccer.
After soccer a little garden time – not a lot of raspberries but what a nice little snack with an evening cup of tea!
Bob had his own special way of enjoying the nice night…
Yesterday afternoon, all is quiet – I’m working, boys are napping…
THEN…..
AND “the glass is rising” …..
The sky darkens … whoops, need to get Karl out before it starts thundering – we just make it and Karl takes care of necessities as the wind comes up. His ears go back and he heads for the house and my bedroom closet. I call Bob but he is still out. He’s not quite as sensitive about thunder but at the first rumble I expect to see him running for home. He doesn’t – I’m sitting on the front porch watching and listening as the storm approaches – still no Bob. I walk through the woods 4 or 5 times – lightning is still very distant but thunder is getting louder and more frequent. Then it starts to sprinkle and finally rain. I decide that he has found a hidey hole – and I doubt he will venture out with it thundering so I go in and leave his door open. Several squalls come through and it is after 10 before things settle down to just a gentle rain with no thunder or lightning and in walks Bob. I’m relieved but also have to laugh – he is dry on his front half and soaked on his back half… I have to guess that he found a good place to “hide” from the storm, but his back half was “hanging out”. We had a good snuggle and a warm towell off before going to bed. It must not have been too traumatic as he did not hesitate going out this morning. Still, adventures that make one late for supper – no fun! (sentiment expressed by Bilbo Baggins…)
The morning after…
Is this normal for a cat???? He actually does this a lot as in sleeps on his back with his legs at odd positions… but so does Karl and so did my beloved Gus and also Zack. I need to write about Gus and Zack at some point… but back to Bob. I suppose funnier as he is such a big cat and kind of spreads out.
The story of Bob as I know it is this – Bob came to me from Rob, a past love. As Rob told it, he was doing some carpentry work for a women who had 3 older cats. She had a cat door in her home. One night she wakes up and there is an extra cat in bed with her – Bob – wearing a pink harness. He appears in good health, has been neutered, and the harness – well, obviously someone’s dear pet who lost his way. However, there are no responses to her flyers or newspaper ads for the “found” cat. Rob is working away on her kitchen cabinets – he has disclosed that he recently lost his dog to illness. Bob the cat has taken a liking to Rob. Bob is much younger than the resident’s cats and not fitting very well into the household…. Bob goes home with Rob. About a year later, Rob and I meet, etc. and when Rob moves in with me so does Bob. A year later, Rob moves out and asks if Bob can stay until he (Rob) gets settled. It is now about 4 1/2 years later – Rob and I stayed friends for a couple of years and it was eventually mutually agreed that Bob was happy in my home and that’s where he should stay.
I don’t know at what point in the story that Bob came on his name, but it fits and although people laugh, I never thought to try and change it and he is Bob.
At the time Bob came to live in my home, I had a tuxedo (black and white) cat, Gus – an extremely dear to me, angel cat, hunter extraordinare – but this is not Gus’ story… Bob was “low man on the totem pole”. When Gus disappeared and Bob became “only” cat – he decided that he REALLY liked being only cat. I truly believe that he would like being “only” pet but he hasn’t quite figured out how to do away with Karl.
When I got the motorhome and introduced Bob to harness and leash for travel, I did get a bit worried. Since his original “flight” was “in-harness”, I wondered if another harness/leash experience would send him looking for a different home. So far not – fine with me as I’ve become attached to the darn cat. He is very affectionate and although he hunts it is not with the passion for hunting that Gus had – he is more of a homebody. He is all for being in at night, although would go out earlier in the morning than I let him. He has an extremely expressive face and “talks” – he tolerates and even is sometimes affectionate with Karl. He even comes (mostly) when called – all in all a “good” cat.