The Quiet Rain

It's raining today, one of my favorite things. Although Max, the dog, was disappointed at our morning walk. He doesn't like being wet. It has been a week of auroral storms, rain, record heat, and kitten. El Nino brings strange things, sometimes.

The kitten, Blue, has never experienced a thunderstorm before. He was laying in the window when I went in about 3 this morning. We watched the thunder roll and the rain fall. I told him he would see this many times in his life. I told him I would think about him when the next storm rolled through. And every storm after.

It's not easy to foster. I want to keep him, but he is destined for some exotic life in Northern Virginia. Maybe they will have all white furnishings, and have the Nanny feed him. It's more than I can give. He get cans of food in a bowl I have had for a long time. He loves the stuffed lion I have and cuddles it when I pet him. Will he have a stuffed toy waiting?

The dog Max, and the unicorn meat eating cats, Georgia and Ratty, howl at me when I 'visit' the kitten. He is in isolation, because of his upper respiratory infection. They want to be near me. They want their room back.

But outside is beautiful this morning. The sun won't rise today. But it's there. There are beautiful cats and kittens and dogs at the local shelter. Like this Siamese, they only want love and some food. Please visit the shelter today. You don't know what you're missing.

Holy Cow

I have been so busy this morning, that I didn't realize I hadn't written my blog. Forgive me. After all this long time, I never want you to leave me again...

But I have a new foster. Only one month old, Siamese, with the bluest eyes I have ever seen on a cat. He is only here for four days, but it's been an orgy of petting. He also happens to be the most laid back kitten I have ever met. How can a cat be regal at only one month of age?

 That's a toy lion behind him...

I woke at 5 a.m. to look for him. He manages to blend in quite well to furniture, or a wood floor.

Don't worry. I did remember to walk the dog this morning. I know I did.

Still Morning Heat

The sky was pink last night, with clouds of a darker pink. I have been reliably informed that a large electromagnetic streamer hit the Earth yesterday about 3 PM EST. We have a chance to see the aurora borealis sometime this week. I wait, breathlessly.

My coffee is especially fine this morning, although chilled. It's too hot, even at dawn, to have hot coffee now. Except espresso. My apartment was built before electricity hit the mainstream, so I make do with one window unit and a shit load of fans. The floors are wood, and stay cool.

The finches and starlings that nest above the beams of the porch roof create a breeze in the mornings that the cats enjoy.

My blog is late today, because my lovely dog, Max, let me sleep late. I don't know why. Just his own sense of mercy, I suppose. My only regret at this apartment is his lack of yard to lie in. We have to go to the man I love's house for that.

I am happy to hear from all of you that responded to my post yesterday. Like a visit to the endless ocean after a long time away, writing has captivated me again. I feel pulled to the page, and I scan the trees on my walks with Max to bring you morning news.

Not one baby bird has fallen out of the nests yet. Life is good.

Thanks To You

I recover from a death and pneumonia.

I am so sorry I have been away for so long. I have missed all of you. Max and the unicorn meat eating cats are tres desolee, and have been for months, now. The kindly stepfather is gone. I took him into my home in December of last year, the day after Christmas, when he was released from the hospital with terminal lung cancer. We had Good Samaritan Hospice, and a kinder group I have never met. On January 3, 2015, Barry "Wayne" Reed went to meet his Maker.

I was holding his hand at the time. You know all of those early mornings you and I have spent together? I got up for one and Wayne was calling me. I don't remember much of what we talked about for the next several hours, but I know we discussed his son, long dead, and the happy reunion that was coming.

I don't know about anyone else, but the moment Death took Wayne, there was a trembling in the room that I was afraid of. May Wayne rest in peace, beside his beloved Brian.

In my grief, I got pneumonia. I drank. I recover slowly, stopping to breathe when I take Max, the dog, out. They changed my psych meds, with horrible withdrawals. I stopped eating processed foods and eliminated soda. The man I love, who loves me, had another operation. It's still hurts him. I rest and eat slowly and walk slowly. I don't drink.

The unicorn meat eating cats weren't confused. They have a secure grasp of all that works in the Universe. But poor Max, the good dog, no longer an "asshole", has been very patient. He has a special rug on the floor he watches me from.

It is easier to spot the trees and flowers in this city I live in. I look past the sidewalks for the grass, and search the sky for clouds and birds. My brother put in a screen door, and every morning, I open it and set a chair there for the cats to climb up on. They watch the birds fly out from under the eaves, as they search for food for their chicks. There is always a breeze.

I haven't planted my porch garden this year, yet. I was too tired. But there, on my deck, is a peace lily, with 5 big blooms, I brought home from Wayne's funeral. My perennials, the "Chicks and Hens", sit by one post of the roof.

It's enough for now.