It was the most ordinary of days after two days filled with unexpected adventures and renewed connections.
We awoke as usual to the sounds of breakfast - always a thrill for us! And we spent the day sunning ourselves, exploring the yard, and sleeping in various locations.
After a snack or two in the morning, we settled down to wait patiently for something to happen that needed our attention. But all was quiet in our neighbourhood, and we despaired that anything exciting would happen at all.
Early in the afternoon, Jenny played with us outside for a bit until she had to go tend to some errands. But she promised us that when she got back, she would have Leon with her and we would all go for a walk.
However, that was when we got the biggest surprise of our visit here - Mum! Let me backtrack a bit.
When Jenny and Leon got home, they laid out a delicious dinner for us. While I was eating, I thought I heard Mum's voice, but concluded that was impossible, given that she was far, far away. After dinner, we were outside again with Jenny when suddenly, to our great surprise, there she was! Mum! Coming through the gate!
At first, silly M didn't recognise her - goodness, M, she wasn't gone that long! - but I knew who it was right away!
Okay, clearly she had played a trick on us, letting us think that she wouldn't be back until Friday, but I suspect that was a deliberate measure to surprise all of us by coming back a day early. Good one, Mum!
So, we gathered up all our things, bade a fond farewell to Rover's Retreat and headed home, where we will wait for an even bigger surprise to come. By my estimate, a mere 20 days until we are all together again. We are so very excited! Let the countdown begin ....
T
Friday, August 27, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
The best laid plans
Awoke to the sounds of ... nothing. Very quiet. No wind blowing, no birds stuck anywhere. Not even anyone walking around here or there. T was soundly sleeping and all was quiet upstairs. I couldn't quite see the clock from where I was, and with it being so dark in the mornings these days, I couldn't tell from looking outside whether it was moments away from sunrise, or still the middle of the night.
So, I took out the cards from the top left-hand drawer, and passed the time by playing solitaire. After several futile attempts to actually win a game, I gave up and began to read yesterday's paper. Nothing there that was news to me. At least nothing I cared about.
Eventually, I tired of amusing myself and settled down to sleep in my usual spot. Then suddenly, the light came on and we were being coaxed outside. Yeah! Everyone was awake - although I was the only one who seemed happy about it. It's no fun being awake when everyone else is sleeping!
The usual flurry of activity filled the air and our world was all hustle and bustle. Breakfast was served, lunches were made, and pretty soon people went off to work.
T was feeling very rested, although content to catch some more Zzzzzs, but I was super tired and looking forward to a deep and peaceful snooze. At first, everything went to plan, but then all hell broke loose!
Through the many open windows in the house came a loud, obnoxious, persistent noise. When it first jolted me awake, I tried to ignore it, then shut it out with my paws, but I finally couldn't take it anymore. I leaped out from behind the washing machine to find T still sleeping soundly.
I kicked her bed!
"Hey! What's the matter with you? Why are you still asleep? Can't you hear that?"
"I can now, thanks very much," came the sleepy reply. She listened for a moment before asking, "Where is that coming from?"
Well, duh! "From outside!!!!!!!"
"Yes, I figured that. But where outside? It sounds like it's coming from the direction of our home. You don't think anything is going on there that shouldn't be going on, do you?"
Oh, great. Now we were both in a panic.
So, I made enough noise to convince Jenny - who didn't seem at all bothered by the noise - to let us outside. And once we were successful in that endeavour, we called on our pal Alice, who had by now grown into quite the beautiful teenager. We almost didn't recognise her!
"Whatz the prob?" she asked. Teenagers and their twitter speak!
"We just need you to hop down the street a bit and see where that noise if coming from. We're worried that it's something bad happening at our place."
She screwed up her cute little nose in confusion. "This place?"
"No, our other place."
"Ah," she acknowledged, then smiled, as she turned toward the fence.
Alice disappeared down the rabbit hole - clearly she wanted to conduct an undercover investigation - and within a short time she was back with the news.
"All that noise is just the roofers at the second house from the lane on the eastern side of the street. Actually, it looks really good."
We were relieved. "Did you manage a look see at our place, just to make sure it was okay?"
"I thought you would ask me that. And yes, I did. The only problem is that the flag had fallen down - probably from all that wind yesterday. But it's okay. I got Sammy Sparrow and Claude Squirrel to open the latch so Harley and Copper could come in the yard and help us put it back."
What a relief. That flag is very important to us, and it simply wouldn't do to have it lying down instead of flying proud!
Suddenly, and humorously, my head was filled with a visual of Copper standing on Harley's shoulders to accomplish the task. I grinned. "And they didn't mind?"
"Nope, but they said something about you owing them tictacs ... whatever that means."
A knowing chuckle escaped my lips.
Alice stayed to chat for a while - she has a boyfriend, you know! - and then I finally managed to get the sleep I had been craving.
Despite the ongoing noise, which we quickly got used to now that we knew it wasn't a problem for us, we spent the afternoon sleeping inside and out, with the only interruption a couple of treats to keep our hunger at bay. The hours easily passed by until Leon came home and we all went exploring the neighbourhood.
Alice was right - that house does look good with its new roof. And thanks to our friends, our flag is exactly where it's meant to be!
M
So, I took out the cards from the top left-hand drawer, and passed the time by playing solitaire. After several futile attempts to actually win a game, I gave up and began to read yesterday's paper. Nothing there that was news to me. At least nothing I cared about.
Eventually, I tired of amusing myself and settled down to sleep in my usual spot. Then suddenly, the light came on and we were being coaxed outside. Yeah! Everyone was awake - although I was the only one who seemed happy about it. It's no fun being awake when everyone else is sleeping!
The usual flurry of activity filled the air and our world was all hustle and bustle. Breakfast was served, lunches were made, and pretty soon people went off to work.
T was feeling very rested, although content to catch some more Zzzzzs, but I was super tired and looking forward to a deep and peaceful snooze. At first, everything went to plan, but then all hell broke loose!
Through the many open windows in the house came a loud, obnoxious, persistent noise. When it first jolted me awake, I tried to ignore it, then shut it out with my paws, but I finally couldn't take it anymore. I leaped out from behind the washing machine to find T still sleeping soundly.
I kicked her bed!
"Hey! What's the matter with you? Why are you still asleep? Can't you hear that?"
"I can now, thanks very much," came the sleepy reply. She listened for a moment before asking, "Where is that coming from?"
Well, duh! "From outside!!!!!!!"
"Yes, I figured that. But where outside? It sounds like it's coming from the direction of our home. You don't think anything is going on there that shouldn't be going on, do you?"
Oh, great. Now we were both in a panic.
So, I made enough noise to convince Jenny - who didn't seem at all bothered by the noise - to let us outside. And once we were successful in that endeavour, we called on our pal Alice, who had by now grown into quite the beautiful teenager. We almost didn't recognise her!
"Whatz the prob?" she asked. Teenagers and their twitter speak!
"We just need you to hop down the street a bit and see where that noise if coming from. We're worried that it's something bad happening at our place."
She screwed up her cute little nose in confusion. "This place?"
"No, our other place."
"Ah," she acknowledged, then smiled, as she turned toward the fence.
Alice disappeared down the rabbit hole - clearly she wanted to conduct an undercover investigation - and within a short time she was back with the news.
"All that noise is just the roofers at the second house from the lane on the eastern side of the street. Actually, it looks really good."
We were relieved. "Did you manage a look see at our place, just to make sure it was okay?"
"I thought you would ask me that. And yes, I did. The only problem is that the flag had fallen down - probably from all that wind yesterday. But it's okay. I got Sammy Sparrow and Claude Squirrel to open the latch so Harley and Copper could come in the yard and help us put it back."
What a relief. That flag is very important to us, and it simply wouldn't do to have it lying down instead of flying proud!
Suddenly, and humorously, my head was filled with a visual of Copper standing on Harley's shoulders to accomplish the task. I grinned. "And they didn't mind?"
"Nope, but they said something about you owing them tictacs ... whatever that means."
A knowing chuckle escaped my lips.
Alice stayed to chat for a while - she has a boyfriend, you know! - and then I finally managed to get the sleep I had been craving.
Despite the ongoing noise, which we quickly got used to now that we knew it wasn't a problem for us, we spent the afternoon sleeping inside and out, with the only interruption a couple of treats to keep our hunger at bay. The hours easily passed by until Leon came home and we all went exploring the neighbourhood.
Alice was right - that house does look good with its new roof. And thanks to our friends, our flag is exactly where it's meant to be!
M
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Wrong way out!
Dear faithful followers of this blog ... all three of you,
You may remember my little mate M's explorations that led him to take up periodical accommodation behind the washing machine here at Rovers Retreat. Yes, the one with the mousetrap. Well, the mousetrap is no more, much to M's delight, and I can safely say that he has now decided to camp there permanently.
Oh, how he loves sleeping in that tiny, dark, cramped, not-so-secret spot. Better than behind Jenny's chair where he runs the risk of being squished like a ... well ... like a mouse in a mousetrap every time she tries to get up from the table.
M's lucky he has a hideaway from which he can come and go. Not so the unfortunate little critters that chose to hang out in the fascia surrounding our Retreat.
We first heard them around 8:30 am. A fluttering and a scampering, making a heck of a racket. I whimpered and whined until we were let outside to investigate, and after a quick auditory and visual exploration around the perimeter, we concluded that indeed, they were trapped.
'What can we do?' we both thought while trying to locate the source of their entry.
"Ah, there it is!" declared M. An access point so small that only a tiny little critter could fit.
After some discussion, we concluded that it was either birds, squirrels or chipmunks. And apart from ripping down the entire roofing, there wasn't much we or anyone could do to help them find their way out.
Nevertheless, we got the old gang together to see if anyone had experience with this find of thing. The general consensus was that perhaps the critters were on a mission, and given the lack of space up there, we would just have to wait and see if they found their way out again.
Not easy to do when you can hear their apparent efforts to escape throughout the entire house.
Then Carli Crow came by with her pals, E. A. and Cheryl, and set up watch at the access point. They speculated that if they could talk the critters out, it might be all they need to find their way through the maze.
And doggone it, it worked! Before much longer, the fluttering stopped completely, and Carli reported that all lost souls had found freedom. Cheryl told us later that on their way out, the two sparrows got some stern talk from Carli about staying out of other people's homes - for their own safety, and our peace of mind!
Sadly, or rather fortuitously, the afternoon and the evening passed without incident. The wind continued to blow, hard, and it was so cool that the heat came on!
Not that M noticed ... he was camped out behind the washing machine for most of the day as if nothing else in the world mattered!
T
You may remember my little mate M's explorations that led him to take up periodical accommodation behind the washing machine here at Rovers Retreat. Yes, the one with the mousetrap. Well, the mousetrap is no more, much to M's delight, and I can safely say that he has now decided to camp there permanently.
Oh, how he loves sleeping in that tiny, dark, cramped, not-so-secret spot. Better than behind Jenny's chair where he runs the risk of being squished like a ... well ... like a mouse in a mousetrap every time she tries to get up from the table.
M's lucky he has a hideaway from which he can come and go. Not so the unfortunate little critters that chose to hang out in the fascia surrounding our Retreat.
We first heard them around 8:30 am. A fluttering and a scampering, making a heck of a racket. I whimpered and whined until we were let outside to investigate, and after a quick auditory and visual exploration around the perimeter, we concluded that indeed, they were trapped.
'What can we do?' we both thought while trying to locate the source of their entry.
"Ah, there it is!" declared M. An access point so small that only a tiny little critter could fit.
After some discussion, we concluded that it was either birds, squirrels or chipmunks. And apart from ripping down the entire roofing, there wasn't much we or anyone could do to help them find their way out.
Nevertheless, we got the old gang together to see if anyone had experience with this find of thing. The general consensus was that perhaps the critters were on a mission, and given the lack of space up there, we would just have to wait and see if they found their way out again.
Not easy to do when you can hear their apparent efforts to escape throughout the entire house.
Then Carli Crow came by with her pals, E. A. and Cheryl, and set up watch at the access point. They speculated that if they could talk the critters out, it might be all they need to find their way through the maze.
And doggone it, it worked! Before much longer, the fluttering stopped completely, and Carli reported that all lost souls had found freedom. Cheryl told us later that on their way out, the two sparrows got some stern talk from Carli about staying out of other people's homes - for their own safety, and our peace of mind!
Sadly, or rather fortuitously, the afternoon and the evening passed without incident. The wind continued to blow, hard, and it was so cool that the heat came on!
Not that M noticed ... he was camped out behind the washing machine for most of the day as if nothing else in the world mattered!
T
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Where the heck are we?
Judging by the outside temperatures, one might think we are either stationed in Afghanistan, or stuck in Nevada. A safe bet either way, perhaps, but we are apparently exactly where we were yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that.
Upon going outside at 5:17 am this morning, we were confronted by hot, muggy conditions that instantly led M to exclaim, "Where the heck are we?"
Yes, a real summery August day, thank you very much. A quick check on the computer showed that it got as high as 30C, and that for most of the day, it felt like 37C, courtesy of the 58% relative humidity.
Don't get us wrong. We are not complaining - simply stating the facts so you know that for today, at least, we can absolutely relate to the conditions in your part of the world. Yes, you two ... who have left us alone yet again while you gallivant to places unknown to us and without us. Tsk! Tsk! Well, take note - come September, it's all four of us on the wandering trail, right???!!!
Needless to say, with the 'hot as Hades' weather raving beyond, we decided to let the world outside take care of itself. Instead, M and I camped out in the cool back room where it was quiet and peaceful and free of noisy interruptions.
Safely cocooned inside, we were oblivious to the temperature dropping 6 degrees in a few hours, so when we finally ventured out, we were pleasantly surprised and refused to come inside - even to eat.
Eventually, though, we were blown inside when the wind whipped us around in the backyard. And, to be honest, all we remember is that we ate and then we slept, dreaming of cooler days in our future!
T and M
Upon going outside at 5:17 am this morning, we were confronted by hot, muggy conditions that instantly led M to exclaim, "Where the heck are we?"
Yes, a real summery August day, thank you very much. A quick check on the computer showed that it got as high as 30C, and that for most of the day, it felt like 37C, courtesy of the 58% relative humidity.
Don't get us wrong. We are not complaining - simply stating the facts so you know that for today, at least, we can absolutely relate to the conditions in your part of the world. Yes, you two ... who have left us alone yet again while you gallivant to places unknown to us and without us. Tsk! Tsk! Well, take note - come September, it's all four of us on the wandering trail, right???!!!
Needless to say, with the 'hot as Hades' weather raving beyond, we decided to let the world outside take care of itself. Instead, M and I camped out in the cool back room where it was quiet and peaceful and free of noisy interruptions.
Safely cocooned inside, we were oblivious to the temperature dropping 6 degrees in a few hours, so when we finally ventured out, we were pleasantly surprised and refused to come inside - even to eat.
Eventually, though, we were blown inside when the wind whipped us around in the backyard. And, to be honest, all we remember is that we ate and then we slept, dreaming of cooler days in our future!
T and M
Monday, August 23, 2010
Weekend report
Saturday night ... we slept.
Sunday morning ... we ate, then walked, then slept.
Sunday afternoon ... we opened both bags of treats, sampled the delights, then slept.
Sunday evening ... we ate, then slept.
Life sure is good!
T and M
Sunday morning ... we ate, then walked, then slept.
Sunday afternoon ... we opened both bags of treats, sampled the delights, then slept.
Sunday evening ... we ate, then slept.
Life sure is good!
T and M
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