Who knew!

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