It seems as if there is a never-ending parade of cats that visit the Bayou. Most are the typical "throwaway" pets that people no longer want because of one reason or another. "They are too moody." "I do not have time." "She keeps having kittens." "There is cat hair on the furniture." These are some of the whiny excuses that people tell me all the time. None are reasons...they are whiny excuses for a person doing a mean thing. Most house cats never make it in the wild. There are too many predators out there that would love to dine upon "Fluffy". Yep, that is hard to hear but, yep, it is true. I have come across the remnants of "Fluffy" more times than I can count and it is never pretty and always heartbreaking. Don't want to make the commitment...don't get a pet. Simple. It has never bothered me to take in yet another stray animal. They come, stay and live out their lives with us. It does bother me that folks do see pets as something that can be discarded on a whim.
Ms. Nycto came to the Bayou years ago. She was as skinny as a rail, flea infested and sweet as a button! She endeared herself to us immediately and no matter how I tried to find her original owners, no one ever claimed her. She claimed us. This sweet cat roams the house, goes out to bask in the sunshine and now rules the roost. The Bayou Princess gets her choice of sleeping quarters whether it be on my bed, beside the dog or outside of Son's bedroom door. (He does not let her sleep on his bed because she has a habit of drooling...a lot.) She, also, has the typical cat affinity for boxes. Let a box be found...and a cat will be found.
This morning, I started cleaning out the dressers and came across nigh on a hundred socks. (Hubby seems to have an affinity for clothes including socks!) Out of this hundred or so, only about twenty were in sets. The rest were loose socks. I started pairing up the socks and tossed some of them in an empty box that once held sweet potatoes. Since I was changing out the entire dressers, the box set unmoved. Now, it is not a sweet potato box full of socks but, rather, a cat bed. Ms. Nycto has laid claim to the nice soft box of socks! Obviously, she figures that a warm place is needed to tide her over through this cold spell and a box full of socks is ideal.
No problems. She can snooze to her heart's content. No one needs that many socks anyway! I will, however, miss her warming my feet at night.
Late in the afternoon just before sunset, I feed up the old dog and then take him out for one last walk about the hillside. Mr. PJ does his business while I observe whatever critters are busying themselves in the nearby bushes. When he is ready, we make our way back up the hill and he gladly climbs on his bed. There he will stay all snug until morning. This routine has become so ingrained in the old dog's brain that he lets me know when feeding and walking time has arrived. I had better not miss either!
This afternoon, we also ventured into what used to be the garden. Now the area sits barren while it awaits the planting of a fall garden. Just as the sun was starting to set behind the pines, a lone dragonfly flitted past my head. The critter lit on the dead twig that was caught up in the fence line. This dragonfly seemed to be going to bed much like Mr. PJ does. There was a little bit of twitching and turning before it found just the right spot to spend the night. As I was watching, it occurred to me that I have never seen a dragonfly hunt at night. They all seem to settle in on some twig and spend the night resting. But then, I have never gone out dragonfly hunting at night to see just what they actually do "after hours".
The idea of a sleeping dragonfly made me do a bit of research and my hunch was correct. Other than some dragonflies becoming disoriented due to bright lights, the critters spend the night resting. Occasionally, they may shift positions on a twig or flee if a predator comes too near but they are usually diurnal. Rest easy, Little Dragonfly, rest easy. Tomorrow, you will have a full day of hunting so get all the rest you can!
