I wish I was telepathic and could read my Abby cat’s mind. Actually, If I really admit it, her actions speak louder than words. They are saying “I want to explore the world and have friends.” This morning, Abby swooshed by me when I went out to get the newspaper. Before I knew it she was out of sight. I grabbed the container of treats I keep by the door and rattled it to entice her back, but to no avail. Abby was off on an adventure and no amount of tasty chewies was going to stop her. I was crushed. I thought I had lost her. About an hour later she showed up in the yard, with a friend, or I should say, an acquaintance. I have seen this white cat before, checking Abby out at the screen door. Today there was no screen door between them. The white cat sat confidently in the driveway while Abby did her best to catch it’s attention, groveling on her back with her belly exposed and sniffing carefully in it’s direction. The white cat remained detached. Then the cat strolled onto my front porch and made a move to go into my house through the door I had left open for Abby. Abby scooted past the other cat and went inside, and I rushed forward and shut the door behind her. I was relieved to get Abby back safely inside but I know this is not the end of the story. Abby will try again. I felt so sad about the cat encounter I had witnessed in the driveway. Abby was aching to play with the white cat. She wasn’t getting much of a response, but at least she wasn’t getting beaten to a pulp. I wonder if my efforts to keep her safe are also blocking any opportunities for her to have normal cat interactions. I don’t have any easy answers. Corralling her inside the fence isn’t working. She keeps finding new ways to escape. I could get another cat but there’s no guarantee they would be compatible. Plus, I am not sure I want to take on wrangling two cats at once. Been there, done that. I am flummoxed. I had hoped Abby would be like my old cats, perfectly happy to stay in the house, for the most part. Kitty was an indoor cat but Mario occasionally wandered around the yard. Yes, he did have a few run-ins with dogs being walked on the sidewalk in front of the house, but that was rare. Mario and Kitty were easily entertained, but they were old and set in their ways, like me. Abby is young and wants to explore the world and all there is in it. I know there is a solution and I also know I don’t have a clue what it is. I had to accept this fact today when I thought Abby was lost and never coming back. I would like to give Abby what she wants and what she needs, so I am going to step away from my fears and frustrations and stay open to any answers that come my way, whatever they may be.
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I want to travel again. The fear of Covid is going away even though the actual Covid isn’t. I have been comfortably cocooning in my safe world for a long time, but lately I have also been opening up to the idea of an adventure. When I got an invitation to my cousin’s 50th wedding anniversary celebration, I said yes. It’s a golden opportunity to see my cousins and their families and to return, if only for a short time, to Minnesota, land of 10,000,000 lakes and land of my youth. Travel challenges my body, mind, and soul. I have a bit of fear connected to it. I get adrenaline surges about where to go, how to get there with minimal stress, and how to feel safe and have fun at the same time. It’s a time to learn and grow in a way that doesn’t happen when I am sitting around watching TV with a cat in my lap. This trip is an opportunity to explore new places and new experiences, and also to connect to the past and revisit old memories. I am very excited about celebrating this milestone with my cousin, being with my Minnesota family and friends, and embracing my midwestern roots. I wish that I could share this trip with my twin sister Linda, but she is gone. This time I will be traveling alone. I have traveled by myself before, but this feels different. It makes me miss her even more. I have so many great memories of our times together on the road. We flew to Disney World in the middle of a thunderstorm. We navigated our way from Detroit to Philadelphia to celebrate the release of her daughter’s “No Good Sister” CD. We drove to Georgia for the funeral and burial of her husband, Steve, and made a random stop to see Colonel Sanders’ first restaurant. It lifted our spirits and made us smile. We did a car trip to LA for our 70th birthday and got a giant, furry hug from Chewbacca at Star Wars in Disneyland. Sometimes we got on each other’s nerves but we also laughed a lot. I have never laughed as hard as I did when Lin and I were together. The last time I went to Minnesota, I went with Lin to our 50th high school reunion. We stayed at a motel right on the water, where we had a view of the city and watched the ships coming into the harbor. They were so close that it seemed we could almost touch them. I will never forget the beauty of the city lights sparkling on the water at night. We were looking at our hometown from a perspective we hadn’t seen before. Traveling with Lin was so easy. We each took a part and shared responsibilities for driving and navigating. We had about the same degree of stamina and seemed to run out of steam at the same time. We both loved museums especially when there were historical reenactors in costumes who made us feel like we were living history. What I will miss the most is the shared joy. The hardest part of traveling alone is experiencing something special but not having anyone to enjoy it with. This trip will be a whole new experience for me. Although I will be doing it by myself, I won’t be alone. I will be with my Minnesota friends and family. And even though Lin won’t be with us in person, she will definitely be in my heart and mind. For a look at one of our car trips check out this link. Linda wrote part of this blog when we drove to Duluth for our high school reunion in September 2016. You can also access it in the archive.
http://lolwc.weebly.com/blog/on-the-road-agai… ![]() My cat-proof fence isn’t as cat proof as I had hoped. Yesterday, when I went out to check on my Abby cat, I found her up in the oak tree next to the fence. It’s way easier for a cat to get up a tree than down, but after a half an hour of coaxing, she figured out that she could go down tail first and managed to get low enough for my housemate to grab her. Thank goodness I didn’t have to call the fire department. I had hoped that her lack of coordination and strength would keep her corralled but that was just a ruse to lure me into a false sense of security. My guess is that, in the throws of a squirrel-chasing adrenalin surge, she jumped over the PVC barrier that was supposed to stop her in her tracks, like Steve McQueen on his motorcycle in the movie “the Great Escape.” Today I covered the fence near the tree with bird netting. It did discourage her a little, but after the taste of freedom she had yesterday it looks like she is determined to repeat whatever she did to get into that tree. She spent a lot of time scouring the fence for an escape route including climbing the jade plants and eyeballing the jasmine vines. I am back to the beginning in my quest to give her a safe outdoor space. I am not happy about being outsmarted by a cat, even one as adorable as Abby. I will try to assuage my ego by pondering what lesson I am meant to learn from this. “Don’t mess with Mother Nature” comes to mind, or “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” I have a call in to my handyman and we will work on some ideas. Hidden GardensTonight I found another world. It’s been hiding in plain sight in an alley that is just a few steps from my house. If I had stayed glued to my recliner and not gotten myself out the door for a walk I would never have seen it. It was a reminder that sometimes it’s a good idea to take another path. How did I find this magical place? I decided instead of my usual route walking the streets in my neighbor I would walk down the alleys. The houses in my neighborhood are mostly small older homes squished together onto small lots. Everyone surrounds their yards with fences to give the illusion of privacy. After strolling down a stark tunnel of tall fences and garage doors, I headed into the alley of the houses directly across the street from my house. What a surprise! Almost everyone had planted mini gardens in the tiny spaces in front of their garages and fences. The houses were completely unrecognizable from the alley. Although I may have waved at some of these folks from time to time I had no idea who these precious gardens belonged to. Who knew there were so many creative artists living just across the street. Some of the gardens were meticulously planted and arranged and some were created using worn out containers that had had former lives in the kitchen or the closet. There were driftwood borders, repeated by different neighbors, in long stretches on both sides of the alley. Obviously they inspired each other. They inspired me too. I thought about my own alley, particularly the neglected section behind my house. Although I have spent hours digging and planting veggies and other plants in my front yard, the space on the alley side of my back fence looks like a weedy jungle. I don’t want to turn this experience into another reason to feel like a sloth, even though I can be very sloth-like at times. I want to think of it as inspiration. When I do have time to attack the alley with my weed whacker I might want to consider making a little hidden garden of my own. and be open to the beautiful surprises I can find by taking a different path. |
Leslie Masona woman in search of her post-retirement future Guess what! By subscribing, you get notices about the latest Little Old Lady with Cats posts sent to your mailbox!
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(from an entry posted on 5/1/2015) “I definitely fit some of the characteristics of a little old lady with cats: Retired - check, Single - check, Like to knit - check, Have cats - check. . .I do not want to get stuck in my Little Old Lady persona, however. In fact, this blog is a risk taking experiment in exploring and redefining what I want my retired life to look like.” Categories
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