Saturday, April 10, 2010

Oh WOW! Fresh Air!


I washed a couple of throws which I keep on the seat of the settee. The cushion for the settee has long since been tossed. It was shortly after Shakespeare went over the rainbow bridge as he was mildly incontinent in his last months. But you need some cushion as the wicker is not the most comfortable seat without something. I have several throws I use. Because Pilchard sleeps in the settee and she's black and has lots of fur, well, you can see why I needed to wash them. I tossed a living room rug in too. I'll wash the other two rugs tomorrow.

I draped the throws and the rug over the deck rails and then sat down on the steps to just be in the sunshine. Curiosity combined with the wanting to be where I was lead to outdoor investigation. I'm sure the smells were incredible, too.
I sometimes wish I had their sense of smell when they stop and thoroughly sniff a location such as the back door. What is it they smell?

Now, these are not outdoor cats. They will never be allowed out of the house unsupervised. But they love to lie or sit next to an open window particularly when there is a breeze. We all do after a long cold, snowy winter. I have the house open and the cross breeze is delightful. So, as long as I am sitting here on the deck, I don't see a problem with allowing them outside for a few minutes to have the breeze in their face and the wind in their fur. They won't be allowed off the deck nor will I have the back door standing wide open as I did with the others. I don't need to comb any cockleburrs out of Pilchard's fur, particularly when we're still working on some mats at the back end.

They came outside, very tentatively at first. The smells had to be nearly overwhelming, but they both investigated the deck. Mija is a bit more daring than Pilchard. She walked around the deck, stuck her head through the slats and gazed into the back yard.

Yet, this tempts fate. If I do this often, how soon before I have a cat at the back door wanting to go out? They are scared of the outside, which is very fine by me. Even this bit could be too much for cats designated as "indoor". I have always had cats that came and went as they pleased. Thankfully, we were in the back quarter of the year when these two came into my life and letting them go outside was not a good idea as the weather turned colder.

As it warms up, letting them get the fresh air and sunshine of the outdoors becomes a temptation. I can't do it. They get fresh air via open windows and sunshine that splashes onto the floors. It's not unusual now to find Mija stretched out in a pool of sunshine or Pilchard's fur very warm from her sitting in the south windows. I can tell they love it, too.

If I knew I could train them to stay on the deck and go nowhere else, those Sundays upcoming when I can afford a box of croissants and a quart of strawberries for breakfast with my Sunday paper and a mug of tea, I'd open the door and let them be with me on the deck while I read. I'm sure they do not feel deprived by not being outside. Happy and healthy and, by extension, so am I.

Beverage: China Black Tea

Deb

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