VISITING STRANGER

Cat meets cat – in slow motion

There have been three strangers in the garden, never seen before but they must come from local homes. The first one came and went in a single move but the next one was more interesting.

He was a black and white moggy who looked as if he cold turn nasty. The first I saw of him was in a confrontation (I think) with my Charlie. It was fascinating to see.

Normally Charlie would chase off strange cats but this time the cats faced each other, standing about two feet apart. They looked like statues but then I noticed a slight movement. Charlie was moving a paw ever so slowly, bit at a time, almost as though he was trying not to show the move. I stood with binoculars, watching the slow-motion experience. The visiting cat didn’t move, well not that I could see.

I began to wish one of them would hurry up and make a proper move, at the same time worrying in case my Charlie got into a fight. The whole time Charlie’s slow-motion movement (almost invisible to the naked eye) continued, this time I noticed it was the other leg that was moving. Suddenly, black cat turned tail and walked off. Charlie didn’t follow, he just turned around and headed back to the house.  

That was then!

Yesterday the black cat was back. Nearer to the house so I didn’t need the binoculars. Charlie was crouching while the other cat did the slow-motion thing, I began to wish some rapid action would take place. After about 15 minutes, black cat very, very slowly turned – you could hardly see movement – and walked behind one of my bushes. Only then did Charlie make a move. Also very slowly he walked towards the bush, stopped, waited, then made his decision to return home. Obviously, the black cat had headed out of the garden, out of sight of Charlie and me. Only then did Charlie come into the house having decided the newcomer had gone for good. At least for now!

Since writing the above Charlie has been out in the garden a few times but only to see if Blackie was around. He comes in when there's no sign of the animal and spends a long time gazing out of the window. I think he really wants his friend to return. Aaaah! Maybe this is the start of a wonderful friendship.

 

WONDERFUL CHANGES

How exquisite is the night so cold,
stars like diamonds standing out so bold,

a glowing moon lighting up our space,

making the planet a beautiful place.

There’s peace and stillness on a night like this,

the cold disguised by a cloak of bliss,

covering us with dreams of better things,

like butterflies with gossamer wings,

But when spring is born

and cobwebs glisten every morn,

when buds are grown and standing proud,

will we forget that wintry shroud?

CREATIVE WRITING

I have a collection of diminutive tales, written from the heart, without the benefit of research. Some are amusing, some serious, and some romantic. Also included is an occasional account on the serious or hilarious, depending on how the mood takes me.

I love creative writing, it stretches the imagination into unknown areas, bringing unexpected results.

Bearing in mind the seriousness of everyday life, I try to make my offerings as amusing as possible. The stories on this blog speak for themselves, the articles are anybody's guess!

A lot of my time was taken up with the WI (Women’s Institute) and spare time was taken up with computing and writing. I liked designing things and solving puzzles or problems. Sadly, all that is over, advancing age compels me to stay home and write a blog. Now I can spend time actually reading what I wrote all those years ago and often I utter silent exclamations in the vein of ‘Good gracious, did I write that?’

If you are a writer, don’t throw anything away, it does the heart good to look back and know that once upon a time ….. but that is the start of another story. 

JUST IN CASE

I think I am being looked after!

As mentioned before, I recently attended the funeral of my old neighbour but this post concerns other immediate neighbours.

The family who gave me a lift to and from the crematorium, or rather the lady of that family, offered to do my shopping to save me going out. I was able to tell her that all my shopping is delivered and I think she was very surprised to hear that I ordered groceries and other stuff on line. Apparently, she didn’t know that older people use computers!

The next morning the ladies who now occupy Doug’s old house (known as The Girls) invited me to Sunday lunch. Of course, I accepted. In the afternoon I had another invitation to tea, that invite coming from the other neighbours. Having already accepted the lunch date I had to decline the second invite. However, I can but hope they renew their offer to feed me!

Yes, I definitely think I’m being looked after. 

It is very reassuring to know that people are thinking about me and are there in case of emergency. I know that if things go wrong I can call on them for help.  It’s very reassuring.

It is still going on. Every morning, by arrangement, I send a text to the girls saying something like ‘I am up’ or ‘Has it stopped raining yet?’ or a simple ‘Hello’ to let them know I’m still alive. If I don’t send a text the girls know something is wrong. They have keys to my house so that they can get in and check. Fortunately, so far so good, but it puts minds at rest. I did forget once and action was taken. What a relief to know that someone reliable will come to my aid if something happens. 

I never thought I would bother with text messaging but now I quite like it. I can say something to the girls without intruding on their lives and vice versa. It is the one invention I have praise for.