Pumpkins on the Verge
The Great Pumpkin arrived in the early morning hours and placed 44 gorgeous orbs – yes, even the white warty ones are fabulous – along the verges of Territory Road here in Oysterville. Osa slept right through the delivery. That’s because of exhaustion from two nights out on the prowl.
In the late afternoon on Thursday and again on Friday, Osa lay in wait for an opening. Sure enough, as soon as she saw an opportunity, outside she went like a flash. By now this is old hat for this old cat but on those particular nights, she would not come back inside. I called and called from every doorway. No Osa.
Ghost Pumpkin on the Meadow Bench
The first night I was awakened about 3:00 a.m. by an anxious sounding Osa sitting on the east porch demanding entry. I let her in, scolded sleepily, and went back to bed relieved that she hadn’t become coyote food. I remember only too well the years that Leigh Wilson lived across the street ‘taking care of’ feral cats. She would hear the coyotes yipping, then hear a god-awful scream and would have one less cat to feed in the morning. So far, so good with Osa.
The next afternoon I was extra vigilant but, come bedtime… no Osa. Was it when one of our Friday night guests left that she slipped by? Or was it when I went out to lock up the chickens? At bedtime (mine) I realized I hadn’t seen her for several hours and, search and call though I might, she didn’t appear. Nor did she wake me in the wee hours. Nor did she come home for breakfast! It wasn’t until nearly noon that she arrived, sassy as you please, to curl up in the sun in Nyel’s “Recovery Room” and snooze the rest of the day away.
At Our Doorstep, October 2014
Last night I was more watchful than ever and, much to Osa’s dismay, she couldn’t find an opening (so to speak.) Not that she really looked. Every time I took note of her whereabouts she was sound asleep nearby, perhaps exhausted from all that catting around on the previous two nights.
She was still sound asleep early this morning when Bradley-the-Great-Pumpkin was out distributing his wares. You snooze, you lose, Osa. That’s what you get for catting around…
I hope no vandals get to the pumpkins before I get to see them…or Osa either!