Good morning! It’s nice to see you. I hope you had a great week.
It’s chilly this morning, but it looks like it’s going to be a lovely day and an even lovelier week.
Better grab us a couple mugs from the cupboard. I’ve got a pot of tea all ready for us.
Let’s catch up.
Escape artists
Immediately after Bubble returned to us from his four-week absence, we put collars on all our cats. I’m positive someone took him in for at least part of the time he was away. Next time, I’d like there to be some sort of outward evidence that he, in fact, has a loving home, and maybe they should just let him live his wandering cat life without interference.
Cat collars these days have a break-away feature to ensure the safety of a cat if it gets stuck or tangled. Unfortunately, Bubble is a bit of a savant when it comes to removing these collars. After less than two weeks, I’ve found his lying on the ground in a couple places. His is the one on the left, which I found in the back yard earlier this week.
A few days later, I found Squeak’s collar by the back door in the kitchen. This was a bit more of a surprise, because I was under the impression Squeak kind of likes his collar. He certainly has had a bit of a strut since we clamped it on him.
Prints in the snow
Friday, Charlottetown woke up to an inch of snow on the ground, which everyone loved and no one grumbled about all morning.
Despite being absolutely awful, the snow did provide a useful medium for paw prints in our back yard, letting us know we’d been visited in the night by some critter.
I’m pretty sure these are skunk prints, but it sure must be a big one. This is the time of year they’re waking up and gallumping around the neighbourhood in the wee hours of the morning.
I sent these photos to my dad, who assured me the prints probably don’t belong to a polar bear, but he can’t be sure.
Walking with Erin
Erin walked the paper route with me yesterday morning. It was so nice.
We spent a couple minutes watching a crow build a next high in the branches of a tree on Upper Prince Street.
On Gerald, Erin somehow discovered a gnarly old turnip, which she quickly adopted for her favourite game of kicking things down the road.
Usually, she uses a rock or a piece of ice (in the winter). As she walks and talks, she kicks the turnip/rock/ice ahead of her several feet. When she catches up, she gives it another kick, and so on.
If you’re walking with her, you’re expected to alternate turns kicking. I tell you this, because if you ever find yourself walking beside Erin in the future, you have to be prepared to kick a turnip up the street for a few blocks.
Thumb rest
I’d like to give a little shout-out to Ryan Murphy from Rise Pottery. He is just about the nicest person you could ever wish to meet, and he makes lovely mugs that just perfectly fit in your hand.
I had not considered that my thumb needed a comfy niche on the top of my mug handle, but it turns out to be true. I was carrying a mug full of steaming hot coffee across the house the other day and suddenly became rather thankful for the thumb rest for comfort and added stability.
He has lots of lovely mugs to choose from. Go get one (or six).
Dunnock Bay
I first had the idea for this week’s story at Dunnock Bay almost ten years ago.
I remember telling my friend Kate I’d always wanted to start some sort of serial fiction project set in a quaint little town. I started to think about all the people who lived in the town and the shenanigans they’d get up to. I distinctly remember saying I wanted a story about a little boy who wanted to play in the rain, but was paralyzed by fear of a big slimy worm on his driveway.
Anyway, it took me a decade to finally write it, but I’m awfully happy with how it turned out. I was thrilled to insert little James into that story. I also dragged in Jill, who has become one of my favourite people in Dunnock Bay.
Thanks for hanging out with me for another Sunday morning.
Thanks also for all the likes and shares. And thanks to those who contributed with a one-time gift through my Buy me a coffee page. Y’all are swell.
I hope you have a great week.
I’ve had a strut when I know exactly how I’m going to foil someone’s plans for me.
Nice cat content.