The Common Denominator

Normally when we arrive home after a trip the cats saunter out pretending they never noticed us missing from the house. It’s a cat thing - acting above it all. They are then somewhat withholding of their affection and subject us to about 12 hours of kitty cold shoulder, a form of feline punishment which should apparently remind us to never leave again.

But not Sunday night.

I imagine they heard the garage door because Gilligan was already there when I entered the house, purring, rubbing my legs, either showing obvious affection or begging for soft food.

I heard Merlyn trotting down the stairs. He hit the wood floor in the foyer and skidded around the corner on furry paws. By the time he got to the kitchen he was literally running and barreled into me with a full speed head butt. He then threw himself on the floor flipped over onto his back, rolled over then did it again. He was a circus cat. It was an undignified, dog-like demonstration.

So I guess they missed us. Which must be why they were crawling all over us in bed on Monday morning, 5 am to be exact.

Of course I was already awake due to a persistent finch that was tapping on the glass window in the guest room. This crazy bird sits on the outside of the window and incessantly taps its tiny beak. Taptaptap. Taptaptaptaptap. A small sound but enough to wake me from a sound sleep. Also enough to be incredibly annoying, as in dripping faucet annoying. I approached the window and the bird cocked its head to look at me, then flew away only to quickly return to the tapping. I wonder if there is a nest in the magnolia tree that is outside the window? I finally lowered the shade and the tapping stopped.

In other news, the hummingbirds are back. We have only seen the male thus far. He is a big eater though and hangs out on the feeder a lot. He’s also unafraid. I was watering my flowers and he was on a flowering bush watching me. He then flew over to a pine tree and assumed a perch. I am so mesmerized by these little birds and it is such a thrill when they migrate back each year.

And speaking of my flowers......the ones I planted before I left......they are still there! Right where I left them in the planters on the patio. Amazing, no sign of deer destruction as of yet. Last year the deer ate an entire Hibiscus bush down to nubs. I didn’t buy anything nearly so exotic this year, just geraniums, asters and marigolds. I thought I heard somewhere that animals don’t like the flavor of marigolds. We will see.