Pretty Good Day, Rough Night

I always take a breather and sit for a spell when finished in the barn.  The nosy neighbors were back again, eight of them, and I'd actually taken a photo of one who had made herself right at home and was roosting on the railing, forcing the others to leapfrog over her as they peered in the windows.  Back in my chair, I heard a loud thump and glanced up to see this hen who wanted a closer look.  She'd jumped over onto the bench just under the window.  Dufus birds.

It was time to bite the bullet and make some introductions.  Cats and dog had been sniffing under the bathroom door, so each species knew the other was there.  After two days, I didn't want the cats to think they'd been convicted and sent to an isolation cell.  Putting Bessie on a lead, I took a deep breath and we went in.  Ralph and Celeste made a beeline for the cubby, with Ralph, the protector, on the outside.  Bessie Anne misses her feline companions and wanted to make friends.  I'm not sure the cats had previous contact with dogs, and they didn't share Bessie's feelings.  Ralph humped up and hissed.  Bessie, like her predecessors, Dogie and cat Victor, decided to take the slow and easy route.  She laid down quietly and we stayed like that until Ralph and Celeste came out of hiding and, in best cat fashion, ignored our presence.  (Nothing can make you invisible like a cat who doesn't wish to see you.)  That was enough for a first meeting, so Bess and I left, shutting the bedroom door so the cats could begin to explore more territory.

After a rainy morning, the afternoon was glorious and Bessie Anne and I went out to enjoy some sunshine.  After all, it was her house that had been invaded and she needed some one-on-one time, especially since she'd been so good earlier.  That barren oak is suddenly full of leaflets.  The forsythia has been in bloom for over a month.

At bedtime, I was faced with a dilemma.  The cats were under the bed, a great hiding place with the dust ruffle, so I couldn't shut them in the bathroom again.  Closing off rooms where they should not go, I left the bedroom door open to the rest of the house.  And so to sleep, perchance to dream.  Not.  Bess knew the cats were loose and wanted to find them.  Hand on her collar and a firm, "Stay," we went to sleep.  For awhile.  Every time she'd move, I'd wake up.  Every hour on the hour.  Once she jumped off the bed.  "Honest, Mom, I'm not looking for cats, I just want a drink of water (slurp, slurp)."  Since she can't jump back on the bed on her own, I got up and hoisted her.  That was at 3:15.  Right now, Bess is under the desk with her head on my feet.  Ralph is on the bed behind me.  Celeste remains in hiding.  We had a momentary contretemps when Bessie wanted a closer view and Ralph did his hissing thing.  This is going to take some time.  I need a nap.