A Fine Day

The alarm sounded promptly at 4:00 a.m. as is usual. Stump had been acting up, so I was ready to let him go outside. The house rules are: “No cats are allowed outside till the alarm goes off”. “Rules are rules: I don’t make them, I just enforce them.” This favourite line was spoken by “Big Edna” the sadistic lesbian guard from the “B” movie “Reform School Girls”. I always quote that line to Stumpy when he pesters me to go out early!

I switched the buzzing alarm over to the radio. At this hour the BBC World Report is broadcast. The first story I heard was “plane crash: all 48 onboard are killed”. Then I heard “Buffalo, NY”. I listened with a sense of dread. Getting to my computer I did some research on the story. The crash site was Clarence Center, NY. How many trips had I made to that little hamlet in the past? When I was restoring my old house in the late 1970’s & early 1980’s I was able to drive there blindfolded. One of the last of the old time lumber yards was on Railroad St (not far from the crash site) where I had my custom millwork made up. My heart and prayers go out to all involved.

Thursday morning it was a chilly row in the early morning. I was the cox, barking out orders to the crew from the coach. It was kind of nerve wracking as there was a lot of debris floating in the river. Logs and tree branches seemed to be everywhere. The fiberglass shells on the boats are fragile; I don’t want to be the cox to damage our boat. I had a bit of panic attack as a barge approached us as we were getting organized across from the dock. It seemed to be barreling upon us. Poor Matthew who is an experienced rower reminded me to “Stop yelling into the cox box and just relax!” We all survived, had a good workout and docked safely.

Back home again it was “shopping time” on the internet. I needed a lockset for the new back door that is not a stock item anywhere around here. This item was quickly located on-line. It was ordered and will hopefully be delivered early next week.

I began to work a bit in the back yard before going to the Y. The day was warming up right on schedule. Daggy joined me instead of going to her usual haunt in the upstairs. Her first stop was the dirt pile left over from the fall transplant of the Azalea bush. I enjoyed watching her contort her bulk rolling and grinding into the warm earth. Then she settled into the grass, while Stumpy kept watch under the Sweet Olive. There were blossoms on this bush emitting that intoxicating fragrance. Everything was too perfect in my little back yard. All thoughts of going for a workout were put on the back burner!

Trimming on the huge holies was started. This job has to be done in stages. First I do the “yard side” then I do the “street side”. I’m trying to take down a few feet from the top. Yes that was feet! That pole trimmer of mine got a good work out. I have to time the street side trimming to Sunday morning when traffic is pretty much non-existent. The 10’ ladder is set up in the bed of my truck and driven along the hedge. It is quite a sight to see me on top of the ladder in the truck bed cutting down the hedges. As long as OSHA does not see it I should be safe!

I alternated trimming the hollies with installing the new back door. The hinges I used for the door were from my old garage back in Lockport. There are so many memories of that old house here in Alabama. Stump is not thrilled at having to use the “cat door” again. It has to be a certain way to make him happy; the flap must be on the inside. He let out a low growl as he had to maneuver it to his liking this morning!

The afternoon warmed up beautifully. Relaxing in the deck chair at 5:00, Stump jumped onto my lap and instantly curled into a compact ball of fur. I could feel his purring as it gradually slowed down and stopped. He was in a deep sleep as he twitched and jerked in his slumber. I wondered if he was dreaming about chasing a mouse or squirrel. It killed me to disturb his bliss, but after 45 minutes my legs were getting numb and my butt was getting sore from the hard chair!