I’m sitting on the porch listening to the call of the birds and the crowing of my little roosters. My bird app has identified the usual suspects: American crow, northern cardinal, house sparrow, but also tufted titmouse, indigo bunting and Carolina wren. It’s blessedly cool, and I feel like it’s my moral obligation to enjoy this weather now, with the memory of heat waves and the certainty that those times will return.
The evening before last, Michael and I were taking our vesper walk in the path in my corner meadow, admiring the soon-to-be-blooming black-eyed Susans, when a rabbit crossed in a blur in front of my feet. But just as the tail disappeared into the forest of goldenrod, I saw that it was not a rabbit tail. It was long, slender, furry. A cat! We sometimes have cats move into our barn, and I’ve tried to tame them with food hoping to lure them into our house but have never succeeded. I was just telling Michael about my plan to leave a bowl of food here on the trail when my husband pointed to the goldenrod. It was trembling. Wild cats are pretty skittish, and I wondered why it wasn’t long gone into the corn. I reached into the goldenrod and pulled out a tiny grey tabby.
Why did she let me pick her up? I pulled her up close to my cheek, and she was already purring. I took her down to the basem*nt and made a dish of food and water for her, and she ate heartily. I introduced her to the dogs, who both sniffed her all over approvingly, and then to the cat, who looked horrified and then opened her jaws in a threatening and lengthy hiss. And then, just in case she hadn’t made her point, she turned to the side and retched violently. (Hey, don’t hold back. Tell us how you really feel!) I made a bed for her in the basem*nt, and my friend, Gayle, came the next day to take her to the shelter. I wonder if I made a big mistake in giving her away.
Yesterday was family day in the timber. My uncles invited us to work on a path they are making in our woods. I arrived and wasn’t prepared to find such an impressive trail. They had a wood chipper and had already used a weed cutter to mow a wide, curving path to the meadow. They were now bordering the path with fallen tree trunks and chipping branches to line the path. It looked like a trail in a state park. My sister and brother-in-law were there and —
***BREAKING NEWS***
A Birdland couple has found a second kitten in their “corner meadow.” They had just found one the day before and sent it to the shelter. Another appeared today. Mary Lucille Hays and Michael Hoag were walking in their yard when Hoag heard a mewling sound. He investigated and found the kitten. “He came out of the weeds, and my wife grabbed him,” said Hoag. “This one is smaller than the first one,” added Hays. “He must be the runt.”
The male kitten is a grey tabby. Hoag said they were undecided about keeping him. They already have a cat, who is not a fan of kittens. They will weigh the options, including taking him to the shelter for adoption. The kitten appears very healthy.
“He doesn’t even have fleas or ticks,” said Hays.
Hoag said he was pretty sure the kittens were abandoned. “These are not wild cats,” he said. “They came right up to us and immediately bonded with us. It’s too bad, because we have a local cat shelter. People think it’s okay to dump animals in the country, but it’s really not. These kittens are lucky that we found them.”
The kitten sat on Hays’ shoulder, purring loud enough for bystanders to hear.
“His name is Prince,” said Hays.
Abandoning unwanted pets is a problem. It’s unhealthy for the pets and disturbs ecosystems. People with unwanted pets in Piatt County can contact the Piatt County Animal shelter: piattanimals.org/.
***WE NOW RETURN TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAM. THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY***
— we worked and visited and extended the chipped path by some 30 yards. We planned future camping reunions and a haunted trail for Halloween.
And now, I don’t have time to tell you why, but there is another little kitten who interrupted my typing and is even now disturbing my work. It is climbing up my leg and jumping on my keyboard. It keeps erasing what I’ve written and /////po[-opl,lmp’0[o(%5E•%5E)
Foster Beauty; Adopt Peace; Blessed Be.
Mary Lucille Hays lives in Birdland near White Heath. She is serious about answering mail from readers. Consider subscribing to support your small-town newspaper. You can follow Birdland on Instagram and Twitter (@BirdlandLetters) or at letterfrombirdland.blogspot.com. Mary can be reached at letterfrombirdland@gmail.com or via snail mail care of this newspaper.
