It was with mild consternation that I watched the mother and father do a frantic pack-up job a couple of weeks ago and I realized with a sinking heart they were planning to leave.  I sadly watched them pull out of the driveway and I reconciled myself to the fact that I was now the man of the house.  I took my job very seriously.  Despite my still sore paw I made regular checks around the house making sure nothing and no one was getting in without my permission.  

A young boy stopped in every day to top up my food and give me some fresh water.  Very thoughtful of him. He looks so happy-go-lucky, and has much free time. He lingers a little longer every day, which I do appreciate. It gets lonely. I have tried to get some affection from the fine fellow, to no avail. He doesn’t seem fond of felines…. more interested in the meager selection of tools and toys. One day, he brought friends. Not to spend time with me, mind you. They spent hours pushing that old John Deere lawn tractor up the hill so they could ride it back down. It was fascinating to watch how much joy they got from that. And they claim cats are simple creatures.

One of my daily jobs was to patrol the perimeter of the property to keep an eye on how things were going.  I diligently made paw prints in the snow to make sure everyone knew that there was someone home.  On Tuesday I came home from my wanderings just in time to see a moderately large family of mice heading up the drive.  They had heard the house was vacant and were in need of someplace to vacation.   They claimed their car had caught on fire.  Right …. Like that would ever happen.  I sent them off with their tails between their legs.  I am happy to say that I am feeling like my old self again.  All that exercise was good for my paw and I was thrilled to see I haven’t lost my old spunky self. 

I can’t tell a lie and I have to say I was thrilled to see the family roll back in the drive last Saturday morning.  I was thankful to receive a bowl of milk as an offering of apology.