Poppy loves Zoom

Over the last year most of us have had to get used to conducting activities online whether for work or our interests. We are fortunate to have this ability to communicate and it’s certainly better than not being able to connect at all.

It can be tiring though, focusing on a screen for several hours at a time, especially when you have more than one workshop or online event on the same day as I have been finding increasingly often, with several different writing groups and so much available to join in with.

Poppy loves zoom though. As soon as I set up my laptop and she starts to hear voices her ears prick up and she makes her way over. She now has a permanent bed near my zooming station where she settles down for the whole session to listen in.

She recognises voices too from people she has met previously. Last summer when small groups of people were allowed to meet outside we held several socially distanced workshops here where we wrote in the peace of the garden and shared our work. Poppy greeted everyone when they arrived and made sure she received her quota of fuss and petting from each person before settling down for the meetings. She even insisted on joining us after her stroke although she needed help with getting about and her friends had to greet her instead of the other way around.

Those days of endless sunshine seem a long time ago now but we’re hoping to get back to doing this again and meeting in person though the weather will have to warm up a lot from this year’s recent hail and snow before we do!

Whither thou goest

Rafa has always been more attached to Poppy than he is to our other two cats. Poppy is a lot more tolerant of his ‘close and personal’ cosying up than the cats, who prefer their own space and tend to repel his advances with a hiss and a nifty swipe of their paw (though relations have thawed a bit over recent months).

Sometimes we wonder whether Rafa is a cat or a hybrid dog. He still likes to accompany us for Poppy’s morning walk, though now we often have to shut him in our hay barn as he always wants to explore. Waiting for him while he checks out every inch of vegetation in the woods can turn a 20 minute walk into an hour and Poppy likes to get back to her sofa-surfing.

A few nights ago we were invited to spend the evening with neighbours. Poppy was invited too so we set off walking down the drive and who should come racing after us but our little ginger demon? Where were we going without him? We didn’t want to encourage Rafa to go any further as there are lots of dogs in the vicinity and our friends have a Welsh terrier who chases cats, so we scooped him up to return him to our house. On the way back up the drive he managed to wriggle free and disappeared into bushes so we had to leave him. But he must have stalked us because no sooner had we arrived at our friends’ house and settled down with a glass of wine than we heard a plaintive mewing from outside.

Poppy was instantly alert. What’s that noise? And there on the front doorstep was Rafa looking up as if to say, How can you think of going out with out me? If you’ve moved house, I’m coming too!

Walking home nearly 4 hours later, he was waiting for us on the drive. He’d probably been sitting there the whole time. We like to flatter ourselves that it’s us he wants to be with but in fact it’s more likely his canine buddy he can’t bear to be away from!

Best Mates

Wherever Poppy goes, Rafa wants to go too. Our other cats still refuse to engage with him although they put up with him as long as he’s not too troublesome (chasing them or pouncing on them is not tolerated!)

So Rafa still comes along for the morning walk when we take Poppy out in the woods.

If we start off without him, there is soon a flurry of little paws and a blur of ginger as he hurtles across the paddock to join us

But our 20 minute walk with Poppy is turning into a much longer one when Rafa goes exploring.

Sometimes we wait for him, but this can encourage him to explore further and a couple of times he’s made his way into the middle of a tangle of brambles and nettles from which he struggles to find a way out. Turning round is not an option for him. We’ve had to push through the brambles ourselves in order to rescue him.

Other times, especially when we’ve been in a hurry to get back, we’ve marched on without him. Usually he realises we’ve gone and after a few minutes we spot him in the distance racing after us.

Twice we’ve had to leave him behind. Poppy is keen to get home and put her feet up. Rafa has been on this same route almost every day for about 3 months. Surely he knows his way back, though he’s wary of dogs he doesn’t know (sensibly) and of traffic when crossing our lane (thankfully).

The first time we left him behind he obviously did find his way back because a couple of hours later we found him fast asleep on the nest he’s made behind our sofa.

But the next time, he was missing for nearly 5 hours. We went back to the woods to look for him and as soon as he heard our voices he came trotting out of the bushes not far from where he’d disappeared earlier.  Rafa, where were you for all that time?

He was clearly very pleased to see us and happy to be carried most of the way home. It’s tiring work being an explorer.

 

The Pinnacle of Ambition

Ambitions are high for Rafa. Since he’s been finding it easy to get to the top of the kitchen cupboards he’s up there nearly every day. It’s a particularly useful place to weigh up his safety options when dogs  that are not as affable as Poppy come visiting. But sometimes the place Rafa wants to get to is already occupied. And he’s not at all sure he’ll be a welcome companion …

Later he spies Zanzi again, this time at the top of a tall book cabinet. Hmm, how did she get up there?

I can do that too, he thinks. Once Zanzi has moved on to a new resting place, he tries it out for himself. Floor to coffee table, to small bookcase, to top of cabinet. Three bounds and he’s free! Or at least he’s at the top, looking very pleased with himself.

And now Rafa is outside, attempting his own Everest. No other cats to show him the way for this one. Somehow he’s managed to find a way onto the greenhouse roof.

Then it’s a full exploration of roofs and glass and gutters. But eventually he manages to reach the summit. Pity he doesn’t have a flag to attach to the pinnacle.

It’s slippery up there though and no easy routes for the descent. After trying out several possibilities it turns out to be a skiddy slide on his rump down the roofing glass – a bit like tobogganing except he has no sled – and then an ungainly tumble. But fortunately it’s only into the vegetable bed. And there are no spiky plants or bamboo canes there yet!

After a full day’s climbing it’s time for a well-earned nap.

Now I’m absolutely plum-tuckered. So just leave me alone to sleep.

The Gift of Dogs

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a Dog’s Life (a Cat’s too!)

Isn’t there any work to be done around here?

While we have been out slaving in the garden all morning, our pets have been relaxing and enjoying the warmth of the conservatory. A soft chair each to nestle in and nothing will persuade them to move.  And somebody once complained, ‘It’s a Dog’s Life!’

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