Midnight loves to play peek games with me. It started shortly after he came into the house to live with his staff. The game starts when we peek around doorways or furniture. Either of us may start the game. And we both love it.
The other day I walked into the dining area and realized the game had started again. Midnight’s move.
And there he was on Sylvia’s chair. His eyes were on me.
What do you do when face-to-face with a predator like this? I like to play the peek game.
Wendi is a friend from church. She regularly sends me humorous e-mail messages that tickle my my funny bone. Here is one she sent recently. I hope you enjoy it.
There was a church pastor who had a kitten. On day that kitten climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk, etc.
The kitty would not come down.
The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and pulled it until the tree bent down, he could then reach up and get the kitten.
That’s what he did, all the while checking his progress in the car.
He then figured if he went just a little bit further, the tree would be bent sufficiently for him to reach the kitten. But as he moved the car a little further forward, the rope broke.
The tree went ‘boing!’ and the kitten instantly sailed through the air–out of sight.
The pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they’d seen a little kitten. No. Nobody had seen a stray kitten.
So he prayed, ‘Lord, I just commit this kitten to your keeping,’ and went on about his business.
A few days later he was at the grocery store, and met one of his church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food.
This woman was a known cat hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her, ‘Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?’ She replied, ‘You won’t believe this,’ and then told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing.
Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so the Mom finally told her little girl, ‘Well, if God gives you a cat, I’ll let you keep it.’ She told the pastor, ‘I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees, and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won’t believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue sky, with its paws outspread, and landed right in front of her.’
Lesson learned: Never underestimate the Power of God and His unique sense of humor.
Time to cut my toe nails and that means softening them by soaking them in water. I have just the gadget for that. It was made in Germany and that means excellent design and engineering. Add warm water plug it in, turn it on and there is warm water and air bubbles caressing my achy feet. Pure bliss!
When I do anything around here, I expect a visit from the inspector.
Lift the cover so Midnight can properly inspect this contraption.
The inspections will be thorough.
He’ll have to check it all out and even test the water. If I’m fortunate, he’ll approve and all will be well. I was, he did and it was.
Several of you are kept by cats. Do you give them pet names in addition to their “official” name? Around here, Midnight is frequently called Skeezix. We also refer to him as His Nibs, Kitty, Lil Buddy, Big Boy and Captain. Some of you may remember or may have heard of Captain Midnight.
I remember the radio series and the comic books. The captain was a pilot in WWI and was called back to duty in a covert group in WWII. There were always young people and plenty of action in Captain Midnight’s adventures. I loved it.
Our captain isn’t always a good boy. He can be a stealth raider and is always looking for adventure and action. That is when he is not taking a cat nap.
So here’s a salute to you Captain Midnight.
As I showed you last Monday, Midnight loves to lounge on the left side of my desk where he can look out of the window. That is not his favorite window. That one is at the other end of the house near the dining room table.
That window has a great view. A chair awaits him where he can make himself comfortable on the padded seat. As you can see our “little” guy is getting quite a bit bigger.
He’s telling me that I can’t have Mr Mousie. Besides I don’t like the catnip inside nearly as much as Midnight loves it.
He seems to be saying, “If you reach for it, I’ll bite you.” Okay, I really do know that he is only thinking that.
I suppose it’s really my fault that Midnight loves to take repose on my desk. I’ve only encouraged him to do it with strategically placed objects that allow him to easily get up there. It’s nice to have my furry buddy with me, blocking my view of the monitor or swatting at the mouse. However, there are times when he only wants to rest — maybe just have a little cat nap. I prefer those moments and how I envy him that. Sometimes.
Midnight rests on my study Bible with his feet against the scanner and his back on the external hard drive.
That hard drive makes a handy pillow for a sleepy kitty.
On the other side, Midnight has a view out the window. Is he saying, “I (heart) Midnight? If he isn’t, I am.
Last week kept everyone moving. It wrapped up on Saturday with another work day at the church. Our pastor is on vacation and I brought the Sunday morning message. After that I had a Sunday School class to teach. For those reasons, my little buddy and I are having a “lazy day.” Do you ever have one of those? They are good for the blood pressure and good for the soul.
See you tomorrow.
Last Tuesday, it rained. Not just a little bit. It was the kind of rain that overflowed the drainage ditches around here and made new rivulets and lakes across the landscape. It was the kind of day that is dim at noon. What’s a guy to do on a day like that?
Most youngsters look out the window. Midnight is no exception.
He stands up between the blinds and the window and looks out upon a wet world. I wonder what he is thinking.
Something must be more fun than looking out at the rain. Hey wait! I’ve got an idea. Let’s go play.
Let’s go play in the bathroom. Oops! Busted.
So what do you on a rainy day if you can’t surf the Internet?
A friend told me that Midnight needed a box that he could lay in. I fixed one up just for him.
As you can see, it is just the right size for him. Cable ties reinforce the structure so he can stand or sleep on the top as well as inside.
One of Midnight’s first acts was to “taste” the walls. They might not have been yummy, but those fangs made a delightful sound as they crunched through the walls.
Every time he enters or leaves the box, he has take crunch or two. It has become a fun game — for him.
In no time the box looked like this. And just like you’d expect, he’s put his mark on our world.
Today is the first day of April. What does it make you think of? I mentioned recently that we’ve decided to recognize Midnight’s birthday on April 1. Yes, there is a bit of twisted in humor in that, but only a bit — a tiny bit.
Lin mentioned “Gotcha Day.” Now I’m confused. It was the morning of December 4 of last year and we were expecting the first big storm of the winter. Sylvia and I had decided to bring the one cat — just a kitten — living in the barn into the house. We did not expect him to survive alone through the winter. His life expectancy soared when I carried him into our house. Midnight started a new life.
When you think of the promise of new life, what do you think of? Flower buds, like those in yesterday’s post? How about that young mother-to-be that you saw at the mall. Her tummy was large and there was a glow on her face. Soon she would bring a new life into the world.
Consider this:
A couple of weeks ago, I looked out of my office window (above), and saw that the winter snow was melting and green grass was visible. There was the burning bush just outside the window. At first glance it appeared to be dead. But look closer.
Those are buds. Buds that will soon be green leaves. They will be thick and dark green all through the summer. In the fall, they will turn bright red. Look closer.
It won’t be long before this happens. But the story doesn’t end there.
As I looked on this scene so full of promise, a bird landed on the bush. She was tiny and, frankly, she was plain. It was a female house finch. Her beak was full of dead grass. Grass that would line the nest where she will lay the eggs that will bring us the next generation of her kind. I’m sorry that I couldn’t capture a photo of her.
Today is Maundy Thursday. Will you observe this day?