Jul 14 2017
The Intruder
When I go to work in the morning, I leave the doors open, since I am not available to be the cat doorperson while I’m out making money to keep my feline masters in fancy, grain-free cat food and Pretty Litter*. Where’s Carlton when you need him?
Sometimes this open door policy results in finding surprise presents on the kitchen table, and sometimes it has less delightful consequences, like the recent appearance of the giant, Stalinesque refrigerator which caused an impromptu kitchen redesign. My ideal refrigerator would look something like this:
To be fair, although I still hate the look and utility of the new and unimproved appliance, it did result in a much nicer shelf over the ugly refrigerator, thanks to my ever-resourceful brother-in-law. He must consider his wife’s overly adjacent sister the “for worse” part of the vows he took 26 years ago this month.
This week, I came home from a 13 hour day to find that my open door policy had once again resulted in something unexpected.
The kitties were waiting anxiously for treats, and then supper. At stately Suzy Manor, the cats get dessert before dinner. As I distributed the treats, I glanced up at the sleeping loft and saw a large bird clinging to the screen door.
I was surprised both by the avian intruder and the fact that the cats were uninterested in its presence. They trotted off to eat dinner as I went upstairs to deal with the uninvited guest.
I expected that it would fly away from me to a place where I couldn’t reach it, but it turned out that Mr. Woodpecker was stuck in the screen door to the balcony. I had never been so close to a woodpecker before. He seemed to be stunned or scared enough to let me detach him from the opened door, and once released, he rocketed away into the trees to the relief of all concerned.
After cleaning up the miscellaneous feathers and bird poop he left behind, I went back downstairs to start my own dinner and stepped in a mini mountain of ClydeBarf™.
Welcome home!
*I am a convert to this stuff. It’s very light, mailed right to your house, and makes your house scentless.
A YEAR AGO: Meeting Rio’s daughter and having a nice dinner at the family estate.
FIVE YEARS AGO: Home at last after surviving the horrible ordeal of the Grand Jury.
One Response to “The Intruder”
An unlikely visitor indeed, he was lucky to have broken into your home instead of many others. Thank you much for releasing him in his habitat, I’m certain he had the scare of his life judging by the poop and feathers left behind. Also lucky the cats are well fed, I must say, they usually love to prey on birds. I agree with you on the refrigerator, I love the colour and style, red being my favourite colour of course, hereditary from my ancestors and of course same colour as my favourite drink, coke of course.