Is it time for a nap already?

I can't believe that I've been awake and functional since 6:30 this morning, especially given that I went out last night. So, here is is just after 9:00 in the morning and I have already had breakfast and excitement. (That may depend on your definition of excitement. At this point mine is something like "varies significantly from routine" and in my routine I would be asleep right now.)

So, Mama Bird, the robin who lives under the awning over my back door, found her way into the back porch and she doesn't seem to be in any hurry to get out. I did not realize she was out there when I let Lola out the back, but Lola spotted the robin right off. She watched... like a cat.

A cat behaving like a cat is a thing of beauty, with its whole being focused on one object. Her eyes go wide and she moves as her prey moves as the hunter's instinct stirs in the most domesticated housecat. This morning it was Lola, but this applies to every cat. When cats acts like cats, I can't help but remember that they come from kings.

On the other hand, I am concerned about the robin and her nest. I have to confess that I am terrified of birds that can fly. I just don't want them anywhere near me, particularly if they're freaked out in any way. I can't imagine being pecked to death by a robin, but... well, yes I can. That's the problem.

In any case, I was telling the story of my exciting morning, such as it is. Lola's on the porch watching the bird. I manage to shoo Lola out into the yard proper, thinking that the robin will return to her nest if Lola is far away. However, the gate is open far enough so that Lola could get through if she wanted to. I know I'm going to have to beat her to the gate if I want to keep her inside the yard, which I do. This shouldn't be very difficult, because Lola isn't the world's fastest cat.

In the mean time, Sweetpea, the obnoxious dog who lives next door, gets out into her back yard, sees Lola and starts barking. I think Sweetpea must have been frightened by a cat at one time, either that or she was dropped on her head as a puppy; the jury's still out. (Bo, the other dog who lives next door, is an exceptionally cool hound dog who lays around looking houndful. He does not frighten anybody.)

Dog barks suddenly; cat bolts. There's an incontrovertible law of nature for you. I swear I had never seen Lola move so fast. She didn't go very far, but she managed to get to a spot where I couldn't see her. I mostly just rolled my eyes because I knew she'd come back. (You should be glad you didn't see me the first time she got out after moving here. I probably cried.) About 10 minutes passed, and I went around the corner to make absolutely sure there was no access to 11th Street from where she was hiding. I found her lounging in a sunny spot just outside the fence, then I followed her around the alley for a minute or so until she plopped down in a second sunny spot and looked up at me.

Never forget that their brains are roughly the size of walnuts.

In any case, we're all back inside now and I'm hoping that the bird finds her way back to the nest so I'm no longer a prisoner in the kitchen.

before - after