Usually I wake during the night and often there's a cat who's just jumped on board. Early yesterday morning it was Willie, wet and talkative and nudging me. This is unusual for Willie, he's not a nudger particularly and he doesn't usually go out in the rain. Later I wake again, Willie's at it again and I can hear the thunder. What's unusual here is, no Beastie who is a night wanderer and loves to come in from the rain and show me how brave he's been. I remember thinking that's odd but drift off again until about 5 when I get up. No Beastie still. I call him from both doors then finally feed the others. At first light I call Beastie again, no answer. I'm now convinced Beastie's met his end and in a way I'm grateful. He's been diagnosed with heart, kidney and thyroid problems and been a thorough PITA, but he's still not suffering. Insufferable but not suffering.

At 8:00AM I finally go out to search, starting with the woods in back but realize I ought to check the car and garage even though I know he couldn't be shut in either. Then I start down the driveway and look back - there's The Beast on the steps, just watching. You twit! Very odd behavior for him, but he does follow me in and eats (but very little). Long and sometimes hurtful experience tells me that changes in behavior are not good. And shortly later a neighbor comes by to ask if I've seen her old golden Lab, which I haven't. First time I've ever seen her (but then that's when I'm off in the woods).

Time-shift a couple hours and I'm biking a favorite road, passing a favorite house (century-old round stone house overlooking the Lackawaxen river) when a deer starts running after me! I hear someone yell, "What's the matter, haven't you ever seen a deer before?" as I watch the deer over my shoulder. "Not wearing a bandana", I yell back. On the return loop the young deer and "owner" are still there and, as the deer comes over and starts licking my arm from hand to shoulder (I'm probably sweaty) he tells me his mom was nailed late in the fall and he has been feeding "Broccoli" ever since. Broccoli is obviously very human-imprinted.

A bit further down the road there's a large turtle in the middle of the road, dried and fresh mud all over his back, obviously out for his/her first spring day. He doesn't look like a snapper but I cautiously push him off the road and down the embankment but not before I take another picture.

I also had this flash of intuition about acclimating cats to the car; not that it's needed now since they're all veterans now, but leaving the car door open is a non-traumatic way for them to discover it isn't really evil. Unless I'm in it of course.

Copyright © Norm deCarteret
April 16, 2002