Surprised Guest

Our watch cat Wallop alerted me to an intruder this morning. Whatever it was had come down the chimney and was now in the wood burning stove. I peeked in, expecting a rat, and there was a very sooty unhappy cactus wren. So I shut the door, woke up Guy and asked for his advice. "Just reach in and grab it," says he. So I open the back door, put the cat in the bathroom, and open the door of the stove just a crack when out it flew. Now that it knew the way out of the box, it wasn't going to wait another second. Unfortunately it headed for the front door, which was still closed, bounced off some blinds, and spotted freedom through the kitchen.  And smacked right into the window over the sink. Ouch, that had to hurt. There it clung to a strainer in the utensil jar and refused to move. So I opened the front door too, and this time when it flew again it was right for Guy's head. Then it ended up behind some bookcases. There is only one other window in the living room without a blind over it, so that's the next spot it smacked into. After 3 or 4 attempts to get through the glass, I slithered behind the recliner, and opened the window, hoping the bird would stay put long enough for me to slide it open. Now that window doesn't have a screen so it perched on the edge, looking at freedom but figuring this was another trick glass pane. Finally it took off out the window.  So I let the cat out, who still thought his prize was in the stove, and continued walking around it for awhile.

Home Again

After the long train ride home on Monday, I was exhausted on Tuesday, so I didn't do much of anything. Today I feel much better, and have been busy ever since the moment I rolled out of bed. I'm at the library now playing blog catch up. I finished the book I was reading on the train, which is Betrayed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast. I can't wait to read the next one in the series.

Me at Pismo Beach, CA