Happily Ever After

Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running

Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.

High Anxiety

by admin - 16:38 on 26 November 2012

The Fearless Ones have discovered the tumbledown drystone wall that runs beside the track past The Rural Retreat, and like youngsters everywhere they much prefer to walk on top of it rather than on the path.

Of more concern to Matchgirl is that they've also discovered a world on the other side of it, populated by huge oak trees. Pandora in particular was overjoyed. It wasn't long before she stopped chirping and gazing up in wonder and started trying to climb the monsters.

We thought that she had no chance. We were wrong.

After a good run, and with arms and legs stretched out like a squirrel, Pandora just managed to reach the first branch of one of the trees, at least six feet off the ground. Willow, still a little smaller than her sister, couldn't quite match her and had to watch from below as the arboreal acrobat explored the branch, eyed up a few others, then realised that getting down isn't as straightforward as getting up.

When the sound of her chirps and chirrups began to equal the concern in Matchgirl's, I prepared to climb the wall and go to the rescue. Pandora, too impatient to wait, took the quick way down and dropped earthward from the branch, the crash of touchdown masked by Matchgirl's cry of alarm.

The free-falling feline, however, made a perfect landing on all fours and after a frozen moment was capering around again, unconcerned and ready to take on more mighty oaks.

All's well that ends well, but it's just as well that the adventurer didn't climb any higher before deciding to descend. Matchgirl now has something else to add to her list of threats to moggy welfare.

I've no in-tree snaps because Pandora refused to look at me while she climbed. Kittens know when they're up to no good.

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