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.

Cautious Cats And A Mangled Mower

by admin - 20:35 on 07 May 2013

People will have been grumbling all over Scotland today that the bank holiday's over and, now that they're back at work, the good weather's arrived. I'm not complaining.

Neither are cats. The temporary barricade against the wrecked cat-flap proved no overnight obstacle to determined kittens, but even that slight problem disappeared during a day in which the door stood open for most of it. Just inside the doorway proved a popular snoozing spot for members of The Pride relaxing after patrolling their territory – they can be brave during the day when Mystery Moggies are rarely seen.

Caution overcame them when the lawnmower made its first appearance this year, although after a while The Fearless Ones took turns to observe my activity from the safety of the doorway.

The lawn and the driveway were satisfactorily levelled within an hour but the much wilder plot behind the willow tree proved too much for a mower designed to tame genteel suburban grass. Its snapped handle will have to be replaced or a more heavy-duty cutter purchased. That or the goats for which Matchgirl has long yearned.

So that's two equipment failures in two days. It doesn't bode well that on Friday Son of Seat goes in for his first service since I've owned him...

There was time for a small amount of snappery today, featuring two goldfinches, but as the only time they were together was on the feeder you'll have to take my word that there were two.

Calendar Update: Eilean Dubh 2014 is now available to buy online, but some outrageous postal costs mean we might not sell many outside the UK. And we'll sell none at Waterstone's because its calendar department is not as generous as its book department. The fact that books are free of VAT and calendars aren't makes a big difference.

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