"Happiness" is relative, naturally. Here are a few examples of happiness slapping us silly these past two weeks.
- The ability to hunt freely an infinite supply of birds and rodents. Of course, this occupies the majority of my waking hours outside. And when I do decide to come in—sometimes after dark--the handlers won’t let me in until they have checked for any live treats that may be caught between my teeth. Only once did I manage to get in the door with one. Instead of the accolades that I expected to receive, there was much cursing and broom swatting.
- Collecting manure. This one has to be explained to me, because I just don’t get it at all. For the past two weekends the handlers have been working on prepping the vegetable garden. The soil in these parts is incredibly dense (the owner of the olive grove next door has used this same soil to make his own bricks). The previous owners had a horse that grazed at the back end of the property--a cool, grassy expanse that slopes down to a stream. It’s actually a wonderful place with willows that are leafing out. To get down there is quite a haul. I voice my discontent, but feel it is my duty to accompany the handlers. I am easily distracted, though, when my nose twitches at the scent of a rabbit. When I do catch up to Female Handler (FH), I find her blissfully squatting, picking up dried horse manure and putting it in a large Tata bag (a supermarket here in Uruguay) because Male Handler (MH) hasn’t yet provided her a wheelbarrow (he is on week 3 of wheelbarrow quality and cost comparison). And she even hums while she does this … until she handles a piece that is not so dried.
- Wireless. Even I as a feline know the joy this has brought to the Handlers. They finally got the right adaptors and service to make the house up on a hill seemingly far, far away from “civilization”, overlooking vineyards, olive groves, soy fields, and their own almond orchard…wireless. Thank you, Motorola and Canopy, for making this possible. FH’s longtime childhood friend, Shawn, video skyped FH on her Ipad on Friday (obviously an Ipad 2). FH promised to give her a tour of the house on their next chat.
- Good Feng Shui. You may wonder what felines know about good Feng Shui. We know considerably more than humans. Felines will hone in on the comfort spots of a home faster than an egret can pick a tick off a water buffalo.
When we moved in less than a month ago, we couldn’t see the front door. It was hidden by an overgrown jasmine vine and two nests. I took care of the nest inhabitants…so now it was time for MH to get after the vine such that I could actually use the front door. He attacked it this past week by clipping it back and weaving the stems around the crossbeam of the front porch. Given that we are only in the early stages of spring, it’ll bounce back quickly.
- Sharp Clippers. It took 3 weeks of evaluation, but finally MH bought a pair of grass clippers this week. He’s so thrilled with his purchase that he’s currently attending to the large tufts of grass that dot the property, delaying the inevitable call to Fabian to bring in his tractor. If MH were to trim the whole 12 acres himself, I expect he would still be clipping come Thanksgiving.
More spring pictures…
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