I can’t believe we’re still in January, that another whole week stretches before us. My wall calendar is covered with green X’s, but still a whole week awaits me and my Sharpie.

This weekend I was busy, busy, busy; again, playing at being retired (I’m not retired just yet). I bustled and hustled and wore my feet down from walking and standing. I feel that good kind of fatigue, the kind you get when you can finally check a few things off your list. Like vacuuming my house and even the garage since a live creature still abodes there. Vacuuming might not seem like much of an accomplishment but when you live with three (now four) cats and lots of books and magazines and you haven’t vacuumed in literally months … well, let’s just say I’m quite pleased with myself that I managed to (finally) get that house chore out the of way … for now.

That’s one of the things I don’t like about housework. Nothing stays dust- and dirt-free for long. Especially in a house with three (now four) cats.

Happily I got quite a bit of walking in this weekend. Saturday I had my first real caffeinated coffee since I started working from home in mid-March. A cappuccino, to be exact. I am quite sensitive to caffeine. A little bit goes a very long way. For me, that meant going for an hour-long neighborhood walk at noon and then an amble with my husband in the early evening.

We went to our favorite ambling trail, Timberlane Ravine, where my husband showed me the biggest mouse trap I’d ever seen.

I would not want to meet a mouse big enough for that trap. We’re not entirely sure of the history of this oddity, but my husband recalled a couple of former coworkers who loved to participate in geocaches, or treasure hunts. Apparently, someone built this trap and dragged it out to the park (we don’t know how) for the sole purpose of geocaching. Okay, then.

I’m still enamored with the panorama feature of my iPhone, as you can see by the photos below.

The photo above shows a 180 view of the trail. Below is a 180 view from a bend in the trail. The coppery color of the birch trees, perhaps not well captured in the photos, was a lovely contrast with the dark green of moss, pines, and bush.

As we continued with our amble, Greg demonstrated the patience of a saint as I stopped to take photos of tiny flowers, trillium, and unusual (for me) fungi.

A dandelion daintily pushing through.

A shy violet making an appearance.

• 

• 

• 

• 

We only walked one loop, as it was past sunset and the light was getting dim.

If you look very, very closely, you can see the moon just above the tree tops in the center.

Raji Update: I do believe he and the other kitties are starting to “acclimate” to each other. We’ve been letting him in the house where he runs up and down the hallways and over the counters. Wendy tends to avoid him by leaving whatever room he happens to be in. Maxine will hiss at him and Raji shows deference to the old lady. Junior doesn’t like the young whippersnapper at all. He’s all hiss and growl and posturing. For the most part, Raji defers to Junior as well. At heart, Raji’s a lover, not a fighter. We haven’t had to break up any fights, and when Junior gets really puffed up, I just remind him that he’s still my boy, but now my big boy (Raji’s my little boy).

With our temps being a bit warmer, Raji has discovered our back porch and really likes it there.

He gets a lot of pleasure from watching the birds and squirrels cavort in our backyard. Not surprisingly, while he’s on the back porch, the other three are checking out the garage and the play pen on the side. I’m confident that eventually the four of them will coexist tolerably if not amicably.

Now, wish me luck. I’ve scheduled another vet appointment for Raji for Friday morning. Remember, the last time we tried to take him to the vet was the time when he bit into my hand. So that visit was canceled.

This time I’ve got meds to mellow him out and–most importantly–I’ve been able to close up his big carrier with him in it while he’s eating. It will be an awkward transportation as the carrier is huge feels flimsy (it’s all mesh and fabric). I’ll take along a regular pet carrier along just in case.

I will be so glad when this visit is out of the way.

Thanks for reading! Stay safe. Stay well. Stay as happy as you can.