Cat-cicle
Tuesday, March 6

Was upstairs writing. Went downstairs to get something to drink and heard a weird sound from where? Weird sounds are usually made by cats doing something they aren't supposed to. Looked around, found Dover, didn't see Nelly. Hmm, I said. Then I heard it again.

An hour earlier, I had opened the front door to let in some fresh air and give the cats a chance to sniff outside. Nelly went out, seemed uninterested, came in. Dover stayed out on the front porch a few minutes to enjoy the sun. Then I herded him back in, figuring Nelly had gone to sleep somewhere inside.

I can only assume she decided to go back out when I wasn't looking, had traversed the iced-over path around the side of the house, and had been out there all that time. No damage done — it's above freezing, and in the sun it's quite warm. Her paws and ears were a little cold, but not bad. She vocalized indignantly, ate many cat treats and is now happily on a warm radiator, but of course, has learned nothing from any of this. She never does.

A week or so ago we had an ice storm that coated everything white, followed by a couple of days of snow. We still have a foot of snow on the ground, and lots of ice from the daytime melting. She's lucky she didn't pull this stunt when it was -7. I wouldn't have opened the door to air the place out at that temperature, but still, we might have had a 17.5 year old cat-cicle if I had. Perhaps this was just her indication that it's time for spring.

Bought some petunia seeds today. It was an act of faith rather than of conviction. It's a British seed company's mix, called Blackcurrant Cream. Yum. Last year I made the mistake of starting only one color petunia for all the pots and nooks and crannies, thinking it would be unifying. Wrong. Boooooooring. So this year it's mixed colors, plus mixed lobelias for the shady pots. I've given up starting impatiens. They probably need a heating mat, and I just don't have a good place for one. So I'll buy them.

Still, even though the pussy willow is getting bigger buds and the birds are flying around fighting over wisps of straw and grass, it's hard to believe I'll ever see bare dirt again. Sometime this week I'll sow the petunias under my grow-lights and hope for the best.

At least I didn't have to sow Nelly.

Take good care of yourselves, my friends