For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Good morning on this very rainy Wednesday! It began raining during the night and really poured down a few times. Now it is just kind of a steady type rain and the temperature has definitely dropped from yesterday, and should continue to drop throughout the day. We topped 80F yesterday and today our high is supposed to be 54F (12C). Quite a difference for sure.
It was very beautiful yesterday, so Muffin wanted to go out on the balcony room again. So, I got everything together and out we went to dig up geraniums to bring inside for the winter. Muffin really enjoyed that part and she helped me decide which geraniums to bring inside. She would sniff around the plants and if she stopped and looked at me, then I would dig up that geranium.

I always like a leafy path in the fall, it is a real country pleasure, this one is in one of our parks.
We ended up with 6 of them, although there is a seventh that Muffin had picked out, so I might dig up that one too. I am not sure I really have room for it though, which is why I did not dig it up yesterday. But Muffin turned out to be a good helper. I am not really sure that she was actually picking out geraniums or not, but it did look that way. And we had fun doing it too.
Muffin went back inside before I did though, since my part took a lot longer and she was getting bored. It is nice having the living room all settled the way it should be. It makes everything much more relaxing. Although there is one thing I want to change, but it might take a while to get that done. It still looks good this way though, but it would be better to move one thing to a different spot.

Along the shore of a small lake in town.
It will make things easier for dusting purposes. And safer too. Now I am working on finishing the bedroom. A nice comfortable bedroom is essential for a good night’s sleep. As for the “cave”, I mean, kitchen, that is going to take a bit longer. I need to find the right kind of table for it so I can get everything set up the way I want.
I would like to get that done soon, but it may take longer. Oh well. But I do like how things are turning out and Muffin seems to like it as well. She especially likes having her “high bed” once again. I put her favorite blanket on top of a tall cabinet in the bedroom and she found that fast! From the window sill it is only a 3 foot (about 1 meter) jump which is easy for her.

The opposite shore of that lake above.
So that is where she sleeps most of the time now, except at night when she sleeps with me. Well, today the pics are from the fall of 2021. Hope you enjoy them. Have a wonderful day and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2023 Steve McLeod.
We had a team meeting to tell everyone about the helicopter that is watching Kat. So we decided to mix up her schedule so they would not know what time she is outside, and they cannot stay out there all day waiting for her. “They must have changed her schedule boss,” said Butch, “this is the second day we missed her.”
“Yeah, but there is no way they could know we are watching,” said Craig, “so it must be something they do on a normal basis. It will not be easy catching that Kat woman, but I will do it. I just need to think of a way.” “She likes spending time with those cats,” said Williams, “if we could catch one of them we could use it as bait maybe.”
“Good thought,” replied Craig, “but not just any cat, it must be that gray cat. She is Steve’s pet and if she is really the ghost of Kat, who was Steve’s wife, then she would do anything to get her back for Steve.” “Good thought boss,” said Bouncer, “but how do we pick up a little cat?” Bouncer was a big, very strong man, but still no match for our Rock.
“We will have to do it when the cats are outside,” said Craig, “do the guns on this chopper work?” “Sure thing boss,” said Butch, “but they are not big, shoots bullets like in our handguns.” “That is all we need,” said Craig, “we will come in fast, but do not kill any of those cats and just concentrate on that gray one. Bouncer, you pull her in through that hole in the floor when we get on top of her.”
“No problem there, boss,” said Bouncer, “but we will have to be quick, those gals have bigger guns than this chopper.” “We will be quick,” said Craig, “now we just need to hit the right day when the cats are outside.” Now, back to us again. “It seems that chopper is around every day now, trying different times to find Kat,” I said at another team meeting, “so Kat will stay indoors for a few days.”
“What a terrible thing,” she said, “and with all this nice weather too.” “Better to be safe than sorry,” said Nelson, “it is obvious this Craig wants you and we will not let that happen.” “Thanks Mr. B, I mean, Mr. N.,” she said, “sorry, but that is what happens hanging around Steve so much.” “Yes, well, please be more careful in the future,” he said, shaking his head.
A couple of days later, Sky, myself and the cats were outside playing together, and we had our 4 bodyguards with us keeping an eye on things carefully. “There they are boss,” said Williams, “except the orange cat is missing.” “I do not care about the orange cat, or any of the others,” said Craig, “I only want that gray cat!”
“She is there alright,” said Williams, “and so are those 4 bodyguards, that is the scary part.” “Not if we hit them fast enough,” said Craig, “so get going Butch, and get ready Bouncer!” They came in low, just over the trees taking us by surprise! They began shooting at us which set off our alarm inside the house, “Code A5, Code A5”!
But before anyone could get outside, the chopper had the cats running for cover, shooting right behind them. Then at the last minute they began shooting toward Muffin and she turned away from the others, running as fast as she could. Then they shot all around her and she stopped, lying flat on the ground and the chopper landed on top of her.
A large hand came out and picked her up and off they went. By that time others were out and began shooting, but I yelled at them to stop! Muffin was gone, and in her place was a package with “Kat” written on it. Catalina checked the box first to make sure it was not a bomb. Then she opened it and gave the note to Kat. It gave her instructions to follow if she wanted to get Muffin back safely.
If she did not follow those instructions, then Muffin would be killed in 4 hours. “You cannot do it Kat,” said Nelson, “they want to kill you, or force you to do something for them.” “Those are two things they cannot do,” said Kat, “and I am responsible for Muffin’s capture, so I will do what they say to get her back. She is more important than me.” “Then we will follow,” I said, “but will keep far enough away.”
“No, they will be watching Steve,” Kat reminded me, “they said not to bring anyone with me or they would kill Muffin.” “They will likely kill Muffin anyway Kat,” said Crystal. “Yes,” agreed Rock, “and there are enough of us to overpower them quickly before they had a chance to do anything.” “What do you say Steve?” asked Nelson.
“I…cannot say anything,” I said, “the rest of you will have to make the decision.” I then went to our bedroom and Sky followed. Meowr.=We not anyone, we cats. Meow.=Yep, we go along, watch what happen. Meowi.=Yep, maybe we can help rescue Muffin. Meowy.=Me go too. “Hmm, that just might work cats,” said Kat smiling…
To Be Continued.
©2023 Steve McLeod.