I haven't seen any of the raccoons for a while now. Not sure exactly what happened. At one point I thought maybe they were out there but hiding from me, hiding out in the shadows until I left. When I would go out there to put out food, I just had that feeling that I wasn't alone, that something else was out there with me, watching me. It didn't seem like a nefarious entity, just some creature waiting for me to leave so it could grab the 'loot'. As I put the food down and turned to go back inside, I sometimes thought I saw movement in the shadows...
I had a lot going on at the time in my personal life. It was a difficult and trying time, a time when I really didn't feel like writing, not that there was anything much to write anyhow - other than to list the creatures I didn't see. At the end of May, I began a project to clear the small 'trees' and underbrush that had taken over parts of the backyard in the years since I had been unable to work out there. Initially, I worked for some 4 to 5 hours a day, trying to get as much done as possible before the heat got turned up. Many days during that time I fell asleep in the early evening and slept soundly until the following morning, oblivious to the goings on in the backyard.
Any food I put out there was always gone by morning, but it was impossible to say who actually ate it. By that time I hadn't seen a raccoon in ages, so at some point I stopped putting food out at all. Out there as I was clearing brush each day, I was very much aware of the risk of accidentally finding Mr Copperhead. I didn't want to leave food out at night to attract rats or mice from the forest. I didn't want to encourage Mr Copperhead's presence in my garden by providing him with ready-made meals. So seeing no raccoons around, I stopped putting out food. Perhaps this might also help to bring them (or whoever) out of the shadows...
But still there were no raccoons in the backyard, ever. None that I could see, at least. A couple weeks went by. No change. Then Saturday just before sundown I put a container of food out on the patio. For the past week or so, we've been having these positively unbelievable, end-of-the-world variety Tstorms complete with thunder and lightening and torrential showers that go on and on for hours, days even. It's like it never ends. Even as I walked out to set the container of leftovers out, I felt light rain pelting my face.
Realizing this was the calm before the storm, I set the dish far up under the patio table in hopes the coming rain would not wash it all away before any creature could find it. Within minutes after I came back inside, the sky opened, sheets of rain fell, and the light show was on once more. The storm continued throughout the night and into the early morning. I slept restlessly that night, waking every few hours and always to the endless rumble of air split by electrical currents. It was sunrise before the thunder finally stopped (for the moment). I doubted that any creature would have come out in that 10hr storm to eat the food I had left. I was, therefore, surprised to find that the food was gone by morning.
By 10AM Sunday morning thunder could be heard rumbling in the distance once more. The storms, the thunder, the rain all continued all day Sunday. In the mid to late afternoon I took a nap. I love to sleep on a rainy, lazy day. When I awoke, it was early evening but still light out. I thought of my cat who had been missing for a week and headed to the patio door to call him once more, something I had been doing relentlessly since he left.
As I approached the [glass paneled] door, I could see my other cat Ms Kitty up close against the door facing, only the back of her grey striped coat visible through the glass. I rushed over to let her in, but as I drew nearer I suddenly realized OMG it was not Ms Kitty at all. It was Desi! The grey striped fur on her back had at a distance mimicked that of my brown tabby perfectly (she looks grey, but is officially 'brown' because the trim on her abdomen and other discreet areas is a light cream color not gray.).
I could not BE-LIEVE it! It was broad daylight, and there stood Desi just outside the patio door. Where had she been all this time, and why had she shown up now, I wondered. Not wanting to risk 'loosing' her before I could feed her, I opened the door a few inches and spoke to her. Then as I went to get a bit of cat food for her, I left the door slightly ajar so that I could continue talking to her. I was just so afraid she would leave while I was scooping the food, thinking I had gone away.
While I was getting the food, she stood with her nose in the crack I had left in the door. It seemed as though she was breathing in all of the odors of the house in an attempt to better understand it. When I returned and stepped out onto the patio, she ran momentarily into the hedges maybe a car length away. I put the food on the patio floor and turned to see that she had already come out from the hedges and was standing just a few feet away looking at me and clearly wanting to come back. Gently I spoke to her, "It's ok, Desi. Come on. It's ok."
It took only a few words of encouragement and she was back on the patio with me. I was just SO happy to see her again, especially to see her in daylight this way and to realize that she had taken the risk to come all the way up to the house this way in the light. I didn't want to go back inside. I didn't want to miss one moment with her. Luckily, I had left my little garden buddy (seat) right there on the patio. It was awfully close though, and I couldn't move it farther away because of the outdoor rug. I wasn't sure she would be comfortable with me sitting that close, so close my feet were almost touching her food. I spoke to her as I slowly lowered myself onto the seat.
She was ok with it, so there we were, Desi eating kibble on the patio in daylight, and me sitting right up close beside her on my little garden buddy. I was almost childlike in my delight, almost 5 again, although I could not help reflecting on the irony of loosing my cat and now finding my long lost raccoon. As I sat there talking to Desi, I noticed how very small she looked - and thin, very thin. Her hip bones jutted out in angular contrast to her soft fur. I felt so sorry for her and so confused as to why she hadn't been back sooner - or had we just been on completely different schedules just never meeting up in the same place at the same time? At least she was here now, and I was going to sit here with her to make sure she got as much food as she needed.
Then at the back of the yard, back near the forest edge, I heard a loud wailing sound, low at 1st but growing louder with each cry. Desi heard it, too. As the sound drew closer, Desi became alarmed and ran for cover in the nearby shrubbery...
...unfortunately, Desi did not return, at least not while I was there or even before dark. Something else, something of equal or greater importance, came up at this same time, and I had to leave, so I didn't see her again that night. While I was out, I picked up some little cakes for her, hoping she will return again tonight and every night, not only because I enjoy seeing her but also because I really need to get her fatten up again.
Heidi Chronicles: Question to All Readers
It was clear that our time apart had not effected our friendship at all. Desi's memory of me had remained as sharp as had mine of her. It was as though we had never been apart. I was amazed at how willingly she came when called and how undaunted she was about having me sit so close to her as she ate. They are, after all, at a disadvantage when they lower their head to the ground to eat, but she seemed to know that I was not there to harm her. There in the daylight for that brief time before the wailing sound drove her away, she had reminded me of any, 'ordinary' pet dog, tail-wagging (not really but it seemed that way) as she came to me and ate.
I sure hope she will be back tonight. I do so want to get her back up to 'fighting' weight. I don't understand why I haven't seen her before now, but given how friendly & comfortable she is around me, I know she could not be the presence I felt lurking in the shadows at night and waiting for food. She would have recognized me and come out from hiding had it been her. Could this other presence be keeping her from coming around? Could it be another raccoon, perhaps one stronger than herself? Had the lengthy storm Saturday night kept the other one away thus giving Desi a chance to come by and eat the leftovers I had put out there under the patio table that night? And had that food Saturday night been the impetus that brought her back last evening before dark in search of more?
Oh dear, mixed feelings on this report.
Wonder what the wailing could be? Whatever it is, Desi is smart enough to avoid it. Perhaps Desi is just the size of a woodland raccoon who doesn't eat kibble every night? ;)
Hope to hear more, both of desi and TH cat, soon.
xox
Sitting here on the edge of my chair. Like Amanda, I am thrilled Desi is back....but reading so much into the "daylight" visit...the wailing sound...and the very thin Desi. Please be careful Cheryl.
Debbie
O dear, Debbie - the wailing sound was the sound of Cocoa her kitty coming back after being gone for a week.
Hate to spoil the suspense Cheryl, but I can't have Debbie going around worrying all day.
xox
OH Thank you!!!! I was so worried!
;)
Wonderful news all around today!
Tonight around 8PMish I headed for the patio door hoping to find Desi standing there waiting for me as she was the night before. Unfortunately, this time I was to meet with disappointment. This time the patio would be empty of wildlife. This time Desi would not be there waiting for me. Now what?
As I stood there for the moment reflecting on things, it occurred to me that last night may have been but a very brief oasis in a long desert and that Desi and I might now return to days, weeks, months even of failing to meet up for whatever reason. The thought made me sad.
I stood there for another moment or two, and for some reason opened the door to look out, perhaps hoping to see little Desi out there waiting, but she was no where to be seen. I closed the door and was about to walk away when all of a sudden Desi came running to the door. Keyed by the opening of the door, she had come out from the nearby shrubs where she had been hiding and had run over to the door in hopes of receiving dinner.
In an instant my mood did a 180. I was so elated now to see that she had returned around the same time of day and had waited near the door for some sign of my return. This was great news, as it meant we now had an agreement of sorts as to when and how we would meet each day.
I left the door slightly ajar for a minute or two as I talked to Desi and she danced on hind legs in front of the opening no doubt excited to see me and eager to make sure I saw her, too. This time I pulled the door shut for the few minutes it took to grab a scoop of cat food and one of the oatmeal creme pies I had picked up for her last night (on sale) when I ran out for another bag of cat food (for Cocoa my returning and formerly missing cat).
Again I sat beside her on the garden buddy seat while she ate. She loved the oatmeal creme 'pie' and I managed to get the one pic (below) this time before my camera flashed the 'memory full' message. She was looking up at me when I squeezed the button, but as you can see she dropped her head to eat before the shutter closed. Argh! It was daylight out but extremely overcast and not too long before sundown, which is why it looks so dark in the pic. It looks all soggy because, well, it has rained night and day for at least a week now. Oh, and that is only a level scoop of food. It just looks huge because she is so small.
I am so very glad that little Desi is back. Do you think she has a kit or 2 holed up somewhere & that is why she's so thin. Please give her an eggand a gental pat on her head from Auntie Sheri !
Oh so so happy to see this picture and read more. She is terribly thin, and yes, I hope it is due to kits and
being a tired new mom.
Debbie
Awww. So happy for you Cheryl. My mood is lifted too. Warm happy thoughts heading your way and to the penumbras beyond your shrubbery.
xox
Sheri,
Thanks for the reminder. Earlier I forgot to mention that I did get a chance to see that Desi does have swollen mammary glands indicative of a lactating mom. I haven't seen any sign of the actual kit(s) yet, but based on the mammary situation suspect there is one (or maybe 2) hidden somewhere. With any luck perhaps we will get the chance to see the kit(s) soon.
I do think the presence of kits is a major contributing factor in her gauntness. One of the things I learned from my time with the Heidi group is just how much energy lactating requires of them, how hungry they are during this time, and how incredibly much they need to eat to maintain their weight (and even to keep the milk flowing). I'm sure glad Desi came to me when she did and before her lack of nutrition forced a shutdown of milk production.
From what I've read, raccoons with kits need to walk some 5mi a night in search of food (whereas they only need to do 1mi/day w/o kits), but a new mom may fear leaving her kits for that long. It's a double edged sword. I also think it's quite possible that, with everything that was going on last summer, Desi may not have received adequate instruction on finding food in the forest before being cut off from her mom. She will likely figure it out in time but is probably struggling now. Yet a 3rd factor effecting her weight in my opinion is the loss of Heidi as a mentor (especially when their do not seem to be any other, older females around for guidance). I think Heidi probably had a lot to do with locating food sources for the group, whether intentionally or just because they knew to follow her lead to find food. I think all of these things together have contributed to the situation we see now with Desi being so thin.
eggs n gud stuf for Desi and da baby
So glad that you & Desi are there for each other! Sounds like Desi needs a helping hand, for all the reasons you listed above...
Sheri,
Thanks for the idea RE eggs. I have almost 2dz to use up, so can spare a few. Keep after me about that. I saw your 1st post but forgot to give her one tonight. Maybe tomorrow. (Don't let me forget, please.)
Hi Liz,
I think you are right. She & can help each other.
Debbie,
Sorry to have scared you. Didn't mean to. I was just having one heck of a time finding a place to divide the 2 stories this time, raccoon story vs cat story. As Amanda said the wailing sound was just Cocoa on his way home right smack in the middle of (actually the beginning of) my visit with Desi. He was coming through the last trek of the forest screaming loudly all the way. I'm sure he knew I was out there to hear him. He just wanted to make a grand entrance for his homecoming.
As to the daylight visits, that surprised me, too, at 1st, but it's really just the same old reason the raccoons have been coming around in daylight in summer for years now. Remember all those video clips I took in the past, requiring daylight? Just as most humans wake up hungry for breakfast, so it is with the raccoons - especially those lactating moms, their bodies working overtime to make milk and needing all the nourishment they can get.
The rest of the year it is usually dark by 6-7PM, but by mid summer it doesn't get dark until 9-9:30PM, and that's just too long to wait around in the edge of the forest for breakfast when you are a hungry and busy mom. Thus, driven by hunger and circumstances, they tend to venture out before dark in search of something to hold them over. Sadly, I'm guessing this unfortunate set of circumstances probably gets a lot of raccoons in trouble each year, as many people equate this behavior with rabies. Don't forget, that 1st day Heidi came down the fence in front of me (starting all of this), it was in broad daylight this same time of day, & she, too, was a starving mom out looking for food.
As to the presence I had sensed out there, I don't 'feel' that anymore. Don't know it might have been. I'm guessing either Desi or another raccoon, maybe Captain. It did not feel like a threatening presence, probably just some raccoon or maybe an opossum watching me and hoping I would put some food out and leave. Back then there was some very high brush in certain areas around the perimeter of the backyard, the perfect place for critters to hide out comfortably and watch. I've cut all of that stuff down to the ground now (over the past month or so).
Amanda,
Thanks for letting Debbie and everyone know about the wailing sounds. I wrote you a post about all of that but didn't send it yet. Will try to send tonight.
I was a little late tonight. Got there closer to sundown. This time I opened the back door and called Desi. When she didn't show right away, I closed the door again but stood there. It was then that she came running up to the patio. I'm guessing she didn't feel comfortable coming out while being watched - since it might be someone else at the door or a dog might run out, etc.
Tonight I put her food about 1ft away to give her more space. She is awfully brave to come up and eat beside a potential predator such as me and trust me as she has. I just thought a little more space might help her be more comfortable. I resisted the urge to give her a cookie tonight. Given her condition (thin) and circumstances (lactating), I decided she really needs all the nourishment she can get right now. There will always be time for the occasional sweet treat later. An egg would have been a perfect and very appropriate treat for tonight, but I forgot. Maybe tomorrow. I can also offer her some watermelon one night, as that is yummy and also has a lot of good stuff in it.
Comforting to know she is back looking for you. It sounds as though the irrational exuberance of youth has given way to a mother's instincts and self preservation. All told, this is the perfect continuation of the Heidi Chronicles.
It reminds me of a television drama. In last season's cliffhanger finale, Desi and friends shrink under pressure and harassment from the bullies and our heroine (Cheryl) makes a gut wrenching decision to pull back to avoid civil war. The sorrow and suspense of that last episode left us hanging on, desperate to find out what would come of our pitiful band in the next episode, next season.
And here we are filled with suspense and the spectre of villains lurking in the dark and our heroine reunited with the darling newcomer from last season.
The question was whether to continue to call the show the Heidi Chronicles. I suppose every sequel refers to the original. if for instance you have watched past television episodes, there is the show 's name, the season number, episode number, and the new episode's title. I didn't start watching this show the first season! But I did go back and read a lot of the original threads. I'm glad I had that time on my hands when I was out of work with my hand injury. :)
I remain hopeful for Desi.
Just now, I can't remember how Desi got her name. It is short for the word "desiderata", title of a favorite writing, the plural of which is the Latin "desideratum" (from neuter past participle of the Latin verb "desiderare", to desire), "something considered necessary or highly desirable."
This message was edited Jul 3, 2013 6:31 AM
despirado
Amanda,
While I love your idea and wish I had thought of it, Sheri is right about this one. Desi is short for Desperado. I named her that when she was such a free-spirited, fun-loving kit. We actually had a Desperado already some years back, but at the time I had forgotten about that.
Love the TV series analogy (or book series). :-)
Tonight it was (and still is) raining. I wasn't kidding when I told you we have been having Tstorms almost 24/7 for a couple of weeks now - and man is this wet, yucky, soggy mess getting really old now.
I opened the door a few inches and called out, "Desi, Desi," closing the door again. Before I could even get a scoop of food, Desi came running to the patio door and stood looking in at me. This time I remembered to take an egg out with me. I sat with her a few minutes in the rain, before coming back inside (mostly because the mosquitoes were getting the best of me).
Desi loved the egg. Thanks for reminding me about that, Sheri! I put the egg on the back side of her kibble. At 1st she ate a few bits of cat food. Then she stretched her head past the kibble to sniff the egg, and her face immediately said, "Oh, yeah!" She took the egg in her mouth, put it down gently in front of her, and then used her teeth to crack the shell. She lifted off one end of the egg like a perfect coddled egg and then proceeded to pull the yummy contents out. She did not stop until she had consumed every last drop of the goodness inside, leaving behind a totally clean, dry shell.
I was tempted to get her a 2nd egg, but then I realized there will always be tomorrow - and the day after that and the day after that and...
Oh So happy you remembered the egg! Great protein for a nursing new mom! Will help her and the kits.
The rain has been horrible here also. They had a flood the next town over (Lockport) and 7.2 million in damage
last Friday.
My brother in NC has had his fill of rain also.
"I realized there will always be tomorrow - and the day after that and the day after that and..."
Now, that's a happy thought! :-)
I am so very elated that Desi is coming regularly & loved her egg. Bet she'll gobble down a watermelon too, just like her g'ma Heidi
Liz,
When I said, "...there will always be tomorrow..." I clearly hadn't considered that tomorrow would be the 4th, that day of joy & celebration for all Americans - and terror for all pets (except Widget who is oblivious to the whole thing).
Sheri,
Thanks for the reminder.
I am praying for peace & calm within all the animals little hearts & spirits tonite in forests and homes.
The 4th is a huge fireworks night in my community, this despite rules forbidding it. There is a fireworks stand (seller) down the street a short distance, and people all around my community shoot off copious, powerful fireworks each year for days surrounding the 4th. Some of there work even resembles professional displays at times. I'm guessing this is when they are setting off various 'cannons'. I know I periodically hear what sounds like shotgun blasts amidst the backdrop of near constant 'machine-gun' fire. Even the family just next door sets off fireworks each year, as does the family across the street. One year I even found a spent cannon on my roof the day after.
This year the fireworks officially started Wed evening and tonight (the 4th) had already been going strong for hours (in daylight) even before it was time to feed Desi. When the appointed time arrived, I was not optimistic that Desi would even be out there. Nonetheless, I opened the door, called her name, and then closed it once more. I stood there for a few minutes looking out the patio door. No Desi.
I'm not sure what I was doing after that, just daydreaming, I guess. Just procrastination, which is good because I would otherwise have left the room, since Desi, it seemed, was not coming. Then all of a sudden and to my great surprise, I looked up and caught a glimpse of the grey hair on Desi's rounded back. I did a double take. No, not a cat. Definitely Desi. "Desi!" I cried out in joy.
Hearing me and not quite knowing what to do, Desi stood upright on her hind legs and danced around for a few minutes there at the door. I spoke to her again from across the room, telling her I would be right there, as I set about gathering kibble and an egg.
On this night Desi and I seemed to make a small but meaningful step forward in our relationship, for as I was pouring the kibble from the scoop, Desi was already there and starting to eat. She was still there as I reached to put the egg down. Yes, this was a noteworthy accomplishment, her coming to the food even as I was still there up close to it and my hands were still right there beside and in front of her.
Tonight Desi was incredibly and unbelievably brave, as she sat there eating with 'bombs bursting in air' all around us. What was especially incredible was that she held her ground even when my next door neighbor would set off cannons which at times even caused me to jump. My patio is close to the property line near his property, and he was outside setting off fireworks on the side of his yard closest to my property line. Fireworks were going off all around the neighborhood, and on all sides of us in the distance, but my neighbor or his kid was periodically setting off 'cannons' (sounded like shotgun blasts) just over the fence from us, just maybe 2 to 3 car lengths away, and yet Desi stayed.
I talked to her almost constantly throughout the event, and it seemed to help a lot. She seemed to be just beginning to trust me when I would reassure her about other events, like the fireworks. I just kept saying, "good girl" and "it's ok," that sort of thing.
I had placed her food up under the patio table in hopes of giving her more of a sense of safety. She sat upright under there a good bit while eating and was very cute sitting that way, her mammary glands quite visible for all to see as she sat picking up kibble with her hands as though eating nuts at a cocktail party.
Tonight she didn't show an interest in her egg despite having loved the one last night. It might have been the DEET on my hands (mosquitoes are awful out there) when I put it down or perhaps because, unlike last night, this time I didn't pre-crack the egg for her. She did such an awesome job of cracking the egg last night, that I felt my efforts in pre-cracking it had only caused problems by throwing her aim off, so this time I left the egg un-cracked, but without the crack, she may not have been able to smell the yummy stuff inside.
She had been eating for a while when I realized I had forgotten the watermelon 'bowl' that I had saved for her earlier in the day. Amidst the hail of gunfire, I stood up, hoping against hope that all this simultaneous activity would not frighten her away. As I rose from my seat, Desi quickly scampered out from under the table and around behind a potted plant. 1/2 up, 1/2 down, I froze in mid stance, and quickly began talking to her, "Come back, sweetie. It's ok. Come on." Amazingly, she listened and returned, almost as though she understood my very words.
I went inside and returned with the watermelon. It was the outer remains of a melon which, quite frankly, hadn't been all that flavorful or sweet even at its center. While inside I had sprinkled a teaspoon of sugar over it, just to sweeten the pot, so to speak. In the past, Desi had displayed a luke-warm reaction at best to watermelon, but this time, whether it was the melon or the sugar, she was spellbound, forgetting everything else on her plate and gobbling watermelon with near abandon. For a while there she seemed so engrossed in that melon that even the relentless hail of bullets and cannons didn't seem to phase her. It was like she was off in a place all her own. :-)
When I left she was still eating watermelon and had the egg and a handful of kibble on her plate. All I know is she was still eating, and later when I checked back everything was gone but the shell. (While I was setting that watermelon down earlier, I had taken advantage of the opportunity to rap the egg gently on the cement cracking it to let all that wonderful eggy smell out.)
Sheri,
What a sweet and thoughtful prayer. I hope it will be heard.
When I said (in my post above) that little Desi was incredibly brave, I really did mean every word of it. I can't even get my cats to give up their hiding places tonight to come in for dinner, but that's the norm for them on Independence Day. When the revelry is finally over for the night, and the humans go inside once more, they will come home to eat, but they are not about to walk across the lawn in that hail of 'bullets' in the mean time.
How courageous it was for Desi to chance all of that scary noise and the smell of humans just beyond the fence. How brave of her to come out in daylight even and once again to sit alone beside a predator to eat, even with all that non-stop, background noise. She really is quite unusual that Desi. Only a very few raccoon such as Heidi & Dennis & Bast after her injury were ever willing to hang out alone with me. There is, after all, safety in numbers.
I'm so glad she felt safe enough to come to you. I really was prayin for over an hour and then again before I went to bed.
Even my Pookie (min Poodle) who is terrified of those boomers stayed right beside me in the recliner. The cats were cool too resting in each of their chosen thrones. Harmony has her a little nest made on the couch and there she stayed.
I was rather impressed yet not really surprised. After all it is written that you will be given the desires of your heart when you love & serve the Lord
Sheri the whisperer
Sounds blissful there, Sheri,
Glad to hear your bunch did well with the fireworks.
:)
xox
I was offline and on vacation and was So! hoping and praying that everything would be all right! Happy to see that it is☺
Hi June,
Hope you had a great vacation. You came back at a good time. We are waiting and hoping to see the kit(s).
Yesterday I made a breakthrough in my knowledge of raccoons. I have no idea if this is known to the 'experts', but I've never seen it mentioned anywhere - at least not that I can recall. Anyhow, I now know for certain that raccoons DO see in color. As you probably know, scientists insist that many animals (including, I think, dogs) see only in black and white (and shades of gray) not in color. Raccoons, however, definitely see in color!
Some of you made this assertion some years back, when I kept mentioning how much the kits back then seemed to love the blue dog (plush toy). I had given them a number of plush toys, but that blue dog seemed to get lots of play. It seemed like there may have been other blue or partly blue toys out there at the time which also seemed quite popular, leading some of you to believe the raccoons could see blue - and were apparently quite fond of or drawn to that color (for toys, at least). While I could see the argument, at the time I was not totally convinced that this was not just coincidence.
Last night I gave Desi a container of watermelon chunks, having decided it would be better to give her a decent sized serving of melon chunks each day until it was gone, rather than give her the whole melon rind/remains at once. The benefits seemed many: less waste, more 'melon' days, and less risk of gorging on melon and finding herself too full of water to eat the much needed cat food (before some other creature could eat it for her). Desi was visibly excited to receive the melon. She sat holding eat chunk between her two hands and scarfing it down with a look on her face not unlike that blissful look Heidi used to get when eating watermelon.
It just happened that the nearby crepe myrtle, it's branches draping over the patio on that side, was in full bloom at the time and had begun dropping its perfectly watermelon-colored petals all over the area. One such small petal roughly the size of a dime lay beside the dish from which she was eating the watermelon. The dish was nearly bare when Desi spied the petal lying there. The petal was convex and even to my eyes was a perfect color match for the melon. Desi reached past the dish to pick up the petal momentarily. She raised it maybe 2 inches off the floor, fingering it lightly, before dropping it once more in favor of the last piece of melon from the dish.
I had been almost in a daze when suddenly a bell went off in my head and I realized, OMG, I had just witnessed something important. Desi had seen that petal sitting beside the dish and had believed it was a piece of melon. She had picked it up for her next piece of fruit and had dropped it upon realizing she had been duped by the similarity of its color. She had dropped it and quickly picked up the actual melon to continue eating.
If you have ever seen my patio, then you know there were other items all around her and her dish. There always are bits of flotsam out there: fallen leaves, twigs, etc, and today even, I'm unhappy to say, a pile of feathers and other bird remains left by Ms Kitty. When eating her food, Desi is never seen reaching for any of those items by mistake. She only reached for that one waterelon-hued petal. It was an extreme anomaly. She had reached for that particular object because she had believed it to be a piece of watermelon, and she had made that mistake because of the extreme color match. I could clearly see how perfectly that petal matched the color of the melon, and SO HAD SHE.
Oh how amazing! Cheryl, I really really do hope that you write a book, or even small pamphlate ?? of highlights. You have learned so much over the years...valuable information that many would be excited to know!!
Sheri
Yes! Write that (or those) book/s!! That is so neat!