by “Like a wren in a willow wood
Flies so high and sings so good”
On my way to the office last week I took the long way around, down the lane and I heard a wren. It wasn’t in a willow wood. It was sitting on an elm limb, so it wasn’t flying, but it did sing good. It’s not often we see wrens around SA. I hear them from time to time but seldom see them. They are one of my favorites.
Sydney is the official shop cat now. Since it was built the cats have spent the night and inclement days in the shop. There had been instances of one or more of them spraying where they oughtin to spray and one evening last fall I stepped out of the shop where I had been working and found when I came back that one had urinated on my work bench. I expressed my disappointment to Joyce and she moved them out. She set up shelters for them in the backyard. I even built a wooden box to put in one of the plastic dog houses to make them snuggier. Several weeks ago Joyce was worried about Sydney because she seemed to avoid the other cats. She was concerned that Sydney didn’t get to stay in one of the cat boxes when it was cold so I told her I didn’t mind if Sydney were allowed to stay in the shop. She had wanted in the shop on occasion, the only one of the cats that did after getting used to being fed at the house, and I had let her in. She never stayed long because there was no food. Joyce fixed up a comfy place for her to sleep and feeds her down there so now she spends her nights in the shop looking after things and comes and goes as one of us goes in and out.
Yesterday I spread another load of granite in spite of the wind. I even managed a few other chores around the place but I was glad to get in out of the wind when I was finished. Joyce ventured out just to tend her flock. We had one glorious day of warm sunshine and light winds last week but otherwise it was generally unpleasant. Today looks like it might be pretty this afternoon. Maybe I’ll get out and rake twigs in the backyard, knowing, of course, that I’ll get to do it again the next time it is pleasant enough to work outside.