I have been enjoying time out on the small deck in the mornings, watching the world wake up. Being that I cannot get Magoo-goo to reset his alarm clock (he goes off without fail every morning at 4:00 a.m.) I go out at the time to feed the outdoor cats and check on the damage done by the wildlife the night before. The racoons love to throw the food trays off in the distance once they are emptied. I no longer leave any dry food out overnight, but have found that at 4:00 even the coons are not around.

By the time I am finished, I am wide awake. so I start my coffee and go out on the deck to watch the morning develop. If I sit there long enough, one of the cats will venture over and either lie next to Kota on his blanket, or jump on my lap. I also have a blanket for protection against claws and sometimes even teeth.

This morning, Bentley decided to join me. I know from experience that if I pet him even just a bit, he will become extremely aggressive. I keep my hands completely off of him. He has landed me in Urgent Care in the past “showing” me how much he loves me.

Here he is, enjoying a moment on my lap.

Please don’t let this peaceful moment fool you. If you notice, his claws are dug deeply into my leg. I had my fleece sweatshirt on as it was quite cold at 6:00 a.m. You can see that my arms aren’t even around him and not because i am holding the camera. I know better. His looks are very deceiving, that does not however defray me from loving him any less. We have traveled a very long road together. He gets plenty of attention when I am outside and he comes to me. If I remain standing up and pet him for a bit, he will tolerate that. He might decided to attack my ankles, I always wear shoes and socks. I know from past experiences that open-toed sandals do not protect sensitive toes.

However, it was nice to share this morning moment with him. A good start to the day.

A friend of mine stopped by later to see the progress on the house. Haley has helped me a lot around here to accomplish projects. We always joke that we may not do it the correct way, but it does get done. Her smile when she drove up to see the new paint on the house was a joy to behold. I gave her an outside tour and then told her that this one wall (which is actually the back wall of the carport- was crying out to me to paint a mural on it. I decided to do cats on a fence and call them “My Gatekeepers” since the wall is between two gates. I’ve never done an outside mural- only murals inside so I have to figure out if I use my own paints then put on a finish to seal it  or exterior house paint? I will have to look into that aspect. The mural will take shape next year as we are getting into rainy season now. To me, it is not a painted wall, it is a blank canvas.