“I am the Cat who walks by himself, and all places are alike to me.” ~ Kipling
As I meandered in my kayak, in the very early morning hours, along the shore of this ancient spring fed lake that I live near, I closed my eyes to listen to the sounds of the birds and the other creatures waking up and coming to life as their new day dawns. I stopped paddling, draping my hands now in the warm water as the kayak continued moving forward - faster than I realized. As I breathe in slowly and deeply, I open my eyes and look over some 15 or 20 feet to the shore, and I am delighted to see a black cat looking right back at me. My day is made! This black cat has white paws and white on his chest and the tip of his tail. You know the type of cat. The cat walks along the shore a bit, not at all timid or alarmed at seeing me. I call softly to him, “Hey kitty cat.” He seems only mildly interested and otherwise preoccupied with something just on the water’s edge. I can’t see, but it’s probably those little minnow fish that hold him captivated. I continue on past him, leaving him to his kitty cat ways and mysterious cat world. But I’m so happy. I saw a cat!
Now, cats are everywhere I’m sure, but I haven’t actually seen one in a while. I don’t currently own a cat – or I should say – a cat does not currently own me, though we did have one for some 15 years. I live down a very long driveway and there is a field on one side of it. Every now and then I have the pleasure of spotting a neighbor’s cat crouching in the grass as I drive past. This is always a lovely surprise for me. While crouching like that, so stealth, a wild look in his eyes, I can’t help but wonder what he is thinking. Then he suddenly turns and starts to walk in the other direction in spurts of sorts. Three quick steps – then stops and looks over his shoulder at me – then three more steps, etc. I’m reminded of a movie where a girl is being followed and walks quickly down the dark street looking over her shoulder and might stop and scream at any time. The cat disappears into the taller grass.
Back to my adventure, there’s more. As I round the bend in the cove, still maybe 10 to 15 feet off shore, I spot a crane standing in the water blending in with the tall reeds. I continue on slowly and the crane seems to be matching my pace, high stepping through the water along the shore with one eye on me. Stunning! Well, around the next bend the reeds are very thick, probably extending out into the water 20 feet. There is a wide cleared area though where you can come up onto shore. This is someone’s beach and there is a dock extending out into the water and a ground deck on the shore. I paddle in to explore a little and, I can’t believe my eyes when I spot another cat looking at me from the deck on shore. This cat seems very startled by my appearance but I am thrilled to see him. He is a grey stripped tiger cat, and reminds me of the cat we had for 15 years. This cat seems more so like the cat in the field – uptight and wild eyed - than the other more relaxed Sylvester cat I just saw in the other cove. He just sort of watches me from a safe distance as I, again, say “good morning kitty cat.” It seems he is about to run, so I slowly move away leaving him in peace.
As I meandered in my kayak, in the very early morning hours, along the shore of this ancient spring fed lake that I live near, I closed my eyes to listen to the sounds of the birds and the other creatures waking up and coming to life as their new day dawns. I stopped paddling, draping my hands now in the warm water as the kayak continued moving forward - faster than I realized. As I breathe in slowly and deeply, I open my eyes and look over some 15 or 20 feet to the shore, and I am delighted to see a black cat looking right back at me. My day is made! This black cat has white paws and white on his chest and the tip of his tail. You know the type of cat. The cat walks along the shore a bit, not at all timid or alarmed at seeing me. I call softly to him, “Hey kitty cat.” He seems only mildly interested and otherwise preoccupied with something just on the water’s edge. I can’t see, but it’s probably those little minnow fish that hold him captivated. I continue on past him, leaving him to his kitty cat ways and mysterious cat world. But I’m so happy. I saw a cat!
Now, cats are everywhere I’m sure, but I haven’t actually seen one in a while. I don’t currently own a cat – or I should say – a cat does not currently own me, though we did have one for some 15 years. I live down a very long driveway and there is a field on one side of it. Every now and then I have the pleasure of spotting a neighbor’s cat crouching in the grass as I drive past. This is always a lovely surprise for me. While crouching like that, so stealth, a wild look in his eyes, I can’t help but wonder what he is thinking. Then he suddenly turns and starts to walk in the other direction in spurts of sorts. Three quick steps – then stops and looks over his shoulder at me – then three more steps, etc. I’m reminded of a movie where a girl is being followed and walks quickly down the dark street looking over her shoulder and might stop and scream at any time. The cat disappears into the taller grass.
Back to my adventure, there’s more. As I round the bend in the cove, still maybe 10 to 15 feet off shore, I spot a crane standing in the water blending in with the tall reeds. I continue on slowly and the crane seems to be matching my pace, high stepping through the water along the shore with one eye on me. Stunning! Well, around the next bend the reeds are very thick, probably extending out into the water 20 feet. There is a wide cleared area though where you can come up onto shore. This is someone’s beach and there is a dock extending out into the water and a ground deck on the shore. I paddle in to explore a little and, I can’t believe my eyes when I spot another cat looking at me from the deck on shore. This cat seems very startled by my appearance but I am thrilled to see him. He is a grey stripped tiger cat, and reminds me of the cat we had for 15 years. This cat seems more so like the cat in the field – uptight and wild eyed - than the other more relaxed Sylvester cat I just saw in the other cove. He just sort of watches me from a safe distance as I, again, say “good morning kitty cat.” It seems he is about to run, so I slowly move away leaving him in peace.
As it comes time to head back, I feel so fortunate and am glad to have had my encounters with 2 cats (and a crane!) What a great way to start the day. I am happy, refreshed, renewed and ready for the day ahead. And although I can’t wait for my morning kayaking tomorrow, I will savor my day today.
Are you sure the bird you saw was a crane? Cranes are pretty rare in the eastern part of the country (I just verified that in one of our many bird books). More likely it was a heron. Probably a Great Blue Heron.
ReplyDeleteBon -- you know, I thought it was a blue heron actually, but I heard 2 other people refer to it as a crane. But to hear you say it is a blue heron - I think that must be right. I'll need to look this up in my bird book to confirm - Roger Tory Peterson's field guide on Eastern Birds. (He's from CT you know and died a few years back). Thx for the comment! I am thrilled someone is reading my blog!
ReplyDeletesheri