Garden Girl

In my file drawer is a folder labeled "Pets," in which resides all adoption paperwork and vet records for one Millennium Joy (nee Punky Brewster in her foster days). On one form, it is noted that "kitten likes to try to escape outside," and in the fifteen-plus years I've known her, this hasn't changed. Millie loves to explore the back yard, and has the misfortune of having a pretty paranoid mama who doesn't let her go outside very often, and certainly not without supervision.

When she was a younger cat, this was for good reason--she wanted to explore ALL the yards, not just our own. This often ended up with me chasing down a pouting feline and dragging her--howling all the way--back into the house.

These days, she seems pretty content to sniff her way around Mom's many plants and flowers. I always follow her around, worrying about snakes (we do have rattlers in this area) and her eating a plant that is toxic to cats. Mostly she's just content to sniff every single object and prowl like a tiny tigress on the hunt. I'm content to take pictures of her with my phone and ever-ready to snatch her up should danger present itself.

Today, I wanted to sit on the patio and read, but figured first I'd let Millie have a long-overdue exploration. Mom has been busy in the garden and it is alive with bees, lizards and birds. I put my book down on the love seat, and followed her around for a few minutes.

After about ten minutes, Millie decided to have a little rest. She stretched out on a shaded part of the patio, and, figuring I'd get up if I saw her move off again, I sat down with my book. Millie, however, was content to relax, and we ended up having a nice interlude on the patio, with me stretched on the love seat with my book, and Millie on the ground nearby, not really napping, but just seeming to soak in the sounds and smells of the garden.

When she was ready, she got up to explore a bit more, so we wandered around the yard again, pausing for her to appease her curiosity. Finally, I started inching back towards the door to the house. To my surprise, she followed me. After a moment of hemming and hawing at the open door, she stepped right in, without any "help" from me.

She spent much of her time outside today purring at me, so I figure she enjoyed it. As we go through Spring, perhaps I'll give her more of these little afternoons outside, enjoying the garden with my sweet girl.