Rescue Me!

Sitting on my porch right now, it's both sunny and raining, and this is the perfect spot to watch the rain fall. As I opened the door to come out, my little orange kitty, Clarence, was crouched under one of the chairs. Must have been some thunder. He hates thunder. He's happy to go on inside and let Henry protect the border. But it was Henry who wanted rescuing this morning. I was in my home office and I heard a faint meow, definitely Henry's meow, coming from outside. I look out the patio door and all I see is Clarence sitting on the back patio. Then out of the corner of my eye, I catch sight of Henry peering at me over the gutter from the roof. Ra-ow! He says, in a way that reminds me of Azrael, the cat on the smurfs, if Azrael was a nice cat that is. I shove my sneakers on, knowing what he is saying... rescue me from the big bad roof. He forgets that I know how he got there. That he climbed up the dogwood tree on the corner of the house and hopped on from a nearby branch. He didn't get scooped up by aliens, who then missed the mark when returning him to earth. No, I know better. His meowing, ra-owing gets more insistent as I grab my camera, and quickly get a shot of him. He hates when I do that. But hey, that's the price you pay for getting your mom outside in her pajamas and sneakers, and up on the ladder early in the morning. He knows how to get down. My neighbor got photos of him climbing back down the dogwood tree that she took from her house. Evidence! But sometimes a kitty wants to be rescued from the big bad roof. And it's fun to play fire person every so often and climb down a ladder with a cat slung over your shoulder.

Before the rain started, I heard some thunder rumblings off in the distance. I figured I better get out to the garden to pick some lettuce before the rain starts, if I wanted a salad for dinner.


So I pick my lettuce and being a bit hungry as it's almost dinner time, I start to look around. Anything else around here that needs pickin'? Then I remember, the strawberries. Yes, a girl can't live on lettuce alone (although some have tried). It's going to take some strawberries too. There's a few things I have learned about eating your own strawberries. Here's a short list:

-the strawberry must be completely red all the way around before you pick it for full flavor.
-smell the berry's aroma first. That's some strawberry goodness! Soak it up.
-your taste buds really aren't ready for the flavor burst that comes from a home grown strawberry. So prepare your taste buds and try not to drool.
-strawberries taste better if you stand there in the garden and eat them.
-taste better yet if you put them in a bowl and wait for your husband (or other loved one) and share.