I love 5:00 a.m. the house isn’t quite awake- well the cats are, but hubby isn’t. He is still sawing logs in the bedroom and will be for some time; sleeping in later and later each day as all the doctor visits, tests, treatments and the ravages of diabetes catches up to him.
5:00 a.m. when the dew is still on the tall grass and Brook tracks in wet pawprints as she sniffs all the new smells out in the fields.
5:00 a.m. when the raccoons are still sitting on the platform outside the window, looking inside as if to say “Can we have more food please?” I have stopped feeding at night because feeding the wildlife cat food is frowned upon (and expensive). The cats know if they want to eat, it has to be done before dark and at first light. The motion detector lights do little to dissuade these masked bandits from looking for loose kibble. Whoever told me at Home Depot that coons run when they are confronted with bright lights- well, they lied.
The house has a stillness and even the cats haven’t cranked it up in full gear. They are rubbing against my legs as if reminding me that they exist and they are “HUNGRY” they want to hear that familiar rattle of the kibble hitting the trays and the hum of the can opener- music to their ears I am sure.
I sit at the computer and catch up on my emails, polish up articles and plan my next move. I’m one hour from my only indulgence- a Mudslide at Buzz’d Coffee Hut and two hours from having to worry about what to fix for breakfast.
Chappy joins me at the chair. His cry in plaintive. He wants me to pet him. This is the only time this semi-feral boy will approach. The darkness comforts him and he knows if I pet him to much, he can just escape quickly and get away from all that silly lovin’- but this is his time for me, or my time for him.
Life hasn’t assaulted me yet. The phones are quiet, the only sounds in the house are the hum of the computer and the gentle snores of Brook accompanied by the purrs and trills of the cats.
It’s time to regroup. To drink in the day before it begins, talk to God and surround myself with my kitties. It’s my time to just breathe.
What a lovely time of day to take stock ~ to appreciate all the small things that make life worthwhile. It doesn’t stop bad things happening … but it gives one the strength to cope.
what a wonderful time of day, I’m glad you have some time like this for yourself
I know how you feel…I get up at 3 or 4. It is my time.
You write like we are right there with you. IMO, it is the best time of the day.
I can’t do early mornings any more — husband and I read until the wee hours, then slog off to sleep until late morning. He’s the night owl, and I just go along with it…
We try not to feed the wildlife here, but they have other ideas. The raccoons and the opossums are not only not afraid of the light, they aren’t afraid of us anymore! They’ll continue to munch until we approach them, clapping our hands and growling at them. Even then they will sometimes run to the cat carriers/beds and climb in to wait until we go back into the house. The cats don’t like either kind of the critters, but they don’t fight with them. I’m just afraid of the diseases they might carry and share. Usually this time of year we feed the cats inside and do not leave any food out to attract the wild ones…
I found the racoon I saw walking at the back of my yard when I had corn planted left when I YELLED at it. The corn turned out fine, too. The wildlife are becoming too bold in the urban environment because they lack proper aversive therapy from humans. We are outside the possum’s earlier natural range here, but there they are, taking advantage. The information I had said possums could be dangerous to cats and kill them. They are marsupials, so they might not carry as many cat diseases, since cats are placental mammals.
The opossums seem to be afraid of the cats and the raccoons. The cats are wary of the possums, but more afraid of the raccoons. The raccoons are not afraid of anything, even us, unless we shake a stick at them and yell alot, thus upsetting the cats, too.
We could solve this by not putting any food outside and making all the cats eat inside, but we have a few cats who hate the inside and will not eat inside. Or we could get a dog. But then we would probably lose all the cats. Our cats are semi-feral except for a couple who are probably just strays, dumped out here in the country “to go back to the wild.” I could strangle some people…