Sunny With a Chance of Squirrels

Ruby the Cat will be three years old on September 22!  She's a full grown cat.  From the time we picked her up from Auntie Darla, who kitten-sat her for a month while we flew off like Mayzie the Duck in "Horton Hatches the Egg," Ruby has asked for and received four walks a day.  Each walk takes about 45 (she wants, and sometimes obtains, 60) minutes.  Since we have been camped here in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, her walks (especially the morning walks) follow a very standard pattern.

First, Ruby comes out and reconnoiters.  Most important is to avoid any puppies that might be walking around the campground with their owners.  The Jeep offers shelter in a puppy storm.

 

 

Next, she has to inspect the entire underside of the motorhome in case mice, spiders, ants or other intruders might be attacking our home:

 

 

When it all checks out, she is free to start her rounds:

 

 

Checking it all is exhausting, so she usually begins with a rest --

 

-- and a few scritches:

Someone (probably David) left an empty seltzer can on the picnic table, so she needs to remind him to police his trash, but only after she certifies that it is empty and free of poisons:

The campsite has been policed, so now it's time to focus on more distant horizons:

One particular favorite destination is the cypress grove behind the dumpsters.

She approaches stealthily because, one day, she found a squirrel in the cypress grove and almost caught it.  While the squirrel escaped and disappeared without a trace, she still comes back every day in case he returns.

This is the scene of the squirrel crime --

-- and this is where Ruby decides to rest for the rest of her walk, listening to strangers emptying their trash, talking to their puppies, driving their cars or trucks, or whatever:

Once in a while, Kathy comes out to check on Ruby and David, and the moment Ruby hears Kathy's voice, she comes racing across the lawn toward Kathy, as if to say, "I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU!"

Often, after this, it is time to end the walk.  Ruby leads the way back to the RV, anticipating her scrumptious breakfast, which awaits her when she comes in:

 Rinse and repeat.