Some days you must take care of business and not wander around leisurely enjoying the day. There are things that you must do, but sometimes I enjoy pondering certain things that come together in my head throughout my day. Usually it is during my walks with Sally Bee and my camera that “wandering” and “pondering” takes place.
As I walk I take note of all sorts of things in my neighborhood, such as flowers, trees, birds, bees, critters and even trash from litterbugs. Two of the critters from earlier this spring that I saw regularly were two raccoons that I call “The Twins.” They were orphans and I decided that they were brother and sister. Each morning it was a new adventure seeing them wander through the neighborhood headed back to their home in a Magnolia tree on the corner of Gilmore and Ward. It was usually around 6:30 in the morning when I would see them. They had gone through the neighborhood in search of food.
One morning Sally Bee ran them up a small tree in the park and after taking photos of them, I dragged her away from the tree and they went home. Another morning we saw them crossing the railroad track and they hid under a van until we left the area.
The last morning that I saw them together was at the Magnolia tree that they lived in. They were scrambling to climb up to their beds after a full night of scavenging. They were young cubs and though I am not a fan of raccoons, who can resist thinking they are cute when they are babies?
I also know that city living can be dangerous for wild critters especially without the wisdom of parents to guide them. A few days later I am very sad to say that I saw Big Brother in the middle of the street where he had been run over. I never saw Little Sister again, but I fear that she had a similar fate and it makes me sad to think about the smiles that they had given me as I saw them wandering around each morning.
There are also quite a few feral cats that I see and photograph on my walks. One of my favorites is a very fat Tom cat. I mostly see him in the park, but I have often seen him in a neighbor’s yard. One morning I texted my friend to ask if this fat Tom was her cat. She told me that he didn’t belong to her, but he came to her house and enjoyed her cat’s food. She had named him Pumpkin and to me it suited him. I had been taking photos of Pumpkin for several weeks. He is an older cat who has obviously gone through a lot. Pumpkin has visible scars on his face, an eye that has been damaged and a half chewed off ear. His battle scars give him a lot of character and I really enjoy pondering on what type of life that he might have had. I wonder sometimes if he is a retired thug from the Cat Mafia…possibly.
He appears to have aged in the neighborhood and enjoys being a nice lazy cat who poses for my photos. I particularly like the photos that I have taken of him asleep in the sun on the park sundial. He has a luxurious coat of fur that calls out to you to stroke him, but so far it is all that I can manage to do to keep Sally Bee from chasing him.
I guess to many people my “wanderings and ponderings” seem a lot like Andy Griffin’s Mayberry, but I’m thankful to enjoy the simple things of Senatobia and forget about the headlines for a while. It’s these simple things that make me happy and I so very glad that I decided to slow down and do as Jesus instructs us to do and “Look at the birds of the air….” Matthew 6:26.
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