The mighty hunter has dragged the prey to her cave.

 

Yesterday we got a new mattress. No longer does one go to a store and lie down on the mattress to see how it feels. We now have the convenience of ordering the damn thing sight unseen and hoping for the best. Sure, you can send it back...but how? It comes rolled up in vacuum-sealed plastic bag. There's no getting that thing back in the bottle.

This is an XL twin bed, AKA half a king sized bed. We will try it out and see who likes it more. Then we will either buy another just like it or get something else for the other side of the bed. I have a hunch I will want something softer, but we will give it time and see.

As to the box, our cats aren't really "box cats." They generally have a slight amount of interest in boxes that come into the house, but mainly for their smell. However, Bootsy is actually interested in this one, and we think it's mainly due to the size. This is a very big box, a proper box for a large predator, and one of few that has met her standards. As you can see, she has even put her gory spoils in there.

In other news, have I mentioned that I am enjoying a bird identification app called Merlin? Highly recommend. We are not in a deeply wooded or rural area--or even a place where people can afford to water a lot--so we don't have a huge variety of birds currently. But I have identified a few I haven't seen yet, which is fun. The last time I really did birding properly was in college in NYS, so I'm not good at identifying western birds, though many of these are also found in the eastern US:

• Mockingbird (I can't say I love these birds, TBH.)
• Lesser Goldfinch (!)
• House Sparrow
• House Finch
• American Crow
• American Robin
• and my favorite so far, Cedar Waxwing

As yet unidentified by the app, but I know they are here, are jays and pigeons. Ironically enough, these are easy to identify by their calls, so I'm not sure why the app hasn't picked up the Mourning Dove especially. There do seem to be fewer jays this year.

A few days ago, I was awake far earlier than I'd like, so I decided to go outside and see if I could get any new bird calls. I did not. But I did see the last quarter moon and Venus, so I took a picture of that. (Note the artistic inclusion of my neighbor's HVAC unit. If you're not a CA reader, you might not know that this is common practice, putting it on the roof. It's usually hidden in the back of the house, but it's pretty frequent that you can see it from the street, and I hate it.)

I uploaded the original so you can see Venus if you care to open it in another window. It really is a special sight in the morning.

Yesterday also brought the sudden Covid death of a friend of Henry's. I just need to say, for the thousandth time, YES, it is worth it to be careful and wear your properly-fitted N-95 masks everywhere there are people. YES, absolutely everywhere indoors..and outdoors if you're within 25 feet of anyone. Don't eat inside restaurants. I know most people are not wearing them. They are in denial. It's not safe to go unmasked in public. 

Hug your loved ones. Wear a mask. Get as many vaccines as you're allowed. XOXOXO