Still jumpin’ after all these years

Eleanor Roosevelt

It is 55 degrees Fahrenheit, not merely chilly, on this May 4th in Eastport following a week of welcome warmth; all the buds are bursting to a surprise. Yesterday’s Eastport walkabout provided colour that motivates me to walk further in search of even more beautiful sights to share.

It rained as I poured my coffee so I took my hanging baskets out fron off their hooks, allowing them to drink the rain as it neared the ground.

I spied some goslings on the oyster path with two huge Canada geese a few minutes ago but knew I couldn’t rush to my longer distance lens to capture them before they departed. In the rhythm of time, the display of goslings, young birds, kittens, and flowers becomes a seasonal event we too often take for granted but is actually a miracle when we ponder the possible obstacles to any one of them appearing.

The date 4 May arose in history when China’s students organized to notify the world to their fury at their nation’s exclusion from Versailles discussions on World War I reparations. Japan received the former German enclaves which was a double slap to China’s national pride, yet one further humiliation following prior events in the nineteenth century.

Fifty two years later, American students protested the invasion of Cambodia. National Guardsmen shot four of them on a northeast Ohio campus called Kent State. It echoes today somewhat as protesters and law enforcement confront one another, more than once violently, across our nation. This time the war is not directly ours but the protesters are no less condemnatory of support for our ally’s actions than they were of our direct involvement in 1971.

And the beautiful, graceful Eleanor Roosevelt climbed in my lap this afternoon. I am so honoured these days because it is a rare event, unlike not that long ago. At what we assume is 18 or 19 years old (rescues don’t come with birth certificates, of course, though she hails from West Virginia), she sleeps the overwhelming majority of the time. Her preferred place for that is under the chair by my husband’s art table these days.

Her furr is not as sleek as it was for so long. far too many dark nights include haunting howling as she seems to get lost, though she calms when one of us gets up to call her name. Perhaps she just wants assurance we are still here. But she is still a solid seven pounder, quite able to fight off the tomcat who never foregoes provoking her. He is a slow learner but she is still fierce when appropriate.

I was privileged to watch her leap onto the kitchen counter early this past week in search of Harry’s abandoned midrats. (In other circumstances, midrats—midnight rations—are an additional meal served aboard ship for those working overnight so we label the necessary evening meal to deliver her hyperthyroid medicine by the same name). She gracefully lifted herself as if a much younger cat and her unceasing desire for food does motivate her to that leap, but it is far less often these days. Similarly, she likes to be close on the couch in the evenings as warmth is her friend but she usually does is side by side rather than in either of our laps these days.

We prepare for the inevitability of her departure one of these days. When in Kansas City in late February, she scared our fabulous cat sitter by preferring to skip food and drink as she hid under our bed. This woman holds a platinum prize in cat sitting so we took notice when she called us with an alarmed tone. An inquiry to the vet, however, resulted in the diagnosis of dehydration. Once we addressed that, she has been her graceful but aging self since which is a relief.

Our pets provide us such joy and we are essential for their unfettered love, even if diffident cats.

What are you doing on cold, rainy, dreary days in early May when you might want to watch early season Little League, plant roses or take the newly reopened water taxi into town? Whatever it is, I wish you joy and satisfaction.

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Be well and be safe. FIN