Afternoon Excitement

I have been leaving the back door open lately, because my two cats have been so annoying wanting out, then as soon as they get out, go to a window meowing to come back in. The bugs haven't been bad, so I just leave the screen door open. They can now come and go as they please.

I ran some errands today, and had a few loads of things to bring into the house, so hauled them all in, left the door open, got out of my clothes and had just sat down to relax with a cup of coffee. I didn't even bother to put back on shorts, as I got all heated up schlepping all of my junk in.

As I was doing a little reading, out of the corner of my eye, I see one of my cats, and on the floor by him was something too small to be the other cat, and then noticed that my other cat was not too far behind Scooter, and as my eyes focused to the floor...saw it. A chipmonk. A live chipmonk! A terrified live chipmonk. There was a moment of quiet, everyone froze, all eyes on the chipmonk huddled up on the floor, trying to be motionless. And then...All heck broke loose.

The chipmonk beelined it to the corner of the room, behind a large speaker. I ran and got some gloves, looked behind the speaker and there he was. I figured I could inch the speaker away from the wall, keep him cornered and grab him. I wasn't fast enough. He shot out between my legs, ran with two cats in hot pursuit, across the room, behind the china cabinet. I looked under it, no chipmonk. I wedged my head along the back and saw it on the baseboard, frozen, so I ran and got the broom, and hoped I could poke it so it would move, and run out from behind there.
Of course that idea didn't work, so struggled to move the cabinet away from the wall. It's a heavy sucker, but I finally got it to budge, and slide away from the wall. I opened the doors in the dining room so he would shoot out of the house once he started his run, got the broom back there and poked, and sure enough, he shot out, ran to the WRONG side of the open door, and skittered into the kitchen, cat still in hot pursuit, with me not far behind. I got in there just in time to see him duck under and behind the cupboards. ARGHHH! By now, one cat looses interest and has disappeared.

Now, I'm moving the everything off the top of the cupboard so I can wiggle those away from the wall. Thank goodness I didn't listen to my brother and bolt them to the walls. I stand on a chair, have the broom, and am reaching behind there to see if I could get him to move, and wouldn't you know he scoots on behind the stove. So now, I pull out the drawer under the stove, then pulled the stove out. No chipmonk. Where in the heck is he? I'm back on the chair with the broom.

Remember, I am in my underwear, with gloves and a broom, standing on a chair, in front of the kitchen window, reaching behind all of that poking and pushing.

Finally that bugger flies out, runs across the kitchen, and out the door with the cat on his tail the whole way, across the yard and under the shed. WHEW! He lives another day.

Moments later, the cat is stretched out on the kitchen floor relaxing as if nothing had gone on, Everything in the kitchen is torn away from the wall, drawer to the stove out on the floor.

Guess I'll clean back there while all that stuff is out. So much for relaxing with that cup of coffee.