Relaxing inside after doing all my chores was delightful. I especially enjoyed the fireplace... nothing like it on a cool, fall night.
A good book, a glass of wine, a roaring fire, a kitty curled up at my shoulder and the trusty canine curled up at my feet.... doesn't get any better than that!There was just one itty-bitty problem we didn't count on. There's a new kitty who arrived since I last stayed in the country. Sparky the Wonder Cat showed up on the doorstep one day not long ago and decided to stay. Lulu Belle and Bad Jake (the other two cats) don't seem to mind nor do the dogs.
Sparky is one of those cats that's fearless. Nothing bothers her. Where the other cats would dart out of your way, Sparky holds her ground. Several times I turned around quickly, only to trip over Sparkles.
Sparky is short for Sparkles... perhaps because of her sparkling white coat. However, Vlad and I noticed that Sparky might be a good name for her for another reason... which we found out accidentally. And I do mean accidentally... or nearly so.
Sparky is fascinated by flames. Which is all fine and good until she starts poking her nose into the roaring fire. We had the door of the woodburning stove open to get the fire started and that's when Sparky decided to explore.
Meow... I wonder what this could be? It looks pretty!
Purrrrrr... Oh, my! It feels so nice and warm... I'll just get a little closer...
Oh no! Watch the tail Sparky! Nooooooo! Run, Sparky! Run!
That was close... too close! Somehow I don't think Sparky would have gotten the concept of "Stop, Drop & Roll!"Only a little soot on the right side of her face... Whew!
Yeah, I'm pretty sure that soot wasn't there before.
From then on, Sparkles was only allowed to enjoy the fire with the door closed!
Because it's just bad form to burn up your friend's cat while you're the responsible adult in charge.
So says the catless CatLady.
