Tomorrow’s the solar eclipse so maybe that bodes well for my hopes of catching a homeless cat I’ve noticed around the neighbourhood.  I’ve been thinking about it so much the other night I dreamt Mango brought the cat home and I was so happy.  But the reality remains that the cat is on the loose.

Margaret came for her annual summer visit and we ate lots of nice local things, such as peach pie, loganberries the size of our thumbs, and delicious dark red juicy Okanagan tomatoes.  All very lovely, and we also had a nice lunch at the Eldorado where we sat by the lake.

One morning as I was looking out the kitchen window I said to Margaret “there’s that wild cat I want to catch and tame.”  I went down the driveway to call the cat, but to no avail.  I think “here puss puss puss” only works on cats who know that’s meant for them.  Maybe homeless cats don’t know stuff like that.

Here’s a wondrous thing that’s occurred in my life – I now have my very own handyman.  I can’t believe how fortunate I am to have found ‘Syl’.  He’s one of those older, wiry, skinny dudes who can do anything you ask.  Gutters are cleaned, the pebble driveway has been cleared of weeds, broken down spouts have been replaced, the sunroom roof has been washed, and so much more is due to come.

So the other day I told Syl to keep an eye out for that cat, which he did.  He told me he saw the cat right inside this very yard the other day!  So I have to figure out a way to get food out where the dog, squirrels, coyotes and raccoons don’t go, but where a cat might.  Hard.

Can you believe my honey extractor broke after just a couple of uses?  But guess who knows how to fix it?  Yes, good old Syl’s got the broken part, is replacing the bearing, and so I can soon retrieve more frames of honey and spin them.  I’ve been too scared to return to the hive since last time when I couldn’t get the final frame to go into place.

The poor bees have worked like sons of you know whats, to get that sealed as the lid wouldn’t go on flush due to the one corner of the frame not lying flat.  However they’re going to be even angrier, to have worked so hard filling all those frames with honey, and then I go Yoink! and grab their stuff.

I’d really like to get a second bee suit as Syl would be a great help with beekeeping.  He’s looked at the overgrown lower yard area, and knows he has to weed whack the whole thing, but then I want an arbour built for my hardy kiwis.  They’re falling right over, and I have 9 kiwis for the first time and hope they’ll ripen.

So Syl knows he can’t fool around as he has so many things to do, and it should all be done before it’s too cold.  I said to him I do hope you’re not planning on relocating any time soon, and he assured me he’s not.

I’m going to e mail mom’s neighbour Lynne who’s had a lot of adopted homeless cats over the years and see if she can give me some tips on how to get this animal into my house.  The cat’s all happy right now, but by December it won’t feel so plucky.