El Otoño

There is a different feel to the weather now, a cooler crispness in the air. Can summer be over so soon?

The cats are frisky and the desert critters are preparing for colder weather, looking for safe havens. Last night during the first presidential debate, Hoodie caught a mouse. In our house. In the kitchen, to be more specific.

Obama and McCain and the nation's dire economic crisis had to wait while we praised our Great Hunter. He was possessive of his kill, growling at the other cats as he tossed the tiny dead rodent about (showing off, I'm sure).

Paco kept trying to butt in and get a closer look, so Hoodie took his prize into the bathroom, where he tossed and played with it in tighter quarters. Hoodie loves to throw his toys in the air and catch them, over and over. He's done this since he was small, and entertains us with his aerial acrobatics.

He flung the mouse up and it landed in the sink, where it immediately rolled into the drain. Luckily I was there and grabbed it by the tail just as it was slipping away. A lucky save on my part.

Hoodie didn't notice that I dropped the dead critter (uck!) on the floor. He jumped up to the sink and peered down the drain, looking for his lost prize. In the meantime, Paco quickly made off with the dead mouse, running down the hall, through the living room, and onto the porch. "It's all mine!" He was jubilant. Finally Mr. Wizard got it from him and unceremoniously deposited the tiny carcass in the trash can.

Hoodie strutted like the conquering hero he felt himself to be and plopped in the middle of the floor to magnanimously receive our adoration and praise. He loves being the king.

This morning he is still in 'royal mode.' Paco follows him around with bated breath, hoping for another kill.

Life is never dull in the desert, and it is good to be mouse-less once again as the cooler weather approaches.