A certain shade of green

It is a rainy Saturday and I am recovering from last night’s adventures. There I was, deep in books and papers and long tangly online searches, when everything grew very, very quiet. This is always a bad sign around here. I looked up and saw that the sky was a certain shade of green.

Those of you from Away will likely not understand why, a moment later, Miss Sadie, the Cowboy and I were ensconced in our little hallway with pillows and blankets, reading a storybook. Miss Puss was under the sturdiest bed in the house. Those of you from Around Here, who might have had your playhouse turned into matchsticks by a tornado too, will understand completely.

In the event, there was no tornado. There was rumbling, crashing thunder. There were torrents of rain. There was lightning. Cozy in our pile of pillows, we did not mind. Well, not much anyway. However, the time came when it was clear that Miss Sadie and the Cowboy would need an evening constitutional before bed.

Waterfalls of rain poured off the roof. We could not see across the yard. I opened the door and stepped outside, expecting the Duo to bolt for their favorite spots and dash back. I discovered that I was by myself. I went back and forced them outside. Miss Sadie ran under the deck and the Cowboy got around me and ran back in the house.

I finally caught the Cowboy and made him go outside. He gave me a look and took off for the hills, a white streak in the night. Wait, wait! Don’t run away for heaven’s sake! Just take care of business and come back inside! I called and called. No Cowboy. I splashed off after him, climbing over fallen branches and getting stuck in picker bushes. What had I done? Then I caught a flash of white. The rascal had lured me away from the house and then made his move. He was up the stairs and through the door before I finished turning my feet around.

When I got back inside I found two dripping dogs huddled together on the living room rug staring at me in shock. How could you be so mean? Sigh. I gave up, toweled them off, and put them in the dog room to dry out. This morning they were extremely glad to get out of the house and head to those favorite spots, where they spent quite a long time. They have given me no grief about anything at all so far today. Very odd.

After all that I was of a mind to take the day off. Sometimes a person just has to do that. I decided to play with the camera. This is a photo I took earlier in the week, when it was sunny.

I spent a long time looking at it. How would all those colors and patterns change on this gloomy day?

OK, that was fun. I have nothing profound to say about any of it. I enjoyed playing. I’m glad there was no tornado, and that the Cowboy came back, and that the rain has stopped. I’m glad that our playhouse is intact. Sometimes the things we’re most scared of aren’t as bad as we fear. Sometimes they are. Sometimes they don’t happen at all. Whatever happens, we can get through the storm together. Good to know.