On Monday, Mom made a big deal about the solar eclipse. She actually went to the town square with her lunch and a lawn chair, so she could watch it with some of her friends. She said she was going to put on some funny glasses to look right at the sun. She did not take me along, so I don’t understand why it was such a big deal. Dad also said that he didn’t want to go. He did admit that he took the glasses she had left for him and went outside to watch a few minutes of it. I did notice that it got dark for a bit. I wasn’t expecting that, but it was a partially cloudy day. Mom also said that the next total eclipse will be in 2044. I don’t think I’ll be around for that.

We are very fortunate to live in the part of Texas that gets enough (although sometimes too much) rain. That rain helps to make for green grass and for lots of trees. I like to munch on the grass when Mom lets Sophia and I out on our leads in our play area. Of course, she yells a lot when I throw up that green grass, but doing that is a cat thing. I also like the trees. We had a big Bois d’ arc tree that was in our play area. Now it is just a very tall stump. I like to sharpen my claws on it, although I like to sharpen them on the corner of the sofa more often. When Mom and Dad moved here, there was also a big hackberry tree outside the kitchen window, two hackberries by the swimming pool and another at the far edge of the back yard. All of them fell. The two types of trees are very different. The wood of a Bois d’ arc is harder than teak (per the man who cleared those other trees) while the hackberry rots easily from the inside out. That is why the hackberries are known for just falling over in a wind.

Our big back yard is lined with a mixture of younger trees – Bois d’ arc and hackberry. It almost looks like a green fence enclosing the whole thing. The two types of trees leaf out differently in the Spring. The hackberries open their leaves early while the Bois d’ arc waits with its tiny buds. I like the look when either of them has just tiny little leaves. Later the hackberry leaves will be like the whole tree; they drop those leaves easily. By August they cover the ground. The Bois d’ arc hangs on to their leaves much longer. They drop their large fruit, but that is another story for another day. This last week both types have spread all of their leaves. I had Mom take a picture while the leaves were still tiny. Enjoy.

Yesterday was my normal posting day. Mom kept telling me that we would do it later. She repeated that a number of times. She said she was busy finalizing the blurb and the acknowledgements for her new book. I didn’t care. I kept trying to remind her of how important my blog is to all of my followers. They count on me. So I sat on her keyboard; then I sharpened my claws on the corner of the loveseat; and lastly repeatedly pushed things off the fireplace mantel. That is when she yelled at me, so I sat on her keyboard again. What is a cat to do? All because she thought her blurb was more important than my blog. What do you think?

Finding Sarah Winters

It is Spring Break. Texas college students head to the sandy beaches. Sarah Winter is one of them. Now, however, she is not answering texts or calls. Her grandmother, Gloria Wilson, is terrified that something bad has happened. When the police don’t seem to want to help, Gloria turns to her neighbors. Was it a fluke when Mabel Schmidel and the Lady Detectives of the St James Apartments solved their first case? Can a group of 70, 80, and 90-year-old women find Sarah, and bring her home? They intend to try their very best.