Gifts; Gee!; Naked Branches; Kitty Tricks

Brrrrr! It is definitely chilly. At least there is no wind. I walked outside a moment ago to bring in the garbage containers from the street. The full cold moon was glimmering in the east, and within seconds, I spotted the Big Dipper. As I lugged the containers up the walk, I was thinking that it must have been a night like this when the magi brought gifts to a child.

Then I realized that this is the Epiphany - Twelfth Night - the end of the Christmas season. The night on which the magi did indeed bring gifts to a baby.

Outside the window were a row of small leafless trees. The braches looked silvery white in the noon sun. I thought of a multi-pronged candelabra. There's an abstract quality to naked branches that I find far more appealing than swirls of green leaves.

When I came out, the sky was a dark blue with mesh-like clouds slowly drifting to the northeast. Above those, there were long streaks of solid gray clouds that looked as if they has just been raked.

I've been partially closing the door to the back room that houses the litter boxes. But the biggest kitty delights in pawing at the door until it latches. Of course, he's inside when he does this. My guess is he thinks it's a great party trick.

When I opened the closet door in the bedroom, the black one bolted for the nearby chair and eyed the top shelf with a mad ferocity. She is fascinated by that shelf, and I have no idea why. If I turn my back, she'll leap for the clothes, shimmy up and pull herself onto the shelf. It's an amazing example of feline acrobatics. Once there, she'll "hide" in the corner where I can't reach her.

At last, they've calmed down. Four are here on the couch, and the fifth is on the bed. When I go to bed, I know they will all be there within minutes.

PAX!