Butterfly Rescue

With one thing and another we have had to leave the doors propped open quite a bit.  One of the reasons apart from the tradesmen is that we have not coaxed our shy cat Amber in to going out the cat flap, but she is showing signs of liking the garden (which she never did in Argyll).  So I am leaving the door open for her to give her maximum exposure to it in the hope that she will get used to the flap in due course.  And to be honest, so that she gets the enjoyment of it, even if she never uses the flap.  I am a huge opponent of keeping healthy cats exclusively indoors because I think the outdoor environment is a big part of what it means to be a cat which no number of toys and shelves and catios can ever replace.  I know many people disagree with me but they are wrong of course.

Anyway, the result of having the doors open is that we get the occasional annoying bluebottle which I either spray or swat but also a few friendly insects.  R had to rescue a bumble bee from his bedroom (he wrapped it in a towel – R is deathly afraid of stinging things) the other night and yesterday it was a butterfly which I had to stand on a chair to catch off a high windowsill.

I love butterflies – their colours are so joyful.

On the house front it is still super busy today.  The poor cats have been locked in my bedroom all day.