After part of the fence was painted, the solar-powered lights went back up again. And within just 24 (twenty-four) hours of lighting Louis Catorze’s night time path, like those runway lights showing planes where to land, the squirrels chewed through the wires once more. This time they chewed right at the start of the string so that only one light worked. Cat Daddy managed to fix them, but yesterday they were chewed through AGAIN in a different place. He is furious beyond belief and says that the next set of lights will be set to electrocution mode. And I fear he might make it happen.
In other news, we are now in the next phase of the “road map” announced by our esteemed leader in late February for easing Covid restrictions in England. Non-Brits: in case you’re wondering, “road map” in this context just means “list of stuff that’s going to happen”. It’s not a map, and there aren’t any roads in it. We don’t get it, either. And, yes, we also think he should have just said “Here’s a list of stuff that’s going to happen”.
As from today, we are allowed to meet with five friends outside. Now, if you have ever lived in, or been to, England, you will know how unpredictable the weather can be. Therefore planning an outdoor meet ahead of time is quite difficult if you’re actually NOT ALLOWED to dash indoors if the weather turns against you. Therefore you’d better either be incredibly lucky on the day, or have outdoor cover, or just not bother making plans. Cat Daddy and I have gone for the third option, and we are quite happy with this; we’ve enjoyed the solitude to some extent and so a few more weeks of it, until we are able to do things properly, doesn’t make much difference.
Louis Catorze, on the other hand, appears to be missing the excitement of company. He used to LOVE having visitors, especially on football days when it was mostly boys, whereas we haven’t had anyone round since Hallowe’en, when we hosted the Dog Family outside. I was pretty sure Catorze hadn’t even noticed that life had changed and, instead, thought things were just carrying on as normal … until the moment when he came running to the sound of my nephews’ voices on a video.
He was also thrilled to see That Neighbour, who knocked on our door the other day to give us a parcel that he’d taken for us whilst we were out. Unfortunately he left his front door open when he came, so things went a little, erm, awry when Catorze escaped out. But I am certain that, when the little sod ran into his house and refused to leave (twice), he meant it in a positive “I’ve missed you!” kind of way.
As you can see from the road map, we have another few weeks to go until we are allowed to see people indoors. And I think Catorze is the one who needs it the most.
jesuisleroisoleil 
Our Sam ( dog) loves to chase the ” grey fuzzy tails” but that doesn’t keep them away. I wonder if mylar scare tape might work; at least for a while.
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I don’t even know what that is! Google, here I come!
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Maybe Mr Johnson would allow an exception to the visiting rules if Louis asked politely. Does he like cats? 🐱🐱
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Haha, I’ve no idea but, the last time a member of the Conservative party came here (canvassing), it didn’t end well. Catorze was a bit over-keen in his affections and sent the poor man fleeing for his life.
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We have phases and we have phase 1A and 1B. I have no idea why they split a phase into to parts and didn’t just make it a separate phase. Maybe it was an afterthought or maybe they are crazy. Either is true.
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Yes, here it’s Step One Part One and Step One Part Two, but why they are together and not separate steps is beyond me. 🤣🤣🤣 It seems much easier to just number them one to five!
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Can you smear the light wires with some vile tasting stuff ? Lube oil ? Vaseline ?
We probably have similar steps although our governor (in Ohio) has been pretty consistent. He is a Republican and his own party hates him because of this. I just stay home except for one trip a week for groceries, cat food and bird supplies.
Catorze keeping away canvassers sounds like a good thing.
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Yes, something unpleasant on the wires was the next step. Cat Daddy was thinking perhaps of wrapping extra tape around them but I like your idea.
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That road map is far better than anything we’ve received 😦
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Are you in the States?
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Canada (Ontario, more specifically– provinces are in charge of distributing vaccines and deciding on shutdowns and most things covid-related, and ours is doing a horrid job).
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Oh no, really? I’d imagined you to be far more efficient than our cirque de merde!
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I don’t know enough to compare how we’re doing to how you’re doing, but cirque de merde is an apt description for us. Even our conservative newspapers are calling the conservative government’s response a failure.
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Whereas our government have “blood on their hands”. 😐
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There’s evidence of that here, as well 😦 I’m curious to see what, if anything, the fallout will be once the dust has settled.
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And meanwhile, among the carnage and the smoking embers of this planet, cats are just getting on with it and not giving a hoot. 🐈⬛
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