"You got smart, Jim?" Funny. As my dear ol' Mother used to say... well, my dear ol' Mother used to say a lot of things, many of them having to do with "smart ass." And, no, I'm speaking of Murphy and his smarts.
Murphy wanted to go outside this morning. It rained last night (no big surprise), so everything is wet, and the sandy soil where there isn't gravel has a muddy look to it. Instead of going out, Joan opened the door for Murphy so he can look outside... yes, there are windows in the coach where he can look outside, but he prefers to sit by the screen door. Occasionally, he will "ask" to go outside. This morning, I said, "It's too chilly out there, buddy, we'll go out when it warms up a bit."
Apparently, that wasn't the answer he wanted.
Every RV we've had has had a similar screen door: there is a sliding "hatch" that covers the latch - you slide that hatch open to get access to the latch. Apparently, Murphy had seen us slide that latch and figured out how it works... yes, he slid the hatch open and was starting to make a move to go out through that hatch. With no harness or leash. Or, his Pops to keep an eye on him.
Yes, we got him before he got out, but he now knows "the system." We will have to add another layer of "security" to the system, probably in the form of a Velcro® strap. (Sigh) None of our other cats did this, although Rufus jumped through that hatch from the outside once when he wanted in (and was small enough to fit through the hatch - it was right after we first got him).
If I can teach Murphy to drive the motorhome, I can sit back and surf the net while we're going down the road. ;-)
For the record, yes, we put his harness on him and I took him out for a walk (avoiding the sandy/mud stuff) and now he is ready for a morning nap.
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Shopping Taos...
Joan wanted to look around the shops in what I would call the downtown (or art district) of Taos. Lots of small shops and art galleries... most of them not open. We started our walk around the area around 12:30, so some of them were closed for the lunch hour...
Maybe this is a quiet time of the year? There were not a lot of people out walking around. The few shops we did go into had no other customers. We weren't looking to buy any art; that seemed to be the prevalent enterprise; Joan wanted a shirt or some other memento of this visit. No joy. One place had a shirt she liked that the shop owner said she designed - they had them in several colors... and in sizes small and extra large.
This area is built on a hillside, so there were frequent stairs...
Several little plazas that felt more like an alleyway to me...
The only thing we bought was paid parking. We tried to visit the Taos Pueblo, but it, too, was closed - we were turned away at the entrance. This is one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in North America, believed to have been originated over 1,000 years ago...
The above is a stock photo, as we did not get close enough to see it. About 150 people live there full time, with other members of the Pueblo living nearby, but in homes with modern facilities (no electricity or running water for those who live in the Pueblo). It would be interesting to see, but I don't know when it will be open again. $25 entrance fee and a $6 per person camera fee (with the admonishment to not take photos of any of the residents without their permission).
On the bright side: lunch at 5 Star Burgers in town; tasty. Any time we have gone by this place, there are a bunch of cars in the parking lot. A good sign, as we drove by another burger place that had only one car in the parking lot (too expensive, not good, or both). We were surprised when we went into 5 Star and there were plenty of tables open... Joan surmised that everyone in there must have driven separately... I figured each person must be driving two cars. ;-) It was good food. And, they had a sign in their parking lot that you could see from the road. (not a fast food burger)
2 comments:
That reminds me of an incident at our house here. Friends from Alaska were visiting in their big Class C motorhome and parked in our side driveway. We were inside visiting, and suddenly our cat Buddy came flying in through that hatch. It surprised the heck out of their two Maine Coon cats inside with us. Buddy was puzzled as to why the cat door was placed up so high, but he made it work.
Alice gets home on Saturday night. Duke was desperate for cuddles this morning. I sat in the rocker and hugged him for an hour (we both napped). He really misses his mommy.
Week two and the kids from down the street are doing great mowing the lawn. It looks like this transition will work. It is so much easier to write the check than to get my back beat up mowing for 60-90 minutes each week on a bumpy lawn. With the two of them and their youthful exuberance, they can do in 35-40 minutes what takes me almost 90. They have better equipment too.
Funny about Buddy going though that hatch in the door - no doubt everyone inside was surprised, not just your friends' cats. It surprised us when Rufus went through that hatch, still on his leash.
Good that you were there for Duke (and vice versa). Murphy is not a cuddler, and I do miss that. He will sit right beside us, even leaned in on us, but he is not keen on being held in our arms (although Joan does it - while Murphy looks at me with that "Help me" look on his face).
Two big thumbs up (one for each of the youngsters) with the lawn work! I remember youthful exuberance - it was a long, long time ago. ;-)
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