Brave boy

Brave boy, originally uploaded by emu82.

So I'm watching The Road, by myself, trying not to cry and I see a flash of black. I turned around and Bandit was laying in front of the door (like a slug, per the norm), and then I realized it was Hawk.

Brave boy came up and checked things out, always staying near the stairs. He ended up plopping down and falling asleep :D

He did run away when I got up, but after Jer came home and we started the movie again, here came Hawkman.

So we got off one good picture and couldn't be more impressed with him and his brave steps forward.

Now a daily occurrence:

 

"Hi Hawk." 

"Okay, bye Hawk." 

View On Black

I'm starting to understand why my bed is so furry....

Cat naps

Sometimes I come home and run downstairs to get something and as I'm walking by our room, I see a cat on our bed.  Most times I think nothing of it because I just assume it's Bandit (since her and Hawk are almost identical), but on Friday I did a double-take.  Hawk was on our bed, on his back, sound asleep.  So naturally, I sneak back upstairs and grab my camera only to sneak back downstairs and realize that he's heard me.  I did get one shot before he reluctantly got up and crept back under the bed.  I need to just start grabbing my camera when I go downstairs.

 

Caught on Camera!

Remember that post about how Hawk could sense me peeking at him no matter what I did? Sometimes I catch him off guard:

No fences

Hawk has been coming out when we're at home more and more. Cautious and curious, peeking around corners and observing all that goes on in our little home. He reminds me of the farm pets I had as a kid. We had a great big yard but also dangerous roads, so we had to let our animals know just how far was ok, and when it was too far. So every pet went through boundary testing, learning where their invisible fence was (or not so invisible when it came to the horses, they had the electric fence), and just how they could go before getting stopped for their own safety. Once they learned that, they were free to run and play and frolic in their space, with the assurance that it was safe.

And our little shadowman is doing his own searching for a fence. Wanting to know just how far he can take this little world he's carving out. And the wonderful thing, the miraculous thing, is that so far, every time he has pushed out on his own terms to see if he hits that fence, he doesn't find it, and realizes that his world is bigger and his safety net is still there.



I heard some commotion downstairs one evening when I was in the house by myself and I quietly crept down the stairs (I'm learning where the quietest parts of the stairway are for maximum sneakupability) with my camera and sat at the base of the stairs. In a few seconds, Hawk poked his head around the corner, watched me and promptly sat down on the ground and relaxed. So I did the same. I moved off the stairs to the basement hallway and sat against the wall snapping pictures of Hawk. He sat, not just comfortably but almost aloof like any other cat would. Soon Bandit wandered in and the three of us had some quiet bonding time as we watched each other, talked and listened. Bandit sat in one doorway, Hawk in the other and it was mesmerizing to watch Hawk as he observed Bandit, as if taking notes on how to be a pudgy playful kitten again.

Keep pushing, Hawk. There's no fences here.