"Buried Alive?"

Shortly after Gypsy, my English Pointer dog and I moved to the cabin, a few feral cats began to apppear at our front door. You might ask," How do you know they are feral cats?" Easy, they walk with their tails down. We thought a few of these beautiful cats would be a good idea to keep unwanted critters at bay. So, we put some food out on the front porch for them. There was a good bit of nose to nose hissing until we put a dish of food out for each cat. We are learning. They had to be happy with dog food at first because that was all we had. They ate it like there was no tomorrow. We named one cat Butchie Bull's Eye because he had a bull's eye on his side. Not a good thing since he lives here in the center of a hunting area. My daughter named one cat Half and Half because he is half white and half gray. We named another cat Bobbed Tail Boss, because she turned out to be the boss of all the cats. She was also the mother of two beautiful kittens. One was a bobbed tail. Several other cats have tried to move in here, but, to no avail. Bobbed Tailed Boss said no and the food supply said no. The food supply normally determines the number of feral cats you will have. Gypsy and I and Bobbed Tailed Boss felt six cats were enough for us.
So, on with my story. I soon discovered the kittens liked to crawl into the interior recesses of my car. So, before I could start my engine I had to honk the horn, jingle my keys above the four wheel wells and open the hood to check for hidden kittens. When I started to back up, I would do so in short bursts to give any stragglers a final chance to get away. Well, you may have guess it. One day as I was getting ready to go to town, little bobbed tail kitty did't make it out of some recess of my car in time. As I was constantly checking, I found her dying by the back tire of my car. I was extremely upset and was not at all sure I could go to town. However, after contemplating the situation throughly I decided to bury the bobbed tail kitten and go to town. Because the ground around the cabin is mostly rock, I could not get the shovel in the ground for a proper buriel. Then I spotted my cedar compost pile. I could bury the cat there. So, I carefully picked up the kitten and wrapped in in a soft cloth. I then dug a small hole in my compost pile and buried the kitten. I cried on the way to town, but, felt I had done all I could to protect the cats. This was a sad beginning to an otherwise lovely day at the cabin.
Several days later my eight year old grandson Kody came to the cabin for a visit. I told him the story of the little, bobbed tailed kitten. He said,"Grandma, can we go check on the kitten?" I reminded him the the kitten was dead and buried. He said he did't care, he still wanted to check. I said,"OK." We went to the pump house to get a shovel and headed towards the cedar compost pile. I put the shovel in the compost exactly where I had buried the kitten. Once, twice I turned the compost with the shovel. No kitten. Kody and I pondered this situation. He said,"Maybe, Grandma the kitten wasn"t dead when you buried it." Oh my! I decided it would have had no problem getting out of the compost pile if it was still alive. That was a definite possibility. Had I buried a kitten alive? This would definitely be a first. Then, we decided some critter might have come in the dark of the night and snatched the little kitten from her grave. We then decided we would probably never know for sure what happened to the kitten. We decided that life is like that. We are reminded life is fragile, and we must be content in each moment of everyday. We don't always have answers to some of the situations life throws at us, but, we do know that after the situation is pondered for a time, it is best to go out and take on the day.
The West wind has come to the woods today telling us a change is coming. Gypsy went back to bed and I went to my writing desk to write. The morning glories on the fence outside the cabin window next to my desk are dancing in the wind. They are cold. The hummimgbirds have gone to a warmer place. Winter is coming to the Texas Hill Country. We like the cooler days. We don't know what the Winter will bring to us and the woods, but, we will ponder it and go out and take on the day.