Fur In The Paint

I had stayed rather late at the gallery the other night, working on my Colton painting. It was well after 10pm and I took a break to rest my hand and my mind, by laying on the couch. I shut off the overhead lights but had left my matboard room lit so we’d have a nice soft glow. The radio was playing country music in the background (a new found interest. I have never been a country music listener but somehow of late . . . say the past 3 days . . . it seems to speak to me.)

So there I am in almost total darkness, music playing, feet up and totally relaxing and I hear “Mrowr!” and the frantic pattering of tiny feet. I open one eye and see a shadowy Budda. Head down, back arched and tail all poofy, spronking back and forth in front of the couch.

Seeing that he is obviously up to no good, or at the very least he’s in no mood to let me relax and nap. I growl out a threatening “Budda!” and he promptly collapses on the floor staring at me. I close my eyes but can’t quite relax as well as before. I open my eyes and he is still staring at me. Tail thwonking back and forth in an agitated manner.

I say “You be good! Or I’m going to have to spank your buttcheeks! . . . Spank! . . . Spank!” (That happens to be my favorite threat. Occasionally I accompany a hand clap on the Spank part. He never gets spanked so it is really an idle warning. Unfortunately he knows it.)

He drops his head to floor and remains motionless. I keep watching him, making eye contact in a way that I hope says “knock it off, I mean it!” He looks away (clearly submitting to my awesome superiority) and casually rolls onto his side, looking off in another direction, decidely bored. I close my eyes.

Suddenly I hear the rapid patter of feet but before I can even get my eyes open, he bolts over and bounces off my shoulder with his whole body while making a loud “Mmrooowrr!!!” translation “Boo!” And yes, I yelped in surprise as he giggles happily to himself while running full tilt out of the front room as fast as his little legs can carry him.

Budda is 11 months old today. Ah, they grow up so fast.