Springtime in Sicily

Spring (primavera in Italian) is my favorite time of year in Sicily. I haven't experienced a Summer here, but from what I hear it won't be a contender in my favorites list. (think triple digits with 80% humidity)

Springtime comes early to Sicily. In February the Almond trees start blossoming. In March the wildflowers start to explode into dazzling displays of color blanketing hillsides and valleys. In April, the flowers are still blooming and the Orange trees in the valley where I live are bursting with sweet aromas that travel on the warm Spring breezes. I don't think I've lived anywhere else where you can smell Spring. Its incredible.

Pumpkin Tails - A day (or night) in the life of our cat

This morning started like most mornings. I crawled out of bed and stumbled my way downstairs to make my breakfast and cafe latte (no longer just "latte", if you order latte in Italy you get milk).

I noticed something slightly peculiar when I walked into the kitchen. The pantry was open (not peculiar, we have the bad habit of forgetting to close it) and Pumpkin's bag of toys and treats was upside down on the floor.

Hmmmm....did it just fall out?

I didn't think too much of it until I turned to walk towards the fridge, glanced in the dining room and saw something grass like all over the floor. I stepped into the dining room to inspect and saw a ripped open bag of catnip, with a strung-out cat in the middle of the mess. Apparently, Pumpkin pulled his treat bag out of the pantry, pulled the catnip out of the treat bag, drug it into the dining room, ripped it open and got high.

"Dude....catnip is awesome"

As I started cleaning up the mess, Pumpkin decided to take one last roll in his catnip stash.

"ooh, I love the kitty drugs!"

So this is what Pumpkin does when we sleep. I guess this explains the weird noises I heard during the night and why he was such a spaz this morning! Note to self: close the pantry.