Thursday, September 22, 2011

2011 Streak Day 236 (Thursday Aug 25th): Attention


2011 Streak Day 236 (Thursday Aug 25th): Walk - 2 miles, Time 45min,  Weather - grey
I stood and watched this for some time. The cat was one side of the garage roof whilst doves were on the other: preening, cooing, walking up and down. The cat was in tension as if every muscle was ready to spring, yet it was poised. The only thing that moved was its head, which followed every movement of the birds. It was in a state of high awareness yet the birds seemed oblivious to any danger.
I wanted to see what would happen.
My mind has been formed by watching too many cartoons and I imagined a Tom and Jerry scene, with the cat pouncing, missing and then flying over the edge -splat!. But real cats are a bit more canny than that.
The birds seem happy with a cat so close, maybe they are playing a game and backing their quick reactions.  For some reason they did not fly away.
In the end nothing happened. 
But whilst I was watching I was entranced by the balance of the cat and the way it was poised, ready for action. If as runners we are trying to be a good animal, we have a long way to go. Boy oh boy am I lumpen in comparison.

No comments: