#1. The cat is subsumed by melancholy

“Oh yet to relish, to sleep, to bathe in the heat of the midday sun–”

–sighs the cat

Oh yet to languish, to sip, to savor a cup of catmint tea–”

–bemoans the cat

Listen for verbal sighs and dramatic monologues. See especially planned pauses. Watch for wistful longing and waxing poetic. Smile and nod as you listen to your cat’s woes.

Act 1, Scene 1: Bay Window in the Breakfast Room.

Most Beloved upon seeing a shadow and in her most dramatic voice:

“In the middle of a mid-summer’s heat, late July or early August or perhaps middle August or maybe just summer’s end, without significant rainfall—almost enough to feel the standard repertoire of feelings common this time of year. June has bloomed, the massive undertaking of mulching and weeding, planting and wanting to be outside in 75 degree-weather has faded, and a certain weariness sets in. All-out efforts, even down to the hiring of help in the gardens, have not delayed the setting in of what always seems too short a bloom season.

One month in full summer bloom, June through July, then the sudden drying up where not only flowers fade, but moods do too. A bittersweet longing for what can only ever be temporal, an ache for beauty and warmth year round, and the reality that late summer brings the heaviness of high humidity, temperatures too hot to be comfortable outside, and the dip of disappointment that no matter how fierce our efforts, no matter how much our devotion, colors fade, the blooming ends, and the browning decay of this too soon mid-summer still come.”

Most Beloved sighs to take a paws (or “pause” in lay terms)

#2. The cat sees what she wants to see

Resurrection lilies revel us in their sudden vertical growth and striking pink blooms, a shade far more common in the spring here than during the mid-late summer months.

But where is my Beloved Catmint?

Where has my catmint gone?

Herbs, in full bloom, spill over the sides of their pots.

Daylilies, also in full bloom, burst in a sundry colors.

And aquatic life–lily pads, canna lilies at water’s edge, resurrection lily preparing to bloom, koi beneath the lily pads–still define the periphery of summer in our gardens.

#3. The cat forgets how beautiful Fall can be

And so yes, Most Beloved, the leaves are beginning to drop–the 100-year-old Silver Maple is shedding some leaves; a few Elm tree leaves are sifting down; and the dwarf-mounding chokeberries have traded their green summer attire for crimson leaves and purple berries.

Look up at skies laced with love, and glance around to see flowers yet to bloom. Fall ushers in cooler nights and gentler days, though dearest one and forever Most Beloved, the temperature today is nearly 90 degrees.