Poinsettias and Ghosts

Our "Christmas tree" this year is a row of poinsettias. We normally decorate a house plant or one of our indoor bonsais, but with all the health issues we've dealt with this fall, neither of us have much more energy than to put out poinsettias and enjoy our Christmas cactus that is blooming this year.

The kitties like how we've placed the poinsettias. They hide behind them and ambush one another, play with the foil and bat at the leaves. They probably don't remember the little birds and tiny ornaments we've put on our house plants in the past. Like normal cats, they kept the birds and ornaments everywhere but on the plants.

Apparently our ghosts are having coffee tonight. Laurie and Stretch started smelling coffee a little earlier, but there was no obvious source. Stretch is the one who acts like he sees ghosts, although we've heard them from time to time. Tonight Stretch started smelling the air very intensely, jumped up on the table, still smelling the air, then stared wide-eyed at the counter by the sink. He is still watching something move back and forth in front of the stove. I can't see anything by the stove, and since my finer sense of smell is still wiped out from the chemo, I can't smell the coffee that Laurie and Stretch are smelling. I took a photo of the area that Stretch is watching, but didn't see any ghosts on the photo.

All the kitties have taken notice of the ghosts at one time or another, but Stretch is definitely the most sensitive, as he often watches them milling around when there is no one else in the room be me and him. I just got a slight whiff of coffee as Stretched perked up even more while keeping is eyes on the visitors. I suppose the ghosts are celebrating the holiday season, enjoying the poinsettias, coffee and possible our company as well. At least that's the best and most fun explanation we have so far for the odd cat behaviors, noises and smells.

Puck and Diné play in the poinsettias as Stretch tries to sneak by