THE ADVENTURES OF PERIWINKLE & STINKY: PART CCLXXXVIII

Waiting for Periwinkle

Though Stinky is always anxious when it is his turn to plan Periwinkle’s and his adventure, he is feeling confident that she will enjoy this one, as it is reminiscent of their very first adventure. They have had 287 adventures already, and Stinky wonders if Periwinkle will remember the first one. As Stinky is pondering this question, he sees the teleportation tunnel begin to vibrate. He quickly runs to the exit to catch Periwinkle as she comes tumbling out with a whoosh. 

The two tabbies spend their usual several minutes catching up on the past week, whisker kissing and paw hugging. Before Periwinkle can inquire about Stinky’s plan for the day, he says, “I have a surprise today. We are going to revisit a past adventure.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound like all that much fun. I like doing new things,” says Periwinkle with a hint of exasperation in her voice.

Leapin’ Lizards Redux

“Stinky giggles and says, “I think you will change your mind when I tell you. Do you remember our very first adventure?” he asks Periwinkle.

“Of course, silly. You came to my house on October 15, 2019, and we went lizard hunting. You called our adventure ‘Leapin’ Lizards’, and we won our very first Certificate of Excellence from the Cat Writers’ Association for it,” replies Periwinkle.

Stinky claps his paws together and says, “Very good. You have an excellent memory.”

“A cat never forgets her very first adventure. But do you even get lizards here, or are we going back to my house?”

“Nope we are staying right here in my yard. Mom and Dad never saw any lizards when they first moved here. But the spring and summer temperatures in our area are much warmer now than they were in the 70s, and they have been seeing them in our yard for the last few years,” explains Stinky.

“Cool! Do you have our lizard hunting equipment?”

“Yep, it’s on the catio. Let’s grab it and head to the yard.”

 

 

When they get to the catio, the tabbies find Kizmet, Cooper Murphy and Sawyer there, so Periwinkle needs to stay a few minutes and visit with them.

When the tabbies finally arrive in the yard, Stinky explains to Periwinkle that they mostly get juvenile and adult skinks in the yard, which are native to Virginia. But sometimes his parents will see another native species, the Eastern Fence lizard.

“I like the baby and subadult skinks best as they have a bright blue stripe down their backs and blue tails,” Stinky tells Periwinkle.

“I hope we find one of those, Stinky. Our friend Teddy from Two Spoiled Cats is always saying how he likes to chase skinks,” responds Periwinkle.

“I know, he even talked about it on his blog on Mother’s Day.”

Chipmunk & Groundhog Spotting

While Periwinkle & Stinky are scouting for skinks, they come across some of the resident chipmunks.

 

 

“Oh, Stinky, look at the adorable little chipmunks. I wish I could take one of them home to play with.”

“They are pretty cute. Those and the bunnies are my mom’s favorites of the wildlife that come into our yard.”

Moving on to the side yard, they see a juvenile ground hog and run up to get a closer look.

 

 

“Mom is not too happy with these critters, as she is pretty certain they are the ones that dug up half the coleus she planted in her porch pots on Caturday. They didn’t eat the plants but made a huge mess that mom is going to have to clean up. Then she’ll have to repot everything.”

“Stinky, that’s a shame. I know your mom works hard to make the yard look nice.”

“She’s feeling really defeated! Not only have the coleus been messed with, but also one of the animals that hang out around here ate the heliotrope and lobelia she planted in her pots in the back yard. They’d never done that before this year. Dad is going to buy a huge container of Cayenne pepper to sprinkle around everything in the hope that will prevent future munching.”

“That sounds like a good plan, Stinky. I hope it works.”

“Me too, I don’t like it when Mom is unhappy and feeling down. Come on, let’s see if we can find one of those skinks or an Eastern Fence lizard.”

“Right behind you,” responds Periwinkle.

Broad-headed Skink

The tabbies start searching the yard but especially the driveway and stone walls as they know lizards like sunpuddles just as much as kitties do. After what seems like forever, Stinky hears Periwinkle let out a big whoop. “Come quick, Stinky. I found one and am about to swoop in and scoop him up in my net!”

 

 

Stinky runs as fast as he can to where Periwinkle is standing on the wall. He arrives just in time to see the skink before it scampers away. “Dang it Stinky, they are just too darn fast to catch. I should have tried to snag it with my claws,” laments Periwinkle. “Were you able to see what kind it was?”

“Yep, it was a Broad-headed Skink or a Plestiodon laticeps, to be exact. And it must have been an adult as it didn’t have any blue on its tail; though, it looked as if the end of its tail might have been missing. They grow to from 6.5 to 12.75 inches.” replies Stinky.

“Maybe some other cat or animal already tried to catch it and bit off the end of its tail,” exclaims Periwinkle.

“That is definitely a possibility. Oh, and I think it was a male, as their cheeks turn orangish during spring breeding season.”

“Well, I guess I am happy we at least saw one, so hunting wasn’t a total loss, and we did get to see those chipmunks and the groundhog. So what do you want to do now?”

“I was thinking we could head back to the periwinkle patch for a picnic lunch,” Stinky tells Periwinkle.

Periwinkle claps her paws together and replies, “Yippee, one of my favorite things to do.”

Stinky tells Periwinkle that he is going to take their supplies back to the catio and let his mom know they are ready for her to bring out their picnic stuff.

Picnic with Periwinkle Among the Periwinkles

 

 

“Stinky, it is so peaceful and beautiful here. It makes me smile when I see all the periwinkle blooms.”

“You need to let my mom know, as she spent several hours weeding just a few days ago.”

“I will definitely tell her before heading home.”

After finishing their picnic, the tabbies take a long nap in a sunpuddle. When they wake up, Periwinkle thanks Stinky’s mom for weeding the periwinkles and setting up their picnic. She also wishes her a belated happy Mother’s Day. She then says, “good-bye,” to all Stinky’s fur sibs and Dad Tom. When Periwinkle is finished, she and Stinky share whisker kisses and paw hugs as well as tell each other, “I love you.” Periwinkle finally enters the teleportation tunnel and with a wave and blown kiss is gone in a whoosh.

Stinky returns to the catio for a nap and dreams of Periwinkle.

The End

Periwinkle and Stinky will be participating in the Happy Tuesday blog hop at Comedy Plus. To join them, click on the badge below.

Note: The information provided about lizards in Virginia comes from the Virginia Herpetological Society. To learn more, click on the “Broad-headed Skink” heading above.