Lisa, Dusty and the Tail of the Balcony*)

[janestarz]

Every summer as the weather grows more warm we open up the livingroom doors to the balcony. As we live on the third and top floor (fourth in American counting) of the apartment building, the sun beats down on the flat roof right over our heads and the heat from the apartments below seeps through the concrete to our apartment. In winter this means we hardly use any heating, and in summer it means we're extra uncomfortable.

As spring starts we usually benefit from a light breeze and as we open up the windows on the other side of the house and the doors in between the breeze is the natural airconditioner that keeps temperature bearable in the house. When the summer gets on with being hot, we keep the heat out by closing the blinds and the doors and windows, only to open them up at the end of the day as it cools down a bit. In a normal house this works fine, but with our apartment: not so much.



Dusty lounging about on the balcony. Both our cats were rescued from the Krimpen pound.

Living this high up means two things. One: our garden is really, really quite deep. Two: the cats don't get to go outside. Though they are really curious about the hallway and venture down some of the staircases to greet us when we return from a larp (try dodging two cats on a concrete stairwell when you're carrying a big and heavy box that blocks any view in front of you!), they dare not venture down the last stairwell. I had Lisa come down that far once, but she was startled by seeing the outside world moving up so very close (on the other side of the door) and fled back up the stairs, never to return.

But in summer, as scary as it is each year when we first open up the doors, the cats get to lounge on the balcony.
Our balcony is rather small, and if the doors are open both of us can sit there and there might be a bit of room for a stool with a pot of tea. The doors swing outward, which is rather annoying if you have stuff (like two lawn chairs and a stool with a pot of tea) on the balcony.
Our balcony houses our christmas tree, which has lost all its needles in the warm spring but is slowly regrowing them. It houses our strawberry plant and our Rubus Phoenicolasius. And for most of the summer it also houses our cats.


Lisa, mother to Dusty, on the balcony.

As soon as we get home at night after work, we open up the doors and windows to let the fresh breeze in and as soon as the doors swing outward at least one kitty -- usually Lisa, who is fearless in this regard -- pounces on the balcony. Dusty is more apprehensive as she is a complete bint and scared of her own shadow, but Dusty too gets out there if she can. Last summer when it was really warm, she had hidden on the nextdoor balcony (there's a bit of a hole she can squeeze through) and had been locked outside for a night.

Lisa absolutely lurrrrves Being Outside With The Boss. She goes bonkers. Her paws knead the concrete, she purrs like crazy and her mouth starts dripping drool as soon as she knows you're out there with her. Lisa is one of those kitties that forgets to swallow as soon as she's purring, and sometimes the most gross drool bubbles or threads hang from her mouth. But we love her anyway.
On those rare days I decide to enjoy the sunshine and have tea outside, you can bet on Lisa curling around my legs the entire time, rubbing her drool on my legs, feet, the chair I'm sitting on, my legs, the stool that holds the tea, and my legs some more. She displays this behavior even when she's outside and you're not, but you're looking at her and it's all wonderful.
Lisa...is rather adorable in her own way.



The problem with cats outside...

What both kitties love to do, is lie down on the concrete like a big furry mop. The breeze pets their bellies and all is right with the world. This behavior is common to cats, especially if there's sand around. Ever see a cat enjoy sand? They roll on their back and over and back to the other side again. It's good against the fleas.
As our Christmas tree has lost all its needles, and these are sort of washed to one side of the balcony, most of the balcony is needle-free. Too bad that whatever they do, our cats seem to bring most of the needles back into the house again in their fur. Lisa especially looks grey more often than not from the city dust that accumulates on our balcony.

As long as the weather keeps and we keep the doors open, the kitties will enjoy the sunshine and the breeze outside. And by the time the autumn showers come, the doors will be closed again, and the cats will forget all about the balcony until the next spring is here and it's all very scary again.

------
^*) Alright, I promise I'll stop with the stupid puns. You probably hate them as much as I do lolcatspeak.

Comments

[janestarz.livejournal.com]

Lisa would go belly-up and drool alllll over you! She'd love that!

[nokey.livejournal.com]

Whereas Dusty would simply freak out: "Waaaah, strange person approaching! Mayday! Mayday! Run! Bail out! Abandon posts! Close the circus!". Or some such anyway.

[anemoona.livejournal.com]

Lisa has one freaky eye.
Or is it reflection from the camera?

[janestarz.livejournal.com]

Something in the pigment, doc says. Can't harm her, doc says.
She's still adorable!