HARBINGERS OF SPRING - 11 APRIL, 2023
Every year, our slow, long return of Spring is heralded by the return of the Swallows ... that was this morning !
Living aboard ship, you have an acute awareness of noise and alarm systems, any change in the weather, sea conditions, or ballast becomes a second sense, it awakens you, causes pause, flushes you with a wave of fear first, concern second, followed by investigation then action.
Part of that alarm system is rumbling fenders, squeaking dock lines, hammering flag lines and halyards, fluttering flags, and the shipboard cat.
That could be the ships dog, the parrot, or "Louie" the Iguana, in our case it is "Tiger" the ships cat.
Cats (animals) communicate, with noises, body language, and activity levels, even within their species in different ways, Tiger has been aboard as an "only cat" since December, her Abyssinian manner, and ways are very much different than any of the 25 or so cats we have had over our lifetimes, she is insanely rigid on schedules, timings, and repetitiveness, almost to being problematic, her small slight stature cannot command response, so, she uses verbal.
We had to adapt to her almost never ending, incessant quiet "meow" that she unconsciously emits, like a noisy blower, it now has become an onboard background or white noise sound, her inaudible purr and aloof personality has her as a cat-mom spoiled brat, with three penchants... food, window watching, and playing with her "greenie" (a 1/4 " plastic tubing obsession).
As cat owners, we all know of the loud, raucus, machine-gun meow fest at feeding time, this morning at 0530 here aboard Sofea, that was the signal... 0530 ? from Miss Routine cat ? (accompanied with the rattle of aluminum slat venetian blind noises).
And, there they were... three early scouts for the Swallow team that will once again arrive for summer, they return here around mid-April of every year, and exchange jobs wih our winter resident Loon, who will leave shortly.
We knew from the Sea gull, and Duck response that this day would come, and the anti-gravity antics when the once-a-month spider removing Sparrow arrives for her 90 second visit... but "this"... no sleeping through that.
There was no (as in NO) calming her down or shutting her up, the visited their old perch 18" out of the alley table glass, (only three), soon, they will line up there every morning 50-75 strong and become our alarm clock all summer long at 0530, we are the only boat in the harbor for this event.
Although they do not nest here, the babies will learn to fly from here, be fed here, and doze in the sun here, hey will fill the forty foot rail and life line for an hour and a half daily (wind, rain, etc.) ... it has been ritual for 6 years now (before "Tiger").
I do not know the pulse rate of felines, but, this will be scary, noisy, and possibly psychologically damaging... frantic, takes on new meaning, and I struggle for terminology.
SEE: 8 APRIL, 2020 and our 17 APRIL, 2020 comment "The Swallows returned today !! another 70 degree day !"
More about Harbor birds here... https://www.mvsofea.com/2019/04/4-april-2019-mv-sofea-deck-log-ducks-of.html , and here: https://www.mvsofea.com/2019/04/7-april-2019-mv-sofea-deck-log-ducks.html