atHome with Marcia

with Marcia

Ihave spent the better part of this fall and winter in search of an elusive creature. She is all furry, long-haired, jet black with neon yellow eyes and goes by the name of Gatinha, which is the Portuguese word for “little cat.” Maybe she wasn’t impressed with the name we gave her ... after all, it is not very creative if you happen to be Portuguese. And she may have been insulted because she’s not so “little,” thank you very much. Or maybe she just hated my over-enthusiastic golden retriever who was raised by three cats and loves felines to death (not literally of course) and playfully chased her out the back door in late September. Panicked (I was in charge of caring for this cat long-term for my son), I put out alerts to my neighbors, online lost pet sites, and every humane society within 30 miles of my house. This resulted in some Gatinha sightings, and many false alarms. All-black cats are really hard to tell apart. Just when I was about to give up hope, I spotted her calmly sunning herself in the driveway. She looked no worse for wear, dining, apparently, on mice and grasshoppers. But one look at me spying on her and she took off. I started putting out food for Gatinha. Unsure if it was her or a fat skunk eating the food, I borrowed a motion detector camera from our neighbor for two weeks. Sure enough, she visited the food dish regularly. I put the food dish closer to the back door. Then, inside mudroom. She disappeared again for days before Christmas. I feared the worst when I spotted a sharp-beaked hawk circling the yard hunting squirrels. Late afternoon on Christmas, she appeared again, lured by the tuna fish in her bowl. Right before New Year’s eve, a friend who visited asked to be congratulated. He saw Gatinha in the mudroom and quickly closed the door. She was in the house! But, in the ensuing days I could not find her anywhere. She had, somehow, escaped again. Did she hide and wait until I opened the door and slipped out? Did the dog chase her out again? This mysterious, beautiful creature is still outside as winter sets in. I want to catch her and keep her safe and warm. But clearly, that is not what Gatinha wants. Don’t we all behave like this in life? At times we are Gatinha, refusing to take what is generously offered to us. At other times, we are the ones demanding that the natural order of things obeys our bidding. There are things that happen sometimes that we don’t understand. Gatinha’s elusiveness is one of them. I believe that one of these days I will catch her and give her a good home. But, like with most things in life, it won’t happen until she is good and ready.

Marcia Passos

atHOME MAGAZINE

ISSUE 24 • WINTER 2022

atHome Magazine is winner of the 2020 APEX Award for Publication Excellence! Thank you to all atHome contributors who made this award possible!

PUBLISHER Backporch Publishing LLC

FOUNDER/EDITOR Marcia Passos

CONTRIBUTORS Clark Cayer • Ann Henderson Nancy McGartland • Caroline Tremblay

PHOTOGRAPHY Kelly Fletcher

PROOFREADER Emily Marie Passos Duffy

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CONTACT US atHome Magazine 16 Russell Street • Keene, N.H. 03431 603-369-2525 marcia@atHOMEnewengland.com www.atHOMEnewengland.com atHome is published four times a year (Spring, Summer, Fall/Holiday and Winter) by Keene, N.H.-based Backporch Publishing LLC. atHome is a consumer publication that highlights the homes and gardens of residents in tri-state area of New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts.

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