Moises is two for two this week.
First he chased the big mean deer out of the yard:
I saw the two young deer in my yard early Sunday morning. Apologies to those of you who saw the photo on Instagram. I watched them a few moments and, as the front deer wandered a little too far forward for me to capture with my camera, I saw him freeze in a position of guarded wariness. It took me a moment to find the cause of his distress, but then I saw Moises, crouched in stalking position probably about 15 feet ahead of the deer.
I watched a moment and returned to my desk and my journaling only to notice a few minutes later, about 6 minutes, when I consulted my watch that although one young deer had happily retreated to the back of the lawn to munch on some tender leaves, the first deer was still standing, frozen, in more of less the same position. I rose to watch. The deer would throw his ears back, stamp his feet, and then freeze again, alert and nervous. Moises had crept a bit forward but was still out of range of stamping feet. At the stamping he would freeze, then arch his back, then slink down into hunt position, occasionally slinking forward, on the alert, on the prowl. This continued for several more minutes, I reckon about 10 overall. I was surprised it went on so long, but Moises has always been the most focused cat I have ever owned, at least when it comes to the hunt.
Eventually the other deer, the one happily enjoying a bit of breakfast, became startled and went crashing through the woods, distracting Moises' opponent, who leapt in the air and followed his companion down the hill. Moises relaxed, rose, and sauntered, cockily, back to the front of the house.
Second:
On Monday Moises had another small adventure. He was sunning himself on the front step in the mid afternoon heat, when he saw a couple of young political campaign volunteers canvasing the neighborhood. Seeing the enemy advancing on the front line, Moises assumed a stealth position beneath a hydrangea outside the font door. The young man came up the steps and knocked on the door. Moises, probably seeing me come down the stairs, came up behind the planter on the porch and leapt up into the fern, in what is usually his entrance position, thereby startling the young man. As I opened the door, the young man was fleeing down the steps. Seeing that the gray blur that rustled the plants was merely a cat, we had a good laugh and he continued on his way. The enemy having been vanquished, Moises calmly reclaimed his position in the sun — the master surveying his kingdom.