There so many adventures to have

One day when mummy and I were adventuring in the woods and admiring how wonderful the countryside is around us she said to me that this year we would explore some new places and I could become a real adventure cat. Just recently mummy has been starting to fulfill her promise to me. You already know that I’ve been adventuring in the woods and that I like to hang out at the local pub but where next? Well, one day mummy got out my backpack and I thought we were going off to one of our usual places for our walkies but mummy had other ideas, as I sat in my backpack strapped into the front seat of the car I suddenly felt the car turn, this isn’t the way to the woods I meowed to mummy, she said it’s ok Jen we’re going for a little adventure today, we’re off to explore somewhere new. As we drove the road twisted this way and that way and I meowed a lot as I don’t much like it when the road is twisty but as soon as I started meowing the car slowed down and we stopped. I got all excited at the thought we were about to explore somewhere new and kept trying to pop my head out the top of the backpack.

I felt mummy lift me out and the familiar jiggling feeling of mummy walking with me strapped tightly to her front, then the zzzzzzip noise and I was free to pop my head out and take a ‘look’ at where we were. There was a very odd sound in the distance, something I had never heard before, it was a gentle kind of swooshing noise, very regular but very unusual, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, it was intriguing but not at all scary. We stopped for a little bit to listen to it and so I could just take it all in and I could make sure I remembered that noise and that it wasn’t something to be scared of.

Then we were off again and before long I felt the familiar tipping sensation of mummy showing me it was time to get out as she clipped on the lead. Out I plopped onto a hard, firm surface, a bit like when mummy and I have walked along beside the road sometimes. As we wandered along I could hear other people in the distance and as they got closer mummy stopped to talk to them and then some unfamiliar little hands started to stroke me, they were very gentle and so I didn’t really mind. We carried on exploring and mummy let me venture off the path onto the grass at the side. This is where all the good smells are and where I can get the best idea of my surroundings and who I’m sharing this place with. It was very, very squidgy and there were lots of puddles which I didn’t like so I meowed to mummy who squelched over and picked me up and we carried on along the path instead.

Mummy was telling me that there had been so much rain that the ground was completely waterlogged but we continued on until we found a bit that was ok for me to walk across, I could hear the familiar sound of the wind rustling leaves so I knew there were some trees nearby so I headed for those, they’re always a good place to explore. As we headed for the trees I could hear pawsteps coming along the path and mummy explained to me that I didn’t need to be scared as unlike the woods, here all the dogs are kept on leads and they’re very strict about it but just as a precaution and as these dogs aren’t used to sharing their path with a cat as they got closer mummy scooped me up and I sat on her shoulder in safety until they had gone past. Then off we went again, pottering along slowly stopping to sniff every interesting smell along the way until I could hear in the distance a really unusual sound, I could figure out what it was but it was moving fairly quickly. It was another sound that was quite regular and the closest thing I could liken it to was the sound of the cars as they go past but not as big and bulky. I don’t like the noisy cars so I headed off to the relative safety of the grass and found a tree to sit next to, if the noise was too scary I could quickly climb up the tree. Mummy realised I was nervous and as the noise came closer she said it’s ok Jen, it’s just a tricycle, they rent them out here so people can ride around. It’s just like the bikes that go past the house but with an extra wheel.

We explored some more but like the woods mummy wouldn’t let me go too far off the path as she said this was a nature reserve and we needed to respect the animals who live here. Then mummy said it was time to head back but that as I’d been so good we’d come back again another time to explore some more as this place is really big and there’s lots of other areas that we can have our adventures in and might be a little quieter than the main path.

Mummy was true to her word, a few weeks later out came the backpack. Despite it being a bit cold and damp – mummy always says this is the best time to go to public places as it’s always quieter we headed back there but this time when we arrived we went a different route. Mummy carried me much further in the backpack before letting me out, with me protesting loudly most of the way but when she finally let me out is was definitely worth the wait. It was quiet and tranquil, there were birds singing and I could tell there were lots of trees and interesting things to explore. So many smells and lots and lots of grass, I set off exploring right away trotting along the path like I knew exactly where I was going.

Mummy let me choose the way and let me explore as far off the path as the length of my lead would allow, there were some more wet bits but this time I didn’t mind so much as the wet bits had trees in them so I checked those out whilst I was there. As we adventured further into the wood, there was even more to explore and we came across something that mummy called a pond.

Then, just as we were starting to really explore mummy said that it was time to head back, something about if we didn’t get back to the car in time it would get locked in and then we’d have to walk all the way home! We had spent so long checking out and enjoying being in the woods and exploring all the paths and finding out where they went and what was down each one that we had lost track of the time a bit. So mummy said come on Jen, there’s only one thing for it and that’s for you to hitch a lift and I’ll do all the walking back. So I was unceremoniously scooped up into mummy arms and off she went at quite a quick pace. I scrambled up onto mummy shoulder and she does this thing where she just gently holds the tip of my tail to keep me steady and so I don’t wobble off but I was having none of that, I was having such fun exploring and running this way and that along the path that I freed myself from her grasp and just thought that if I climbed onto the top of the back pack that I could then clamber down it and escape down mummy’s back to go and explore some more. So I lulled mummy into a false sense that I was going to pop back into my backpack for the ride (I do this sometimes when we go to our regular woods) but instead of getting in I clambered over! what are you up to back there Jenny mummy said just as I slid off the back and was left dangling by the lead as mummy had it on a short setting. Oh come on Jen, I’m so glad there’s no one around to see this you’re not setting a very good example as an adventure cat. You won’t like this bit of the path either as we’re back to squelchy, muddy, slippy paths. Still I had made it to the ground and was heading back to the woods, to explore more! Sorry Jen we need to shift to get home, so I’m going to have to carry you. This is how it went all the way back, mummy picking me up and me attempting various ways to escape again and in the process covering mummy in lots of muddy paw prints. Despite all of this slightly naughty behaviour mummy wouldn’t just put me in the backpack and zip me up to make her walking easier, that’s not what its all about, it’s about having the outdoor experience together. We learn together, working things out through trial and error, figuring out what works best for both mummy and I. Maybe what works one time in one place isn’t quite right for another time and situation but we can work it out together.

Eventually, after what seemed like forever (but was probably just many minutes) of wriggling and walking and being picked up and meowing mummy actually put me down on the ground and I heard the familiar sound of the backpack being swung of mummy’s back and gently landing on the ground next to me. Time to get in she said, we’re nearly all the way back and I can see the car so in I hopped and mummy clipped me in and lifted me and the backpack onto her front for the last little way, just me and mummy with my head popped out so I know where we’re going and can still catch the scents and sounds. They’re different from up here (even though mummy isn’t very tall) and I can get a wider idea of the place we’re walking in, picking up scents as they breeze past us rather than the ones right on the ground in front of me. I can hear the distant noises too, building a bigger picture of where we are and what’s around us, leaves rustling in the distance, birds chirping, cows mooing and sheep going baa. There was no sound of other people walking or cars or any interruptions, just us and nature and then…the sound of the zip as mummy closed up the backpack as we’d made it back to the car just in time, mummy told me we were the last car left as she buckled me into the front seat to head home where I could settle down and drift off to sleep and dream of my next adventure.