summer evening
It's been a relatively cool but mostly sunny day. The pets had outdoor play time when I first got home from work, but it seemed to be clouding over then in preparation for a storm and eventually all four of them came in of their own accord and all remained inside long enough for me to close the door. That was so little trouble, I felt sufficiently kindly disposed toward them to open the backdoor again this evening. It was a perfect summer evening and the prospect of spending it relaxing in my backyard was too pleasant to worry about any potential trouble getting the cats to return inside when I was ready to do so. This turned out to be a fabulous idea. It was very pleasant to stand in the backyard and/or sit on the stoop, listen to the cicadas and watch the kitties chase each other around. This lasted for a half hour or so until dusk. It is much harder to get the little nocturnal beasts back inside after dark, so at twilight I scooped first one kitty and then the other up and deposited each inside. The dogs had just been given chewies, so for once they were not standing right inside the door ready to pounce on the reluctantly returning cats. Neither cat complained too much about coming inside. They seemed to enjoy the outdoor time but also be ready to enjoy the great indoors when they returned to it. Wonderful!