Scooter: "Why are you taking my tree away??"

Me: "It's January. It has to go."

Scooter: "I like sitting beneath it. It's warm and comfy."

Me: "You have a hundred places that are warm and comfy. Besides, the tree is as crisp as an apple."

Scooter: "I need a nap."

~~~~~

My poor Scooter Boy. Everything in life is stress for him. Cats seem to think that everything...every movement, every noise, everything is a personal threat to their lives. Scooter is no exception to this. He can be in a deep (snoring) sleep and if a spider walks across the ceiling it all breaks loose!! He's awake immediately and making those "Someone kill it...I can't reach it." noises.

Granted, Scooter is only 8 years old, but when he was a kitten he would climb anywhere and everywhere using whatever means necessary to get a spider or anything else "bug". These days however, he knows that if he "yowls" long enough someone will kill it for him and "tada", a free meal falls from heaven itself!!

I miss the kitten days. Well, I miss them a little. He was so tiny when I brought him home. He could sit on the palm of my hand and he would crawl onto my shoulder and fall asleep. He weighed practically nothing. These days he tips the scales at over 22 lbs. When he crawls up on your shoulder it's a little like having a large sack of flour strapped to you. I digress however.

The tree is what I meant to tell you about. Once I mention that it's coming down, Scooter disappears to the safety and extreme comfort of the lower bunk bed. Except for the occasional "cookie break" (his, not mine) he's not heard from.

It astounds me how many needles there are on a Christmas tree. They're endless too. I'm certain that for each needle that falls, 40 more sprout on the lifeless tree. It's alright, believe what you will but those needles are somewhat unnerving to me. Come next November I'll still be finding them despite the fact that I vacuum ALL of them up. There should be a study done to investigate this. There's something worthwhile to do with government funds. It's possible that pine needles could be the next neverending fuel source.

I'm wondering if I should go to the curb and haul that big green puppy back here. I could be in possession of a money maker!!

I won't tell Scooter. He won't care in the least.