A ruckus

I was just drawn to the back kitchen window by a loud chattering sound. When I arrived, I saw a small tuxedoed cat--a real elegant little beauty--with a limp squirrel in its mouth. The squirrel was at least a third of the cat's size.

In the pin oak, above, the squirrel's partner was cussing furiously: "CHIT! CHIT!" And our resident pair of mockingbirds flitted from one end of the hammock to the other, joining the indignant chorus.

The little black-and-white cat stood for a moment, indecisive, then took the squirrel under the house.