Ernest, holding court

I hadn't seen Ethel or Ernest for the last several trips across the bridge. By now, if she is nesting this spring, Ethel is already likely sitting on eggs in the nest in the Arboretum, and Ernest is likely dropping conifer boughs on her head in regular fashion! So it was especially nice to see Ernest yesterday afternoon right there on one of the favored light posts on the 520 Bridge when I returned from an errand into Seattle about 2:45 pm. We had a laundry room fire at our home on Friday of last week. All of us are fine, thank goodness, including (and especially) our daughter and 2 1/2 year old granddaughter who were here at the time. The house is still standing, albeit with some smoke damage throughout, and the laundry room is almost a total loss. But everything is relative. Our biggest worry was our 5 year old Persian cat, Wilson. He disappeared in the chaos and finally emerged from a hiding place he had discovered during the mayhem of all the smoke and flames, under the Viking Range to a cubby hole behind our dishwasher. He did suffer from smoke inhalation, but after a trip to the emergency veterinary clinic, a shot of steroids, bronchodilator meds, some fluids to treat his dehydration (and a whopping big vet bill) he is back to his sweet self, or nearly so. I felt that seeing Ernest yesterday was a good omen......things will be OK. And if nothing else, this experience has helped put silly things (like the political turmoil flaring now that we are in our extended presidential election season in the US) in perspective. Some things matter more than other things. Blessings come in disguise.