Yesterday Spring made something of a debut – we have flooding, ice and snow still, but the temperature was above freezing, it was lovely. The nicest thing I saw was Minnie out on the wall where she loves to hide and hunt for mice. It was the first time since her amputation that I’ve seen her out on that wall in the open, and I am projecting, but I had this idea she was turning to me and saying, it’s okay, it’s okay, I live my life on three legs.

I am not certain we did the right thing amputating Minnie’s leg rather than euthanizing her – unlike many people in the animal world, I have a deep respect for death sometimes – but this sight of Minnie stirred me, she has had a long and rough road to recovery, it is arrogant of me to assume that was better for her than it was for me and Maria. I wish for her many sunny mornings on her wall, many mice to catch and eat, a return in some small way to her wonderful life as a barn cat. She will never again roam outside and night, she is too vulnerable, but as the Dahlia garden and other flowers bloom, she could find a bit of her life again out there.