The Big Picture

My Dear Princess et al,

There was a lot of excitement in the garden this morning. The boys were desperate to get out at 5am as usual. But when I went to do the normal checks (no neighbourhood cats still in the garden) and to close the garden gate, I noticed a hedgehog still in the garden! 

They don't normally hang around at this time, so this was a surprise. I was about to close the gate when - 

"Meow!"

This was Marmalade, the adorable ginger cat. 

"Ssshhh," I told him. "I'll feed you, but keep qu-"

"MEOW MEOW MEOW MEOW MEOW MEOW". 

He's not very subtle. 

So I fed him OUTSIDE our gate, closed it. Alerted Caro that the boys were about to meet a hedgehog and opened the back door. Placing a bowl of food in the garden for the hedgehog.

The boys did not know what to do. They had never been so near to a hedgehog before. 

"Two hedgehogs," said Caro.

It's true! There was another hedgehog hiding under a chair! 

The cats decided that discretion was the better part of valour. And ceded territory. Staying on one side of the garden and watching while the hedgies hogged their food. 

In other news, Caro has a HUGE picture of Faye Dunaway on the bedroom wall. I'm not sure I approve of it. Not because I dislike Faye Dunaway, seen here in contemplative respose and regarding Peter Finch's posthumous Oscar for "Network", but because it is SO HUGE.

I think Caro ordered one (or two) sizes too big. You cannot tell from my blip, but it's a bit pixelly. Still, Caro perseveres with it. 

I don't know why she needs such a big picture. Actually, Caro would be fine with a much smaller one. This is because she is a "Super-Recogniser".

Did you know that this was a thing? Me neither!

But Caro is always recognising people. She's always watching old episodes of "Murder, She Wrote" and saying things like, "That's that man who was in that thing that time." 

And she is INVARIABLY right! It is eerie.

I need you to know that I'm not just talking about her recognising tv stars like Tom Selleck or Jack Klugman here. I mean, she recognises man who played the part of "Obnoxious Lawyer" in "Petrocelli" or lady in Cafe Nervosa in "Frasier".

So she decided to take an online test from the University of New South Wales. I am about to take it now myself. You could take it with me! Isn't this exciting??

Anyway, no pressure or anything but it turns out that Caro really IS a super-recogniser! She's in the top 10% of recognisers! 

She gave them her email address and they sent her a follow-up saying that she should consider a career in law enforcement or espionage. 

So there you go. That whole time you just thought you were just sitting there talking to Caro, she was in fact STUDYING your face. Recognising the SHIT out of you!

And this evening, the hedgehogs were back! Both of them! It was very exciting! 

"Is it the same two as this morning, do you think?" I asked.

Caro said she did not know.

Huh. Super-recogniser my arse.

S.

p.s. I got 70% on the Super-Recogniser test! Which means I too, am in the top 10%! This is weird, because I go around introducing myself to the same people over and over again. So I think I may be a super-recogniser with a low IQ.