My Saturday morning wake-up routine was the purrrfect way to unwind from an extraordinarily hectic week.  I watched the sun dawn over the hills, its rays filtering through autumn colored leaves of the liquidambar tree located opposite my deck from where I stood.  With a hearty mug of organic French roast coffee in hand I slowly woke up alongside Mother Nature. As I inhaled the crisp chilly air, taking in the coffee’s rich aroma, the trees slowly came to life with twittering songbirds, two frisky squirrels and buzzing bees.I sensed movement behind me and looked over my shoulder to see Topper and Lexington making their way through the open sliding glass door—I smiled. Topper sidled up next to me then jumped up onto the deck railing. Lexington looked up at me and let out a demanding, yet soft “heah-heah…heah-heah.” Being the perceptive cat lady that I am, I knew that Lexington wanted to join Topper, yet his thick Norwegian forest cat girth bans him from jumping up onto anything higher than sofa level. I picked up my big, fluffy fur baby and placed him next to Topper. From their roost on the railing they watched as the canyon dwelling critters greeted the sunrise.A squirrel leapt from branch to branch of the liquidambar tree, gracefully making her way down to the trunk where she abruptly froze like she’d been caught doing something naughty. Her only wrongdoing was having been seen by Lexington who sauntered over to investigate. I sipped my coffee in anticipation of their interaction. Would this be a friendly salutation or would the squirrel recoil back into the tree branches upon seeing this predator? It was a stare down until Lex got board watching the motionless squirrel and walked back over to rejoin Topper. Safe from the furry beast, the squirrel quickly lunged onto the deck railing and scurried over to the bird feeder overflowing with sunflower seeds.

Laguna Beach ocean view, courtesy of Cindy Ferguson

I may not have an ocean view like my friend Cindy…but I have the best of both worlds.

An ocean I can drive to in minutes, and the rustic wonder of canyon life in my backyard