I think we both heard the sound of water hitting the floor at the same time. Our reactions, however, were quite different. Benjamin Bunny began leaping up and trying to catch the water droplets with his tongue before they hit the floor. I, on the other hand, let out a scream of frustration and began shoving furniture out of harm's way before heading to the garage to gather buckets and old towels.
Unbelievable! It was happening again. Once more my house had sprung a leak, and rainwater was spewing everywhere. Only this time the leak was coming from above the downstairs french doors. Instead of water soaking my bedroom, it was attacking my family room in the form of a small indoor waterfall.
By the time I returned from the garage with damage control supplies, the wood floor in front of the French doors was covered in a layer of water, and so was Benjamin Bunny. Despite his best efforts, Benjamin Bunny was unable to consume all of the invading water droplets. Some made it past him to form puddles on the floor. And every so often, Bunny would land with a great splat in one of them. For a moment, I didn't know what was making a bigger mess - the leak itself or Bunny's efforts to help stop it.
Much to Benjamin Bunny's dismay, I was finally able to get buckets in place and soak up the excess water with my hurricane towels. But professional help was still needed. The leak needed to be fixed, and the floor dried out. Benjamin Bunny's day was just about to get even better - his beloved industrial dehumidifier was returning to repair more water damage.
About an hour after a frantic call for help, my favorite reconstruction company showed up to dry out the floor and walls by the French doors with their trusty industrial dehumidifier. As I described in my previous post Industrial Dehumidifiers - The New Cat Entertainment Tool, this device fascinates Benjamin Bunny.
Industrial Dehumidifier
From the moment the man wheeled the big machine into the family room Benjamin was on alert. Staying only about a foot away, Benjamin followed along beside the man as a trail of plastic tubing was created from the machine to the kitchen sink where it was secured for proper draining. That was Benjamin's favorite part - the draining of the plastic tubing. The last time he spent hours chasing the "bubble-like" drops of water from the one end of the tubing to the other. I felt sure this time would not be any different. And I was right.
Before the man from the reconstruction company made it back from the sink to turn the humidifier on, Benjamin Bunny was in position. He lay flat on the floor with his nose pressed up against a section of the plastic tubing waiting for the first bubble of water to appear.
It took about 15 minutes for the first water bubble to make its way from the machine to Bunny. From across the room, I saw him leap up and begin tracking it across the family room floor, over a tall kitchen bar chair, onto the kitchen counter, and into the kitchen sink. Satisified that it had made it successfully down the drain, he resumed his original position on the floor next to the plastic tubing to await the next bubble. At least, someone was enjoying the events of the day - ha, ha.
Gracie, of course, observed all of Benjamin Bunny's antics from afar, preferring to stay dry and rested in her tower above the kitchen cabinets. Occasionally, she would peek her head out to check on us but that was about the limit of her involvement in the day's adventure.
Knowing Benjamin Bunny was going to be stalking water bubbles for the rest of the day, I collapsed on the couch with a fresh cup of coffee and a HUGE chocolate chip cookie. Calories don't count on days like this.
Until next time, remember...
The cat has too much spirit to have no heart.
- Ernest Menaul
