Not a whole lot happened this week, so thankfully some animals got loose to keep us busy. We start with this post: “Anyone know this horse? On the road”
Their phone died mid-post, so we weren’t able to learn which road the horse was on. We speculated wildly, and by the time we figured out where the horse was, someone had come along, recognized the horse, and led it home.
We also had two escaped dogs. The husky who looks just like my husky was visiting porches and knocking on doors again. He has no respect for “No Soliciting” signs. If he’s anything like my husky, to whom I am certain he’s related, then he just wants you to come out and play, or at the very least to give him an old sock full of butter that he can bury in the yard.
And speaking of outdoor animals, we all get a cat introduction. Meet Binx:
He is perfect. He knows to avoid cars and dogs and is friendly with people, and he wears a little bell on his neck to let birds know that he’s coming.
His family introduced him because he is an outdoor cat, and they want everyone to know him so we don’t worry or call VIPP or make panicked posts about a poor, lost cat sunbathing in our yards.
How do we respond to this lovely description of responsible pet ownership?
Coyotes! We beg her to keep her cat in until comments about coyotes are blocked.
Also, someone brings up that the bell won’t scare birds. However, birds are spooked by colors. You can buy a special clown collar for your cat to keep the birds safe.
Please put this on your cat for my amusement. The benefit to the birds would be a bonus.
We post pictures of our cats to greet Binx. (I wonder if Binx’s owners called him over and had him look at the pictures on their phones.) Then we discuss the variations of Siberian, Bengal, and Maine Coon cats in an attempt to figure out the paternal origin of Binx.
Lastly, someone recommends sending him out for groceries since he’s leaving the house anyway.
Unrelated to cats, we have a question about cars: If you drive a leaf, can you go to Costco on a single charge?
Some answer yes.
Other’s do that thing where they don’t answer the question you asked but instead suggest inventing time travel so you can buy a different car. One islander is shocked anyone would ever have bought a Leaf. He recommends replacing it with a gas-powered scooter. I’m not sure how you’d bring your Costco groceries back on a scooter, and he doesn’t elaborate.
And another islander says, “I would prefer prefer a horse myself. 
Author: Anna Shomsky
I'm a former teacher and a data engineer living on Vashon Island. My writing has appeared in Five on the Fifth, Women on Writing and on the Post-Culture Podcast. I wrote and produced the radio show Whispers of Vashon for 101.9 KVSH. I’ve had short stories published in the anthologies Island Stories and Chicken Scratchings, as well as through the Open Space Literary Project.
I can’t. I am laughing too much!
I hope you collect these weekly rundowns of Life on Vashon and put them in book form. Maybe That Was the Year That Was. I’d be first in line to buy several. Best non-fiction anywhere!