This is why you don’t walk carelessly through the savanna — there may be big cats lurking.

Here, though, the only ones likely to be in danger are Chloe and Dusty. Dusty is up near the street, barely visible. Smokey just happened to decide, quite by coincidence, to plop himself down close enough that Chloe and Dusty — especially Dusty — could see him. As soon as Smokey heard me coming he turned around in all innocence to face away from the other cats.

Smokey is an affectionate cat, but, as I have mentioned before, he makes Dusty’s life hell. Sometimes he chases Dusty and sometimes he just sits and watches him. He’s well practiced at the art of intimidation.

Several years ago we planted a Japanese maple in front of the house under the kitchen window. The ground is at basement level there, so we have to look down to see it.

This is what I saw on Wednesday.

The maple is the fullest and healthiest it has been since we planted it. I admired it for a while and then noticed a black blob in the shade at the base of the tree. There was Sylvester looking up at me. You can just make out his eyes in the original, but I’m not sure you can see them in this version.

Here he is in closeup.

For the last couple of weeks we have had nearly perfect weather. It has been mildly warm during the day, and the air has been dry enough that it cools off at night. But in the last two days, it has been more like summer — hot and humid. It was about 83 F when I took Sylvester’s picture; the forecast is for 90 F on Friday.

Before long we’ll all be looking for a cool place to wait out the heat.

Dusty lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there.

And he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.

This is Sylvester’s favorite place to crash when he’s outside. Leah put some towels down as a pad, but it still can’t be as soft as the pet beds that are on the garage floor just out of the picture. But cats make their own rules about this kind of thing.

Sylvester has been having urinary tract problems, so he has decided to make his problem our problem, too. He has taken to spraying in various places around the house, including in the garage. “In the garage” includes the windshield and back window of our car. It’s not an endearing trait. Leah says she really likes Sylvester, aside from that little problem, and the fact that he and Smokey make Dusty’s life a living hell.

But I have to admit that he’s a cool character.

Sometimes the cats come up on the front walk or the back deck and stare into the house.

Leah usually thinks they want to come in, but sometimes all they want to do is take a shortcut from one side of the house to the other. They come in the front door and walk directly to the sliding glass door on the deck. Or the other way around. Other times when Leah opens the door they turn and run away. I think a lot of the time they’re doing the feline equivalent of couch surfing. They just like to stare into the house like humans stare at the TV.

I wonder if they find our lives as boring as we find most TV.