Puzzled

 Lots of people love cat videos.  I love to mock people who love cat videos. But this scene of our cat Dolce I couldn't resist. No video clip needed as he stayed still in this position for a long time. What impressed me is the notion that he might be aware of how attached the family is to this puzzle. Normally, I would expect a cat to enjoy bashing the loose pieces with his paws as if practicing for playing with mice before the kill.  But, instead, Dolce daily hops from the back of the nearby sofa to the bare edge of the card table, then very carefully lies down on the puzzle without disturbing the work in progress.  I am not usually one to anthropomorphize, but this I couldn't resist.

 On the theme of "puzzled," this imaginative cover of Kafka's Metamorphosis  rekindled my interest in Kafka's writing - talk about being puzzled!  I like being puzzled by Kafka's writing.  I also like discussing with my literature students stories about which the critics disagree.  There is no definitive "answer book" for Metamorphosis. Being an insectophlle, I recoil at the idea that the German name for the insect that Gregor becomes means something like vile vermin in English. On the other hand, some critics believe the real metamorphosis the title alludes to is the gradual changes in Gregor's sister over the course of the story, especially after Gregor's death.  I enjoy this kind of puzzle, and Metamorphosis is a relatively short work, so I might have to find the time to read it again.

Finally, another example of puzzlement is the Showy Milkweed, Asclepias speciosa, which, to me, has some of the most beautiful flowers in the plant kingdom, yet, except for butterfly lovers, tends to be relegated to the "weed" category. Since I'm partial to most kinds of weeds, I find beauty even in the dried up remains of last season's crop.  In fact, last week I purposely stopped at one of my favorite "milkweed stops" along the road to Greenville to see if an of these remained.