Chipmunks , figuratively speaking .....

Wake in a dustbowl at five am , my mouth full of seeds and bird feathers and all manner of hot dry things .
Spitting out and rinsing and swilling as they used to advocate at the dentist ( I say used to , when I went private . Now I'm an NHS patient there is no time for such niceties and one is left with the dross until its all over . Mind you what's a bit of grit and old tooth decay in the mouth for ten extra minutes as compared to taking out a fresh mortgage every time one needs treatment ? ) reveals a single cat hair and the usual ( for this week anyway ) banging head .

I take pills , settle myself upright and try to relax .

The head is full of red squirrels and as finally I reach inside , figuratively speaking , to attempt to lift one of two of them out and set them free to scamper off down the bird feeders strategically placed for Toby's entertainment via the front window , it comes to me that these are not squirrels but chipmunks .
A squirrel is indeed a scampering creature , husbanding its resources , looking from side to side , and has no interest in my torture . Chipmunks however are fast moving , and would not be averse to banging against the edges of my skull in passing , as they swapped places , climbed bars and dropped to the floor with a sickening thud from time to time . They would not stop to rest , to look around them , to pose for photographs like those squirrels of our caravanning days when Nat and me at six am would watch them as the sun rose .

My mind struggles valiantly to escape the inner beasties hammering away , and takes me on a peaceful tour of those days . In my head I collect the wherewithal I would have needed to take with me to the shower blocks , my bath towel , my hair towel ( super absorbant ) , my shampoo , the conditioner , a hair brush , a shower gel ; finally my mobile phone connecting me to the outside world at home via texts . I walk across the little winding paths through the tall pine trees , past the slow hopping wild rabbits from the woods , sometimes spotting a deer and her fawn , occasionally another early riser trying to catch the first shower of the day before the eight am onslaught . The rhododendrons in full bloom , or the honeysuckle , maybe the primroses in the little glades used as dens by the older kids .

I walk back now from my shower , clean , fresh , ready to grind and brew coffee .

The pain killer is starting to take effect . Alice , the early rising greyhound has slept in , and if I pull my pillow flat I can probably get in another half hour sleep before she tells me she needs to go out . Failing that D has probably seen me taking the pills and will more than likely offer to go down .
Another day .