Our stray cat Jasper has been in a strange pattern of disappearing for the past few weeks. She's been disappearing for three or four days at a time, and then showing up, thin and starving. She eats a few bowls of food, hangs out for two or three days and disappears again.
Initially, I thought she got trapped somewhere and came back when she got free. However, that doesn't really explain her subsequent behavior. Getting trapped once I could understand, but not the following disappearances. It's possible that somebody took her in, but that wouldn't explain why she was thin and starving when she showed up again. It's been quite the mystery.
Last Monday, September 9th, was the last time we saw her. She's been missing for a week now, and at this point I don't expect we'll ever see her again. She's most likely fallen victim to one of the local predators, even though she's a tough cat and has survived well in the wild u until now.
In other news, today is Old Fart's Day in Japan. Also known locally as "Respect for the Aged Day" or sometimes "Grandparents Day," most businesses are closed, and my wife has been off work. Since it's a holiday, my wife wants to go somewhere. She's picked out a couple restaurants that serve soba, one about 40 minutes away and one about two hours away. Even though today is really no different than any other day for us, it's often easier to go along with the plan than to explain why it doesn't really make sense. I leave the choice to her, and she decides on the closer restaurant (thankfully). We drive north, dodging tourists (which is significantly more difficult than it sounds), and enjoy a soba lunch at a small restaurant. I think there were six tables in total.
We worked our way back home and took a drive to the local farm store, affectionately know as the Chicken Store because their sign has a large chicken on it. I bring a sample of the bugs that have been eating my peppers and they identify them as stink bugs. They're not the typical stink bugs that we get here, bit I can see the resemblence. I buy a new spray and we head home.