Dexter vs. the Window Screen

First, before you read further, want to guess who won this round???

Sometimes in June, just after summer has started, we get some lovely, cool, breezy weather. And when that happens, we turn off the air conditioners and open the windows.

This year, we put the bedroom air conditioner in a different window. We actually got a new air conditioner, and so I guess we were thinking about new ways of doing things.

We usually put the air conditioner in this window, the main big one that overlooks our pretty, green backyard and the meadow. But just to shake things up (and give this window frame a break), we installed it in the other window this year.

But this window does not have a screen that fits. And we wanted to open the window to let the comfortable breezes in. So my husband found one of those old screen window thingies that you just open the window and jam in. You know, the ones all our parents had when we were kids.

It was a little too small to fit, so he finished it off by tucking a piece of cardboard at the right edge to keep the bugs out. Well, you can only guess who had to come by and investigate!

The screen had been in only minutes when Dexter came by to do a quality check on the installation job. He's good at things like that. If there is anybody who can critique your work and identify what you did wrong, it's a cat.

I thought it was cute. Of course. And I ran to get my camera. And the cat jumped down. (Dang it, Cat! Cooperate!) But he was back within minutes, and back up to the window he went. I grabbed the camera and was snapping away.

And then, of course, he figured it out. Dexter took his extra-dexterous right front paw and slid his claws into the window screen, and began to pull it out. I heard it and saw it at exactly the same moment. The tail was lifted up to the left to give him extra ballast as he pulled.

The window opens out onto a 15-foot drop. As you might imagine, this was the last photo I took of the scene. Of course, my next act was to run, grab the cat, and give up on the screen. Yes, I removed it. Back to the drawing board, I guess!

Dexter wins this round!

The song to accompany this image of Dexter being especially dexterous (!!!!!) is A Flock of Seagulls, with Windows.