It’s no secret that the PNW is experiencing a massive heat wave. In Seattle, about two-thirds of us don’t own an air conditioner. We don’t usually need one—until now.

I have every fan I own going in various rooms. I am running the exhaust fan for the stove in the kitchen to try to compensate for the heat the refrigerator is creating. Every window has something over it. The catio screens and several single-glazed picture windows are sporting thermal reflecting blankets. The space age blankets are amazing—while typically used for camping, they’ve made a huge difference when the sun hits the house. I am so grateful to my landlady for telling me about them. From the outside the house does look a bit futuristic, but I can definitely live with that. It is hot in the house right now (83 degrees), but thankfully not as hot as outside (100 degrees).

I won’t lie, if I stop to think about where the outside temperature is headed it is scary. I am concerned about my cats Manitou and Night Sky. I cannot imagine dealing with this heat in a fur coat.

And my concern extends to my wild neighbors. Every night around 8pm, I go outside and water all the areas of the garden (not only does that help the plants deal with the heat, it also helps wildlife be cooler and find tasty tidbits to eat), clean and refresh the bird baths and fountains (the Wild Reiki Spa), restock the suet feeders (the Wild Rose Cafe), and anything else I can think of that might help.

Last night, when I finished up, it was still quite warm in the house. But the catio had cooled off, so I set up a fan for a little breeze and invited Manitou and Night Sky to enjoy some porch time with me.

It was very peaceful. Manitou was stretched out on the catio platform (an old ironing board that has cushy mats). Night Sky was feeling more lively, alternating between sitting quietly, listening to the night sounds, and exploring. He had spent the entire day a miserable pile of black fur lying on the cooler floor, so I was delighted to see him being more himself.

I felt myself sinking into a nice reverie, enjoying the gentle breeze from the fan, and then a dark shape ghosted by in the yard—Raccoon was on the hunt. A little later, Opossum wandered past. It was like sitting in a wildlife blind—no one paid any attention to me. They knew I was there, but so long as I did not open the door to outside I was welcome to watch.

Eventually the day caught up with me, and I felt myself nodding off. Suddenly there was this awful sound, like nothing I’d ever heard. I stood up, straining to see, I caught a glimpse of Opossum and then one of Raccoon. The sounds of the encounter were caught by the wildlife cam, but I’m pretty sure it did not catch my added “hiss” in an attempt to break up the argument. I did not want any one to get hurt.

Perhaps the heat of the night brought out the “wild” in the wildlife (-: After viewing footage from the wildlife cam I wanted to make a video that incorporated the drama that happened over eight hours from that night into the following day.

Overview of Heat Wave Drama at the Wild Reiki Spa
Night: Opossum and Raccoon have their argument, Opossum returns, and Raccoon hunts.
Day: Hummingbird picks a fight with Tippy the Squirrel, cat Manitou is feeling the heat, neighbor cat Nacho comes visiting and scares Robin from his bath. Perhaps the Wild Reiki Spa should be renamed the West Seattle Serengeti since no one seemed particularly relaxed!

The other event of note is that I fell asleep curled up in my chair on the catio. I managed to rouse myself long enough to relocate to my usual sleeping space for a few more hours of sleep before I had to get up at dawn to heat proof the house and get everyone fed (inside and out) while it was still cooler. I’m tired, but I think my cats and I will enjoy doing some more wildlife viewing tonight!

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A WILD WAY TO HEAL
Rose De Dan, Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing LLC, is an animal communicator, Reiki Master Teacher, shamanic energy healer, and author. Her classes, sessions and ceremonial work are inspired by wild and domestic animals who have issued a call to action for personal and global healing.