A Very Lucky Cat...

Here's another harvest shot captured back on Sunday 5th August. There is an amazing story behind these harvest shots when, for the Trusler household, utter heartbreak turned into pure joy and relief.
 
My parents' garden backs onto this field so during the harvest I always head over with my camera to capture the occasion. I was really pleased with this year’s shots; the conditions were fantastic with a big blue sky and small white clouds to really compliment the harvest action. However, the satisfaction soon turned into despair when the day after the harvest my mum informed me that our cat Millie had not been seen since the morning of the harvest. This was out of character for her as she is a timid cat and rarely ventured beyond the house and garden. She would however, occasionally nap in the field particularly during hot weather.

Our fear was that she was in the field when the harvest had started and had perhaps panicked, got disorientated and sadly met a tragic end. Despite our fears, we remained optimistic that she had just been spooked and was lying low somewhere and would return home in the next couple of days. The week slowly rolled on and Millie was nowhere to be seen. Our optimism was fading so last Friday I looked back over the photos and videos I'd taken on the day of the harvest to see if I could spot her. My heart sank while watching one of the videos; you could clearly see a grey cat run into the crops moments before the combine arrived. There were plenty of tears as it seemed that tragically, and in a very horrible way, Millie was gone.
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However, this story has a happy ending and our sadness and heart ache turned to joy when later that evening I received a text message from my sister, "James, you won't believe it...", followed by a picture of Millie in the kitchen. After being missing for more than 5 days she came home healthy (but hungry!) and oblivious to all the drama she had caused but very much enjoying all the attention she was receiving.

A very lucky cat :)

A picture of Millie taken earlier this year.