Kitty Mini-Jungle

Once upon a time we had huge pine trees in the back yard, which made it very shady. Jim helped me make a small flower bed, approximately 8' x 10', just outside the dining room windows. I could also see it through the window over the sink in the kitchen when I was cooking or washing dishes, and through the utility room window when I was doing laundry.

Kibbles, my Pekingese dog companion at the time, and I worked diligently planting seeds, watching them grow, and weeding every summer. It was filled with snapdragons, hollyhocks, zinnias, marigolds, sunflowers, red and yellow, flowering moss, impatients, petunias, poppies, pink mums, a white peony, and assorted other flowers at one time or another. Many of the plants were given to me by my mother-in-law, mama, and friends, which made them extra special. I thought about each of the people who contributed every time I tended the plants.

A running water fountain with three children sculpted onto it sat in the center, and bird feeders and hummingbird nector surrounded the bed. Squirrels, birds of all kinds, chipmunks, and butterflies abounded, as well as other wildlife, some welcome, some not. :)

It was a delight to sit out by the flower bed in the shade, listening to the fountain, hearing and watching the birds sing and chirp, as they fluttered about eating or bathing in the cool water. The hummingbirds flying around sounded like tiny airplanes as they zipped about drinking the cool red liquid hanging in feeders nearby.

I heard the soft fluttering of a butterfly's wings once, as it flew swiftly by my ear. Amazing!

The squirrels would come and sit in the trees chattering, preaching I called it, trying to run us off so they could run the birds off and get the seed. It was like a small piece of heaven to sit out there and talk...or daydream.

We also loved sitting at the dining room table sipping coffee and watching the activity. Dishwashing was more pleasureable watching the activity outside. It was a time before digital cameras, and I made tons of photos through the windows using a telephoto lens on a 35mm camera. Wonderful times.

But then Kibbles got so old and sick that she had to be euthanized. It broke my heart. I started community college. Blight hit the pine trees and they all had to be cut, taking the shade with them. Life and various other traumatic events that changed my life took over and I no longer had the heart to have a flower bed.

Some of the flowers came back for a few years, but were eventually smothered out by weeds, vines, sage grass, and assorted other natural plants. A couple of stray cats adopted us. They and my dad's cat ended the bird, butterfly, chipmunk, and squirrel population in the yard, as well as, most other small wildlife that dared to enter. Well, the drought a few years ago helped.

The fountain hasn't been hooked up in years now. It sits there waiting to come to life again, to give pleasure and nourishment. All it needs is a little attention.

Because the bed was surrounded by a foot wide concrete border and a little fence, I couldn't mow it, so I used a weed-eater to keep it neat. I've done that every year up until this past fall. It was overgrown a little and I just left it.

I noticed during the fall and winter how much the cats enjoyed hiding and playing in the bed around the fountain and among the turned over flower pots and bird feeders. They often seek shelter during light rain or snow in one of the bigger open feeders that my dad built. Climbing on the fountain is like Disneyland to the kittens.

This spring I have not touched the garden. It has become a mini-jungle for the cats and kittens to play in. Sammidog also likes to lay in the coolness of the shady leaves. Nature has planted a variety of wonderful plants for us to enjoy.

While the kitty jungle looks like a mess that needs cleaning up to family and friends, it's a wonderful tiny piece of heaven again to me and my pets. There's a whole fascinating world of activity going on in the jungle among the leaves and vines. The cats aren't the only inhabitants if one looks closely.

It's not just weeds and such either. There's a bush with heart-shaped smooth leaves. When the leaves are new they are gorgeous reddish colors. They get green as they get larger and yellow as they die. There's also a vine of some sort with heart shaped rough leaves that resemble grape vine leaves climbing all over the feeder. Honeysuckle and blue morning glory vines climb the surrounding fence. Queen Anne's lace is beginning to bloom and the volunteer pink hollyhock is blooming since I took the pictures.

If, when I'm walking around it, I keep my eyes and ears open, I can see and hear a whole little world busy going about it's daily business of surviving. If I quietly stoop down, I can see the nooks and crannies under the vines with kittens sleeping or scuffling in the cool shade.

These cats are skittish though and often hide where they think I can't see them and watch me. It's when they don't know I'm watching from inside the house that the real action takes place. Right outside my windows there's a virtual circus, and it is such fun to watch.

The kittens chase each other around in the jungle, wrestling around in the vegetation. They climb and swing from the dis-assembled fountain and the feeder. They hide in the overturned flower pots and jump out on one another. It's so funny to see a kitten face under a leaf hat. They chase each other from the jungle, across a small distance in the yard to a tree, and back. Their antics are neverending and funny, and laughter is always good medicine.

Sometimes there's a kitten pile on the concrete rabbit bench, all napping (I love kitten piles), or a lone kitten curled up in a pot or on the cow skull that Sammidog hasn't destroyed yet. He completely pulverized the deer head skull I had in the bed, antlers and all.

I thought about preparing and planting the bed in all kinds of flowers this spring. I kind of wanted to, after all these years, but with Sammidog and the cats, there's no way it would survive. I can't even keep potted plants outside.

But that's okay.

I've found that often to have one thing we have to give up another, and I enjoy my pets. Besides God has given me a garden of a different kind. It may not have a lot of multi-colored flowers in it, but natural plants in a tiny jungle can be just as wonderful. The cats love having it and we enjoy the cats so it's relaxing, peaceful, and healing in a natural way, plus there's no weeding. That's a good thing. :)

The end--pictures follow...

The dis-assembled fountain. I mentioned the other day that we should hook it back up. The cats would love the running water. Jim, who used to not tolerate cats at all, was afraid they'd chew on the cord and get electrocuted, so I guess it will stay like it is for now.



A glass gazing ball. If you look close, behind and just a little to the right, you can see Sammidog's face. He's a camera hog and when he saw me making pictures of the bed he jumped over in it and posed.

It doesn't show up much, but the honeysuckle is blooming and smells so good. It's all along this side and one end. You can also see the wooden bird feeder under the other vine, Rabbit Hop Cafe painted on the roof. The kittens climb these vines like they were ropes.

One end, behind the fountain. See the orange and white cat enjoying her jungle. She resented my intrusion on her nap. :)

The front of the bed with the concrete rabbit bench. The pink hollyhock on the left is blooming now, and the Queen Anne's Lace is beginning to.

You can't see the overturned pots, etc in the pictures, and I know it just looks awful and like a snake den to some of you, but it isn't. It's our own tiny jungle, complete with jungle cats, and fascinating adventures just waiting to be had. :)

The Fox & The Deer

I shared some photos and a story on my Moxie Blue blog last week of a large red fox that has been visiting our back yard in the late evenings, right around dusk, looking for leftover feed. He has beautiful red fur with a white underside and a white tipped bushy tail. His ears, tail, nose, and legs have black accents. He looks like he's wearing black knee socks.

I know there's a danger from wild critters, rabies being one possibility, but Foxy is gorgeous.

Anyway, I told you that to tell you about an amazing experience that Jim (hubby) and I had late yesterday afternoon. He went to the kitchen sink for something and happened to look out the window over the sink. "Sharon, come here! Hurry!" he said in a somewhat excited voice, trying not to talk too loud.

I said, "What is it?," not wanting to get up off the couch. I wondered what the cats or Sammidog were into now.

"It's two deer right here against the fence." he says. "Come here, quick!"

We live in the country with fields and woods connected to our narrow back yard. This is not a rare occurrance, but I got myself up and trudged to the sink to stand beside Jim as he pointed out the deer near the fence.

The low-setting sun was dancing off the field, haybarn, and the deer. Beautiful. About that time, three more deer came across the field to the front of the hay barn, and we spotted another one farther back, making six. None of them had antlers. Jim said they had already shed them for the season. Three of them were about half grown.

They were just fooling around and grazing as we continued to be fascinated by them. Jim said there must be another one, since they kept looking behind them. Eventually, they started ambling toward the hayfield beside the house, and as they did four more came out of the woods and across the field to join them. We counted at least ten in all.

The cats ignored the deer and continued to groom themselves. A couple of them did look around for a minute in a bored fashion, then went back to what they were doing.

Sammidog finally noticed them and trotted to the fence, barked a couple of times, and stood at attention with his question mark tail up for a minute watching them. Jim fussed because he thought Sammidog would scare them off, but the deer didn't move. No threat there.

Sammidog's gotten too fat to go through the fence and decided it wasn't worth the trouble to go around to get to the other side. He looked back at us through the window to see if we were watching, and came back to the porch. The deer went slowly on to the hayfield.

Jim suggested that we might could see them from the bedroom window facing the hayfield. We could. We sat on the corner of the bed and watched as they put on a show. I've seen them crossing behind the house many times, but I never saw them play like that before.

White tails flashed as the three half grown deer frolicked around in the golden colored sage grass in the field. They played deer tag as they ran and jumped around together, unafraid and carefree for the moment. They darted in and out of the shadows in flashes of soft brown fur and white flags, sunset highlights accenting them, as the mom's stood guard.

Eventually, they all came back up behind the house and started grazing again. We watched the deer for a while longer through the kitchen window, standing side by side, in awe at what we'd just witnessed.

I said, "Do you know how many people never get to witness anything that awesome? Or how many people would have seen it and never seen the beauty, but only prey to be shot down just for fun?"

Jim was as in awe as I was, and he used to hunt deer. I wish I could have gotten pictures to share. There is nothing like the wonder and beauty that God creates if we just pay attention. I'm so glad I dragged myself off the couch. I wouldn't have missed that for anything, and to share it with someone I love was just icing on the cake. I was totally blessed by the whole experience.

The sun set and it was getting dark as I went back to watching television, not near as exciting as the deer I might say, and Jim went to the bathroom. He came back to the kitchen, looked out the window, and said, "You're not going to believe this."

I said, "What now?"

He said, "The fox is back and it's out here eating with the cats."

So I guess when I first saw the fox last week and thought it was chasing a cat. It actually wasn't. The cat just happened to be running in front of it. I worried that it might be after them.

"You're kidding! It's eating WITH them?" I asked, as I started to get up again. I wanted to see this!

"It's gone now." Jim went back to looking for something to eat. "It took off when it saw me in the window."

I'm sure it came back when it felt safe. It's not afraid of Sammidog. That's for sure.

Sammidog was probably laying on the back porch with his front legs dangling off the edge watching like he usually does...unless he knows we're looking. He saves his bravery for when it matters. To impress us.

Sometimes the most awesome things happen in our on backyards. We only have to open our senses up to experience them.

Accident Prone, Rubber Bumpers, and a PS

I have had a week of minor mishaps. So far I haven't broken anything, knock on wood. :)

Sunday night I started to bed and knocked the clock off the bedside table right onto the top of my big toe. Boy, did that hurt! And, yes, I said the S word. :) Not proud of it, but out it came.

I was holding my foot and dancing around in pain while hubby shouted from the living room, "What did you do?"

He got aggravated because I didn't answer him right away. I just had a throbbing toe and was getting nauseaus. Not easy to answer, dance, and try to keep from being sick at the same time. He finally came to see about me. By this time I was laying on the bed massaging my toe, which was turning black, and I was feeling sick.

He said I should be more careful and went back to watch TV. Like I would deliberately try to break my toe.

The next day, Monday, the toe hurt from top to bottom when I walked, and I wasn't sure I could stand a shoe on it, but I put on socks and my crocks to go outside and feed Sammi and the cats. It wasn't too bad.

I was walking amidst a group of cats and Sammi was being his usual hyper self. I had already petted him, which sends him into super hyper-activity. He was running wide open in circles around me as fast and hard as he could. Sammi is solid as a rock and sounds like a horse galloping when he runs.

All of a sudden he whipped across in front of me, right against the fronts of my legs. Down I went. Fell right over where he had been, onto my all fours. Hard! Luckily, I fell between the rocks we use as steps, but I'm a heavy weight and it jarred me good. The canister of cat/dog food dropped and most of the feed went on the ground.

Three of the cats were so concerned about me being down that Loopy came from behind and stood between my knees and began eating while I was trying to get my bearings. Tigger-Top was against my knee on the outside and Ringer was facing me, all eating like it was perfectly natural for me to be on my all-fours in the mud. Sammidog lay down a little piece away with a quizzical look on his face, trying to figure out what in the world I was doing.

I got up and scraped up most of the spilled feed and continued across the yard, with muddy knees and hands, and Sammidog jumping for joy beside me. I got them fed and came back inside the house. Jim was sitting on the couch waking up. I said,"Well, I'm okay from my fall."

Jim asks,"How did you fall."

"I fell over Sammidog," says I.

"I'll say to my time,"says he.

I was a little stiff and sore in my joints from the fall, but we went grocery shopping at Kroger's and did a lot of walking, which wears me out even when I'm not sore from a fall and have a sore, blue toe.

When we got home I was helping bring groceries in and started down the ramp. Sammidog was so excited to see us that he ran against me from the side, knocking me off balance. My feet got crossed up and I fell against the brick wall of our house. I was glad it was there though. Otherwise I would have hit the ground again. I got an armload of groceries, brought them into the house, and stayed. I let Jim bring the rest in and I put them away. My shoulder was a little wonky feeling though. I sat down on the couch and didn't move until bedtime.

I made the mistake of getting on the scales Tuesday morning. I had gained three and a half pounds, which depressed me and made me angry at myself for eating so much ice cream here lately. I'm already borderline diabetic, which scares me, but apparently not enough. I just keep eating.

One of my best friends came for a visit Wednesday evening, and as I walked her to her car, Sammidog, who was playing tag back and forth between us, jumped at my hand and I jammed my middle finger against the same brick wall. It hurt at the time, but no lasting damage.

This morning I came back in from feeding Sammi and the cats, and just as I was passing the kitchen counter Jim said something to me, and I warped the back of my hand on the corner of the counter top. More dancing and trying not to talk ugly. My hand went numb for a minute, then had a little dented scratch in a blue spot to decorate it. It now matches my toe.

So, as of this afternoon, my right big toe is blue and sore, my lower back, upper arm muscles, and thighs are still a little sore and stiff, my right shoulder is a little sore, my right middle finger knuckle is a little sore, the back of my right hand has a blue spot with a dent in it and is a little sore, and I'm getting fatter. Jim is threatening to put rubber bumpers on me to keep me safe.

I am so lucky that I didn't break something though. Hopefully, I won't. I am a little accident prone anyway, but I think Sammidog is out to get me. Just kidding. He is such a happy, excited puppy and he means no harm. He's just trying to play.

Jim took him on a long walk around the farm yesterday evening checking fences. He thought it would let Sammidog run some energy off. Jim came back pooped and Sammi was still going full speed ahead. He's a hoot. Just way too much energy for old retired folks. :)

Hopefully, I'll make it through the next few days without any more mishaps. Have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday, Daddy! Miss You So Much!

PS--Thursday night after I posted this, I tripped and fell as I started down the hall. Jim was laying in his recliner and I caught on his legs or I would have hit the floor on my all fours again. He just looked at me and shook his head.

Then this morning I was taking a shower and a tube of shampoo fell off the shower shelf and hit me on the toe on my other foot. The idea of a foam rubber outfit is beginning to sound appealing.

Am I jinxed or what? Some weeks are just like that I guess. Thank the Lord, I'm still not broken. I hate to think what might have happened if my guardian angel wasn't watching over me. :)

Sammidog Rules the Roost...For The Time Being (an update)

Well, Sammidog has been with us almost three months now, and he almost has me trained.

For those of you who haven't read the post (under the label of Sammidog) about how he came to live with us, he came trudging up through the garden one morning so starved that you could see every bone in his body, and he could barely stand up he was so malnourished. Mama gave him some dog food, but her dog let him know quickly that he wasn't staying there. He followed Mama to my house. I fed him some milk and fixed him a bed and now we can't peel him off us. :)The cats had their bluff in on him for a few weeks. I started out feeding them seperately, but Sammidog would follow me to feed them, where he promptly and frequently got his jaws boxed. Then they got to swapping food, so now I just feed them all together. They get along pretty well. He sits amidst the cats, towering over them, waiting patiently when it's feeding time. As soon as the door opens though, he's all over me.

I declare he has flubber in his paws, the way he's continually jumping straight up, sometimes doing half-twists in mid-air. He looks like he's on a trampoline. It's very funny, but sometimes frustrating, especially when we're dressed to go somewhere and all of a sudden we have muddy paw prints on our butts. One of Sammidog's favorite things is to run up from behind, tap us on the butt with his front paws, then take off like he's playing tag.

He loves everybody, including the cats, and is more than a little overly zealous. I hear him yelp several times a day when the cats have had enough. I have scolded him repeatedly about the jumping up on people, but he is so hyper that he just can't contain himself. If he were a child, he'd probably be on Ridlin or something.

And stubborn. If you looked up the word in the dictionary, his picture would be there. I can call him all day long and if he doesn't want to come...he isn't going to. I think he's been taking lessons from the cats.

When he first came I could carry him in one arm, he was so light. Not now. He's solid as a rock and I can barely pick him up. He's also very strong. Sometimes, he nearly knocks me over.

He's also still puppy enough that whatever he can get hold of he tears up all over the yard. Our back yard looks really bad right now. I bought him rawhide toys and they disappeared. I don't know if he lost them, or dismantled them. He dismantles everything, including the antlered deer skull in my flower bed that I found in the hayfield and put there.

He gets so bored with nobody to play with that tearing up stuff is how he entertains himself. Anything we set down, he grabs and takes off with, and he totes stuff out of the car shed and throws it around if he can't tear it up. I told Jim that I expect anytime to see him coming out with the chainsaw.

Jim has been away working most of the time since Sammidog has been here, and it's been so cold and bad that I haven't been out much to spend a lot of time with him. Jim has one more week before he'll be retired and spring will be here soon. Maybe then we can get him under control.

He loves to go walking in the woods and fields, preferably if we're walking too. Sometimes he runs alongside when I'm on the four-wheeler, sometimes not. Depends on the stubborn factor that day.
Mama bought Sammidog this woolly lined coat for Christmas. She thought it would be funny. You can tell that he wasn't amused at all. It was a little snug. He posed for me to take a couple of pictures, then started rolling and chewing to get it off. Within a few minutes the coat was laying on the ground and he had gone to bed in his insulated house.

The only time Sammidog is still is when he's being scratched on his chest or when he's having his picture taken. He's a camera ham and when he sees one aimed at him he will hold still and pose...most of the time. If I'm scratching his chest he will wrap both front paws around my arm and sit still as long as I scratch.

Despite some bad habits and his hyperactivity, he's a delightful dog. He keeps us laughing, and he has this mischievous way of looking at you sideways, almost like he's flirting, that gets him some petting almost every time.

I've always preferred smaller woolly dogs, but Sammidog is okay, and since nobody ever came looking for him, I guess we belong to him.

The saga continues...