Things I (Probably) Wouldn't Be Saying If I Had Kids Instead of Cats

Being a cat mom instead of a regular/"normal" mom, I have found myself saying things to my cats that I'm sure I'd never have to say to a young'un. Or would I?

- "Stop sniffing your sister's/brother's butt."

- "Stop biting your sister/brother on the neck. I don't think she/he likes it."

- "Hold still so I can pull this hair out of your butthole."

- "Why in the world would you want to eat a plastic bag in the first place?"

- "You can sit on my chest, but please turn around so I don't have to stare at your butthole."

- "No, you can't sit on my lap while I'm using the bathroom."

- "If you would chew your food, you probably wouldn't puke most of it back up on the living room carpet."

- "Stop beating on the door. You are not sleeping with us tonight."

- "Must you sit there and stare at me for hours at a time? Really?"

- "Stop eating my hair."

Oh, the life of a cat mom.

Stuff in My Yard

I am stuck at home for the most part right now, as the brakes went out on my car. Let me tell you, when you're coming around a sharp curve and suddenly have no brakes...well, it's a scary thing. At least I was close enough to home to get the car into the driveway.

So, I went out into the yard today with camera in hand to see what I could find.

Muffin has several "nests" around the yard. I found this one when I went to attach my squirrel feeder to the maple tree. There she was hiding out at the base of the tree. She nearly blends in with the bark.

Looked outside the window and saw all these little bugs flying around the yard. Yep, it's that time of year again. Lady Bug Season is now in full swing. My laundry room, which is pretty much a closed in porch, is crawling with them. I don't mind them too much. It's just something you have to deal with when you live up here. (I wonder, do Lady Bugs bite? I swear one bit me today.)

Look closely. How many Lady Bugs do you see?

I love living up here. Always something new to see....

Clotheslines and Stuff

I finally bought a retractable clothesline and got the hubby to put it up for me. (I tried. Just not good at some things I reckon.) I've used it twice so far (yesterday and today) and love it. Hanging clothes out is almost therapeutic as well. And the smell...heaven. Of course, with no rain in the forecast, as soon as I hung out this load today it started getting cloudy. (If you ever want rain, hang out some clothes I guess.) Next year I'm buying a four-line retractable clothesline. For now, this will do.


And yet another picture of the ever-present Muffin. Over the summer, she would follow at my heels around the yard as I picked blackberries. Now she's taken to following me to the clothes line. When it was first put up, she just lay in the grass staring up at it like she was trying to figure out how to get up there. Hopefully she's given up on that idea. I have this mental image of looking out my back window to see her hanging off one of my bathtowels.

Stuff Other Than Rain

The tomato plant I put in the ground has a bunch of tomatoes on it now. It amazes me how well it has done the past few weeks. I think I counted 8 tomatoes.


And although the container tomato plant doesn't look as good as it once did, I think it's going to give me my first full-size tomato this year. I've had to pull off about six little tomatoes that had blossom end rot, but so far I haven't found any others with that condition. (Cross fingers.)

And I wish I knew why with two bowls of fresh water on the front porch, Muffin instead chooses to drink rain water out of an old broken bird feeder on the deck. Maybe she doesn't like the chlorine that comes with us being on city water. Maybe she's just nuts....

What Rain?

Today seems to be a day for making up for lost time when it comes to rain. The sun comes out for a few minutes, then it suddenly gets dark and starts pouring. Then, the sun comes out, and it starts all over again. Tango, my neighbor's cat, has been on my porch all day, which is unusual for him. He likes to wander, but I guess he hasn't wanted to chance getting caught in a downpour. Funny thing is, when this picture was taken, it was pouring like crazy and the wind was blowing some of the rain onto the porch...and there was Tango...sitting in that misting rain. Guess maybe he was enjoying the break from the heat.

My Garden?

Well, it may not count as a "real" garden, but here it is. My two tomato plants were planted at the same time, in approximately the same size containers and for some reason one just isn't doing too well. Funny thing is, it had the first tomato on it. Now, it's dying and the other is growing taller and getting some little flower buds. Go figure. The only difference in the two is the one in the blue container has some rotting leaves from a gutter cleaning mixed in with the soil. Next year, I'm mixing lots of rotting leaves in with every tomato plant I grow.



Then there is the old, out-of-date canister of wildflower seeds I found earlier this Spring. It was one of those you are supposed to just be able to sprinkle around and they grow. I bought it years ago, then forgot about it. When I stumbled across them this year, I decided what the heck. I put some soil in one of my containers and poured. Well, no flowers yet, but lots of green coming up.



And here, growing in a pot of soil that was just sitting on my deck...corn. Squirrel corn actually, from the dried cobs I put out for them. I'm going to dig up a small section of my yard and put them in the ground, just to see what happens.

And then there is Muffinhead, self-appointed guardian of my little "garden," such as it it. :-)

More Cat Stuff

This is Muffinhead. She is a dilute tortie who showed up at my house in March. In this picture, she is getting ready for her favorite pastime: rolling around in the dirt. She loves it. This area of my yard was recently dug up and cleared out, and she thinks that's just fine. Pictures don't capture it, but when she gets up out of this dirt, her coat is covered in mica. She just sparkles in the sun. Maybe that's why she does it.

I called this little girl Muffinhead because she's not the sharpest tool in the shed. Now, I say that, yet she knew enough to show up here where she is being well taken care of. I have four indoor cats, as I've talked about previously. A while back, I bought them one of those little "houses" made from foam and fabric. They didn't really like it. So, I put it on the front porch for my neighbor's cat. He loves to use it in the winter. Along came Muffinhead, and now it's hers. So, she has come to a house where she is fed and has shelter. She wants for nothing. (Doesn't even show interest in coming inside. I've tried.) Maybe she's smarter than I initially thought. (And check out those eyes.)

This is not the first cat to show up on my doorstep. I have taken to the shelter or found homes for many a cat or kitten over the years. (The one above was just barely a handful, and I now wonder if she was from the same litter as Muffinhead. They look so similar.) I think some of them have come from people who know how I found my own cats under my back porch and raised them. Maybe they figure I will know what to do. Others, I think, have followed the giant neon sign on my roof. It is visible only to cats and reads "Free Food Here" with a giant arrow pointing toward my front door. It coincides with the invisible tattoo on my forehead which reads "SUCKER!!!"