Cats in the Garden

My cats, all five or six of them that I've had through the years, have always been drawn to my gardens. Ozzie was the best at digging up my plants. Scooter had a deformed paw, so wasn't a good digger. Thunked the moles on the head, that was all. The other cats from my past, Jude and Cloud didn't seem to be as much of a problem at digging up plants as Ozzie was. Ozzie would scratch up the tiny carrot plants, the teensy beets, and new leaves of broccoli or cabbage plants. After I replanted and replanted again, I finally got smart, coming up with my own method of protecting the plants: inserting sticks along the row, just bits of alder branches or other brush from clearing, usually ocean spray or salmon berry, wild plants of the PNW.

Now I have an indoor cat, Sid, who only digs up the bags I keep in the closet and a hat that's fallen from the shelf, he can pick at it beneath the door of the closet. He's a nut for hats and gloves and socks, anything he can pull at with his teeth; I really think he thinks he's finding a small animal to rip apart. He's a house cat who tries to climb the walls, kills small animals in the form of gloves, and chases mice (my toes) that make their way beneath the covers. Once I foiled Ozzie with the sticks stuck along the rows, I finally got my garden started. It was a good solution; I pulled out the sticks when the plants were large enough to stand up for themselves.

As far as gardening goes, this is the time of year to turn things under and plant a cover crop. I may plant a cover crop, but probably I won't. It's not that I'm lazy, it's just that I'm trying to find my way through this divorce grief. It's overwhelming to think about trying to do much other than make my way through each day. When they say "one day at a time," they really do mean it. Today, I wrote and treated a client (I do CranioSacral therapy for a real job, that and teaching writing) and I do the other things I love, making art and gardening just for the heck of it. Well, more than that really, if I wasn't for doing these things, I'd go stir-crazy, climbing the walls like my cat.

Tomorrow I will weed, the final weeding for the year, perhaps. Brenda will help me and the grandbaby too. We'll make some headway, I hope, if it isn't raining that is. It rained hard earlier today, hailed even. It was crazy. It is early for fall. Snow in the pass already.

Okay then, happy day.

Ciao, Flower

Chilly Today, Hot Tamale

I love tamales and I love to grow corn. However, in the small plot, corn isn't worth planting. It just takes up too much space. When I was a kid I loved how the Hopi's planted corn. They'd use a stick to dig holes in the ground and plant the seed in little mounds. There were always several seeds dropped in the hole together. And there'd be song and dance, too. Some special prayers to encourage a good crop. The planting was special, because it wasn't a given that a good crop would come. Once the crop had grown and the corn harvested, it was ground into flour between rocks and then baked into tortillas. I love this; I don't know why, I guess because it is so reverent. The corn was treated like a special friend.

So when I used to grow corn, I grew Candy Corn. It was very sweet and I loved it. I grew it in long rows. I had a good crop with big ears. Now I'm allergic to corn, well according to my naturopath, that is. I'm not so sure about this, but have been laying low where corn is concerned. I also have a wheat allergy; many folks suffer from these intolerances. I've heard that it is the way wheat is stored that makes it hard on the gut. There are molds that infest the grain as it is stored is silos. Whether or not this is true, I'm not sure. One thing I know for sure is that a lovely slice of homemade bread slathered with fresh strawberry jam is almost worth the reaction. Notice I said almost. Well, one can be satisfied by other things. Like spinach grown in the garden, or happy tomato plants. Or a tuxedo cat curling up next to me as I write in my blog. For more great shots see http://sidthetuxedocat.blogspot.com