...dastardly doggie diggings

this picture of my growing squashes was taken 6/20...

I found this today...



though I had blocked off the bed...
Molly got in & had dug a hole halfway to China...
[probably to bury a pig's ear...]



I don't know if the crooked neck squash will survive...
the zucchini in the top left corner seems un-dogged...
as do the cukes in the bottom corners...

I guess it's my own fault...
for putting a hook & eye lock on the garage door...

she was getting there...
probably attracted by the dead possum...
that I recently disposed of...
knocking things down & making a mess...

I don't leave her in the back too long alone...
but it can sometimes stretch out...
if the kitties are slow to eat their food...
which can't be "down" when she's inside, "at large"...
or she eats it & they don't get enough...

& I was so looking forward to squash...

*sigh*

...the peaceable kingdom

Creamer is still at the vets...
probably through the end of the week...
she'll come home when her diarrhea abates...
but the week she's been gone has had an unexpected effect on us all...



yesterday morning, about 7 AM when I ventured out of the bedroom...
I noticed a strange calmness in the house...
as I looked into the LR/DR, I saw Molly...
still sleeping in her crate...
but I also observed Lucyfur & Mackie...



laying in a patch of sunshine on the runner...
washing each others faces...
then rolling about in playful frolic...
Thomas was stretching & sauntering in my direction...
but quietly... past Sneaky Pie...
who paused to rub heads with him [her sworn enemy...]
looking like good buddies as they strolled together...

MJ was rubbing my ankles...
Cagney & Charlie were lobbying for an early breakfast...
but NO ONE... was hissing, growling or being a butthead...
and then I realized that the corrosive element that was missing...
was Creamer...

she hadn't always been so crabby...
but had gotten much worse in the last month...

swatting & yowling at anyone who came close...
creating an atmosphere of fear & malice...
so now that she'd been gone a while...
even old enemies were so relieved...
that they were now getting along...

I knew that I was glad to not have to always look where I was stepping...
for fear of stepping on her...
or in one of the puddles she'd leave everywhere...

it was nice not to have to carry paper towels & cleaning spray...
when ever I walked through the house...
the rest of the gang could actually walk through the utility porch...
to the cat boxes without stepping in something nasty...
I could do laundry without disinfecting the floor first...

and it was so nice to not hear...
the constant conflict seeping through my bedroom door...

so I decided to make some changes before "she" returns...

I borrowed a 30" x 30" x 18" cat cage from a friend...
Creamer will have her own space, safe from all interlopers...
[real & imagined...]

she'll have her proper food, water, a bed & a litter box...
she'll be where she can survey everything that goes on...
without being able to continue her "reign of terror"...

she'll feel secure & have the proper food to get better...
the rest of the kitties won't bother her...
[they only reacted to her crabbiness, anyway...]
Molly won't get her nose clawed anymore...
the other kitties will continue to be the "get along gang"...
and I won't be constantly brokering peace...
as well as cleaning up nasty messes...

perhaps then the Corona virus will work its way through...
and won't reinfect anyone else...

it would be nice to be able to not have to watch...
as any more of my friends, sicken & die, long before their time...

...garden update, 1.3

spent the entire day outside yesterday...
enjoying the light breeze and moderate weather...
after enduring the heat wave last weekend...



the driveway fence boxes look SO good...
they're filling in well & the watering system WORKS !

so after mowing the lawn...

no small matter, as it involved discovering & disposing of...
the quite dead possum in my garage, next to the mower...
[fortunately, I was putting out the trash anyway...]
then, having just enough gas to get through the thick grass...
without going on a gas buying expedition...

and did I mention that it was after 10 AM...?
so it was pretty bright out there...
not hot, just BRIGHT...

I will tan OK, but the light hurts my eyes...

& even with sunglasses, I get headaches...

that accomplished, I turned to the front porch...
with its messes & problems to solve...



I got this to help solve one of them...



these two hanging geraniums had a bad spring...



and now need to have more potting soil added to their baskets...
[the moisture saver kind with MG plant food added...]
and some rocks on top of that to help keep the new soil IN the baskets...

this will involve climbing ladders & getting dirty...



I spent several hours planting portulacas...
and moving them to the front...
they languish in the shade & needed to be in the sun...



I also planted these crimson dianthus, blue lobelia & white allyssum...
I still have some more of these to plant...
as well as some petunias & begonias...
but I really have to clean off the porch first...



here you see a small lantana, next to the gardenia...



and another,["Radiation", I think...] hiding where a small azalea died...
it can get very bright & hot here, at least for a few hours...
but it's morning sun that's gone by 2 PM...
and lantanas flourish in bright sun...



and a nice surprise !

the newer grapefruit seeds I stuck into the pot...
are sprouting !
if you look closely, you can see 2 seedlings & a sprout just opening...
what fun ! a mini grapefruit grove...

and saving the best for last...



more peaches...
and 4 tomatoes...
2 Brandywine pinks & 2 Ace...

yumm...

...roses

not a prolific year for roses yet...
but the few that come are spectacular...

the paler pink are the root stock from climbing "Joseph's Coat"...
the multicolored stock died back...
and the pink root stock remained...

I'm really glad, because I would have never bought pink on purpose...
but I am really enjoying these...

enjoy...

...stupid Blogger

is anyone else out there...
having problems with scheduled posts NOT posting ?

This has been going on for a couple of weeks now...

I write several posts to be published at a future time...
put the desired publish date/time in the post...
hit "publish"...am told that it's "scheduled"...

and it never publishes....

stupid Blogger...

I've learned to deal with l-o-n-g image uploads...
having to put a group of images "backwards"...
so that they'll print,"in order"...

but the "scheduling of posts"... worked...

for a long time...
now, not at all..

since I have to travel to get online...
the scheduling allowed me to keep some sort of presence...
on a sort of regular basis...

and now...

I apologize for the rant...
but it really annoys me...

I guess this means that my posts will come in bunches...

stupid Blogger...

...Fluff is sulking,part 2

it all began so peacefully...



the Fluffinator, quietly enjoying her summer nest...



until Piglet invaded her space...



after much hissing & growling didn't work...
she repaired to the winter nest...



a tactic that met with limited success...



and soon she made it clear to all how she felt...



so Piglet decided to take over my bed instead...

cats... go figure...

...garden update, 1.2

I trimmed back these mint planters...
harvesting a good bundle...
but with the hot weather...
they'll need trimming again & soon...



the grapefruit seedling is thriving...



but some critter ravaged the cilantro...
and it was doing so well too...



the cuke is blooming...



& the 1st cherry tomatoes are getting closer to color...



the pepper blooms are starting to set...



& the largest eggplant is about 6" long...



now both Brandywine tomatoes are deep pink...
and getting soft to the touch...
so they'll be picked soon to cheat the critters...



other tomatoes are reddening...
this heat has been good for them...
also for setting blooms...



the nectar peaches are turning cream with red...
their "ripe color", since they have white flesh...
I discovered a couple of the ripest had been chewed on...
so I tasted them & found them ripe...

not dead ripe, but sweet enough that I picked the softer ones..



I've learned the hard way that leaving them to "sugar up"...
means only the critters will enjoy them...
so I'm planning to enjoy these...
& keep a close eye on the rest...