Gathering at the Bird Feeder

As far as I can tell these are house finches.  These are all female though since the male has a distinct tinge of read on his breast. I don't think I've ever seen this many birds on the feeder at one time though.  I have been keeping up with making sure there is always seed there so I really shouldn't be surprised. 

Among the other birds we've seen flying through are blue jays, cardinals, and mockingbirds.  Flying above and around the are there are often turkey vultures, ducks, herons, and some other kind of smaller raptor, probably a hawk of some sort.

The seed we get is relatively fresh since the spillage has created a small sprouted forest.  It will be mowed down this weekend so somewhat short lived I guess but I wasn't trying to grow my own seed anyway.

Looking forward to mowing the mint though.  We'll see just how minty the air will get.  Our friend who gave us the  mint says when he mows it a nice aroma that fills the air.  We really don't have a lot of mint though so I'm not expecting it to be overwhelming.  I might try to reign it in a little though so it doesn't really become a huge problem.  I do need to get the edging done though before we take off on our trip. 

Fortunately we have friends coming to take care of the house and cats, mainly the cats.  We've been prepping for them and have made several dishes that we've frozen for them to have plenty to eat.  Still need to get that manual put together so they have a go by for anything they need to know.  Missing the cats already and haven't even left.

Bird Watching

This is a perfect spot for the cats to look outside and watch the birds.  Of course since there aren't many trees, bushes, or anything else really to attract the birds we've put in a bird feeder a few feet away from the window so the birds can come and not be too close to the cats to be startled by them.

So far we have a few little birds that have found the feeder and water tray below.  The wire basket keeps the seed from getting too wet but at the same time lets the shells fall through.

I'm sure at some point we'll have plenty of things attracting bids and I'll be wondering why I ever though attracting them in the first place was a good idea. For now though it helps keep the cats busy and their minds active.  I like watching them as well so for now it's a win/win.

I think I'll get smaller food though since I think the little birds are more likely to be the ones coming to eat here.

At the apartment we had some feeders but the birds never came.  I mean, like NEVER!  It was sad.  At least we had rabbits hopping around though.  That's something I joked about relocating to the house but that would not be a great idea.  The dig a lot and would wreak havoc to everyone's flower beds.

What's a bird you've always liked to watch?   Leave a comment below.

Sean and Addi Getting Along

Sometimes these two actually get along.  Of course it's only when they're done playing and not getting in eachother's way.  They really have settled in though.  They're perfectly ok with finding us while we're busy doing something on any electronic device and curling up on top of us and either demanding to be petted or just falling asleep.

Looking at this picture I almost see a racoon but not quite.  The sun is hitting them just right to put a shine on them and make them look a little different than they normally do (except for the napping part.)

These guys have all of the signals that they trust us though.  Some of what you hear can be misleading on this matter.  One guy online was saying that you should never rub their belly.  Again this seems to be a trust issue.  As long as they aren't in play mode both of these guys are just fine with it.  In play mode however they may take your hand to be a toy and attack it.  They don't hiss or actually try to hurt and after a second they go from attack to groom but their mood plays a big role in how they react to things.

We also make sure to play with them a bit and give the rare treat (maybe once a week or so) to keep them engaged.  Their feeding times are automatic and they know there will always be more food coming.  Often they don't eat all of their food right away, leaving some for later.

They still like their cat grass.  We don't leave it inside though so they don't overdo it.  Not sure they can but we like to monitor how much grass they eat or play with.  Sometimes they'd rather pull it up and bat it around.  They are super different though to the point I wouldn't have thought they had grown up together but I guess that's probably true with most siblings.

Facing North

You may have heard about cat's insane ability to find their way back home from even a long way away.  It's true that cats have a remarkable ability to navigate the world but so far there hasn't been enough evidence that they have any sort of internal compass.  It's more likely that they use their other highly tuned senses to make their way through the world.

Our cats however don't have to worry about navigating the world, they're inside cats and merely have to navigate the house.  It's so much simpler.  We just moved and this is our first home with them but their third home that they've had to get used to.  They're adjusting nicely though and seem to already think they own the place.

That all said I can't figure out why they decided at this point to both sit in a doorway facing north.  They are usually running around or lying in a box, or on their cat tree on one of the many many levels, (I'll get into that at another time but I don't understand why there are so many cat trees that should really be called a cat bush or even just a cat chair....) or gnawing on each other as they still fight for who's the dominate cat.   But here they are spaced apart just sitting there.  I can't explain it.

Does anyone else have a cat (or other pet) that seems to face north or any other direction.  They rarely face north but they also rarely are just sitting there so there's that.

Cat Grass

Grass seems to want to grow just about anywhere it can find that has even the slightest bit of dirt. Here we were in Galveston checking out Jean Lafitte's old castle grounds.  You can see the wall footing from part of the structure here with grass growing in and out of the footprint.  Even in the shadow, although patchy, it's taking root.

Since we got cats my wife has decided they need a bit of greenery in their lives.  So we ordered some seeds and got one of the pots that isn't currently growing anything and planted some cat grass.  That's fancy talk for wheat, oats, and barley. If I let it grow, we could even harvest grain from it but I don't think that's the idea here.  Cats are high end carnivores and don't take to salad eating much but a little green is apparently also good for their gut health.

I'm going to grow it outside for the most part and since our house faces West, the East side is in the back and gets some good morning sun on our patio.  I don't want it just out in the yard so the pot will sit there.  With proper watering and patience we should have some greenery for the cats in a couple weeks.  Again if I let it grow more we would have grain in a few months.  Might try that with a little of it just to see how it goes.  There's plenty of seed  in the bag.

Also probably going to see about getting better grass for the yard.  The stuff they have in there now is patchy and not very attractive.  It's sod though so maybe it will eventually grow in better.  At the previous house we had St. Augustine grass.  That's what I grew up having at my grandparents houses.  the both of them swore by it.  So, we'll see.

Sean Taking a Nap

After a couple days Sean and Addi are finally settling down.  They took a fairly long nap yesterday and had a good play afterwards in the evening.

They are starting to get used to the idea of not getting fed immediately when I get up in the morning.  Our previous cats Grade and Solomon were fed in the mornings and Grace specifically made sure meal time was not missed.  So if I either forgot or was for some reason not able to feed them at the usual time Grace would lightly tap my wife's face as she was sleeping to alert her that meal time was severely (5 minutes or more) overdue.

They are really cuddly, good lap cats when they want to be.  Last night it stormed and they were wanting comfort.  Both of them stayed either under foot, on lap, or next to whatever computer was being worked at by either of us.

Still a lot of things to unpack and organize.  We cooked for the first time yesterday evening and gave them a small piece of chicken each.  They had already had their wet food but they had been stressed.

You can tell this is Sean because his nose is all black.  Addi has a faint stripe down her nose.

Sean and Addi

Just under 2 weeks before we can bring our new kitties home with us!

Of course that's because we don't yet have the new home to bring them to.  We're finally moving back into a house though and one of our friends was kind enough to find these two for us.  She also helped nurse them back to health after they had been found abandoned and did a great job socializing them.

Sean is going to be a bit bigger than Addi but they are the cutest siblings.

This also means we will be getting back to some larger scale gardening!  I'm going to plan better this time since we have a new home and a fresh yard to map out.  I can get things where they should be instead of where I can fit them in with everything that's already there.  I'm not sure about trees just yet though, they are a bit more than I think I want to take care of just yet, except for Claude of course but he's an inside tree...

Tomato Planting

It seems winter is about over. A good indication of this is found in the comics. Sally Forth is spring cleaning. Maybe not the best of indications but the trees agree it's time to put forth leaves and get growing.
This reminded me of the occasional attempt at tomato growing. Yesterday when at the store I noticed that the tomato harvest this past season was terrible and there aren't many on the shelves. I bought three tomatoes and have started pulling out the seeds of the one I used for cooking.
I'll have to amend the soil this week and build boxes to keep the cats out but I think it might be worth the trouble.
So, here goes another tomato attempt.

Lemon Scented Success

A bare spot is a terrible thing to have in a garden. The local strays have put it there and don't get the hint when I run them off. When I pruned my lemon tree it gave me a great resource to take care of the problem. Someone tole me once that you should put a lattice of sticks across bare spots like this to deter the cats. I figured a few thorns would be an added bonus.

My lemon tree has thorns that are over two inches long. Some of them I pushed into the ground to keep the trimmings in place and some are sticking up to make a very uncomfortable bed. So far they have stopped sleeping there.

Cantaloupe - Home Grown

I went outside today and checked on my cantaloupe vine, particularly the cantaloupe itself and it decided to fall off the vine. So, I brought it in and placed it in the fridge so it would be nice and cold when we decided to eat it.

As you can see it has a nice orange undertone.

The seeds are also nicely developed and can be saved for next year's planting. This time I'm going to label it better.

Now we just have to make sure we get more than the cat. She loves cantaloupe as well as strawberry yogurt.

Watering

July heat is upon us and about all I can do now is water and hope everything lives.
I put my plumeria sprout out today in a shady spot so it can have some real sunlight even if it is indirect. it seems to be struggling under the grow light.
The cat has eaten quite a few sprouts we had on the window sill. He hasn't bothered the big plants at least. That would probably cause a little bit of a mess.
The kaffir lime tree is still putting out new leaves and getting a little taller.

Cats vs. Kitens

Kittens are cute when you find them playing among the plants and napping in the shade. Cats on the other hand are not so cute since they have the bad habit of napping on plants that aren't quite big enough to be able to take it.
Recently we have had several snow pea plants crushed under the weight of a not so large cat who knew that he shouldn't be where he was. He left very deep tracks in his haste to leave. If he returns he will find his favorite bed filled with pepper and chili powder and hopefully not so inviting. So too are the other beds and the top of the ice chest just in case he keeps looking for a resting place.
The plus side to having cats in the neighbor hood is squirrel control. There are fewer pecans planted where they shouldn't be.
My wife thinks I should go ahead and put cages on the planting beds to keep the cats out. In the long run this is probably the best and most economic method.

Stray Cats in the Garden

I know most people probably don't like strays in the garden since they dig up beds and can pee a lot causing less than desirable smells but I hope there are nearly just as many who don't like to see them die in the yard or other unfortunate ways.
I recently had to get a dead cat out of my neighbor's shed. It got locked in there accidentally last month and seems to have starved.
This does not however prevent me from chasing them out of my own yard just to keep them on their toes. Just this morning I chased the large black one out. It was laying in it's usual place near the strawberry patch which seems to have a permanent indention of it's round body in the grass. This way, although they probably know they aren't in any real danger, they still know who's pretending to be boss.