Sizing up the cats -

These cute brothers recently moved in with my friend Vanessa - she went

 to adopt one and ended up with two - they are adorable and it's wonderful

 knowing they are staying together. 

I love all cats. On my first safari trip to Africa in 2010 I was amazed to get this

close to the leopard and took many photos of this beautiful boy in Botswana.

 Sitting quietly in the open vehicle I was able to watch him close by in the tree,

and when he climbed down and walked calmly away along the trail he wasn't

bothered by us at all, thankfully!

On a trip to Kenya in 2015, this young male leopard named Twig

 was seen often during our game drives. . . . . . .

. . . . . . . but this morning I'm with Nala, my neighbor's cat. I can tickle her ears, 

and perhaps have a cuddle, always nice!

We are preparing for our first travel away from home since

the start of the pandemic. It feels odd not having packed a suitcase

in so long. I'll keep you posted.

Good neighbors!

 

I have a few dahlias at last!

Each morning I put on my ankle boots - to be safe from mosquitoes - and cross

 the damp grass to my 'currently traveling' neighbor's house.  

Nala awaits breakfast, a brush, a treat, and, if I'm lucky, there will soon be a

 cuddle as we move into week three . . . . . it takes her a while to get to

 that point! Later I return before dusk to do all that again. Sometimes I even pop back

 over around midday if I've left the door to the sunroom open for a few hours so she

 can have a change of scenery and watch the backyard birds.

Nala this morning.

Speaking of garden birds. . . . . . . . . 

Yes, I know one is not supposed to remove birds' nests and I never would disturb

 one whilst occupied. However, this cardinal's nest was recently vacated, a mom, dad

 and I think three babies, are now flying about, chirping happily in my back garden.

This nest was in a shrub by my neighbor's back deck - yes, the now 

silent deck attached to the empty house soon to be razed.

Many trees, and all the shrubbery, are certain to be removed once

work starts on the demolition and land grading. . . . . . so I 'rescued'

this sweet nest rather than see it crushed by the bulldozer.

Cardinals don't return to a used nest - next spring they will be 

constructing afresh for certain.

It's a spotlessly clean nest, carefully woven from dried twigs and grasses,

with several pieces of plastic added. . . . for waterproofing perhaps.

Nests are things of beauty and amazing architecture!

I then moved the nest here on the front porch 'nature table'.  

Almost immediately a very young, slightly ruffled, sweet Carolina wren showed up, 

stood on the nest and checked it out - too quick to get a photo but so cute to see.

Another week has gone and not much of interest has happened here.

I did go out yesterday to get my hair trimmed - still growing out my grey silver locks! 

It appears I will need to have half in inch of red chopped off every 5 weeks to keep

from looking really ratty! I no longer use any heat. Blow dryer, flat iron etc. all stored

away, natural waves are doing their thing, these days it's wash and go, which I have to 

admit I'm enjoying. My stylist says my grey is nice, not wiry, so hopefully some day

 I'll look 'presentable' again and be ready for travel, if we ever can, sigh!!!!

Hope your week went well and that you have a great weekend. . . . . 

ours may be stormy with some heavy rain and possible 

flooding in some areas.  

~ Take care - be safe ~

Small mercies -

The kindness of the garden is still sharing spring flowers - thank you garden and 

Mother Nature.

This evening, when the season of spring officially starts, we will all have much on

 our minds which is worrisome, negative, and downright frightening. 

Everyone is offering thoughts on ways to get through this terrible time so I 

will not say anymore on this point. We all know what we need to be doing!

Instead, here are some things which have kept me busy this week.

I did some pruning, clipping the pulling in the back garden.

I took stock of the now messy potting shed - made myself a note to clean it 

out this coming week when the temperatures will be exceptionally warm.

I'm hoping to find a way to buy some plants to pot soon - one nearby 

garden center will be taking orders online and you can drive up and have 

your plants put in your car - something to consider.

Our food supply is running low on things like fresh produce - not sure

how to handle that right now other than get to a shop first thing in the morning 

before too many people are about.

I baked a lot of muffins this week (also two loaves of bread) to share with 

my neighbors - put them on their front steps, rang the bell with my elbow,

and stood in their yards within a good distance for a quick chat.

We had a raccoon visit the garden a few days ago - actually not this one
 whom I photographed a couple of years ago in the back garden - a smaller one, 
probably a female, who was under my azalea bushes.  
Bob had spent a good couple of hours out there mowing, trimming and blowing, 
but she didn't come out until I walked out there, sans camera or phone.
She looked healthy but perhaps tired from having her daytime sleep disturbed 
so just bypassed us silently and crossed the road into the wooded area. 
Don't see any babies here so maybe they are in the woods. There is a large owl 
in our trees this week - and they are predators of baby raccoons, so fingers
 are crossed!

Life definitely goes on - proven by a lot of bird activity in the garden. 

Before I could even take the now shriveled Boston ferns down from the porch
 (left up over winter for the Carolina wrens to sleep in nightly), a pair of 
House finches started building a nest!  I haven't the heart to stop them, 
especially as we need all the entertainment we can get now we're isolated
 at home, and watching their diligence creating that cozy spot for their 
coming family is amazing.

The somewhat dowdy little female does most of the nest building, but the more

colorful male always comes along and keeps watch whilst she's in the fern weaving

 the bits and pieces she carries back time and time again. It's day four of construction

 and now they get very upset if I try to look in the nest. They are messy birds so there

 will be plenty of cleaning of the porch - but what the heck we all need chores to keep 

us busy!

I'm still kitty sitting and plan to be until Nala's 'dad', my next door neighbor, gets home. 

He's due back tomorrow night IF his flight makes it. This morning I think she was 

missing him as she was snuggling up with his gardening shoes on the enclosed porch. 

I'm enjoying it because it gets me out of the house. . . . . . . I find myself going 

back and forth to see her even more times than really necessary!

Sending you best wishes - may you and your families, friends and neighbors stay well.

Weekend odds and ends -

Another weekend, and this one has started off well with sunshine and 

warm temperatures.

A robin has been sitting on the head of a garden statue outside the window 

for over 10 minutes, singing non-stop. He stopped as some dog walkers

passed the house but didn't fly off, then just puffed up and started his melody

again. . . . . . . such a lovely sound early in the morning.

 I'm kitty sitting for the coming week as Nala's person, our neighbor, is heading to Maine. 

Nala is easy to care for and, as it's warm, I'll be putting her out in the screened porch 

during the daylight hours which makes her a happy cat. . . . . . . . she'll be watching

plenty of these critters below. . . . . . . . 

. . . . . . . .in my back garden yesterday, this female squirrel made short order of

 the only suet cake I had left - note to self, buy more if/when I go shopping again!

My 'snowdrops' are in full bloom now.

These are actually Leucojum aestivum 'Summer Snowflake", member

of the Amaryllis family of bulbs. Thankfully deer resistant hardy perennials.

I baked a loaf last evening so had good toast and marmalade for breakfast today. 

Can't say there's really anything I enjoy more to start my weekend morning - a good 

slice of crunchy toast with butter. . . . . and of course thick cut Scottish marmalade.

Stay well, be happy, and enjoy your weekend.

Other than taking our neighbor to the airport later,

I think we'll be staying close to home.

A mixed bag -

 It's been one of those weeks. . . . . . routine doctor check ups, cat sitting for the
 neighbor, quick stop at the mall (only because it's near a doctor's office and I was
 an hour too early for my appointment - am I losing it?). Men digging up our
 cul-de-sac searching for water pipes, duh!  Interrupted sleep due to shoulder pain. 
Too much online time dealing with VISAS for travel to new islands - more on
 that later! Deadheading hydrangeas fried to a crisp and looking so sad, while
 almost frying myself in 90F plus humidity in the garden that day. . . . . . . .definitely
 a mixed bag of daily ups and downs.

Can you believe this?  After celebrating their 30th birthday with this pretty

 Sept/Oct issue, a card in the mail this week announced the demise of

 bi-monthly issues and mail subscriptions, which many of us have.

Traditional Home will become one of those 'special interest' publications now

 and then, perhaps overpriced and often full of already published articles.  

Sad, sad, sad - this was always a classy magazine and seeing it go the way of

 others only makes one realize how turning real pages may become a thing of the

 past in the world of print journalism.

Next door neighbor Nala. On a diet and looking good - but still

 really a hefty girl to lift!

Yes, that whip round the mall included a stop at H&M where I found this zebra print

 caftan-style dress on sale - very inexpensive!  Light, comfy and may be perfect for

 travel to hot places - moonlit evenings on deck, or even as a robe/coverup. 

I like that it has hidden buttons too. At home, I can wear on the front porch or in

 the gazebo for a casual supper and not look like I'm still in my robe! 
Actually, I had forgotten just how cool a flowing dress can be on a hot day.

The hummers are really busy and hungry this week - perhaps they feel Autumn 

in the air with the slightly cooler nights starting.

 Thankfully, if they are planning to migrate further south, they don't have the journey

of UK swallows migrating to Africa. . . . . . 6,000 miles and they travel at 35 mph!

One more purchase - from Pier 1 - this week.  Fell for this pretty pillow when

 killing that time before the doctor appointment.  As we'll be traveling in October, 

sadly I won't be visiting our favorite pumpkin farm for the real thing. I just knew this

 would be perfect on my chair, and give me the feeling of my favorite season
 approaching.  Again, with 25% off, it was a great buy.

I was able to dry this basket of hydrangeas, the ones I cut on my return

from Ireland, prior to the heatwave which lasted the past 6 weeks or more.

They are pretty, mostly muted greens with a little dusty blue remaining on

some heads.

It was lovely today and will remain sunny and in the high 80's over the Labor Day 

weekend.

With approaching Hurricane Dorian, this holiday weekend may not be a good, 

safe one for our Florida friends. If you live there, please know you are in our
 thoughts and prayers. . . . . .and our fingers are definitely crossed that it won't 
be as serious as expected. We here in the Carolinas may get some bad
 weather from this storm later the week after next as it may hang around 
far too long!

'Waterlogue' photos from the weekend. . . . .

 It was a LOVELY weekend, especially Sunday when it warmed up to the mid-sixties.

I sat with Ms. Nala next door for a while, allowing her to spend the sunny day

 out on the glass-enclosed back porch of my neighbor's house. She watched the crazy

 squirrels and chirping birds, but must have missed her 'dad' as she snuggled up to

his sneakers left on the floor.

Blue skies, still a few wrinkled oak leaves hanging on to branches

in the garden.

Camellia bushes budding and blooming profusely in the winter sunshine.

Have a pleasant week wherever you choose to relax.

Best friends come in all shapes and sizes. . . . . . . . .

 It's not a hard place for a rest when you have a bunch of soft friends

 to share it with during a storm!

I'm taking care of Ms. Nala next door again. She's being a sweetie and I get to 

cuddle twice a day. She's not happy with the nightly thunderstorms we've been

 having. . . . . .neither am I. Ever since the big oak tree in her yard was hit by

 lightning last year, she apparently looks for a place to hide when the booms

 and flashes start. 

This morning I found her here with her puppy friends, sweet!
How do your dogs and cats behave in electrical storms?