Kaseys Korner

How to thrill your cat

in one easy step ~ no subscriptions to "cat TV" required.  Here's how ~ you're on the edge of your seat, aren't you!??  Sow some cat grass seed.  No matter what other expression you think you might see, let me reassure you, this is the face of one ecstatic cat:

Oh yeah.  He's just discovered a brand, spankin' new container of freshly sprouted cat grass.  Planted with love.  By his human Mom.  :-)  Life is good.

Chow time. 

"Mom" is happy to do this for him.  It keeps him from snacking on her other houseplants (with exception of occasional deviate behavior ~ remember when he chewed the orchid buds???)  And grass growing in a glass container is pretty: 

Don't you think??  (Check out the water droplets clinging to some of the blades)  It also keeps his digestive track healthy so "Mom" doesn't wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of vomiting...  You all know the sound.  Ugh.

 

Let's not forget how therapeutic it is.  Sowing seed off and on all winter keeps a gardeners mind healthy, wealthy and sane.  Cheers to that.

Everyone's happy here...at least until the grass is gone.

Belated Halloween

I woke up to the sound of dripping the morning after Halloween.  That can be a good or bad thing but this time, it was most certainly a wonderful sound ~ it meant the snow had kept melting overnight!  Hooray.  Our grand total was about 20" but it's quickly disappearing now that the sun is back.  Another "hooray" for that.  The streets were even almost clear last night for the trick or treators.  We did not go out but we did have a couple adorable door-greeters to help pass out candy.  The first one was a green-haired witch:

Awwww.  He's so good at his job, I must say.  He never failed to keep an eye out for new arrivals and notify us of their presence.  I can't say he loved the hat but he honestly does like the neck piece.  He's worn it countless days, all day long, and even slept in it!

He gets "treats" for being such a good sport, wouldn't you agree?  Not quite as enthusiastic is our little spider (aka Regis the cat):

It's hard to even tell there's a cat under there, isn't it?  He refuses to lift his head when his costume is on so we never saw eyes.  I think I'm going to have to enlist a little help to get a better photo.  I'll be back to post it (when I get it) because he really is too cute to miss!  Hope you all had a fun Halloween too?  I'm happy to say everything is looking up here ~ the weather forecast and most especially my daughters health.  I think it's the first time I've ever been happy to turn the calendar over to November but this was one October we're glad to see in the rear view mirror!

some decisions are just good

I know you know what I mean.  One of those good decisions in my garden is electing to put an arbor over my side gate ~  remember I did that this spring?  Even tho the Sweet Autumn Clematis and Akebia vines never really took off (planted on either side of the arbor) look what a showcase it's turned out to be for fall:

We're having a Halloween party (for my daughters friends)in the back garden and this will be the perfect entrance.  btw, those pretty purple flowers protruding into the left side of the photo are Tibouchina blooms! Nice that they are still flowering, huh?  Here's a closer view of the cute little jack o'lantern lights dangling from the top of the arbor:

What Halloween/Fall scene would be complete without a black cat?  None at our house (or that I know of)!  Although this black cat is only outside when I am there to watch him:

Hello sweet boy!  I think he approves!  Now you know why I haven't been blogging ~ I'm still decorating.  :-) 

a little bit about moi

A few weeks ago Racquel of the lovely Perennial Garden Lover blog tagged me with a meme to share seven little known facts about myself.  I've been such a bad blogger lately that I'm just now getting around to it ~ sorry Racquel!  Aside from being a lame poster (of late), I've also been very hesitant to share much personal info (aside from the garden) so participating will be a big step out for me.  But *deep breathe* here goes.
1.    I am a girly girl to the max.  Love the make-up, nail polish, jewelry, etc. but never fear ~ I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty ~ I'll just cover the dirt under my nails with polish afterwards.  Just kidding!  or maybe not...

2.    I'm a freak for Persian cats.  You would think I'd have a few having said that, right?  The odd thing is I don't.  I used to have two ~ a Blue Point Himalayan and a Silver Tabby Persian.  Both were gorgeous, sweet girls that have both passed away.  boo hoo.  Luckily I'm not "catless." ~ as you've seen pictured many times ~ I am now the proud "mom" to one Persian-mix "boy" compliments of the pound.

 

3.    I am a self taught sewer.  In fact, I even considered starting my own business sewing for people a few years back but decided I am really not that good at it.  Well, good enough for me, but maybe not for paying customers.  I had no interest in sewing until I got married and went to order a custom valance for my living room and suffered sticker shock.  That was the moment I decided Singer and I needed to become best friends.  The wonderful thing about sewing is you can make-over an entire room (on a whim) with just a little fabric and imagination.  This summer I did just that to my kitchen sewing the valances shown in the photo below:

I also made the seat cushion and all the accompanying pillows for the window seat in my daughters room:

4.  I practically live in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and have never set foot (or tires) into them.  *gasp*  Every year I say I'm going to pack up the car and venture up but I never do.  In all reality, I think I'm perfectly content to just look at them.  Now if there were an ocean in the same proximity, it would be a completely different story.  

5.  I have single-handedly painted the whole (aside from three rooms) interior of my house this summer.  Now you know why I haven't been blogging!  In case you're interested, the color (that I see even while sleeping) is "warm sand."

6. I have a secret, longtime dream of writing a novel or childrens book.  It's one of the many reasons I started my blog ~ to get me into the habit of writing on a daily basis.  (and here you thought I just wanted to swap garden photos/stories with you!!)

7.  I must be one of only a handful of people in America (or the world?) that is not infatuated with cell phones.  Mine is rarely on and I can count on one hand the people who even know its number.  If you're one of them, I highly doubt you feel lucky, probably more like frustrated since I'm horrible at picking it up.

Okay, that's it in a nutshell.  If you've stuck with me till the end, kudos to you ~ it's a quiet, simple life I lead.  Now I'm going to disregard the rules and not pass the meme along because I never know who wants to participate.  Please feel free to pick it up and play along if you're so inclined ~ it's always fun to learn a little something about an Internet buddy.

something old

but new to my garden that is tickling me beyond words:

 

How cool is that?  I've admired these vintage wheelbarrows in many garden books & magazines but never thought I'd ever have one in my own garden.  Then, as luck would have it, this one turned up at the flea market I frequent.  Yesterday it found it's way onto my patio.  After passing inspection by both Butter:

 

and Regis:

 

my "job" today is to find the perfect spot for it in my garden.  Even more fun, will be the "task" of finding the perfect flowers to fill it with that will create a spectacular focal point and photo.  I think I'm up for it and I'll be smiling the entire time.  :-)

A face only a Mother could love

or maybe other cat lovers as well??  Check out this pic of Regis I took yesterday while we were outside planting containers:

 

I don't know what he could possibly be irritated about but that's the look and thanks I get for letting him outside with me (he's only allowed out when supervised).  Maybe he's tired of the endless paparazzi (me) who trail him wherever he goes???  Who knows.  He's infamous for this look. Come on, show me some love.

  

Aaahhh, that's better.  Now you can stay outside with me a while longer!!  It's too nice to be in front of the computer so this is all you get today.  I'm headed back out to do more planting.  New containers are being assembled, old ones (that were overwintered) are being disassembled then rearranged, etc., etc.  I will share photos in another post.  Enjoy the day!

under the weather

my favorite and most loyal garden "helper" has not been himself lately.  Usually he's like the postman, accompanying me outside in snow:

 

Rain:

 

and sunshine:

 

Last week was a totally different story.  He wouldn't go outside, he limped around and basically seemed miserable.  Two vet visits later,including x-rays, blood work, etc., we found out he has degenerative arthritis.  He's only 6 1/2.  I feel so bad for my "baby."  Today, after starting a regiment of glucosamine and pain killers, he's back to his old self.  I'm so thankful.  I didn't have a dog for many years but since he came into our lives, I can't imagine being in the garden without him.   I'll be sure and give him some extra TLC from now on....

Royally regal Regis

My poor dog hasn't gotten any blog coverage in forever (it seems) and yet here I go again with my cat.  I can't resist, besides there's nothing blooming (that you haven't already seen) and he absolutely posed. How often does that happen???  Check out these two shots that I am fondly referring to as King Regis:

 

He discovered long ago that he looks good on pink!  lol.  It really is his color.  Yes, HIS color.  My poor pets all have gender issues either because of what I do to them or something innate.  ;-)

 

Awww, what's not to love??!!!  Have a great weekend everybody!

bird watching

The recent frigid temperatures have caused me to re-think pulling the feeders.  They are now back in place (at least for the time being) to help the birds thru the cold temps and snow covered landscape.  I've seen no signs of the Kestrel the past few days so maybe he's moved on??  All has been well except, yesterday, I sighted this little finch who was minus one eye:

 

I've seen other injuries/infections from time to time while birdwatching too.  One year I saw a finch who had what looked to be an infectious sac covering one eye.  Maybe this is the same bird several years later??  I seriously doubt it tho.  I think handicaps in nature prove to be fatal.  They need all their faculties about them to escape predation.  One thing I do have (while bird watching) is a willing companion to help me identify new visitors to the backyard:

 

He never hesitates or complains.  You gotta love that about him.  I think he may have been the first one to spot the one-eyed finch???   Has anyone else noticed any anomalies of nature outside their windows??

up to no good

What do you do for entertainment when it's dreary, gray and cold outside?  (and the reason there was no blog entry from me earlier).   I was busy:

 

styling my dogs hair.  Pathetic, right??  It's all I've got.  Some days are just that way.  Different colors, different kinds, he didn't have a preference but boy was he a sport.  I did just say "he" ~ do you think I completely emasculated him?!!!!