Our World: Pictures of our garden

Monday, May 26, 2008

Pictures of our garden

My piano students love all the hiding places in our hard; you can get lost out there. The quail love the seedlings in our vegetable garden. I love the scent of the roses everywhere. Val loves to putter and feed all the stray cats (we have several come around) and maintain the bird feeders, which are out of reach of the cats. So it is a magical place.

Puffy's story

One night a stray cat came around. It was so filthy and matted and injured that it looked like it should be put out if its misery. On its back was a huge mat of fur and mud and debris the size of two good sized books. We tried to catch the poor thing but night after night it came to eat but ran away from us. Val would finally get it to come sniff his hand and gradually would get it to come and let him pet it. Over time he would get the cat to let him get close enough to trim away some of its "backpack." One night it came into the house for a bit, and Val was allowed to cut off the offending mess on its back. Underneath the poor cat had thin, balding hair. He was so appreciative to be relieved of the weight of that mess on his back that from then on he could come into our house and allow us to pet him and make friends with him. At first he hid under beds and furniture, but over the weeks he befriended Sammy and copied everything Sammy did, becoming a first-rate housecat. He even ventured out and made friends with everybody in our household including my piano students. Today Puffy is friendly and outgoing, smart and obedient, and a very pleasant cat without any bad habits. He is a great pet.