Trays and Boxes and Cats and Such

This week in pottery class my students are working on trays and boxes. A few more flowers are blooming in my garden but I neglected to take the photos. It's been unseasonably hot here and I've had a time keeping the flowers alive watering twice a day till they get established. But in the end I know I'll be rewarded. I finally got the squash and beans planted and the tomatoes are getting much larger. Soon I hope to have some beauties to show you.

In other news my little Betty cat is keeping me occupied. She sleeps all day unless I hold her and she forgets to eat or drink. So I put her by her food and water bowl and take her outside every so often. I think she has dementia. Betty is the only cat I have left, other than Barney the neighborhood cat. Butter was eaten by a bobcat or coyote and Binky passed away from cancer. I guess we're all getting old around here. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

The Promise of Seedlings

There is nothing better than the promise of seedlings. Recently I planted seeds of the North Georgia Candy Roaster squash which grows 18 inches long and weighs about 10 pounds. This is a winter squash which stores well and is very sweet. I didn't know if the seeds would be viable since I saved them from the squash I bought at the farmer's market last year - and yippee they are. 

I also planted Cherokee black bean seeds (Trail of Tears seeds). I got the seeds from a farmer last year at the farmer's market. So far only one has come up. I wonder if I should soak the hard seed overnight before planting. If other's don't come up, I'll try that.

I bought a packet of sunflowers Autumn Beauty and started those seeds and they're coming up well.

Planting and watering seedlings led me to make a row cover for the plants  so they wouldn't be over watered by all the rain. Then bending over to spritz the seedlings had me dreaming of a potting bench. Today we looked through our lumber pile to see what we could build. Stay tuned for a rustic potting bench.

Every day Barney (below - a true manx) meows to come in to see if Butter is here. He sniffs everything in the middle bedroom and even looks under the bed for him. Then he wants to go back out. Even though the two were stand-offish I guess they loved each other. The need for companionship is universal in animals and people. Poor little Butter.

Betty (below-part Maine coon cat) wants to go out in the morning before the sun rises but I tell her no. She has to wait for the sun to come up.

Oh the news said big cats are getting canine distemper and it makes them not have a fear of humans, so be careful of mountain lions, pumas, or whatever you may call them. They may attack humans which isn't their normal behavior. Tomorrow is the Trash to Treasures sale so I'll be busy getting ready for that and hopefully be able to get those bells strung up so show you. Spring is a busy time of year I guess. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Winter Wonderland

With an impending snow storm we decided to stay in our RV for two more days to keep the pipes from freezing. Luckily we made the right decision. We did get one load out of the storage unit to our home the day before. Everything here is covered with about three inches of snow. The next two days won't get above freezing so the roads are very icy. Above you see our cat, Betty, relaxing near the window in the RV basking in the sunlight. Under the picnic table in the background I've placed bowls of cat food for the feral cats I've been feeding. My first pottery class was postponed till next week, just as well. Hope y'all are staying warm. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Move and You'll Find It

 Binky and Butter relaxing on the lanai while we pack

 Queen Bee Betty resting on a sleeping bag

 (in the middle of the living room floor)

Butter relaxing on packing boxes

(in the middle of the living room floor)

I can almost guarantee if  you move you'll find all the items you've been missing for months, even years. A tribute to all the landscape jobs and home improvement projects we've done over the years. I think the small red one on the left belonged to Gary's grandfather who was a carpenter. Move and you'll find it. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

No Spring Chicken

Yesterday our guests left for other parts of Florida. We were sad to see them go but made plans to visit with them in the future. Turns out I'm no Spring chicken. I was worn out from all the partying and visiting and such. Gary and the cats were too. Seems none of us are used to so much excitement.

No Spring Chicken

Ouachita Baptist University Jazz Band

We spent the day napping, lounging around, and doing nothing. I did wash a few loads of cloths and heated up some leftovers for us to eat. Our cats Binky and Betty, who are about thirteen years old, barely got up all day long. Butter, who's about eight, got up after half the day but spent most of it gazing out the window. We're hoping we have a bit more energy today. Photo of the chicken was taken in my garden in California. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Reflecting and Error Code

This winter we are having what I call seesaw weather. It's cloudy then sunny, rainy then dry, cold then warm. Right now we are into a ten day stretch of warm weather with highs in the 80s during the day.

I was sitting at the kitchen table late yesterday afternoon and noticed a new born lizard. I went out by the pool to take his photo. The lizard is only three inches long including his tail.

Every time I see the pool I think how lucky I am to have such a place to relax and reflect on the peacefulness surrounding me. Since it was so warm I decided to let the cats out and sit by the pool and make a few sketches. That's Butter and Betty looking at something in the shrubs.

Here's Binky licking Betty's head. I don't know who enjoyed the time out by the pool more, me or the cats?

The cats walk around and around the pool and then they find their spot to lie down and relax. Butter found his favorite spot to reflect on his surroundings.

Betty found her spot too. Binky was on the other side looking at lizards through the screen. While the cats were lounging I made a few sketches of pieces I'd like to make in the coming weeks.

Here is a sketch for a sponge holder and a yarn bowl.

Then I sketched a grouping of towers. When I went back in the house I had renewed energy so I loaded a bisque in the kiln. Since it was all plates I didn't get much in there. I may order two more shelves or think about one of those plate stackers which makes firing plates more efficient. Late last night with the kiln at 823 F I got an E 1 error code on the kiln, so I had to stop it and let it cool down. Darn, just when I was going to get a whole bunch of firings completed which I've let pile up over the last month or so. This morning I'll check the elements and relay. Any advice you can give I would appreciate. I have done about 48 firings half bisque and half cone 6 since I got my kiln, does that sound right for how long the elements and relay should last? Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Yellow Tabby Makes a Choice

Yellow Tabby as found with
pink and white flea collar

One day three years ago this month, I was weeding in the perennial border in the very early morning. The weather here is extremely hot and dry, so morning is the only time it's bearable to do any type of physical labor even in the month of September. At the back of the border were three marguerites, Argyranthemum frutescens, growing which were very large and dense, thick shrubs really. While I was weeding I heard a cat meow. I was rather startled since, at the time, both my cats, Binky and Betty, were indoor cats. I looked around and couldn't see a cat. Then I heard another meow. For some reason I couldn't quite isolate where the meow was coming from, it seemed to echo all around me.

Finally I located the meow coming from under one of the marguerites. I saw a huge, yellow tabby cat crouched there looking up at me. I could see in his eyes and his stance he was ready to run at any moment. I could tell he was waiting for me to show a sign whether I was friendly or whether I would chase him away. I spoke softly to him saying, "Good kitty, good kitty" over and over, at the same time I slowly squatted down so I would appear less threatening to the cat. Eventually the yellow tabby crept out and came up to me. I pet him for a while and then went back to my weeding.

After I finished weeding the cat followed me out to the patio. It was then that I got a good look at how tall the yellow tabby was. I also noticed the cat was quite skinny and his fur was dry and rough. The last thing we needed was another cat, but I thought I would bring some cat food outside by the patio and give him a little since he was so thin. I also noticed he was wearing a pink and white flea collar so I thought he must belong to someone in the neighborhood. I reasoned if I fed him by the patio, he wouldn't associate our house with food and he would return home, or, I would have time to locate his owner.

Yellow Tabby drinking from birdbath

Weeks went by and the yellow tabby was still there every morning, so, of course, I fed him each day. I asked around and no one had lost a cat and we didn't see any notices on the bulletin board in our little town about any lost cat. By this time both Gary and I had grown quite fond of the cat. I soon found out the cat felt the same way about us. If I walked somewhere on the property and the cat couldn't see me, I would hear him let out the loudest and most forlorn cry I think I have every heard from an animal. Meooooow, meoooow, meoooow, over and over and over again he would cry. Then I would call him, "Here kitty, kitty", and he would come running up to me from way across the property. He just couldn't stand to leave my side. I mentioned this to Gary and Gary said the cat would follow him every where he went too. If Gary went down to the barn, the next thing he knew the cat would come down there. So I said to Gary to be sure and call to the cat if he started to cry out with that forlorn meow like he did.

As winter drew near I decided to bring the yellow tabby in at night since it was getting really cold out. I also didn't want to risk him to a coyote, owl or bobcat. I wondered how the cat would get along with our other two cats, especially Binky. If you read the story about Binky's Stump you know that Binky is quite skittish and fearful, so I worried about that. The evening I brought the yellow tabby in and an amazing thing happened. Binky and the yellow tabby loved one another instantly. It was as if the new cat brought Binky out of his shell. Previously, Binky used to hide under the bed most of the time. Then when the yellow tabby came indoors, the two of them slept together, they groomed each other, they played together, and they got along famously. The yellow tabby and Betty, our other cat, didn't get along as well. Betty is very feisty and independent, so I knew Betty could take care of herself and would be OK.

Yellow Tabby grooming Binky

For about a month we had been trying to think of a name for the yellow tabby and just couldn't think of quite the right name. We wanted to name him a name that started with a "B" since our other two cats have names that start with a "B", but nothing we could think of seemed appealing. We thought of Bubba, Buster, Buddy, and none of the names we thought of seemed to suite the cat. We just kept calling him kitty in the hopes we'd think of a name we felt was the right one.

Look at the size of Butter
the window sill is 2 feet from the floor

That weekend we were out in the garden and happened to run into our neighbors who we never, ever saw. These particular neighbors were always gone on the weekend and during the week too. As we were chatting with them over the fence, we asked them if they happened to know anyone who had lost a cat. They said, "Well we haven't seen our cat, a yellow tabby, but he is a free spirit". Our hearts sank into our feet. Gary and I gave each other a glance and we both could have cried. We said, "Well he's been over here, we didn't know he was your cat". Our neighbors said, "He's not bothering you, is he?" We said, "Ohhhh, Nooooo, he's not bothering us at all". They said they let him go wherever he wanted. They also didn't seem to worry that he was over here or the fact that they hadn't seen him at all in two months. As we parted ways we asked them, "By the way what's his name?" They said, "His name is Butter". The second they said his name I knew the cat was meant to be ours. I also knew it was the perfect name for the yellow tabby, who was a sweet gentle giant.


Several more months more went by and all that time we worried that Butter wasn't our cat but was really our neighbor's cat. One day the same neighbors came over and saw Butter in our yard. They called to Butter but he ran the other way. As he ran away I said to them, "I didn't mean to take your cat" and they said "That's OK, as long as he is happy that's what's important". I finally felt relieved about Butter being at our house. Butter was officially part of our family. After about six months or so Butter quit meowing with that loud and forlorn meow if he didn't see us in the yard. Butter, the yellow tabby, has been with us for three years now. Amazingly since I first saw the big yellow tabby in the garden up to this very day, he has never returned to our neighbors house, not even once. Butter, the yellow tabby, is outside all day long and has never once walked the 20 or so feet to their yard, even though he is free to do so if he chooses.