Gardens Home & Garden

That is a great age. They are so eager to help and try things.

It hailed for about 20 minutes so it was a fair amount. Yesterday (and today) it's a bit chilly but fairly sunny and bright. By next week it should be spring again.

Last week I pulled my bowl of peanuts from the front porch because the rat was coming around. This morning my polite squirrel came up to where I kept the bowl looking - so I'll put it back out. Unfortunately, Tornado-dog does not approve of Polite Squirrel on the front porch and if I have the door opened, he barks at her.

Most definitely she loves being outside in the garden, her mum says ‘ I don’t know where she gets it from?’ I said I do, me, my side of the family are always outside doing something even if it’s just soaking up the sun. She went yes that’s true.
We’ve had some nice weather here at the moment, sometimes a little chilly but weather has picked up some now. Thank goodness.
My resident pigeons have tried to eat my suet slab that’s hanging but most of it goes over the floor so the other birds pick up and eat it, they’ve eaten all the seed so I’m not going to fill it up yet as nothing else gets a look in then.

Love it! I didn't realize until I was going through a family photo album, but all the way back through my maternal line, animals were a major part of our lives - most all the photos include the family pets from cats and dogs to cows. It was nice to see that show. On my dad's side, only one dog showed in photos before my Mom met my dad - big difference.

I just filled the four main feeders (front porch, back steps, dining room window and day room window). The birds watch for me now - within a couple minutes of my going in the house, they were at the feeders. They know I will always fill the first two no matter what. The cats are happily watching the birds - hanging the feeders outside the windows was the best thing I ever did for them.

Once there are no more storms coming through, I'll start filling the other backyard feeders - there are 11 of them.

Went out and looked at my container plants. They are all doing great. Both my hummingbird sages are blooming - one yellow and one pink. I'll need to up-pot them soon. And my tiny little California fuchsias doubled in size in the past few days. I'll be able to up-pot them into their big planter box in no time. Going to need more soil and perlite within the month.

Yeah we’ve always had dogs at home, I remember one time I went home with a feral kitten from where I used to work and my dad put up with it for about 3 days and then made me give it away as he didn’t like it, I ended up taking it to a farm for them to use as a ratter, they had other cats there too, so I didn’t feel to bad about it.
I did use to just turn up with animals though, be it a budgie or a hamster or fish, lol even dug a fish pond in the back garden once and filled it with plants and fish, he couldn’t make me give that away lmao. To be honest he did enjoy that and even got a seat to sit and watch them in the warm weather.
My brother has a small holding so he has cattle there which the year before last when calving we turned up just as she was giving birth, which was brilliant to see, right up close and personal. They are so cute when they’re little and come up and suck your fingers suckling.
lol I don’t have as many feeders as you do but I do have 6 feeders and a bird table plus I put food on the shed roof and the crows come and use the roof and I’ve noticed the blue tits are going round my bushes now getting the spiders that are starting to move about.
I will have to start and empty my pots to put new compost in ready for this year’s flowers and spread the throw outs over the garden and mix it in, but I’ll wait a couple of more weeks yet.

My Mom did rescue and my dad hated all the animals, but unlike the rest of his family he was good with animals and actually liked them.

I do remember when I was about 17, a friend's cat had kittens and one was a grey & white tuxedo. One of our rescues, a black & white tuxedo, had been returned because "he brings in poison oak and my husband is allergic to it" so I had sort of adopted him. Anyway, I saw the kitten and wanted him. So I brought him home to my Mom. She said I'd have to ask my dad which was a guaranteed no. I had to do some quick thinking.

When he got home, I rushed to put the kitten in my room. Then I waited for my dad to check his milk and cookies and sit in his recliner. Then I said "you know how you bought {older sibling} her dog? And remember how you bought {younger sibling} her dog? Well, I've never gotten to pick out my pet."

He said "you got Mary" and I pointed out that she was a rescue and the deal was if I did dog training she could stay with us, but I didn't actually get to pick from a litter."

My Mom pointed out that was true. So my dad asked "what breed do you want?" thinking he'd naysay my choice. I ran to my room yelling "Remington you get to stay!!!! As I went I heard him say "she already got it?!?!"

I came back out with my kitten and my dad was pissed. He said "that's a cat, you said it was a dog!" I replied "no, I said you bought the others each a dog, but I never said I wanted a dog." It was too late, he couldn't go back on it so Remington stayed. He was a great cat. He and Boswell went with me when I left home a few years later.

Thinking back on that, there may be a reason my dad didn't like me.

My Mom's trick was to bring the cat home and if he asked where it came from she'd tell him "that's not a new cat, that's so-and-so". I don't know if he truly fell for it, but he never called her on it.

The finches just came back to the porch for another feeding. And a bit ago I heard the mockingbird croaking.

I don’t think I ever did ask if I could have anything, I just used to turn up with them because I think I knew what the answer would have been at the end of the day. Apart from one time when my ex’s brother had a rescue collie and they was looking for another home for him as she didn’t have the time for him and I did ask him if he would be interested in having him, anyway we took him home to meet my
Mum and dad and he said yes ok because he was so laid back and calm and he like that, we used to take him out and take him to the pub with us when we went there sometimes so they had no walking to do with him, which suited him fine. We done the dirty work he reaped the cuddles.