Dad says: “Thank you all so much for the birthday greetings last Monday!” And then, he blushed a bit and mumbled something about dishing himself up more ice cream which is perfectly okay because, c’mon – Ice Cream!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Around Colehaus this summer, we’ve not had the number of squirrels we’re used to, nor the number of raccoons, giving Mom next to nothing to go on and on about. She was looking forward to the next generation of raccoon babies but it seems not to be. She did rescue a number of baby bunnies, though, and she’s pretty happy about that.
Bob, the little frog – 2016 © Colehauscats.com
Bob, the little frog who we’re calling Big Joe’s next meal little brother, is not impressed. He’s a little thing, compared to Big Joe. Mom says she would have set a banana next to Bob, for a size comparison photo, but as we all know, frogs like Bob are unimpressed with bananas.
Just passing through – 2016 © Colehauscats.com
Here’s one of our neighbor’s cats. He looks like he’s just innocently passing through but our backyard is a thoroughfare to the bunny fields down the hill. Mom says he is anything but innocent.
Colehaus visitor Reenie – 2016 © Colehauscats.com
Just outside our side fence opening, skitterish neighbor cat Reenie lays in the cool shade. Reenie has lots of shade at her house but not cool feeding stations with daytime food inside from which to nibble from. Smart cat.
Roma tomatoes finally ripening – 2016 © Colehaus.com and Colehauscats.com
Dad’s Roma tomatoes are finally ripening. He and Mom like these the best because they taste very tomato-y. We’re not sure what tomatoes are… unless they’re something that can be whacked off the counter when no one’s looking.
Olivia whacks something else – 2016 © Colehauscats.com
Oh, look! There goes our sister Olivia whacking a camera lens cap off the table. Let’s not tell Mom and see how long it takes her to find it. Hint: It’s where some of Quint’s stripey balls, six pieces of lint-covered kibble, and all Dad’s lost thumb drive caps are.
Our Mom, always working, working, working (except when it comes to looking under the couch… OOPS!). Two years ago, she decided we had too much dirt on our property and yeah, she was right. It was mounded everywhere! Sixteen years of bark mulch added every spring composted into good, rich, but oh, so much soil! The earthworms loved it, but she had to keep adding retaining wall blocks to keep it contained. When those retaining block walls start reaching several feet tall, well, that’s not a good thing. Finally, she said enough. She created a three-year plan to get rid of it all. This is year two and what a change!
For her first of three projects of this summer, she and Dad turned a narrow flowerbed, filled with tree stumps and dirt overflowing onto the cement walkway, into something much more under control.
West side flowerbed – 2016 © Colehaus.com and Colehauscats.com
She promises it will be much prettier next year when she can plant it up. We bet our brother Quint, the flower lover, will like it!
Across the yard, under the bird feeder (yes, we said bird), the ground was treacherous to say the least. Uneven, spongy, also falling down onto the cement whenever it rained, a hazard to stand on. Dad could hardly get in there to add seed for those feather toys birds. All by herself, Mom did something about it, digging, digging, and even more digging, then, using bricks and blocks that she had collected over the years (collected for some reason she doesn’t even remember). She says maybe she was a stone mason or a brick layer in a past life. O-Kay. Whatever. We like the final result.
From this…
Bird feeder area before work – 2016 © Colehaus.com and Colehauscats.com
… to this.
Bird Feeder Block project – 2016 © Colehaus.com and Colehauscats.com
And for what it’s worth, she says Polymeric sand is the best invention ever. Personally, we would have said nip-marinated mousies, but hey! Whatever floats her boat!
Mom’s Mossarium – 2016 © Colehaus.com and Colehauscats.com
Back inside, here’s Mom’s mossarium. She says this is the only kind of indoor plant she can keep anymore and then she pauses and glares a bit at our sister Tessa for some reason. Clearly, Tessa hasn’t figured out how to unglue the jar from the top of the mantel yet.
KIDDING, Dad! Mom only jokes about glue-ing it down, and maybe using nails, too, you know, just in case.
This mossarium is two years old and hasn’t had a single drop of water added since it was originally planted. The jar is a clip-top kind that keeps the atmosphere inside perfectly self-maintained and happy.
Mom said she got the idea from Jessamyn’s Mossarium Emporium. She got the moss and rocks from our backyard. She got the clip-top jar from a local fancy grocery store she says she wishes she could afford to shop at every day. When we ask if they carry nip-marinated mousies yet, she closes her eyes and shakes her head. Doesn’t sound very fancy to us.
Lastly, and apologetically because we know we’re going on and on like Mom does, she caught a glimpse of someone new visiting in the backyard just the other day. We’ll share more when Mom learns more but we can say with all confidence, this visitor isn’t feral and wasn’t dumped in our neighborhood. She’s been spayed and has a human family living nearby. She just knows the best yard to hang out in!
Introducing the saddest little garden panther:
The saddest garden panther – 2016 © Colehauscats.com
Your mom’s garden work is quite impressive. Ours is very partial to stone work, too.
Your garden is lovely – our’s used to be quite pretty but has been quite neglected of late.
Sua mãe fez um bom trabalho no jardim, ela é muito caprichosa.
Os visitantes são tão bonitos!
Tenham um ótimo final de semana!
Your yard is an oasis. Our mom wishes it hadn’t been so hot this summer. She loves to work in her gardens but just can’t tolerate the 90 degree temps day after day. We certainly understand why other kitties want to visit you. XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Lisbeth, Astrid and Calista Jo
I applaud your enthusiastic gardening! Glad to hear that Dad had a happy birthday! Lovely photo of the black kitty; it’s so hard to get the lighting right outdoors!
You need Museum Putty. You can get it on Amazon. Just a little bit and they can’t “persuade” things off the tables ect. again. Have been using it for years now and have not lost another vase since.
I am so glad I was here today because I loved every word and every picture and the projects. I also totally adore the work that went into that project! You are awesome, Mom the the Colhaus Cats!
Thank you for showing us around your kingdom. We enjoyed some helpful garden ideas .
Emma and Buster
Beautiful garden improvements (and thank you for saving the bunnies because we like bunnies)!!
There is certainly a lot going on around your house! We have quite a few neighborhood kitties, but my human can’t get close enough to photograph them – not even with a zoom lens.
Ohhhh everything looks lovely outside I love the transformation by the side walk!
Hugs
Madi and mom
Sounds like lots going on at your house. We really like the new garden panther. She looks like such a nice cat. Great pictures. Loved seeing everything.
total lee awesum post guys even tho yur mom used de B werd.. waves two all de naybors, yur gardinz rockin…noe pun inn tended ☺☺☺mom & dad did a grate job !!! happee fryday guys N heerz two a barbel~~less catfish kinda week oh end ♥♥♥
Your mom did a pawsome work in your yard ! What a beautiful garden ! Purrs
Wow, your mom did a great job with the garden!! It all looks so nice. I don’t have any indoor plants anymore either. I’ve never heard of a mossarium, but I’m going to look into them.
Dang, you sure have lots of cool critters and pretty things at your place! That sad visitor looks pretty darn friendly and we hope the offer of some assistance will be accepted!
Oh my, you need to come work in my garden!! That is some impressive work!
The garden looks wonderful, including the mossarium. We hadn’t heard that word before, but you’re right, unless there is catnip growing in there, what’s the point?
What a beautiful garden! No wonder you get so many visitors.
Thank you for the updates. That is a beautiful garden panther 🙂
Whoa! What a great report this week, Olivia!
Hard to beat ice cream!
Great reporting, Olivia! Your garden and yard look terrific. So many visitors! 🙂
Your Mom and Dad have done a fantastic job! Wish they could rub off some inspiration on our Mom! She just isn’t that creative 🙂 That Mossarium is pretty neat too!
What a great roundup of pictures! And yes, ice cream, I get it!