Early bird ... gets caught by the cat!

Lovely night! I slept well and woke up just after five! Ok, so I missed the sunrise – but there wouldn’t have been much to see anyway, as it’s completely overcast. And with the breeze coming off the sea (I can smell the salt) it’s going to be another humid day.

5:20 let Ziva out. 5:40 Ziva comes back bearing gifts! Sigh, this time it’s a Sparrow. Alive and well, just in shock. Shut Ziva in the bedroom with the Mip Mips, let the bird recover and hop out the front door. I find the sequence and progression interesting – first it was pigeons eaten in my bedroom, then a live pigeon (which recovered and flew out), then the Starling, then the dead bird on the doormat outside, and now the Sparrow. It’s as if Ziva is trying to find my tolerance – or my liking?

I spent some time playing with the Mip Mips – all sorts: fly-fishing (where I flick one of those toys-on-a-string from left to right), rat-race … and then they were too tired and decided to nap. Earl came for a cuddle-and-purr parrot-fashion extreme needy session. Later Ziva also came for her due of my attention – intense! She normally saunters off after about a minute, but this time she wriggled and rubbed herself against me for at least five minutes! And now Mewthos wants to play cuddle-parrot. I don’t know what it is with the boys not wanting to curl up on my lap, but insisting on climbing onto my shoulder, my head, walk along my arm before they jump off and saunter away.

Playing with one of the toys Rose made

I managed to hang the first load of laundry without endangering the bird – as in: no feline got into the room. As I’m loading the machine, I realise a Mip Mip widdled in the laundry basket! Sigh … I don’t know who the secret widdler is. I’ve observed every single one of the Mip Mips use the litter box. So what’s the problem? Why? Why these odd lapses of toilet-training? My bathroom mat was widdle-riddled, my magazine (which I’d left on the floor in the toilet) was puddled, the corner by the bath has the occasional puddle – I’m at my wits end! And no, that wasn’t a short stroll!

I decided to use this beautiful day to take Mip Mips for a walk. Since Earl is almost the first at the door, he was my first test subject. Snigger. I tried the harness – but he’s fighting that tooth and claw! Since I don’t want to look like I tried to mate with a slice-and-dicer, I gave up. And put the collar on him – which he didn’t like any better. I clipped the leash on and dragged him outside. Then dragged him down the first set of stairs where Ziva and Shadow joined us. From there on he had fun! Went down the stairs, sniffed everything along the way, explored the flowers – unlike Mewthos, though, he went through the vegetable patch and then followed the drain. He hopped through the gate at Rose’s, but I managed to get him back before he could wriggle out of the collar. He continues to follow the grey cement road – sorry, there are no yellow bricks here. He sniffs and explores every inch of the cement, the drain, the so-called ‘french drain’ and then meanders up towards the washing line for a bit. He’s back and forth along the courtyards, highly interested in visiting Rose. She hears us and opens up, so Earl can sniff and visit to his heart’s content! All the while Ziva and Shadow circling him – one in front and one behind him. He’s hesitant to enter Rose’s, so eventually I pick him up and set him down inside. Outside smells more interesting though, so we’re off into the garden again. On the way we meet Rose’s tom – who lets Earl pass without trouble, but bushes his tail for Shadow. Whose tail is just as bushy in response! The weather has cleared up and it’s promising to be a hot and humid day – again. It’s already hot in the sun, too hot for me, so I decide that time for walkies is over. Earl, too, stayed in the shade and avoided the direct sun, so we’re in agreement.

Mewthos and Lady Jane investigate the washing machine – inside and out!

 

Mewthos being Mr Quizzy!

I’ve put the fan back out here, it’s really hot today. Mip Mips are holding their daily noon Siesta while I try to decide what I want to do. I figured I might as well do the dishes while I try to decide. It’s quite lovely outside, but only in the shade. The sun is scorching hot! So gardening will have to wait.

 

You'd think these were the twins, right?

Wrong!

Experimenting with Black & White

Ziva on her perch

And this is why she 'escapes' to her perch!

After Siesta Lizzy comes for attention. She is definitely her mother’s daughter! Sure, she’ll let you pick her up, but she’ll saunter right back down. If you want to give her the attention she’d like, you get down on the floor and she’ll snuggle up to you while you may stroke her! Her happy purr shall be your sole reward!

I’ve been taking care of some small tasks I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time now. One of the biggies would be to wash the lounge curtains – but that’s too big a task in this heat. The fan is helping a lot, though – since I can’t open the door to let air in. And I’m not feeling humidity, at least not yet. It’s hot, but two years ago in Pretoria was a lot worse! I remember sitting on the sofa, spraying myself with water mist while the fan was full on me – just to cool down a bit.

It’s around three in the afternoon and the weather is overcast again and it’s cooled down nicely, so I’m off into the garden.

The pot plants look absolutely bone-dry, so I started by loosening the soil, then watering them, when Rose came out! She meant to visit the Mip Mips, but seeing I was in the garden, suggested we check on the cherry tomatoes in the rockery. Oh my, another bumper crop! We filled two sandwich bags with our pickings! I just had some, and they’re delicious!

Then I cleaned out the dried up Sweet Peas, picking off the pods as I went along. Rose had brought her chair, and she pulled the seeds from the pods. I’m afraid most of the pods were already empty – so there will be a LOT of Sweet Peas growing there next season. Same goes for the Sweet Peas by the Nasturtiums. I also collected Cosmos seeds, and again, a lot have already gone to ground.

I filled an entire bag – but that doesn’t mean much, since I focused on all large plants needing to be pulled. Big effect for little effort. And finally, I watered the entire garden. It looks and feels like rain is on the way – but the ground is so bone-dry, better not count on that! If I get another chance to garden, I’ll take care of the cornflowers next. They’re also pretty dried and done.

Last year I spent practically every waking hour in the garden. Clearing the path, tending the bed – yep, there was only one bed a year ago. Oh, and no rockery! But that side of the garden is a whole other story. I’ve made a lot of progress since I’ve moved in.

 

May 2016, just before I moved in

Same day, before I moved in

Mid December last year, before I went on leave
What's interesting here is that you can see the 'grass' to the right of the path is drier than to the left.

This is what I achieved by the end of Dec 2016

A year later (today) - with the help of our gardener

Rose came up to visit our Mip Mips, giving each one a hug and a cuddle while she was here. She didn’t have as much time for the visit, since we’ve just spent some hours in the garden. A lovely afternoon!

I fried myself a Texan Steak for dinner, which was delicious. Ziva wouldn’t stop harassing me for her share, so I shut her and her brood in the bedroom. Some of the Mip Mips are taking their cue from Ziva, and are starting to harass me while I eat – better nip that kind of behavior in the bud while I can. It’s bad enough that they all cluster around me every time I go into the kitchen – learning from Ziva!

Now I just want to take a cool bath, wash the dirt and humidity off, then try an early night.

Yeah, not quite happening. Ziva went and jumped out of the window, determined to get her will. She wants out, I don't want her out - she wins. She came back in with Shadow just now ... and a Gecko. Still alive, a toy for Ziva. I chased both cats back out - and won't open the door again! My will is an early night. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Ziva!