Saturday, March 28, 2015

"Cut Your Own" Cats

Maxwell and cut flowers
Josh Flynn of Wollam Gardens, an 11-acre, commercial cut flower farm in Jeffersonton, VA, submitted these two flower farm kitties:

Maxwell - orange, 14/15 years old, adopted, he was picked up as a friend for another cat that was currently living at the farm and the farm had a problem with turning away cats in need of a home.
    Max loves to sleep in our rooting chambers and is generally pretty lazy/lounging around all the time. The trick with him is that he absolutely loves to be pet and when we are seeding flats or doing cuttings he just won't leave you alone, walks on the flats, etc. Yet, if you pet him, sometimes if you stop before he wanted you to he'll give you a slap — claws and all. Also, Max loves crates!

Lyla - black, 5-6 years old, adopted, she was found at a local junkyard and definitely needed a home. Lyla previously couldn't be picked up or even pet, but has since come around. She tries to sneak into the house, but if she ever gets in the house, she panics and runs around looking for a way out. Lyla will also follow us around the farm and lay on the beds when we're planting them or jumping between tall flowers when we're cutting them. She is head mouser and is some variety of miniature cat where she always has the appearance of a kitten.  

Both of them are very sweet and do a great job on the farm. They live in the greenhouse during the winter and can be found anywhere when the weather is nice. The only problem we have with them is they like to use our lily and bulb crates that we're forcing as a bathroom. There have been many cats on the farm over the years, but Max and Lyla make a good pair. 

Max and Lyla on greenhouse bench
Max in a crate
Lyla on weed cloth and seedlings


Saturday, March 21, 2015

A cat is a lion in a jungle of small bushes...


"A cat is a lion in a jungle of small bushes." ~ Indian Proverb


Photo source: "Large Siamese cat tosses a mouse" by Niels Hartvig - Flickr: You even scare me, Psycho!. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Large_Siamese_cat_tosses_a_mouse.jpg#/media/File:Large_Siamese_cat_tosses_a_mouse.jpg

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Wear Your Green for St. Gertrude!

Here is an updated post:

Thank you to the Crazy Cat Ladies Community on Facebook for letting my know about Saint Gertrude of Nivelles, who is the patron saint of Cats AND Gardening. No lie! I'm Catholic, adore boths cats and gardening, and had never heard of her.

The 17th of March is her Saint's Day, which she shares with St. Patrick. "Fine weather on her feast day meant it was time to begin spring planting." This may also explain why we think St. Patrick's Day is the traditional day for early spring crop sowing -- especially peas -- even though St. Pat has nothing to do with gardening.

Let's reclaim the day for St. Gertrude and wear your green proudly in memory of her love for gardening and for cats!

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Philadelphia Fever!

topiary lion
Donna M. Rohner of the Philadelphia Community Cats Council sent along this link for some good tips on keeping cats out of gardens and also the benefits of a good mouser: http://www.phillycats.org/

On the "Garden & Barn Cats / Deterring Cats" page, is this great advice:
"We strongly advocate natural, organic gardening and farming methods for both humane and environmental reasons. Many cats die needlessly from chemical herbicides, pesticides and poisons. In a sad turn of events, a chemically poisoned mouse can also poison the cat who catches him"
Having just come back from two trips up to the Philadelphia Flower Show this week, I can attest to the fact that Philly natives love their gardens and their cats! Here are a few photos from this year's flower show that contain both.

Cheshire cat