Princess of the Piccaninny Tribe

This is Tiger Lily, another kitty living with Marianne Willburn, author of the brand new book, Big Dreams, Small Garden, and a columnist/blogger at www.smalltowngardener.com. Last week she shared these photos of her kitty, Daisy.

This week, she writes:

"The naming of Tiger Lily and her sister Daisy still gives me hope that gardening may take hold in my daughter’s heart – for it was she that named the pair of them, these friendly little ‘barn cats’ that spend as much time in the house as they do near the barn. Tiger Lily is a tabby, and a gabby tabby at that – a more vociferous cat I have never owned. Thankfully (for her) she is also sweet-natured and a good huntress. "

"Rather inconveniently for my Jack Russell Terrier Mungo, she also believes herself to be his girlfriend. Watching her swish her tail against his bemused but unflinching face is a regular occurrence around here.  Mungo is generally not amused, however I have caught them on more than one occasion spooning up on the dog bed."

Fresh as a...

"Zen kitty."

Marianne Willburn, author of the brand new book, Big Dreams, Small Garden, and a columnist/blogger at www.smalltowngardener.com, shared these photos of her kitty, Daisy.

She writes, "Daisy came to us with her tabby sister, Tiger Lily, as a kitten. They were both meant to be barn cats, but I made the mistake of letting my daughter pick out the friendliest kittens in the litter. Daisy now spends a good deal of the winter inside, but of our three cats, is the one who wants to be outside the most, hunting voles. She is fluffy, friendly, and both she and her sister will follow you down the lane when you’re taking a walk – a mile if necessary. Her unusual facial markings have earned her the nickname “Twoface” and this is an apt name in more ways than one. Sweet but deadly – friendly but aloof – barn cat or house cat. That’s our Daisy."

"Daisy believes my office chair is her office chair.  All the time."

Stuck On You

Rhonda Fleming Hayes of Minneapolis, MN, submitted this picture of a neighbor's cat.

Rhonda says, "Velcro wasn't my cat, he belonged to a woman around the corner, however he spent hours in my garden adding life and levity. He was a striking Bengal with ocelot spots and big green eyes. He would hang out on the porch with me and prowl through the plants. He died from a blood clot in his heart this week. I am going to miss him terribly."

Rhonda blogs at The Garden Buzz. She is a winner of the Garden Writers Association Silver Award of Achievement in Writing for Electronic Media.

You will know the good from the bad when you are calm, at peace

Nita-Jo Rountree sent in the photo taken in her garden in Bellevue, WA, of her cat, Yoda. "He was born in Atlanta, GA, moved to Connecticut for three years, then to gardening paradise here in the Pacific Northwest.  He’s obviously overweight, but that doesn’t slow him down."

Nita-Jo is the author of Growing Roses in the Pacific Northwest: 90 Best Varieties for Successful Rose Gardening.