Princess in the Tower

Last week, Roberta Dehman Hershon of Blue Plate Communications, Inc. (www.blueplate.com) in Dedham, MA, shared her 4 gorgeous cats. This week, she is sharing those of her gardening friend, Michele Topor. 

Roberta writes,"This is Belina (about 3.5 years old). She was a homeless mom living outside of a suburban MA high school. She was clinging to the smokestacks for warmth. Students in my friend Amy’s culinary class rescued her - with scrod as bait. Amy gave her to me, and I gave her to Michele. Belina now lives in Boston’s N. End where she can look outside at her owner’s magnificent roof top garden or lounge in her own paradise during the winter when the plants come indoors. Here she is lounging between the Bay and Rosemary plants. She has graduated from dumpster diving to dining on fresh scallops and an endless buffet of cat approved delicacies."

Roberta added: "Meet 6 year old Murray who spent 3.5  years living in a FL parking lot before I rescued him and flew back to MA with him. He doesn’t sit still long enough for me to capture him in the garden. He’s enjoying his daily catnip fix in the driveway."

"Here he is wondering why a Kaffir Lime plant is blocking his favorite porch seat."

A Blue Plate Special

Roberta Dehman Hershon of Blue Plate Communications, Inc. (www.blueplate.com) in Dedham, MA, shared these gorgeous cats.

"All my cats are rescues. Ten year old Leo is a frustrated Picasso. He sculpts boxes (although not in the garden) to burn off excess energy. He’s resting in some nepeta after a hard day’s work. (I can’t find my favorite pic of him chiseling away!)"

"Every morning before breakfast Jack (13) and Leo head out together to survey the garden. They visit their favorite spots to make sure nothing disappeared overnight."

"Twelve year old Maxie is happy to garden with me and roll over when he wants some attention.Maxie had been returned to a shelter when he was six by his owners (who adopted him as a kitten). He spent 11 months there before I found him, and invited him to live with me. He is one grateful kitty."

"This is Maggie at age 7. She’s 17.5 now and still a pretty lady. She’s not in the garden because she has never been outdoors. Here she is lounging on her favorite floral porch chair."

Piper nigrum

Garden writer Marianne Wilburn has shared her two other cats with us - Tiger Lily and Daisy.

Now it is sweet little Pepper's turn. She was recently profiled on Marianne's blog by her dog, Mungo.

Mungo said, "I’m a Jack Russell Terrier. I know it and they knew it way before there was any talk of bringing me into the family. That doesn’t mean good things for cats.

But as a bonus, it doesn’t mean good things for rats, voles, moles, groundhogs, skunks (That was, upon reflection, a mistake.), and various other varmints, critters, and freeloaders that roam the land in search of an easy food ticket.

They like cats – though They didn’t have any at the time. So, it was decided that I would not be allowed to spend my puppy-dom basking in the one-on-one attention that puppies deserve, and instead I would get the raw deal of sharing it with a kitten.

That kitten was Pepper.

The Girl picked her out of a litter of five other black balls of ‘pick-me-I’m-so-freaking-cute’ because she had blue eyes. They brought her home and we stayed on opposite sides of a bathroom door sniffing each other for a week. I had her number from the very first sniff. A people-pleaser and all around goody-two-shoes.

As soon as that sneaky cat felt safe she changed the color of her eyes – total bait and switch – and my cat purgatory began in earnest.

She’s one of the Three Untouchables now. I cannot tell you what it does to the self-esteem of a proud JRT covered in cat-smell (not cat-blood) when he meets other terriers on a walk.  Like I said – A Raw Deal.

As cats go, she’s pretty chill. She knows just what They want – soft fur (whatever), sleek coat (again, whatever), and the ability to sit in front of a ball without twitching (wha…nevermind).  She hangs out at parties and gets to sit in laps that will have her and I don’t see her getting pushed off the couch in the middle of the day.

That’s petism, if anyone cares."

Mungo and Pepper

Awaiting the Great Pumpkin

Lisa Steele, author of Gardening with Chickens, in Dixmont, ME, USA, shared these photos of her tuxedo cat:

"We rescued Linus from the local shelter when he was a kitten and he's about 12 years old now. We originally got him as a 'barn cat,' but somehow he has managed to have full access to the house too! He loves being outside though, especially in the nice weather. He's partial to sunbathing, but is a good mouser, keeping rodents out of the chicken coop and barn. "

You can read more about Linus and Lisa's chickens at www.fresheggsdaily.com.