Farm Supervisor

Thanks for sharing this with us Pamela Trochesset!

Wonk Cats

American University's Arboretum & Garden in Washington, DC, (https://www.facebook.com/AUarboretum/) has not one, but two, working garden cats. Above is Max and below is AU Wonk Cat. You can follow both cats on AU's social media or visit the campus to play with the kitties. Those are some lucky college students!

We all know and love the AU wonk cat. #americanuarboretum #americanuniversity #igdc #photodc #arboretum #wonkcat

A post shared by American University Arboretum (@americanu_arboretum) on Mar 30, 2018 at 8:07am PDT

UPDATE: The Washington Post covered the Wonk Cats here a few months after our post.  "Wonk Cat can be a bit wary, Bershtein said. Not super energetic. The “prissiest outdoor cat” that Bershtein has ever seen. But pretty loving."

Judging by the Cover

I knew I'd love Time-Tested Plants: Thirty Years in a Four-Season Garden by Pamela Harper the second I laid eyes on the cover. On it, Pamela is standing mid-garden, holding one of her garden cats.Pamela says her cats "keep her garden free of rabbits."

I had the pleasure last weekend of visiting her Tidewater Virginia garden in person and though I didn't get to see any of these hunting kitties, I did get to talk to Pamela and see the many wonderful plants she is growing almost 20 years after the publication of that legendary garden book.

Here are some photos from that visit:

Pam in a hat!

"hot color" beds

quince espalier

tulips

primrose

Japanese Maple

Tribal Quest

Jan Stuhlmacher in Castlebar, Ireland, posted the following to the GoFundMe web site:

"I rescued the then feral Ma-cat some 3 years ago.

I often saw her hunting in my garden. A harsh harsh winter, and she looked scrawny; limping with a broken hip, and she dragged a crooked, broken tail around. What I didn't know at first: she wasn't hunting for herself - she had a litter of 4 kittens to support.

I 'rescued' all 5. They moved into an old caravan on my site, then into a little chalet I built, and now they live in my tiny house. Next followed 2 little feral torties... that's 7!

Next, somebody dumped little Newb in my yard. New Total: 8!!!

Newb arrived with a vicious form of IBS - he required a lot of veterinary attention, and relies forever on a special diet. But he's doing well now.

When I started 'project Ma,' I had 2 jobs. I don't lead a fancy lifestyle; never have. And I thought, why should I involve an over-stretched cat rescue service. Times are tough. I can help, and they can take care of the more needy/desperate cases... I shared 1,000s of photos on Twitter, documenting the trials and tribulations of Ma's little tribe.

The fun times, the joy, and the lessons learned. Meanwhile, I donated to many worthy causes whenever and whatever I could.

Now it's my time... In October 2014, I lost one job. Then in the following January my 2nd 'back-up' job went as well.

For a while, I believed savings could easily bridge me over to a new job. But.... The west of Ireland is not doing so well in the so-called 'economic recovery'. I'm applying for jobs on an almost daily basis.

I've given up all luxuries - including my car, broadband. etc... And now it's crunch time. Unfortunately, almost daily.  At times I can barely feed the 'tribe'. They were all ferals and really rely on the environment they grew up in.

Here is how to contact her, should you be interested in helping out:

The Tribes Twitter is @TribeOfMa 
https://www.gofundme.com/tribeofma