She's Got Moxie!

Myrthe Doedens shared these photos and said, "I run the Instagram account Growing on Hamilton (@growingonhamilton), which documents my attempt to turn a mostly concrete back "yard" into a green oasis in Washington, DC. While this is my first season gardening, I have long been a cat lover and knew I wanted to add a kitten back into my life. Enter: Moxie! 

   She is a rescue and her litter was found outside on a farm in Maryland. I adopted her at 11 weeks old and, because she was so small, could not bring her outside until recently. In the city, we have very eager vultures and sometimes foxes who I worried would be all too interested in her if she were lounging outside in the sun. Now, at 15 weeks old, she's big enough to fit in a harness and is starting to explore! 

   So far, she loves chasing bumble bees and flies under the apple tree and is eyeing up my lower raised bed as a playground...we'll be installing some fencing soon. She also loves her big brother Melee, a 3 year old Doberman, who joins me in the garden often to enjoy a lazy afternoon snooze.

Summer Days in the Country

Carley relaxes in the shade.

During the recent Garden Conservancy Open Days in Frederick County, MD, I visited Surreybrooke Garden Center in Middletown, MD. Owner Nancy Walz lives on site and has a wonderful collection of both pet animals and animal statues sprinkled around the landscape.

Nancy said, "Carley is a 13-year-old girl and we got her along with her twin brother, Charles, from one of our customers who gave us the kittens when she was moving away. You can tell difference between the two as Carley is always a little unkempt and doesn't keep herself as neat as Charles."

Cali naps on a log cabin porch.

Wandering through the many garden rooms and buildings, I came across this sweet kitty napping on a porch. "Cali is a Calico girl cat who is about 15 now," Nancy said. "The grandkids named her. We got her from a farm down the road. We took 3 kittens at the time, but she is the only one left from that litter."

One of the many charming animal statues placed throughout the gardens.

Bandit competes for photo ops with the many gorgeous garden containers.

During my visit to Surreybrooke, I was petting Carley when Bandit came up behind me and pushed under my arm to get his fair share of attention. Nancy said, "He is a Dalmation-Beagle mix and is 12 years old this summer, but you wouldn't know it. He runs in the morning while I do my chores and has great energy for his age."

Cats in a Stack

Jenny Sharp of Hartford, CT, shared this photo on her Instagram feed. She says, "Their names are Dobby (top) and Padfoot (bottom) and they are about 6 months old. Dobby is super snuggle and always wants to snuggle. Padfoot is mischievous and gets into everything."

 

"Padfoot gets along with our Corgi, Ziggy, and Padfoot plays with him (pictured below). We got them from a couple who rescued a stray cat who ended up being pregnant and had 8 kittens! "

Scotch on the Rocks

 

Kathy Guenterberg, Gaithersburg, MD, shared this photo of  her cat Scotch.  He was sitting in the birdbath looking up at the bird feeder. "He is 13. We got him as a kitten through a rescue group and my Aussie at the time, Shadow, who LOVED kittens, picked him out."

 

He and his current canine companion, Dutchie, like to sit like this and survey their "garden kingdom.