A Garden Without Cats?

Joseph Tychonievich (@gsgardens on Twitter) shared this on GreensparrowGardens.com:

"A garden without cats can scarcely be called a garden at all' -- Beverly Nichols

Joseph wrote: "This is how I cope with the ANNOYING winter that won't die... reading Beverly Nichols and playing with photo editing software."

Wheelbarrow Cat Mystery

I found the beautiful wheelbarrow cat image on Pinterest and once again I find no source or photographer associated with an image. Does anyone know whose garden, cat, or photo this is? It is such a shame that so many do not use Pinterest correctly and pin/re-pin images without a link back to the original source.

Calvin's Hobbies

Calvin was submitted by Paul Shapiro, who said: "Calvin was a Silver Spring, MD,  stray who I took in about eight months ago. He’s definitely not up for adoption. He loves eating seaweed (nori) and is obsessed with q-tips. His grandmother even sends him boxes of q-tips, which he adores."

 
In this photo, Calvin is showing off his new leash and harness. What a good garden kitty!

If you follow Paul on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/pshapiro , you are bound to see Calvin pop up in his tweets fairly frequently.

Catnip Seed Art

I've shared cat-inspired seed pack art before (here), but this one is a real masterpiece! I took this photo at the Philadelphia Flower Show 2014, which has a theme of ArtiCulture (the marriage of art and horticulture). And where is that art more evident than on the humble seed pack? This seed art is from Hudson Valley Seed Library. You can buy a print of this art at their web site. Here is how they describe this beautiful portrait:

"Once upon a time, a beloved kitty named Princess was living a regular kitty cat life. Until one day, when, while roaming outdoors, she happened upon a wild patch of an alluring herb. Into her nose flooded the chemical nepetalactone, the source of catnip's power. It bound to her olfactory receptors, causing her to become intoxicated. The natural high she experienced opened her kitty eyes to a wild world she had never known, showing her a new kingdom to reign over. From that day forth, Princess became the ruler of her own imaginative (and, yes, possibly imaginary) world. Celebrate your kitty's reign with the gift of a catnip patch."

The artist, Christina Hess, is a freelance illustrator living in Philadelphia, PA, where she graduated from University of the Arts with a major in illustration. She works digitally as well as in acrylics, oils and mixed media. 

Fluff-Fluff - Supreme Winter Gardening Cat

I stumbled across Fluff-Fluff - Supreme Winter Gardening Cat at:  http://www.mooseyscountrygarden.com/cats-dogs/cats-dogs.html

The gardening animal lover wrote: "Big ginger Fluff-Fluff is being a brilliant winter gardening cat. He's a particularly active participant when I'm trying to dig holes in the wet winter dirt - fascinated by what's down there, and why there's suddenly air space below ground. If the hole is big enough he'll flop into the hole and lie with his legs in the air - evoking rather startling memories of posthumous cats and past burials. Get out of the dirt, FF!"

Read more about Fluff-Fluff at:
 http://www.mooseyscountrygarden.com/cats-dogs/winter-garden-cat.html
and follow her gardening owner on Twitter @mooseysgarden

Dodger and the Deer: An Animal Romance

 

Here is a fun story from Cat McMahon about her kitty, Dodger, and his deer encounter:

http://www.catsstories.com/2014/01/dodger-and-deer-black-cat-story.html#.UtrJThDTnIU

Hear Me Roar!

Loretta Gillespie submitted this photo of Alvin and an article she wrote on "Cats in the Garden" for the Cullman Times.

"In the South, cats in the garden and in the greenhouse are almost a fixture anywhere you visit. They are hunters of big game, i.e. rats, mice, snakes...

 

...Every gardener needs a garden cat, to keep us safe from all the bad things."

 

Read the full article text at:

http://www.cullmantimes.com/features/x252043720/SOUTHERN-STYLE-Cats-in-the-garden