Feline Friday: Will Work for Snacks

 Spouse is definitely NOT a cat person. Still, I sometimes think that he may have *secretly* bonded with Lily while I was in Texas a couple of months ago. But the more likely explanation for this photo is that Lily will do pretty much anything for a snack, regardless of who is eating it!

The truth is that Lily is crazed for popcorn. Of course she can only have a tiny broken-off piece, but she would tell you that any piece of popcorn is worth waiting for...especially white cheddar popcorn!

Spouse made her work for this snack, which looks a whole lot bigger in this picture than it actually was. 

 

Naturally, Lily is willing to work for snacks ---- reaching...reaching...reaching...

 

 SUCCESS! 

It's good to have goals in life!😊

Happy Feline Friday!

jp

Gardens in July

If you've been following my blog, you probably know that last summer I had all of our backyard gardens dug up and re-planted. I split nearly all of my perennials, gave a ton away to friends, and re-used the rest. I also added a lot of new flowers to create more of a cottage garden look. Although it was an expensive project, I'm so glad that I went ahead and did it. I've enjoyed the gardens so much more now, and I think Spouse would say he does, too.

 Overall, I'm really pleased with how the gardens have filled out this summer, and I'm loving all the color! I've had plenty of flowers to cut for bouquets (one of my main goals) and we're using the patio much more now that it's a pleasant and colorful space. Spouse added tiki torches which make it an enjoyable spot at night!

There's only one area that will need to be re-worked a bit (not pictured in this post). The narrow garden behind the garage is just too shaded for the lilies we planted there. As a result, they are leaning severely -- so much that some stems actually broke off. The garden guy advises that they'll need to be moved this fall. I have a sunnier spot in mind for them.

 

I've been trying to keep track of which flowers are blooming during which months, as one of the goals for this project was to create continuous color throughout the summer and into the fall. So far, I've been really pleased with the results! 

Here are a few of the July blooming plants: 
(1) purple coneflower - butterfly bush - rose "Coral Cove" 
(2) allium "Peek-A-Boo" - Grandma's tiger lilies - 20+ year old phlox from our old house
(3) coneflower "Tiki Torch" - daisies "Becky" - liatris

 

 Taking a quick walk around the yard, much of what you see in this picture is from my previous beds. The iris, tall liatris, and lady's mantle were divided and moved throughout the space. This picture was taken before the liatris bloomed.

 

Now the liatris are blooming and providing lots of color. They seem to be flourishing now that they've been divided and spread across the center part of this garden.

There are tons of bumblebees, hummingbirds, and butterflies visiting daily, and they seem to love the liatris in particular. Glad to be doing my small part to feed them! 

 

 I've never had success with daisies but these "Becky" daisies are doing quite well. And of course, daisies make nice flowers to add to a bouquet. I'm especially enjoying the orange "Tiki Torch" coneflowers! They're a very bright addition to this bed and also make long-lasting cut flowers.

  I have several new clumps of "Peek-a-Boo" allium which I also like. They look really sweet in a bouquet and last a long time.

 

The adjacent bed is doing well, too. We put a lot of purple coneflower at the back of this bed and it has already spread. 

 

Several of the smaller border plants had to be replaced in this bed -- mostly coral bell, lady's mantle, and a ground cover sedum.

 I didn't re-do this front bed, but I have added a few plants to it to fill in some empty spaces.

 The hostas have done well this year -- and luckily the deer seem to have forgotten how tasty they were last summer!

And here's an example of the amazing regenerative powers of nature. In early June, our oakleaf hydrangea was in sad shape. Last summer, the dreaded Japanese beetles really decimated it, and the poor thing seemed barely alive. But we decided to give it some time before replacing it. I cut away all the dead branches you see in this photo, and it looked worse than ever -- like a very bad haircut!

But what a difference a few weeks made! This beautiful bush is back to its normal size! Sure, it has kind of a weird shape but it clearly needs time to recover before pruning. Normally it would be covered with beautiful flowers by now, but I'll settle for leaves!

Gardening is an ever-changing huge experiment. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but I believe that there is joy to be found in the process of planting and maintaining a garden. There's just something very satisfying about creating a little beauty in my corner of the world: A place where birds, butterflies, bunnies, bees  -- and even people -- can find refuge and nourishment.

Happy gardening!

jp

Succulents and Violets

It's been a very long time since I posted about the state of my succulents and violets! I've recently re-potted both so I thought I'd share a little about my experience.

In short, I've had mixed results with my succulents. Succulents supposedly require very little care, but I've found that they're harder to grow than you'd think. It's very easy to over-water them, and they're sensitive to the amount of light they get each day -- although I haven't figured out what the "right" amount of light is! My succulents seem to be doing pretty well in the laundry room, so that's where they'll stay.

I recently added some new plants to the oval pot in the photo below. One plant had grown very leggy, so I removed it and put it in the small square pot to hopefully start afresh. It's already tipped over several times so I'd say the long-term chance of survival is slim! :)

I added the three plants at the left, back, and right of this pot to fill it up. After watching a few videos, it dawned on me that succulents do not grow quickly so they don't need a lot of extra space. Fuller planters look better to me. In fact, I probably could have squeezed a few more into this planter!

 Since I've moved the succulents to the laundry room, they seem to be doing better. I have a reminder set to water them every two weeks which seems to be just about right. We'll see how the new plants survive!

I've had better success with my violets...although I may have just ruined everything!

Recently I attempted to split two of my violets which had developed multiple crowns (new baby plants). I have only attempted this once (with Bailey) so this was the first time trying it on my own. I watched a couple of videos to learn the proper method and decided to give it a try. 

Here you can see how large this plant was! There were three or four plants in one.

I pulled it out of the pot and shook off the dirt. In retrospect, I should have done this when the plants were very dry.

I gently pulled apart the plants, trying to leave roots on each one. (This is probably where I failed...we'll see!)

 

 I placed the newly separated plants into small containers with violet potting mix. I use plastic containers with holes in the bottom, as violets are watered from the bottom.

 After splitting the violets, I had seven pots. I trimmed off some of the outside leaves to make them a little more balanced, watered them, and put them back in the dining room where they live for the time being.

 One week later, they're all still alive, but the leaves are not as "stiff" as I'd like them to be. When violets are thriving, their leaves stand out rather than flop down. I'm hoping they're just suffering from transplant shock and that this will improve over time. We'll see!

 

I really hope they live, but if these violets die, I'll be buying a few new ones at the grocery store. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

jp

Living a Healthier Life

Do you follow Ali Edwards? Even if you're not a crafter, you'll enjoy her posts. She's just an all-around inspiring, authentic person. Ali recently started sharing her fitness journey on Instagram, and I appreciate how she speaks about the ups and downs of trying to live a healthier life. She often shares how her work and family life get in the way of her fitness goals. But each time she lapses -- and this is the best part about her posts -- she GETS BACK ON TRACK, because she knows she'll feel better when she does. 

Ali's posts have made me stop and re-think WHY I'm trying to live a healthier lifestyle. Truly, it shouldn't be about perfection -- it should be about moving GENERALLY in the right direction. There are times when I eat ALL THE CHIPS. And there's a reason I never make dessert or buy potatoes. 😉

 One of Ali's latest posts was about the scale. Ahhh, yes, the dreaded scale. There have been times when I've been SCARED to get on the scale. In fact, there were a few years when I didn't even own a scale, making getting on the scale at the doctor's office once a year even more terrifying. 

So when Ali asked: Is the scale a friend, foe, or a tool? I paid attention. For me, it can be a foe. 

That doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I'm not overweight. There is no need for me to feel this way about the scale. Obviously, there is some self-criticism at play here. It's true that we all need to be more loving toward ourselves...myself included.

So I tell myself that weight loss is not one the reasons why I'm trying to live a healthier lifestyle. But that's not completely true. Like many people, I'd like to lose a few pounds. Recently I came down with an awful case of the stomach flu and over the course of 24 hours, I lost 5 pounds. After I started feeling better, I was a little bit happy that I had lost that weight -- even though having the flu was the WORST way to lose it. When I got on the scale that day, it was my FRIEND, not my foe. Not the healthiest outlook, I know. The scale really should be a TOOL -- not a friend or a foe.

One of my fitness goals is to visit the gym each day. When I was sick, I missed a day and that really upset me (there's that perfection thing rearing its head again). I started this back in October, and when the gym manager began writing "biggest users" on the chalkboard, I found myself motivated to continue. Now seeing my name on the chalkboard has become a monthly goal for me.

A few months ago, I injured my foot during yoga and couldn't run for quite some time. So during that time, I took up the elliptical instead. Now I alternate between the elliptical, treadmill running, and the stationary bike each day. This allowed me to get back into running without re-injuring my foot, and the variety makes it more interesting. Without that injury, I never would have incorporated the dreaded elliptical into my routine!

Still, it took some time to make my way back to running the full 5K (it takes me about 40 minutes to do it). I had finally reached that level -- in fact, I downloaded the 10K app to take a look at it as a possible next goal -- when...

I tripped over a ladder in the garage and stubbed my toe in a big way -- the same foot I previously injured! I don't know if it's broken, but it certainly doesn't feel great. So much for that running!  

But like Ali says, the journey toward living a healthier lifestyle can be filled with ups and downs. The important thing is to not give up -- find something you CAN do. Luckily, I can still get my tennis shoes on, so I'm back on the bike for now.

Another goal is to improve my emotional health, and I've found that yoga is a big part of that. Yoga breathing has helped me through a number of stressful situations, including biopsies and MRIs. In addition to improving my flexibility and balance, yoga provides a great arm workout which complements the work I do at the gym.

So if not weight loss, what are my fitness goals? Why am I spending one-two hours each day doing this stuff?

I have found that when I spend time being active, I feel better in my body -- regardless of those 5 pounds. I have more energy and sleep better at night. I also know that regular exercise offers some protection against certain diseases which have reared their ugly head in my family. I can't change my genetics, but I can modify my lifestyle to put the odds more in my favor. 

For me, those are reasons enough to continue trying to live a healthy lifestyle, regardless of the ups and downs of the journey!

jp

Feline Friday

This past week, we had a very special visitor! It had been a whole year (actually a bit more) since Bailey had been home, so we were very excited to have her here, if only for a few short days.

Of course, Lily was also happy to see her! (This picture is blurry because it had to be taken so quickly, as Lily is not a fan of being picked up -- unless it's her idea! 😊)

 

Still, Lily enjoyed all the extra attention this past week! And we loved having Bailey here.

Now it's time to rest up from all the fun we had!

 

Happy Feline Friday, everybuddy! 

jp

Feline Friday with Rory

 Rory is spending a few days with her Cat Dad while her meowmy comes to visit us in Iowa! She very much enjoys visiting Cat Dad where she can sleep in her special chair. There are also great windows for outdoor viewing, just at the right height!

 

  And guess who showed up on the walkway outside the window? A new ginger friend!

 

 It is unclear whether Ginger Kitty has a home but since she appears thin, "someone" put some food and water out for her. :)

 

 

Ginger Kitty is very content to just hang out on the cool walkway outside the window.

Rory thinks it's fun to have a "through the glass" friend! :)

Happy Feline Friday, y'all!

jp

Feline Friday: City Kitty

Lily enjoys venturing outside occasionally on her harness. (I STILL need to get her a sturdier harness, so we don't go very far from the door.)

 She's such a city kitty that she won't even walk in the grass! But this time, she actually nibbled some catnip from my pitiful looking plant. That's a first for her -- very outdoorsy!

 

 

 She was mostly content to just sit on the step and look around. All was well until I saw a dog coming down the street. (Remember the Dog Incident from last summer?)

 

Lily saw the dog, too, and she was ready to go back inside. We are taking no chances!

Still, being outside was fun while it lasted!

Happy Feline Friday! 

jp