It's ladybug (or ladybird) season again. We saw four of them on our buddleia yesterday, on a military patrol in their bright red uniforms. I guess there must have been some aphids around. More power to the ladybirds!
I was about as lazy as a person could be yesterday. I thought about going for a walk, taking some pictures, but ultimately the garden was so nice I couldn't bring myself to leave. I spent the day reading "Mr. Nobody," and I'm almost finished. I should be at the point of peak suspense, on page 320 of 344 pages, but instead I temporarily ran out of steam. It's an entertaining book but it seems less and less plausible as it goes along. I'll finish it off on my lunch break today.
This was my view from our back garden bench. It was an ideal day, with perfect temperatures. Our teasel forest is growing like mad!
Olga was certainly content to stay home. We walked around the neighborhood in the morning, but when I tried to take her to the cemetery in the afternoon we only got as far as the tree in front of the house before she turned around. She preferred her bed in the sun-dappled yard.
Toward the end of the afternoon I did manage to crank out some chores -- I vacuumed the house and dusted some areas where there was a visible film. I didn't manage to get to the bathrooms. A person can only do so much.
Around 4 a.m. this morning I woke temporarily and heard a cat loudly meowing. I thought it was in our garden -- the garden cam has captured three different cats passing through now and then -- and I don't want cats in our garden because they kill the birds. Particularly at this time of year, when nests and fledglings are vulnerable. So I put on my robe and went out in the garden to chase it away, but couldn't find a cat anywhere. Maybe it was actually in one of the neighbor's gardens. I swear I did not imagine it.
Yesterday morning we found some gray feathers in the grass where there had been an obvious skirmish, so something got eaten. Whether a cat or a fox or a hawk was the culprit, I'm not sure. I don't mind foxes and hawks, and I suppose I would mind cats less if I thought they needed their prey to survive. But they just kill out of instinct and then go home to their Fancy Feast -- pet cats, anyway.
Mr. Russia finished whatever he was doing at the side of the house yesterday. I didn't even look.
Comrade Russia was probably affixing new micro-communications technology in order to improve communications with the ministry in Moscow. As for reading during your lunch break, forget it as there's the repeat inventory to undertake.
ReplyDeleteThat view from the garden is so inviting. It’s a beautiful house, too. And, oh, what more can I say about Olga? I would be upset by the hunting cats, too. By the way, I out-lazied you yesterday.
ReplyDeleteOlga looks so happy lying in the grass! Our dogs like lying in the sun, too, as long as it's not too hot.
ReplyDeleteLuckily, none of our neighborhood cats ever stop in our yard. Poppy and George would make short work of them if they did, I'm afraid. We saw a fox down the road last night while we were out walking the dogs. I always like seeing them.
A peaceful garden to be sure; I wouldn't have left either, though I might have been more like Olga and slept my way through the say!
ReplyDeleteThat snoozing in the grass shot is a true dog portrait. Entitled This is the Life.
ReplyDeleteI started listening to Mr. Nobody this morning on my way to work - read by the author! I think I'll enjoy it simply because it's set in England & the narrator is British. Ha! We'll see what I think about the story though.
ReplyDeleteYou're supposed to rest on Sundays. That's what Sundays are for. That and existential angst.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I hear a cat mewling like that around my house it's because they want food. A hunting cat would be quiet. That's my theory, anyway.
I wonder if there is something you could put in the garden to repel the cats? It is sad when cats seek out and kill baby birds. Some days are perfect for sitting in the garden and enjoying the sunshine.
ReplyDeleteIt is always disheartening seeing a sad pile of feathers, especially for me if they are blue since we are trying to rear bluebirds specifically.
ReplyDeleteYou get many things done in a day. Cats are a good pet but they are a nuisance outside.
ReplyDeleteI like to see the different cats on our garden cam, but since foxy has been around they are much scarcer. It isn't at night they catch birds, and Olga probably makes then wary of your garden.
ReplyDeleteWhat a perfect place to sit and read. I wouldn't have wanted to leave either. When I lived in the house with the big yard, I used to find feathers from various skirmishes all the time. I think there may have been two or three cats that visited my yard from time to time.
ReplyDeleteWe have various piles of bones, feathers, and other nasty stuff in our yard year round. It's a constant challenge.
ReplyDeleteYour Sunday sounds (and looks) like it was lovely.
Well, I have put holds on Mr. Nobody and the other books by that author so I hope I like them more than you did...
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed you went out in the garden at 4 am to chase a cat to protect the little birds. You really are a sweetie, Steve, except when it comes to cats. ;)
What a beautiful space you created! Some days call for lazing.
ReplyDeleteI gather that's your house in the distance looking back from the garden bench. It looks quite substantial. And how amazing to have a yard that big in the heart of a major city.
ReplyDeleteYP: Nothing would surprise me regarding the Russians.
ReplyDeleteMitchell: Well, you have an excuse! You're still recovering!
Jennifer: The good thing about the sun in England is that it's rarely too hot or too intense. Even when it's sunny it's mostly just comfortable.
Bob: I spent most of it on the couch, which is close enough to sleeping.
Boud: Olga has a pretty idyllic life for a dog, I think!
Bug: Excellent! I hope you like it! I found it pretty enjoyable even though I had some doubts about the plot.
Ms Moon: Well, that's a good point. Why would a hunting cat be noisy?
Susan: I would think the fox odors would keep them away! (I'm sure there must be fox odors.)
Ed: I think these were from a young starling, but they might have been from a pigeon.
Red: In North America we're much better about keeping cats indoors. In England some animal groups won't even let you adopt a cat if you're not planning to let it outside.
Tasker: Well, you would think so! But I'm surprised how often I see them on the cam.
Sharon: I mean, a certain amnount of "red-in-tooth-and-claw" is to be expected. But cats feel like an artificially introduced risk.
Kelly: If it's from nature I don't mind it. That's just the way it goes. But cats don't feel natural.
Ellen D: I didn't DISlike it, exactly. I just had some doubts about the plot. But it was entertaining reading.
Debby: Yeah, I just couldn't bring myself to do anything more!
Catalyst: That is our house, but only the ground floor. The Russians live on the two top floors.
Decades ago Stimpy became an indoor cat when he brought in a cardinal. RIP, Cardinal. That was his last day out without a leash. It sounds like a mellow holiday weekend. Ours is coming up and I don't know why I'm looking forward to it because when you are retired, every day has the potential to be a holiday, but somehow it just feels different!
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