Saturday 11 May 2013

Of Cats and Butterflies and Trees


Of Cats and Butterflies and Trees

Our kittens are growing fast. Still lanky of leg and long of body they are extremely lively and very vocal. Each kitten has adopted a different member of the family though they are all very affectionate and demand a lot of attention from whoever happens to be available for a good purring. Isambard’s favourite person is Barry and Jellicoe favours me. Herschel’s chosen companion is Bertie. Actually, they all like Bertie.

The morning ritual involves the kittens calling as soon as they hear our voices. They do not, as yet, sleep in our bedroom – the dogs deserve a place of sanctuary!

Barry emerges to ecstatic miaous and purrs and then he calls Bertie out. Immediately the kittens flock to our golden boy and rub all round him, curling their tails about his body and pushing their faces against his and Bertie loves it.

Recently we have had weather warm enough to encourage us to open the patio door. Across it there is a mesh screen to allow fresh air in and prevent kittens going out. Soon we shall erect a fence within the garden to enable the little boys access to the Great Outdoors. 

The Purr…fect Cat Fence has been delivered from the States and awaits our endeavours to assemble it. First, though, shrubs and trees in the garden have had to be lopped and trimmed so that adventurous felines do not find a way to escape into the even Greater Outdoors. 
The most drastic operation has involved the slaughter pruning of our holly tree. 
No longer can the starlings and blue tits, blackbirds and thrushes rely on its prickly cover to protect them from the attentions of the sparrowhawk.

In the course of all this woodwork gardening Barry discovered that our garden shredder was not up to the job of reducing the extraneous limbs and branches to mulch and spent several happy hours researching the best machine for the job.  We were surprised when it was delivered to see how big – and heavy – it was. ‘It’s a big bugger, innit?’ we said to each other in our best Mummerset accents. 

Naturally the box it came in had to be explored . . . 

 . . . as did the shredder basket.

It is very efficient and reasonably quiet. We haven’t quite got to the stage of looking for things to cut down so that we can use it but that time is not far off, I suspect.
We shan't see any of these this year! 
I noticed a solitary holly blue butterfly disconsolately circling the remains of the tree, wondering where she was now going to lay her eggs. I hope I’m sure the tree will recover and send forth new green shoots. 

However, visiting redwings will be sorely disappointed when they fly in to feast on holly berries in the winter – there will be none this year.

We are wondering how many times the brothers will fall in the pond. My guess is probably only once, unless they decide they like swimming. The bird feeders will have to be moved to a spot beyond the fence. It means we shall not be able to observe them at quite such close quarters but at least we will remain innocent of putting them on the menu for the boys!

The sun has disappeared again so the fence will remain in its component parts in the garage and the cats will have to remain content with gazing at the garden from the safety of indoors.

I hope the Saga of the Cat Fence will be a short one – I have my doubts, though;-) 

I am linking this post to 'Camera Critters'. Thank you, Misty, for hosting this meme.






18 comments:

  1. Wonderful variety! Love the pretty blue butterfly and the cute bird. Great post! Have a happy weekend!

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  2. Great photos and the bird is just beautiful with fine details.

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  3. The kittens are looking very grown-up! Great bird photos!
    Have a wonderful week-end!
    Lea
    Lea's Menagerie

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  4. Oh, how I'd love to see Bertie and his boys! I'll bet he never expected to become a mama cat.
    Love the photos, Janice.
    All the best to you and Barry and the critters.
    K

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  5. The kittens are beautiful, the patterns are very pretty.

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  6. adorable, long, striped and spotted kittens! good luck keeping them safe in the yard! sounds like you're doing a lot of work for them!

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  7. Really enjoyed each of your pictures, and found it fun to learn that each kitten has taken to a different member of the family. Very wise on their part. Ha, if one of the cats would fall in the pond, I wonder if he could swim. Somehow I don't picture cats as being capable swimmers. Love the closeup bird photos..good camera and good lens must be used!

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  8. They look like such lovely cats! They share Cassie's appreciation of a fine box. Always the best bit of any present. I hope the fence is easy to put up and does the job so they can get out there and explore!

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  9. schöne Bilder von wunderschönen Katzenkindern und Bilder aus der Vogelwelt
    einen LG vom katerchen zum Wochenende

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  10. Looks like the kitties have plenty of places to explore.

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  11. Gosh your cats have beautiful markings!

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  12. Nobody can deny.. that holly has been pruned.

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  13. Oh Janice I do love your new header - they look delightful!

    You've been busy with the camera too. I never seem to get any time at the moment - the weather is forcing me outdoors to work!

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  14. Wow ! lots of big changes in your house and outside to create a kingdom for the cats ! Of course they deserve it ! I suppose you don't have time anymore to watch TV as you have the kittens to watch, that's far more fun !

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  15. I hope those birds will be safe from the energetic kitty crew. Love the pruning tales. I think men have an inbuilt instinct for turning trees into shrubs

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  16. Always enjoyable, these homely commentaries. Much thanks for them.

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  17. Your feline and canine pets are adorable. The catproof fence looks interesting.

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  18. Fun critters to see!

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