Odds and Ends

Another rainfall today is no doubt helping my tomato plants grow more productive and allowing the weeds to get an even stronger toehold in the garden beds. It will be a good day to get some things done indoors.

These unusually shaped tomatoes are called Austin Pear. I picked up two at a local garden sale in the spring. The plants were started by high school students in their horticultural class and they've been growing beautifully in big pots on my patio. I'm looking forward to tasting them later in the season. As I understand it, this is an heirloom variety.

Elsewhere, the dipladenia is adding plenty of colour.

So is the Jethro Tull coreopsis. How the plant came to be named after a British rock group is a mystery to me. I do like the tubular shape of the petals. I wonder if the band ever featured any horns in their music . . .

A little cosmos was added to the garden mix this year. More would have been better. A mass of them dancing in the summer breeze would have been very pretty.

As for this girl, my foster puss met a lovely family this month. They were interested enough to move beyond the "Meet and Greet" (during which time Claire hid under the chair) and this lovely cat has now been on an "Extended Home Visit" with them since last Wednesday evening. Basically, it's a trial run where the family determines whether the puss fits happily into their household. I imagine the decision will be made very soon, one way or the other.

It's been an interesting month thus far: a gum graft, new glasses (my first foray into the land of progressive lenses), some interest in my foster feline, a bit of house-hunting (no luck there) and other assorted odds and ends. How are things with you?

Happy Canada Day & a Claire-the-Foster-Puss Update

I mentioned in the post about peonies in my garden that I'd soon give a little update about Claire. My foster puss has been with me since mid February and those of you who visit regularly will have seen many pictures of her sprinkled throughout the blog and on my Facebook page.

Those eyes make me melt. 

Claire's a sweet puss and loves attention from someone she trusts. I have been very well trained in giving belly rubs on demand and the fine art of swishing the wand toy for her to chase.

This is her "before" picture, as in the one taken shorty before Claire arrived. I won't have you believe she never gets nervous anymore, as she's not very keen on most company and a vet visit has her scrunched into the corner of her carrier. Thunder, on the other hand, doesn't seem to bother her and, on a daily basis, she's shown herself to be affectionate and playful, not the "scaredy-cat" of the photo.

What I haven't mentioned is that Claire had a urinary tract infection, which led to a few incidents outside her litter box. Once the problem was identified as medical and not behavioural, a 2 week round of medication was prescribed. This past week was the follow-up test; the caring young vet joked that the test results were "boring" and that all was well. I can say the same here on the home front. Yippee! Claire is now one truly adoptable puss and her good health is one reason to celebrate.

Here's another reason: it's Canada Day!

Best Wishes to all, 

with a special greeting to my Canadian friends, at home and abroad.

Thank you for visiting and for your thoughtful comments. 

Karen