I've been feeling guilty about not giving my cat, Pipig, any time to roam outside. Concern about her ambushing an unsuspecting bird is part of that, although she's never shown herself to be a huntress, but the bigger concern is the risk of a run-in with a coyote as these animals have become far more aggressive of late. They used to confine their hunting to the night hours but now they're often seen during the day. Just a couple of months ago, our next door neighbor's Pomeranian was carried off from a fenced backyard. I was also told that a local woman and her Mastiff were recently surrounded by a pack of 3 coyotes while walking in a nearby park during daylight hours. Under the circumstances, I keep Pipig close. In addition to full run of the house, she has a porch of her own with a climbing tree and catwalks but she still runs for the door every time I enter to clean her box. This week I gave her a treat and accompanied her on a supervised stroll through the garden.
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| Pipig exiting her screened porch |
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| She climbed up on this pot and spent several minutes staring at the garden through the metal screen for unknown reasons |
I don't know why she was so fascinated by the view through the metal screen. She didn't have any interest in the plants that drew my eye.
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| She ignored Lotus berthelotii 'Amazon Sunset' |
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| She couldn't have cared less about the blooms of Bulbine frutescens |
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| or how nice the pink Freesia look growing up through and around Cuphea 'Starfire Pink' |
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| She continued on her way toward the backyard patio |
For a moment, it looked as though the
Ageratum corymbosum had caught her interest but my guess is that she may have sighted a lizard.
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| If she saw a lizard, she apparently decided it wasn't worth chasing |
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| Ageratum corymbosum is full of buds but has no blooms yet |
She moved on and checked out the
Aeonium arboreum.
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| I thought maybe she was after another lizard, or worse yet a bird |
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| But I guess she was drawn to the Pennisetum 'Fireworks'. Recently cut back, it's already producing bright new foliage. |
After allowing her to munch on ornamental grass for a few minutes, I moved her back to the main walkway to keep her a safe distance from the bird feeder. She wasn't pleased.
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| She looks irritated, doesn't she? |
I let her stroll a bit further, nipping at her heels but then noise from across the canyon made her nervous. She doesn't like loud noises.
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| At first, I thought the source of the noise was this house remodel across the canyon - remodeling is continuous in these parts |
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| But no, the loudest noise is coming from a house a little further east. This house has been undergoing renovations of one sort or another at intervals for years and it now it appears the owners are now replacing their very long concrete driveway. It's amazing how sound carries here... |
So I cut Pipig's stroll short, set her back in her porch, and closed the door. Back on her cat tree perch, loud noise forgotten, she gave me the stink-eye.
All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
