Frozen Plants & A Normal Morning With Ivy Lou
I ate my breakfast at the dining table, staring out at my ruined frozen plants, that were so beautiful until this past week. They are now drooping and sad.
My little butterfly tree didn’t even have a chance for its leaves to turn colors. The freeze turned them into a pitiful mush.
I recall last April 15th, when I woke up and drove to the nursery to pick out my spring annuals and herbs. I always look forward to this day.
April 15th is the day I designate for this ritual because I figure that it probably won’t freeze again.
I got a cart and wound my way from front to back. The perennials and vines are at the back. I picked up a passion vine, one of my favorites.
Then I went into another area to look at the herbs. I am in heaven in a room full of herbs. I always get pineapple sage and lemon verbena, my favorites.
I always choose lots of petunias, because they remain beautiful from spring through fall.
I always get daisies of various varieties and colors. They are so perky and fun. They’ve been my favorite flower since childhood.
Now I look out at my beloved patio and only the evergreen tree hanging over the fence seems unfazed by the cold weather. I will be staring at its greenery until spring.
Hard to believe that I had lush herbs and mounds of lemon balm and mint just a week ago. Hard to believe that the fence bordering the alley was hidden by morning glory vines that grew thick and full of purple flowers.
For many months I sat on my couch and stared out at the beauty of the space that I so look forward to filling with life come springtime.
My first emerging plants from the soil in April and May bring me joy. I watch the little nibs of hostas come up, the mints and lemon balm, the ornamental grass. The sedum begins to show up, all having been dormant through winter.
Oh, how I love thee, nature and flowers.
Now I’ll have to be satisfied with my faux plants until April rolls around. I shall dust them and pretend they look real.
I found this quote earlier and found it humorous:
My fake plants died because I did not pretend to water them. – Mitch Hedberg
Ivy’s morning thus far:
She played with her mice filled with catnip. Ivy scooted them from room to room for a time.
She batted at her hanging toy. I had the stick attached to the toy fixed in place on my desk so it would dangle down for her and not fall.
But that evidently wasn’t enough for her. She wanted the whole thing.
Look how long this cat is when she stretches out her body.
Yes, she pulled it down.
Then, having done so, she quickly became bored with it and jumped on the coffee table.
First she likes to knock the faux plants down. Then she heads for the pens in the mug sent to me from my ad network.
She chews on the ends of the pens for awhile, then off she goes to find something else to get into.
Then she’s back to the red tub under the desk that holds her various toys. She drags them out, and several times a day I put them back so she can start all over again. Just like you do with a toddler.
I can hear her. I don’t know where she is, but I can hear her doing something.
Charlie and I are on the couch. I’m not even getting up until I hear something crash to the floor.
Are all cats like this? I’ve had cats of course, but none this active. None anywhere near this active.
Well, now I hear her crunching her dry food in the bedroom. So I can relax for a bit while she eats.
If I had to discern the expression on Charlie’s face, I think he would be saying: “Do you see what I have to put up with? A cat jumping over me as I walk. A cat that tries to eat my precious boiled egg while I scramble to beat her with only two teeth and a very long tongue.”
Poor Charlie. He is about as patient as you could expect. She tires him out with her endless energy and movements. If she bothers him much, he eventually snaps at her.
We sit and watch her as though we’re at the theater watching a fast paced action film. Sometimes Ivy is akin to a living tornado leveling everything in its path.
I found some amusing cat sayings for you:
“Cats can work out mathematically the exact place to sit that will cause most inconvenience.” – Pam Brown
“In ancient times cats were worshiped as gods; they have not forgotten this.” – Terry Pratchett
“The problem with cats is that they get the same exact look whether they see a moth or an ax-murderer.” – Paula Poundstone
“There is, incidentally, no way of talking about cats that enables one to come off as a sane person. – Dan Greenberg
“A cat determined not to be found can fold itself up like a pocket handkerchief if it wants to.” – Louis J. Camuti
From The 52 Funniest Cat Quotes
It’s interesting how many of us have experienced very little Fall weather in our different regions. Is it due to global warming? Or is it just serendipity? Our summer here in mid-Michigan was hotter than usual, too. It all seems kind of topsy-turvy or something.
My flower gardening starts a bit later than mid-April here but not much. Unless we have a super wet Spring. But I was so not ready this year for the end of Summer and playing in the dirt. I was delayed in the Spring because of illness so it seems like my Summer was cut short.
Like the other readers said, I think Ivy Lou is a very smart cat. Just because she is so curious and busy, busy, busy all the time. I can see how she might make Charlie’s head spin sometimes! That is a wonderful photo of him on today’s posting. He has such big, bright eyes and such a knowing look. I’ve always preferred big dogs but Charlie and Abi have swayed me and helped me appreciate the personalities of the tinier breeds too.
I am having such a hard time getting up at a decent hour these days. The grey skies and gloomy, cold weather makes me wish I were a bear and could hibernate ’til Spring and warm weather.
Brenda, have a peaceful weekend with your babies. Give them both pats for me.
What happened to Jade? Do you still have her outside? I know Ivy would like her !
Good evening Brenda, Charlie and Ivy,
I am sorry to see that your beautiful plants froze, it does seem a little early. We have had unseasonably cold weather and lots of rain and 40 mph wind.
The good news is that for entertainment this long winter you have Miss. Ivy! She is a character, I love hearing your stories of her antics.
Have a wonderful weekend!
The cold seems really early this year in OK.
Certainly you appreciate your plants more for having been deprived of them in winter.
A friend made a cat toy from a clothes hanger. She unbent it, to make a kind of fishing pole (but for a cat). She tied something to the end, then would sit, tranquilly, on her sofa and cast the toy to different corners of the room. The cat would fall over itself chasing the thing. Genius.
The simplest of things just mesmerize them.
Those are great cat quotes, Brenda! We woke to a foot of snow this morning – it’s officially winter on the mountain top, for sure!
Our snow is long gone.
I love your picture of Ivy Lou stretched out like a long string bean trying to pull her toy down off your desk. She certainly is full of energy! It must be excess kitten energy. When our cat was young, he used to run up and the stairs up to the bedroom level. Over and over and over. I’d wake up at night hearing him rumble up the stairs like a roaring freight train, instantly turning around and doing it again. This would go on forever but since it didn’t wake the kids, it didn’t bother us. It was amazing how loud it was! It made him sound like he was obese. We still miss him 16 years later.
I just can’t begin to imagine why cats do the things they do!
Ivy’s energy level is boundless and will remain so until she matures a little more, until then you and Charlie keep your eyes open so you won’t miss any of her antics. I think Ivy is learning how to navigate with Charlie and she knows how far she can push her brother before he lets her know that it is time to settle down. That picture of Ivy stretching shows her beautiful markings and that one of Charlie, oh don’t you wish they could speak and tell you what they are thinking. I’m sorry the plants have all wilted but I know you garden will be beautiful in the spring and I look forward to seeing those pictures. Enjoy your weekend with the babies.
Carol and Molly
xoxoxo
I sure do wish they could speak, Carol and Molly.
I woke up to enough snow that has to be shoveled for the mail lady at least. Yeck! Not enough fall and way too much winter! ?
Spring is my fav season of all, when all the beautiful flowers start coming up and everything looks alive again! Here’s hoping for a fast winter! ?
Our snow is gone.
What fun pictures today. You and Ivy had me laughing through it to the end. The cat sayings are pretty funny, and so true. And that expression on Charlie’s face. OMG, it is Priceless..Just too cute for words….Have a wonderful Friday, Hugs from COLD white WI.
It is warmer here today. Yes, Ivy keeps me laughing and Charlie perplexed.
I think Charlie would be saying, “Oh my gosh! What’s that cat into now?”
I think Ivy’s insatiable curiosity is a sign of a smart cat.
Oh, I do think she’s a smart cat. Curious as all get out too. There’s not an inch she hasn’t explored in here.
We had practically no Fall this year at all, very disappointing. I was looking forward to at least four or five days of 70 degree weather to sit out in my Shezebo before I took down the screening and put all the furniture away in storage for the winter. All that’s left of the Shezebo now is it’s bare frame, and to me it looks forlorn! The last leaf pick-up was today; I finished raking up as much as I could yesterday, whew! Between the first raking and the last raking, I probably put in 10 hours of raking, and that was just in the front and side yards. They aren’t even that big! As long as the weather was relatively calm and “mild,” I didn’t mind, it’s good exercise. It’s a fact that since I retired I don’t get as much exercise as I used to, so I need to work on getting that 2 1/2 hours new exercise recommendation into my routine. My backyard isn’t very large and this year it didn’t get as many leaves as it normally does, it had to be because of the winds blowing a lot of the southeast blowing them away from my backyard rather than into it. The leaves that were there previously I was able to mulch up with my mulching mower. I was going to pull it out today and do the backyard one last time, but it’s too wet outside. The snow we got overnight was more than forecasted, and while it has melted even though it’s overcast and dreary today, its too wet, the mower won’t do much good. Oh well. The leaves are primarily in the nooks and crannies of the yard, by spring they will mostly be rotted away into mulch. Out front, no protection by tall fencing so it seems most of the leaves in the entire neighborhood end up there! It’s amazing how many leaves one tree can shed. My previous pile from approximately pile was a fair size, and that was whisked away. When I see the other neighbors out raking, that’s my signal, and I get out there and rake too, as I don’t want to miss the leaf pick-up! Usually they come through in the dead of night. But I went to the store today shortly after 10 and the piles of leaves in front of the neighbors’ houses were all out in the street. I got home about an hour later to find all the piles gone! And my neighbor to the south finally outside raking, LOL! A day late and a dollar short, as the old saying goes. There MAY be one more pick-up starting the week of November 21, if we don’t get more than snow flurries. Last season, we got snow after he raked and had missed the previous pick-up, and those leaves sat in the gutter area all winter long. His visitors ended up running over and parking on his leaf pile endless times until it was a pile a mush in the spring that took a lot of work to scrape up! I may have to put up with the same eye-sore this year/next spring, too. UGH! And listen to me, I’ve turned into one of those old retired ladies who sweeps her gutters, LOL (yes, I really do).
Since they took those two trees now, I no longer have to deal with leaves in the fall. We didn’t have much of a fall here. But today it’s fairly warm.
Ivy is the busiest cat I’m aware of. Our current cat, Calvin, is a lazy guy but even our more active cats weren’t as busy as Ivy. She is like a tornado! We have frosts in central KY until at least May 10 or so meaning no plant buying in April for me. Good that you can get an early start.
And I so look forward to that early start. Oftentimes I will keep them inside a few days before I plant them in the pots. Yes, Ivy is like a tornado for sure.
My cat is not as physically active as Ivy Lou because she’s older. If there were such a thing as past lives for animals then she would have been a dog. She greets me at the door. She follows me around. She sits with the family when we watch television. She either lies at my feet or on top of the desk next to me when I’m at the computer. She is a rescue just like Ivy Lou. Her previous family gave her up partly because she is so vocal. She never tires of affection. She is so loving, sweet and tolerant. She demands more of me than any previous cat that I’ve had, but I love her so much that I allowed myself to be trained by her.
I once had a part Maine Coon cat rescue. He acted more like a dog than a cat. So wonderful that you took the “vocal” cat. How could anyone give up a pet for being vocal. At least a cat doesn’t bark.