Merry Christmas Everyone!

 Last year, we had a bit of a mishap with our Christmas tree when one of the cats that we had taken in caught a claw in our small table top tree and pulled it down.

This year, we decided to try the 7 foot tree which I felt fit the room better as we have high ceilings.

I'm thrilled to report that it's been a week now and... THE TREE IS STILL STANDING!!!

  
I don't know whether they remember the accident last year, when the small tree came crashing down, but after the briefest of sniffs, they are ignoring it.

 I got some new ornaments this year, which I'd like to show you here.  They fit in with the garden/wildlife theme, as I'm sure you will agree.

I adore this little brushy squirrel, which I found in Plants for All Seasons, along with the owl shown below. (I'm getting quite the collection of owls now - I love them!)

In addition to owls, I seem to be getting a collection of cardinals.  I have a stained glass window in the bedroom with a male and female cardinal.  On the mantel I have a beautiful wood carving of a cardinal on a branch. And the ceramic ornament in the center of the photo below features a cardinal on a snowy pine branch. 

It's one I made myself and it's available for sale in my Zazzle store.

I wish each and every one of you the very best of the Holiday Season and look forward to a wonderful New Year.


Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

Merry Christmas All!

 We always love decorating the house for Christmas but last year, for the first time since I can remember, I didn't have a Christmas tree.  


The reason was the four kittens we had taken in, along with their mother, in the summer of 2009. They had shown, while they were still out in the garden, that they loved climbing trees.  In addition, when we brought them inside, within a few days Jester had tried to climb the silk ficus tree in the bedroom, with the result that the whole thing toppled over.


We could only imagine what would happen to a Christmas tree.

And then, of course, you only have to Google "cat in Christmas tree" to see our concerns.

Well this year we decided one year without a tree was enough and that perhaps they had matured enough (and perhaps learned from the ficus incident that these indoor trees couldn't be trusted to stay upright) so we thought we'd put up a small tree this year.  By placing it on a table we hoped to discourage investigation and climbing.

Naturally Jester, the class clown, was first to investigate but two feet stayed on the ground at all times.

And, after sniffing at it for a while, they decided it was boring and went back to wrestling on the kitchen floor or chasing each other up and down the cat tree and all was well with the Christmas tree for a couple of days.


Then came the morning when I heard crrrrraaaaaaash! from the living room and heard the sound of cats zooming in all directions.

Bandit, seen here, looked at me with a "I didn't touch it, honest!" look.  

The suspected culprit, the aforementioned Jester, was shaking in the far corner of the room.  


We surmise he had been patting at the tree and got a claw caught in the wiring for the lights and, when he pulled his paw out, pulled the tree down with it. Poor little guy was obviously spooked.


I decided to give it another try so we stood the tree back up (secured this time with velcro so it won't be so easy to knock over) and put the ornaments back on.

This morning the tree is still standing and the cats are showing no interest. Fingers crossed it makes it through the Holiday!


I wish each and every one of you the very best of the Holiday Season and look forward to a wonderful New Year.



Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

The Gardening Bug Has Bitten, and a Kitten Update

It happens around this time every year.  The sun is shining, but it's cool enough to garden in comfort.  That rare season when I can plant and dig without breaking a sweat in Houston!

I have plans for preparing the border along the back wall for some seasonal color. Since that's the bed I expanded last year by laying down landscape fabric and covering with mulch to kill off the grass underneath, that will probably be quite a lengthy process of digging and adding some compost.  


So yesterday, I just did some more weeding, and also planted a clematis.

I planted it in front of the small trellis I put in to hide the utility boxes. I had already amended the soil in that bed, so I hope it does well there.

While I was pottering around weeding, my husband, enticed by the opportunity to employ power tools, was using a drill and auger to deep root fertilize the trees.  He followed up by mulching over the holes he had drilled. 

So now the garden looks like it has been invaded by gophers...

 
But that's okay, a few rains and once the grass starts growing, we won't even see that, and hopefully the tree will show it's appreciation by not dying. 

Someone had asked for an update on the mother cat and her kittens that we took in last summer.  Well, they're still with us and doing well.  They are such a joy, and so entertaining we don't regret taking them in for a single moment.

They all get on well together and our other cats tolerate them pretty well.

We're particularly happy that Cali, the mother cat, has bonded so well with Merlin, a stray I took in when I moved from my previous home.  My other cats didn't take to him so well, so I was really pleased that Cali and Merlin are now the best of friends.

Last summer I was concerned for the safety of the birds in the garden, since Cali and the kittens had strong hunting instincts.  Well, I'm happy to the report that the birds are now thriving in the garden unmolested by felines.

Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

Wordless Wednesday - Rest In Peace, BJ

Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

I tawt I taw a puddy tat!

I TAWT I TAW A PUDDY TAT!

I DID, I  TAW A PUDDY TAT!!!

I thought everyone might enjoy this scene I caught this past weekend.  After I put out a new sock feeder, the finches found it very quickly, and before I knew it they were lined up.

Pippin, one of my seven indoor cats thought it was great.  There were about 5 finches out there, and I eventually went to the store and got a two armed hanger and two more sock feeders.