Fred and Fred...
Christmas Kittens Part Two. '8:11 AM 23-Dec-184444444444', written by one of the Freds, just passing over the computer keyboard. Obviously a gifted and talented kitten - fancy knowing how to type today's date, hee hee...
Sunday 23rd December
Kittens certainly add to the in-house life. They are so watchable, much more fun than TV (which I don't watch much anyway) and Youtube clips of cute animals doing silly things (which just occasionally I get sucked into). These two kittens totally amuse themselves, and can play quite rough, with high-pitched squealing. This worries Winnie and scares Pebbles. Darling dogs - you haven't done anything wrong!
The New Kittens
Rain jackets hanging on the backs of chairs make hide-and-seek kitten toys, as do the wee cars in the country toy-box. Ah, but they are both boys... vroom vroom!
The garden...
And now - the garden. It is in a most 'interesting' state - lots more rain last night, and lots of rather bedraggled blooms. The pots of Nasturtiums are a sorry sight (love those orange flowers). Daylily flowers are completely waterlogged. Of course the weeds (and the lawns) are extremely happy.
Spot the Kittens
But I need to regroup, mentally. I've lost my sense of purpose - as well as my new gardening scissors, blast. There's so much stuff to do, small scale and big, and I don't quite know how to feel good about this. So here's the plan.
The Freds in their Basket
The plan...
I do one or two sessions a day, concentrating each time on one location, and one only. I do everything that I can see needs doing. I do not wander off or get side-tracked. And no cheating. For example, I dig out dock weeds with the spade, properly, rather than just trimming off the seed-heads.
My reward...
Then I'm allowed to have a shower and put clean apres-gardening clothes on. As a reward, I am then allowed to flit around - here, there, and everywhere (depending on my footwear) - dead-heading, trimming foxgloves, aquilegias, even lawn edges. I can cut flowers for the house. I can take the kittens out on the patio to explore. I can walk the dogs around and take photographs. Anything goes.
Much later...
OK, so it's only one day, but it's worked. And best of all - I feel good about my garden. I've cleaned up the gardens around the back house lawn (between the woodshed and the garage). Wearing my apres-gardening smoky blue silk shirt, I've just taken the kittens outside. They zoomed around on the patio while I dead-headed New Dawn roses and trimmed the Wisteria. Perfect!
Kittens Playing
And they now have coloured collars, so I can tell them apart.
Red Fred and Black Fred