Garden Blogging
It's been a long time since I've garden-blogged, but since things are looking so good now, I figured I'd rectify the situation. The lilly patch has been a colorful spot of joy in the summers. Here are some of the reasons:
The large flowers are stargazer lillies, and the small yellow ones are a candy lilly/blackberry lilly hybrid (we think).
These are more hybrids of the same flowers.
And more of the same. The neat thing is that these hybrids seem to all have sprung from the same plants without any interventions on our part. The variation in color is fascinating, and each year we have something new come up along with the old favorites.
Apparently these hybrids are pretty tasty, too! I got a few shots of a lovely visitor to the patch:
I think this is a female Spicebush Swallowtail. About 5 inches from one wing-tip to the other. From what I've read, the males have green hind-wings while the females have the irridescent blue.
You can tell she's a survivor. Her hind wings are ragged and damaged in a few spots. LadyRanger and I were happy to have provided a spot for her to relax and refuel. We were also grateful to her for adding a bit more beauty and grace to our home.
Catnaps
It's been a sleepy week for the cats, as the humans have been a bit busy. Fortunately for Maddie, there's been plenty of sunlight shining in on the couch, one of her favorite napping spots.
<sigh>...No one enjoys the simple pleasures as well as a cat!
As the weather has gotten warmer, Ivy has returned to her habit of napping, tummy-up, with her legs stretched up the back of the couch. I tried to snap a pic of the latest cute-ness, but the camera's start-up chime woke her up and she twisted. This resulted in one of those eerie cat-postures with the front half and the back half of the cat exactly 180 degrees opposed. No harm seems to have been done.
Don't worry, I'm not broke!
Wish I could nap as well as the cats!
If you'd like to see a few shots of the cats' queendom (though no actual shots of the cats *in* the queendom) feel free to check out Garden Blogging.
A Busy Cat Week
It's been a busy cat week here at ChezRanger. The first news is that there seems to be a family of new ferals who have moved into the neighborhood. There are three or four that are of an age. Here's the only shot we've managed to get so far:
Guess we'll have to put out the old food bowl that we got for Matilda before she adopted our neighbor. Gotta make sure the neighborhood cats are fed.
Next up on the chore list, Ivy's given in to genetics and is helping make the bed again:
Of course, once it's done to her satisfaction, she goes back to have a nap on her fleece blanket:
Hi Fiona! Hope you like my wee feet!
All of which brings us to Maddie. Maddie has been displaying the feline penchant for prefering to recline on anything that happens to be on something else. Paper and plastic are the preferred materials. Here we see her on on her catnip bag from last week:
After that, we catch her napping on a plastic bag after a shopping trip:
Looks like she's having a a fine time napping there, huh?
Next we find her relaxing on some wrapping paper, laid out on the floor specifically to give her something upon which to relax:
And yes, you should notice the striped sunlight. Makes everything complete.
Well, the cat's out of the bag...
...Not. Maddie was in the mood for a catnip crawl, so we dumped a handful in a grocery bag and let her go to town. Here are two shots.
Woo-eee-ooo! Catnip makes my eyes glow! Cool, huh?
We do love giving her a treat everynow and then.
Simulcats
It's rare to get photos of both cats together, though given Ivy's recent bed-aggression (in the finest passive aggressive tradition) it's becoming less rare. Here we see Ivy occupying the bed as Maddie looks on from one of her other very-favorite spots (the sock drawer):
Next we get the same scene from the opposite perspective:
It's funny, but they do seem to be able to ignore each other for a while when they share space.
Note for Ivy fans: we're taking the wee tuxedo cat in to the vet this week. she's been having massive snorfly-sneezy-snot-swallowing fits. We're going to see if the vet can fix her up some kitty sudafed.
As for what we're doing until then, well, we're enjoying LadyRanger's good, home-made bread! Lawrence and his bread machine have *nothing* on my wife! (said with all due respect, of course!)
Just a few pics
Not much to report this week...Ivy was on Maddie's bed again:
HeeHee...I am *so* sneaky!
Where was Maddie? In the sunlight, not caring...
Don't care, don't care, don't care...heehee
And here are just a few more pics of Maddie in the sun, 'cause I like 'em!
Cat Genetics
Y'know, as different as our cats are, they share a few traits. One of which is the compulsive desire to help when we make the bed. We think there's a cat-gene that instills the desire to make beds. We got this shot a week or so ago when Ivy decided to start hopping on the bed:
You missed a spot.
Of course, we'd noticed this long ago with Maddie.
Ahh... nice and smooth and soft. Carry on.
Of course, we always do carry on.
oooo! It's warm, too!
Let's hear it for Cat-Genetics!
Well, color us stunned...
Yesterday was a banner day here at Chez-Ranger. Ivy decided to catch some serious nap time. Not unusual, but she decided to nap on the BED! In Maddie's spot!
Ivy wandered around the bed and finally got comfy by the pillows on LadyRanger's side. Needless to say, this encroachment did no go unnoticed by the usual resident of the bed.
Ha! Mad Ninja Skillz! I have them too!
Crumbs! There goes the neighborhood!
The strangest thing, though, was what happened after. LadyRanger and I, recovering from the snot-bonic plague, crashed for our saturday afternoon nap. We were joined by Maddie, and Ivy didn't move at all. All four of us napped. Peacefully. It was stunning. And after LadyRanger and I got up to start on dinner, the cats stayed put.
For what it's worth, I still don't like you. zzzz
Back atcha, Catzilla. zzzzzz
Color us stunned.
An Old Friend
It's time for a visit from an old friend. We've always called her Matilda.
Matilda was a neighborhood stray until she got taken in by our neighbors. We stopped by for a porch-chat and got to snap the following pics of Matilda (now called "Boots" or "Puddin").
She's all grown up now, and is *very* well treated.
It's always nice to see her.
No pics of the Ranger-Kitties today. Some new, vile, version of the Snot-bonic Plague is going around. Both cats are on the bed tending to LadyRanger as she tries to sleep.
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