Wild Cat Strut

Meow, y'all! You might have seen some photos of me and heard some stories too but you haven't heard MY real voice as yet. Time to remedy that. No offence to my Female Master who is fairly intuitive and understanding when it comes to cats, but I just wanted to get my paws into this blog business and approach You People directly.

The journey up here to the new home was rather stressful (and didn't I let them know!) but ever since I got out of that vile cage and a noisy car thingy, it's been pure joy. The first time I got to taste the real freedom outside with the huge spaces and exciting smells, I knew this was the life I had been waiting for years. And there's no going back.

In the beginning I used to get scared with the strange noises from the road and the nearby houses but I soon got over that and now I barely notice them, just making sure though of the escape routes, au cas où, like my Female Master keeps saying. And just to be clear; everybody knows that cats have no masters, it's just easier all round to refer to them like that. I have a sneaky feeling the F.M. would refuse to publish a text that refers to her as a Lower Human Servant.

Aaaaanyway, every morning I wait in all readiness the moment when the Masters finally manage to get up and open the door. That done, I vanish like a fart in Sahara and they won't see me until I get hungry or need a toilet. I know, I know, old habits die hard. But maybe I have to learn some new habits because after tasting the sweet freedom, I have already spent couple of nights outside in my excitement and as you can probably guess, one cannot hold one's pipi that long.


A wonderful spot for a indoor siesta when it is a wee bit chilly outside. The F.M. has kindly put my old blanket here so I am very comfortable.

The Male Master who's always complaining after his sore back, neck and what have you, fails constantly to observe my subtle hints of Superior Cat Yoga Positions which I give out freely and generously.  Am I the only one who pays attention to things around this house?

Aren't...

I...

gorgeous!!

Here I am, in all my gorgeousness, keeping an eye on things coming and going past the house. Not much gets past me, not even the little lizards that are everywhere.
I have had a couple of face-offs with the neighbour's cat but as long as she keeps her pink nose out of my territory, we're ok. I'm not even afraid of the neighbour's terriers who apparently are Terrible Killing Machines ( according to the F.M.) and would snatch me in half given the chance.

Already during my second outing ever, I mastered this Only Tree in the Garden, and while the coming - down - bit is indeed a bit tricky, it now serves admirably as an observation mast and a scratching post.

Ahh, siesta among the tall grass, in the fashion of my African cousins.

The supreme feline guardian of the vegetables.

Garden

What a joy to finally have a garden! And a one with a stunning view as well. This is what has been missing from my life for a long time and I really felt it in the baking heat of the south, staring at the wall of the neighbour's house with dreams of a fresher climate, potatoes and green fields around me, wondering when it would become a reality. And here we are, even better than I could have imagined!

 Here was the starting situation; a former occupant had a vegetable garden here once upon a time and I decided to dig out all the weeds and grass and benefit from the work already done. It was hard work anyway but I enjoyed it; knowing the end result would be well worth it. People back at home laugh at me now because when I was a wee girl, I absolutely hated gardening and weeding, having to be dragged to the veggie field kicking and screaming.  A lot has changed since.

And so the digging starts. A little bit every day, a lot in a week, as my mother would say. There was already a couple of permaculture-type of beds which looked like a good growing medium and the soil itself is great too, so we should have no problems producing a good crop. I found some existing strawberries among the grass which I re-planted in a row. That'll be the first things we'll eat!

Voila! Starting to look like a garden to me.

And a bit later when I had put on a support system for the green beans and planted the courgette seedlings that had been pre-grown inside.

The land rises behind the house, forming two 'terraces', where I have planned to extend the garden to, if possible. The view down from the first terrace.

Back to the main garden; there's clearly a flower bed here somewhere and I intend to find it!

Back-breaking job with only some hand tools; an old sickle and a fork.

It was already tough going with lifting the grass and all the stones in there, but one of the former tenants had also stuck a pile of sticks and bramble branches for good measure. I just didn't see them until the long grass was removed. I'll deserve a big glass of rose after this!

Looking better, nearly finished. Lili the Cat is inspecting my work. Or perhaps looking for a new toilet...

Here we are, all clean and planted with wildflower seeds. As you can see, we have also received our trimmer and got to grips with the wild grass and dandelions in the garden.

I dug out another little flower bed by the wall.

Another wall-side flower bed where I found mint, rhubarb and mangetout already growing. I planted some more herbs and flower seeds for colour.

Aah! And now I'll put my feet up and have that glass of wine as promised and admire the work I've done.