Where to sleep if you're a cat

If you're Elvis, I guess the window sill behind the blinds is a good place to sleep. Marco's mom gave us the gold and green thing on the left. It's a "money tree," a tradition in the Philippines, which is where she and Marco are from. I don't think it ever brought us money, but maybe it did. I remember one time ringing the bells and an order came in on a slow day. But that was only once. The box in the upper left is something I made to hold floppy disks. I like making simple things that solve organizational issues. I'm not a great woodworker, so they have to be simple, but they do usually work. I or we also built the shelf under the blue box.

Pix to remember the garden by, and first boxes

I loved and hated this yard. I mean I really did love it because of the scenic mountains we could see from here, and it was so large it was great for the pets and it buffered the neighbors, so we could feel that we had our own space. But the weeds were terrible and it needed a lot of water. I might try xeriscaping if I were to do it again. I understand now why so many people here landscape by putting down black plastic with rocks over the top and not having plants at all, or having a few peeking through, but I don't like that, and I wouldn't do it. We tore out all of the old black plastic but then the weeds had a field day. Once I found out that kitchen sage grew well, needed little water, survived winter, had purple flowers, and kept down the weeds, I began planting it everywhere. Unfortunately, I had to leave before most of the plants got big enough to do what they were supposed to do. The ones in the planter here are getting a good start, but they're still having to cope with the weeds, and the weeds were too much for me.

Here Elvis, Leila, and Pterelas are all enjoying being outside. Whenever I came out to work, I had lots of helpers.

The catnip has sprouted way up since last photo. I can't say Elvis pays any attention, but I like looking at it.

The plants in the front are sage. I even put one in the empty spot in the box with the rose bushes.

Happily-growing sage plants.

Here's another view of the garden facing west. Mt. Garfield is just behind that house. The grass had become a big problem. The gound got hard, as it will eventually since the soil is mostly clay. The weeds grow and the grass doesn't. It looked good when we moved in. It seems we needed to learn about lawns. I don't remember that lawns were such a science in California. You watered them and mowed them. This seemed to be a different set of rules.

Here are the first four moving boxes. I love bankers' boxes. They're so easy to stack and store. They're big enough to be useful and small enough not to be cumbersome. I got the bright idea to order a whole lot of them for everything that would fit in that size box, label them carefully, and place them on two-by-fours so they wouldn't get wet. It worked extremely well. I didn't realize it yet, but I was investing in furniture for my future apartment, too.

Elvis and tapir skulls

I love this picture - she's so relaxed! Remember, this is the cat that likes to stretch out in the fax machine. It looks like Leila's all curled up behind her.

Writing from the future, I don't remember why I chose this day to photograph the hybrid tapir skull unless someone wanted a photo. I was taking them with me, of course. Here they are in my Picasa Web Album of mixed, generic, and hybrid tapir natural history. I've written about them in the captions in the album.

On the couch

Elvis and Leila. My two little sweeties are quite happy on the couch together. I'm going to miss them terribly. When I move, they're staying here. I don't know where my future is, and most likely I'll end up in a no-pet apartment. Marco is good to them, loves them as much as I do, and they have plenty of room to run around here off the street. It's hard, but I don't know what else to do except take a few photos for the memory book.

Elvis on the photo stand

This is my set-up for taking photos for the gift shop. I guess Elvis thought it was suitable for her. What a soft, gentle cat. She's a good one. We got lucky with both dogs and Elvis. Except for sleeping in some very odd places and the occasional playful bite, Elvis is a very easy-going and non-destructive cat. I love how she plays with the dogs, too. I'm not sure they love it, but they tolerate it. Sometimes they instigate, so I guess they don't mind having their faces bitten all that much.