Crazy Stable

Look what I found growing in the garden!

This is Chuck, All-American Cat. When I first heard him hollering (for food and love in equal measure), he was in the driveway, and I thought he was our Charlie, another golden boy. But closer inspection showed otherwise. Chuck is topaz, not champagne-colored, and is a very young fellow. He's still small but I suspect he will grow into that ringtail of his.

Of course I started feeding him, but feral cats began bullying him at his outdoor dish, and he was terrified. So he's come into the Crazy Stable quarantine area, where he's pining for human companionship and about to be neutered and inoculated on our "dime" (I wish).

That means Chuck could be yours by this weekend. That is, if you are ready for this much love to be poured in your direction! I'll deliver him with whatever cat supplies you need; give a shout to brenda (at) tenthleper (dot) us and we'll start you on the road to a richer, Chuck-enhanced life!

Meanwhile, the desolate fenced-off area of driveway that I have long dubbed the "garth" (medieval cloister garden) is trying to become one! Above: Garth, 5 years ago. I also call it the "sledgehammer garden," and this year the remaining cement looks more tentative than ever. The raised bed was finally installed and filled (it took a lot more compost than I thought)...

...and has produced a brave little crop of peas! Snow peas, snap peas, shelling peas...I don't know, I planted all three and they're all growing together, and they're all snaps if you eat 'em young enough. Peas have always refused to grow for me, so this is great news.

They're almost done, and next up is Japanese eggplant and a "black" Bulgarian tomato named "Vorlon," a double dose of geekery (gardening + "Babylon 5"). If you know what Vorlons are, you will understand why I fear that this tomato will drift around muttering runic utterances.

But one harvest at a time. Want a really good cat? Of course you do!

The vision is coming true! Two different climbers are blooming in the "garth," also known as the fenced-off driveway in front of the unused garage. Thanks to the NBC "Law & Order" set makeover, it looks all nice and cottage-y.The red one is Climbing Don Juan (with accidental ivy backdrop), and the pale pink is New Dawn, which I propagated from another New Dawn on the other side of the garden. I am very proud of this.

 Long shot through the fence lattice shows, at left, how much cement I've ripped up for the raised bed waiting behind it (still needs a tad more chipped off). Even with my compost, I will need many bags of soil to fill it. Cracking cement is addictive; I just want to keep going until it's an abbey garden with gravel paths, herb beds, and more flowers (it gets full southern sun). Like the Cloisters, only via sledgehammer.

Bottom photo: Cuxa Cloister Garden, the Cloisters; Metropolitan Museum